-< 


o 


i    ^ 

so      o 


S- 


'^<!/ojnvjjo>'     ^.i/ojiivjjo>' 


■%a3Aif 


\\\E  UNIVERS/A 


vjvlOSANCEIfjv 
o 


^OfCAllFOff^       ^OfCAllFOff^ 


,  \\^E  UNIVERJ/A 


"^/^a^AiNfi^wv^       '^'^ommy^    ^'"^ommv^      "^uonvsoi^ 


'^/sa3Al^ 


^^ILIBRARYQr 


^^IIIBRARYO^ 


^WJIIVDJO"^ 


^WJIW3J0^ 


^WE•UNIVER5•//^ 


v^lOSANCElfj> 

a 


3> 

-< 

'^/5a3AiNn]i\v^ 


^;;^l•llBRARY<?/;^ 


\^my\^ 


^\M-llBR/ 


\^m 


^OFCAIIFOft^ 


.^.OFCAIIFO/?^ 


ameiiniver% 


<f3l30NVSOV<^ 


vvlOSANCElfj> 
o 


%a3AINft-3WV^ 


^OFCAllFOft)^ 


^ 


^jOFCAl 


^(?AaV!l 


.\WEUNIVERJ-/A 
>- 


^lOSANCElfjv. 


•<ril]DNVS01^        '^/SaJAINrtlWV 


-v^^lUBRARYQc 


^UIBRARYQr^ 


^<!/0JllV3J0>^ 


^<yojnv3jo>^ 


.\MEIINIVERS/A 

< 

CO 


^lOSAN 


%il3Alh 


AWEUNIVER% 


^^il3DNYS0V^ 


^lOSANCElfj^ 

o 


°%a3AINft3WV 


^^,OFCAIIFO%       ,A;OFCAIIFO%  .^WEUNIVER5•/A        ^lOSAN 


^<?Aavaani^ 


^<?Aavaan-^^'^ 


<fil3DNVS01^ 


%a3AIN 


^lllBRARYQr^ 


A^jM-llBRARYQ/r 


^<!/0JnV3J0'>^ 


AWEUNIVER5//1 


^>:WSANCElfj> 


^.tfOJIlVDJO^  -^f^iaDNVSOl^       %a3AINa3WV' 


^lllBRARYQc. 


^^03I]V3JO'^ 


^,^l•UBR/ 


^(tfOdllV 


^OFCAIIFO;?^ 


^OFCAllFO/?^ 


?7 

'i9Aavaaii-;i^ 


^(?Aavaaii# 


^WElN!VER5•/A 


o 
^J'il3DNVS01^ 


^VOSANCElfj> 


-<.OFCAllF0fi»/jA,        ^OFCAll 


%a3AiNrt3v\v        ^^Aavaaiii^      >&Aavai 


^^ME■lJNIVERS/^       ^lOSANCElfj> 


^>NllIBRARY<9/;^       ^UIBRARYOc;^ 


<rii30Nvsoi^      '^Aa3AiNfi3V\v^       ^omm^"^     '^^oiiivojo'^' 


.  ^ME  UNIVERS//, 


irD^Ji 


^vlOSANCElfj^  ^OFCAIIFOJ?^ 


^\zmmnr^ 


^ 


"^laONYSOl^ 


^ 


vKjlOSANi 

i 


"^AaSAIN 


xy^EUNIVERJ/A         A^lOS•AN 


i^n^^ji 


tvs^^l  %\z^ 


%ojnv3jo>^     '^^ojiivojo'^       ■<rinoNvsov'<^     ^/jaaAiNfl-auv"*       ^^ojiivojo'^    ^^ojiivjjc 


^^OFCAllFO% 


^.OFCAIIFO% 


< 

CO 


*^6>Aav8eii#     "^^ommw^      "^ijqnvsoi^     %a3AiNa3WV 


vvlOSANCftfj> 


^OfCAllFOff^       ^OFCAIIFO^ 


^WfUNIVERJ/A 


o 


.  ^'rtE  UNIVER%. 


vj<lOSANCfl5j> 

o 


v^lOSAflCElfj> 

o 


<ril]9NVS01^        '^/^a3AINIl-3WV 


>5^1UBRARYQ^ 


^HIBRARY^^ 


■^/^aaAiNnjttv^       '^(JOJiWDjo'^     ^ojiwdjo"^ 


^OFCAIIFO% 

CD 


^OFCAIIFO% 


>>t?Aava8n-i^ 


.^WEUNIVER5'/A 


<ril3DNVS0V"^ 


-\WEUMIVERS'/A 
<ril30NVS01^ 


t 


"^aaAiNn-av 


AjclOSANCElf 


Cf 


A^lllBRARYQc 


^IIIBRARYQ^ 


^<ffojnv3jo^ 


^«!/0JllV3JO^ 


^^\E  UNIVERS//i 


^lOSANCElfx^ 


^ll!BRARY6>/^       -^^ILIBRARY^: 


<^13DNVS01^        ■^/Ja3AINa-3l\V^  "^.i/OJnVJJO^      ^OdllVJJQ 


^OFCAllFOfi*^ 


^.OFCAIIFO«»^ 


■5,    ^^   w       w     ^ 


,\\^EUf^lVER% 


vvlOSANCElfju 

O 


^OFCAIIFO/?^^       ^OFCAllFOfl! 

u5  *      >*■    ^-    '-^ 


<f5i3DNYS0i^     "^aaAiNfl-JW^^       ""^(^Aavaaii^    %mw(^ 


\\\E  UNIVERS/A 


o 


^^\\El]NIVER% 

5v  «a»  <b 


O 

<ril33NVSOV'<^ 


^lOSANCElfjv 

CO 

"^AMAINIldWV^ 


^l05ANCElfj>, 
§  ^^ — .^ 


-^tUBRARYO^       -^IUBRARYG<- 


^OFCAilFOM^ 


^OFCAlIF0Mj5^ 


\WEl)NIVER5/A 


%jnVDJO=^  %i13QNVS01^ 


.^\^ElNIVERV/V 


"^ajAiNn-jwv^      '^(?Aiivaan#'     '^^Aavjian-];^       %i3aNvsm^ 


^lOSANCEl 


%a3AINfl]« 


^lOSANCElfj 


c? 
%a3AINrt3Vi 


^J^.uBRARYQ^       ^;jSlLIBRARYQ^         ^^MtUNIVERy/^ 


'^«ifOJnV3JO>'      ^<JOJI1V3JO>^ 


^OFCAUFO/?^      ^OFCAlIFORj^ 


'^J'iiaoNvsoi^ 


^10SANCEI/-J> 


A\^EUNIVER%        A>:lOSANCElfj> 


^^\MLi8RARY(9/ 


A^IUBRARYQ 


.^OFCAllFO% 


%0JI1V3J0- 
^OFCAllFOff^ 


(^i  i\©i  I'!®. 


'(d^J^t^^ 


RIDPATH'S 

History  of  the  World 

BEING  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  EVENTS  IN   THE  CAREER 

OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE  FROM  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF 

CIVILIZATION  TO  THE   PRESENT  TIME 

COMPRISING 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIAL  INSTITUTIONS 

AND 

THE  STORY  OF  ALL  NATIONS 


FROM   RECENT  AND   AUTHENTIC  SOURCES 


COMPLETE  IN  FIVE  VOLUMES 


By    JOHN    CLARK    RIDPATH,    LL  D. 

Author  of  a  "Cyclopaedia  of  Un'iversal  History,"  Etc. 


Vb'LU'M'E'I 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH   COLORED  PLATES,   RACE  MAPS  AND  CHARTS, 
TYPE   PICTURES,   SKETCHES  AND   DIAGRAMS 


CINCINNATI 

The  Jones  Brothers  Publishing  Company 

NEW   YORK 

Merrill  &  Baker 


€;op2risf)t  1894 
©opsriflbt  1895 
Copsris!)!  1897 
Coppriflfjt  1899 
^U  lonts  Brol|)frs  puilis^ina  (Compans. 


CO 
CD 


■=^ 


^o  ihe  QIEcmorg  of 

'TM^  SFctther  ctnb  TSUoiliev 

^^Sho    on    fhc   '^^ou^h   ^voniiev    of  ©ipxrisjaiioiar 
"toilet)  ant)  ^uffeveb  anb  ^icb  ihai 

®hcir   V^htltlrcn 


258674 


Preface  to  Volume  1. 


ITHIN  the  present  cent- 
ury the  motives  for  writ- 
ing History  have  been 
greatly  intensified.  First 
of  all,  the  vision  of  the 
historian  has  been  con- 
siderably widened  by  the 
enlargement  of  geographical  knowledge  and 
the  establishment  of  the  hitherto  uncertain 
limits  of  cities  and  states.  By  this  means  not 
a  few  of  the  puzzling  and  contradictory  as- 
pects of  the  old-time  annals  have  been  brought 
into  clearer  light  and  truer  proportion.  More 
particularly  in  Ancient  History  has  accurate 
geographical  information  contributed  to  the 
completeness  and  perspicuity  of  the  narrative. 
The  rectification  of  Chronology,  also,  has 
gone  forward  with  rapid  strides,  and  the  result 
has  been  no  less  than  the  writing  anew  of  whole 
paragraphs  in  the  earlier  chapters  of  human 
history.  If  to  this  we  add  the  splendid 
achievements  in  the  department  of  Archae- 
ology, in  deciphering  the  hitherto  mute  rec- 
ords of  antiquity,  and  in  interpreting  the 
significance  of  the  architectural  monuments  so 
abundant  in  most  of  the  countries  where  civil- 
ization has  flourished,  we  shall  find  a  large, 
even  an  imperative,  motive  for  reviewing  and 
re-writing  the  records  of  the  Ancient  World. 
It  is,  however,  most  of  all,  the  Scientific 
spirit  of  the  nineteenth  century  which  has 
demanded,  at  the  hands  of  the  historian,  an 
additional  guaranty  for  the  accuracy  of  his 
work.  This  spirit  is  abroad  in  all  the  world, 
and  prevails  most  of  all  in  the  highest  depart- 
ments of  human  thought  and  activity.  It 
has  not  hesitated  to  demand  that  History  shall 
become  a  science.  It  has  challenged  or  rejected 
the  value  of  all  historical  writings  that  are  not 
pervaded  with  the  scientific  method  and  modeled 
on  the  inductive  plan.  All  this  is  well;  the 
Historian  must  scrutinize  the  foundations  of 
his  work  and   the  validity  of  his  structure. 


It  is  to  motives  such  as  these  that  the  great 
historical  works  of  our  century  owe  their  ori- 
gin. But  for  such  reasons,  Wilkinson,  Ebers, 
Kawlinson,  Duucker,  and  Curtius  had  never 
written ;  and  the  world  would  still  be  blindly 
following  the  unsifted  stories  of  old.  Thus 
much  may  be  said,  then,  as  to  the  general 
reasons  for  writing  History. 

The  more  particular  motive  which  the  Au- 
thor of  the  present  work  has  to  offer  to  the  pub- 
lic for  undertaking  the  composition  of  a  book 
so  comprehensive  as  the  title  indicates,  is  this : 
A  desire  to  bring  within  the  reach  of  the  aver- 
age reader  a  concise  and  accurate  summary 
of  the  principal  events  in  the  career  of  the 
human  race.  The  historical  works  produced 
in  our  century  have  nearly  all  been  in  the 
nature  of  special  studies,  limited  in  their  scope 
to  a  particular  epoch.  The  result  has  been 
that  the  works  in  question  are  so  elaborate 
in  detail  and  so  recondite  in  method,  that 
the  common  reader  has  neither  courage  to 
undertake  nor  time  to  complete  them.  Be- 
fore a  single  topic  can  be  mastered,  he  finds 
himself  lost  in  a  labyrinth.  The  synthesis  of 
different  periods,  treated  by  different  authors, 
seems  impossible ;  he  tttrns  in  discouragement 
from  the  task;  and  to  him  the  history  of  the 
past  remains  a  sealed  fountain. 

It  has  thus  come  to  pass  that  the  average 
citizen,  who,  in  the  United  States  at  least,  is 
expected  to  have  accurate  general  views  on 
historical  questions,  may  reasonably  plead  in 
bar  that  the  historians,  by  not  considering  the 
limits  of  his  time  and  opportunity,  have  put 
the  required  knowledge  beyond  his  reach. 

Be  it  far  from  me  to  say  aught  in  dispar- 
agement of  the  learned  labors  of  our  great 
historians.  They  have  fairly  deserved  the 
plaudits  of  mankind.  It  can  not  be  denied, 
however,  ihat  the  best  of  our  recent  histor- 
ical works  are,  by  excess  of  learning  and  the 
dissertative   disposition   of  the  writers,  quite 

5 


PREFACE    TO    VOLUME   I. 


\  icoramensurate  with  the  demands,  and,  I  may 
s  ly,  the  needs  of  the  common  reader. 

It  has  been  my  jiurpose,  in  the  preparation 
of  these  volumes,  to  'pojiidarize  the  subject 
without  losing  sight  of  the  dignity  and  impor- 
tance of  the  historian's  office.  The  People  are 
as  much  entitled  to  accurate  information,  con- 
cisely and  graphically  conveyed,  as  scholars 
are  entitled  to  elaborate  dissertation.  It  is  a 
most  pernicious  error  to  admit  that  a  true 
epitome  of  History  can  be  hastily  and  easily 
prepared.  Such  a  work,  when  conscientiously 
undertaken,  requires  the  greatest  care  and 
the  highest  skill  in  execution. 

In  preparing  the  present  work,  I  have 
freely  availed  myself  of  the  best  and  most 
recent  authorities.  The  names  of  Wilkinson, 
Brugsch,  Bunsen,  Ebers,  Duncker,  Rawlinson, 
Smith,  Curtius,  Grote,  Niebuhr,  Falke,  INIomm- 
sen,  and  Von  Ranke  will  suggest  the  secondary 
sources  which  have  been  relied  upon ;  and  these 
names  are  the  guarantees  for  the  fundamental 
accuracy  of  the  narrative. 

As  to  the  style  adopted  in  the  following 
pages,  as  well  as  the  general  views  expressed, 
and  the  method  of  treatment  employed  in  the 
various  parts — these  are  the  Author's  own. 
It  has  been  my  hope  and  aim  in  this  work  to 
relate  the  History  of  the  World  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  bring  the  vast  record  within  a 
manageable  limit,  so  that  every  reader  who 
will,  may  obtain,  at  a  moderate  expense,  and 
master,  with  a  moderate  endeavor,  the  better 
parts  of  the  history  of  the  j^ast. 

A  word  of  explanation  may  be  required 
respecting  the  arrangement  of  the  earlier  parts 
of  the  present  work.  Instead  of  beginning, 
as  do  most  of  the  treatises  on  Ancient  History, 
with  the  Chaldtean  and  Assyrian  monarchies, 
I  have  chosen  to  begin  with  Egypt,  tracing, 
first  of  all,  the  history  of  that  country  down 
to  the  time  of  its  subjection  to  the  Persians; 
then  transferring  the  scene  to  Mesopotamia, 
and  following  thereafter  the  natural  course  of 
events  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Tiber — from 
Babylon  to  Rome.  The  choice  of  the  valley 
of  the  Nile,  rather  than  the  valley  of  the 
Tigris,  as  the  place  of  beginning,  has  been 
determined  by  chronological  considerations 
and  the  true  sequence  of  events. 

Celncastle,  1890. 


A  brief  explanation  is  also  demanded  re- 
specting the  line  of  division  between  Ancient 
and  Modern  History.  Instead  of  selecting  the 
downfall  of  the  Western  Empire  of  the  Romans 
(A.  D.  476)  as  the  line  of  demarkation  be- 
tween the  world  of  the  ancients  and  our  own, 
I  have  taken  the  overthi'ow  of  the  Greek  Em- 
pu'e  by  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  (A.  D. 
1453),  as  what  may  be  properly  called  the 
death  of  Antiquity.  True  it  is  that  Modern 
Europe  was  already  in  the  nascent  state  be- 
fore the  final  destruction  of  the  old  historical 
forces ;  and  for  that  reason  the  attention 
of  the  reader  will  be  recalled  after  the  over- 
throw of  the  Eastern  Empire,  by  the  span  of 
a  thousand  years,  to  the  story  of  the  Barbarian 
Nations,  which  may  be  fairly  regarded  as  the 
opening  scene  in  the  drama  of  modern  times. 

It  is  also  proper  to  add  a  word  respecting 
the  use  of  the  term  Cyclopedia  in  the  title 
of  these  volumes.  Popularly  speaking,  the 
word  is  limited  to  the  discussion  of  topics  al- 
phabetically arranged ;  but  neither  etymology 
nor  better  usage  in  literature  indicates  any 
such  limitation  of  meaning.  I  have  chosen 
to  use  the  word  in  its  truer  sense,  as  implying 
simply  a  discussion  of  the  whole  circle  of  the 
subject  under  consideration. 

As  it  respects  the  illustrative  part  of  the 
present  work,  it  may  be  said  that  the  aim  ha8 
been  kept  constantly  in  view  to  make  the  illus- 
trations contribute  to  a  ready  understanding 
and  apt  appreciation  of  the  text.  Great  care 
has  been  taken  in  the  preparation  of  the  maps 
with  which,  by  the  liberality  of  the  publishers, 
the  following  pages  are  so  copiously  inter- 
spersed. The  cuts  and  drawings  have  all  been 
selected  and  arranged  in  such  relation  with 
the  text  that  the  one  shall  illustrate  the  other. 

I  trust  that  the  work,  the  plan  and  motive 
of  which  I  have  thus  briefly  summarized,  may, 
in  the  present  Revised  and  Enlarged  Edition, 
meet  with  the  same  cordial  reception  at  the 
hands  of  the  public  which  has  been  extended 
to  the  author's  other  essays  in  historical  litera- 
ture. More  particularly  am  I  anxious  that 
these  volumes  may  prove  to  be  worthy  of  the 
appreciation  and  praise  of  my  countrymen,  to 
whose  candor  and  charitable  criticism  I  now 
surrender  the  fruit  of  my  labors. 

J.  C.  R 


Contents  of  Volume  I. 


PAGE. 

PREFACE, 5-6 

CONTENTS, 7-18 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS, 19-21 

INTRODUCTION, 23-24 


Book:  Kirst.— Eqypt. 


Chapter  I. — The  Country. 

General  Character  of  Africa.  —  Coasts  and 
Mountains. — Northern  Africa. — The  Nile  Valley.— 
Sources  of  the  River. —  The  White  and  Blue 
Niles. — Formation  of  Egypt.— Character  of  the 
Valley. — The  Delta. — Divisions  of  the  Country. — 
The  Houses.— The  Annual  Flood  of  the  Nile. — 
Height  of  the  Overflow. — Appearance  of  the  Wat- 
ers.— Deposit  from  the  Flood. — Advantages  to  a 
Primitive  People, 29-36 

Chapter  II. — The  People. 

Origin  of  the  Egyptians. — Not  Semites  or  Ne- 
groes.— Impulse  of  Immigrant  Tribes. — The  Egyp- 
tians Cushite. — Four  Races  known  in  the  Valley. — 
Natural  Conditions  of  Civilization  in  Egypt. — Fer- 
tility.— Annual  Flood. —  Isolation. — Fixedness  of 
Natural  Aspect. — Suggestion  of  Cities. — The  Sol- 
dier and  the  Priest. — Reflex  Effect  of  Mystery — Nat- 
ural Suggestion  of  Monarchy. — Personal  Qualities 
of  the  Egyptians. — Stature  and  Physiognomy.^ 
Longevity, 36-41 

Chapter  III. — Civil  and  Military  Annals, 

Obscurity  of  Ancient  Dates. — Herodotus  and 
the  Priests. — Dynasties  of  Gods  and  Men. — At- 
tempted Chronology. — Diodorus  and  his  Dates. — 
Opening  of  the  Monuments.^Manetho. — Diodorus 
corrects  Himself.^What  the  Problem  is. — Were 
the  Dynasties  Consecutive  or  Contemporaneous  ?— 
Views  of  Modern  Scholars. — Mariette. — Brugsch. — 
Lepsius. — Duncker. — Results. — Reign  of  Menes. — 
Founding  of  Memphis.  —  Pul^lic  Works. —  King 
Ateta. — Kenkenes,  Uenephes,  and  Semenpses. — 
Butan  and  Kakan. — Bainnuter. — Nephercheres. — 
Lesochris. — Nebka. — Tosorthros. — Snefru. — Acces- 
sion of  Khufu. — Age  of  the  Pyramids. — Origin  and 
Character  of  the  Monuments. — Description  of  the 
Pyramids  of  Ghizeh. — How  they  were  Built. — Con- 
jectural Uses. — Reigns  of  Khufu,  Khafra,  and 
Menkera. — Wars  of  these  Kings. — The  Sphinx. — 
Oppressions  of  the  Fourth  Dynasty. — Decline  un- 


der Dynasty  V. — Ptah-Hotep  and  Una. — Sixth 
Dynasty. — Foreign  Wars  undertaken. — Campaigns 
of  Una.^ — Reign  of  Pepi. — Extension  of  Egyptian 
Power. — Merenra. — Neferkara. —  Nitocris. — Dynas- 
ties VII.,  VIIL,  IX.,  X.— Twelfth  Dynasty  estab- 
lished by  Amenemha. — Extent  of  his  Authority. — 
Usertesen  I. — Inscriptions  and  Obelisks. — Succeed- 
ing Usertesidae. — The  Feiyoom. — Lake  Moeris. — 
The  Labyrinth. — Tombs  of  Benihassan. — Display 
of  Manners. — Queen  Sebeknefrura. — Government 
at  Xo'is.^ — Failure  of  National  Power. — Coming  of 
the  Hyksos. — Devastation  of  Egypt. — Revolt  against 
the  Shepherds. —  Recovery  of  Independence. — 
Thebes  Ascendant. — Aahmes  and  Tuthmosis. — 
Hatasu. — Tuthmosis  III.  and  IV. — Queen  Tai. — 
Amenophis  IV. —  House  of  Ramses. —  Seti  I. — 
Ramses  II. —  His  Great  Campaigns. —  His  Public 
Works. — Monumental  Evidences  of  his  Renown. — 
Greatness  of  Thebes. — Menepta. — Primitive  Is- 
rael.— The  Children  of  Jacob  in  Egypt. — Story  of 
the  Exodus. — Seti  II.  and  Menepta  II. — The  Later 
Ramesians. — Dynasties  XIX.  and  XX. — Foreign 
Influences  in  Egypt. — The  Priestly  House. — Disin- 
tegration of  the  Kingdom. — Revival  under  Taf- 
nekht. — House  of  Sais. — Divisions  of  the  Coun- 
try.— War  with  Ethiopia. — Country  invaded  by  the 
Assyrians. — Esarhaddon  breaks  Egypt  into  Prov- 
inces.— Destruction  of  National  Spirit. — Reign  of 
Psametik  I. — Circumnavigation  of  Africa. — Battle 
of  Carchemish. — The  Last  Pharaohs. — Conquest  of 
Egypt  by  Cambyses, 41-71 

Chapter  IV. — Manners  and  Customs. 

Literature  of  Egypt. — Delineation  of  Manners 
and  Customs. — Rank  of  the  King. — His  Importance 
in  the  State. — Regarded  as  a  Deity. — His  Name 
and  Attributes  the  Same  as  those  of  the  Deity. — 
The  Discipline  of  his  Life. — Care  taken  of  his 
Person.  —  Daily  Ceremonial.  —  Public  Pageant.  — 
The  King's  Court.— The  Great  Tribunal.— Judi- 
cial and  Administrative  Officers.  —  Furniture  of 
Royal  Apartments. — Death  of  a  King. — Woman 
entitled  to  Succession. — Few  Great  Egyptians.— 


8 


CONTENTS    OF    VOLUME   I. 


The  Military  Caste. — Weaponry, — Organization  of 
the  Army. — The  Priests. — Exemption  from  Secu- 
lar Duties. — Supported  at  Public  Expense. — Elab- 
orate Ceremonial. —  Classes  of  Priests. — Famous 
Shrines.— Colleges. — Priesthood  Hereditary. — Dis- 
cipUne  of  the  Priests. — Personal  Purity. — Food. — 
Celibacy. — Common  People. — Vocations. —  Hered- 
ity.—Transmitted  Skill. — Changes  from  Rank  to 
Rank. — Land-ownership. — Subjection  of  the  Peo- 
ple.—  Prosperity  of  tho  Peasants. —  The  Peasant 
Home.  —  Amusements  and  Sports.  —  Games  Dis- 
played in  Sculpture. — Gaming,  Music,  and  Danc- 
ing. —  The  Ox-song.  —  Egyptian  Sepulture.  —  Em- 
balming.—  The  Process  Described. —  Preparation 
of  Mummies.  —  Solemnity  of  Egyptian  Funeral 
Rites. — Ancestral  Worship. — Crossing  the  Lake  of 
the  Dead, 71-83 

Chapter  V. — Religion  and  Art. 

Primitive  Beliefs  of  the  Eg3'ptians. — AVere  they 
Monotheistic? — Not  Idolaters. — The  God  Ptah. — 


His  Worship. — Theory  of  Worship.  —  Titles  of 
Ptah. — His  Emblems. — Ra. — Where  Worshiped. — 
How  Represented. — Associated  with  Other  De- 
ities.—  Emblems. — Titles. — Amun. — Atmu. — Turn 
and  Meutu. — Seb  and  Tefnet. — Osiris  and  Isis. — 
Seats  of  their  Worship. — Set. — Symbolism  of  Osi- 
ris and  Isis. —  Horus. —  Kathor. —  Thoth. —  Minor 
Divinities  of  Egypt. — Adoration  of  Animals. — The 
Sacred  Creatures.  —  The  Ibis.  —  Apis.  —  Bennu. — 
The  Phcenix. — Lesser  Sacred  Beasts. — Better  Con- 
cepts.— The  Day  of  Judgment. — Practical  Ethics. — 
Religious  Bias  of  Egyptian  Law. — Strifes  of  Towns 
Respecting  Sacred  Animals. — Egyptian  Art  Asso- 
ciated with  Religion. — Splendid  Ruins  of  the  Nile 
Valley. — Architecture. — Building  Materials. — Pro- 
fusion of  Sculpture. — The  Column. — Various  Or- 
ders.— Statuary. — Obelisks. — Writing. — The  Hier- 
oglyphics. —  Their  Explication.  —  Hieratic  and 
Demotic  Characters.  —  Coptic.  —  Egyptian  Paint- 
ing.— Scene  in  the  Temple  of  Medinet-Habu.— 
Egyptians  Wanting  in  Ideality, 83-102 


BOOK  Second— Chald^ea. 


Chapter  VI. — The  Country. 

Geographical  Character  of  Mesopotamia. — Eu- 
phrates and  Tigris.  —  Their  Valleys.  —  Annual 
Floods. — Tributaries. — Dwindling  of  the  Euphra- 
tes.— The  Chaldsean  Plain. — Aspect  of  the  Coun- 
try.— Extent  and  Shape. — Recession  of  thfi  Persian 
Gulf. — Elements  of  Natural  AVealth. — Man  Early 
Attracted  to  the  Situation. — Proximity  of  Se^^. — 
Advantages  of  the  Primitive  Chaldseans,  .  103-107 

Chapter  VII. — People  and  Language, 

Ethnic  Place  of  the  Chaldseans  Considered.— 
Recent  Classification  of  Races. — The  Aryan  Race. — 
Its  Distribution. — The  Semitic  Race. — The  Ham- 
itic  Race. — Kinship  of  Chaldpeans  and  Egyptians. — 
The  Chaldseans  Modified  by  Other  Peoples. — Per- 
sonal Characteristics.  —  Pursuits.  —  Skill.  —  The 
Name  Chaldcean. — Principal  Tribes. — Character  of 
the  Chaldee  Language. — Writing,  ....  108-111 

Chapter  VIII. — Chronology  and  Annals. 

Berosus.— Fragments  of  His  Works. — Tradition 
of  the  Creation. — Oan  teaches  Men. — Early  Dy- 
nasties.—Chaldsean  Tradition  of  the  Flood. — The 
Same  compared  with  the  Assyrian  Account. — 
Other  Traditions  of  a  Deluge. — Deeds  and  Fame 
of  Nimrod.— Tribal  Movements  of  his  Epoch. — 
Urukh,  the  Builder.— Style  of  his  Structures.— 
Ruins  of  Warka.— The  Temple.— Inscriptions  of 
Bricks.  —  The  Mugheir  Ruins.  —  Description  of 
Moon-god  Temple.  —  Calneh  and  Larsa.  —  Ur. — 
Reign  of  Ilgi. — Chaldaea  conquered  by  Elam. — 
^udur-Nakhunta. —  Kudur-Lagamer. —  His     Con- 


quests in  the  West. — Abraham. — Other  Elamite 
Sovereigns.  —  Dynasty  Third.  —  Kings  of  Fourth 
Dynasty. — Ismi-Dagon. — Gurguna. — Haram-Sin. — 
Babylon  the  Capital. —  INIinor  Reigns. — Arabian 
Dynasty. —  Khammu-Rabi. —  Samsu-Iluna. —  Kara- 
In-Das. — Kara-Khar- Das. — Purra-Puriyas. — Kurri- 
Galzu. — Assyrian  Conquest  of  Chaldsea. — Con- 
dition of  Lower  Mesopotamia  thereafter. — An- 
tiquity of  the  Country. — Its  Importance  in  Early 
History. — Imperfect  Knowledge  of  the  Kingdom. — 
Present  Knowledge  only  an  Outline,  .  .    .  111-123 

Chapter  IX. — Science  and  Art. 

Fame  of  the  Chaldseans. — Learning  Based  on 
Industrial  Pursuits. — The  Industries  of  Chaldsea. — 
Houses. — Temples. — Absence  of  Stone. — Varieties 
of  Bricks. — How  built  in  Walls. — Mortar. — Tem- 
ple of  Abu-Sharein. — Wanting  in  Beauty. — Inner 
Shrines. — Dwellings  and  Huts. — Details  of  Struc- 
ture. —  Chrildsean  Burying  -  places.  —  Methods  of 
Sepulture.— Coffins. — Drainage. — Pottery. — Signet- 
Cylinders.  —  Tools.  —  Metals.  —  Fabrics. — Chaldsea 
Favorably  Situ.ited  for  the  Study  of  Nature. — As- 
tronomical Knowledge.  —  Measurement  of  Time 
and  Distance. — Records  of  Eclipses. — Numbers. — 
Weights.  —  Writing-  —  The  Cuneiform  Method. — 
Tablets  and  Plates- — Gem  Engraving,  .    .   123-131 

Chapter  X. — Religion. 

Chaldsean  Views  ef  Creation. — Myths  and  Tra- 
ditions. —  Sky-gods.  —  Doctrine  of  El.  —  Anu.  — 
Bel. — Mixed  with  the  Myth  of  Nimrod. — Hea. — 
The  Moon-god  Sin.  —  Called  Hurki.  —  Samas. — 
Bin. — Adar. — Mingled  with   the  Fisb-god. — Tern- 


CONTENTS   OF    VOLUME   I. 


9 


pies  of  Bin. — Merodach. — Nergal. — The  Chaldsean 
Venus. — Manner  of  the  Pilgrims  at  her  Shrine. — 
The  Goddess  Istar.  —  Similar  to  Proserpina.  — 
Nebo. — Similar  to  Hermes. — Sometimes  omitted 
from  Lists. — The  Goddesses  Dar-Kina  and  Beltis. — 
Anata. — Anunit. —  Zir-Banit. —  Nana. — Varamit. — 


Incitements  to  Planet  "Worship  in  Chaldsea.— The 
Houses  of  the  Zodiac.  —  Primitive  Eeligion  and 
Primitive  Science.  —  What  the  Priest  taught.— 
What  the  Poet  taught.— What  the  Sage  taught.— 
Blending  of  the  Three  Revelations  by  the  Chal- 
dsean Seers, 132-140 


BOOK  Third.— Assyria. 


Chapter  XI. — Country  and  Products. 

Character  of  Upper  Mesopotamia.  —  Doubtful 
Boundaries. — Probable  Limits. — Extent  of  Assyria 
Proper. — Eastern  Assyria. — Its  Rivers. — The  Two 
Zabs. — Western  Assyria. — Its  Streams. — Aspect  of 
Mesopotamia. — The  Country  divided  by  Sinjar. — 
The  Two  Slopes. — Xenoi^hon's  Description. — Im- 
perfect Geography. — Character  of  Aturia. — Other 
Provinces. — Western  Districts. — Wide  Distribution 
of  Ruins. — Assyria  fortified  by  the  Zagros  and 
Armenian  Mountains. — On  the  AVest  and  South 
by  Deserts. — Southern  Border  exposed. — Diversi- 
ties of  Climate. — Phenomena  of  Eastern  Assyria. — 
Of  Northern  Mesopotamia. — Of  Central  Mesopo- 
tamia.— Great  Changes  of  Temperature. — Torrid 
Climate  of  Southern  Assyria. — Modified  by  Civili- 
zation.— Striking  Changes  in  Landscape. — Ancient 
Advantages  lost  in  Modern  Times. — Easy  Irriga- 
tion of  the  Country. — Assyrian  Products. — Enu- 
meration of  Things  grown. — Present  Productions 
the  same  as  those  of  Antiquity. — List  of  Principal 
Products.^The  Manna. — The  Mineral  Supply. — 
The  Wild  Beasts  of  Assyria. — The  Wild  Ass  in  Par- 
ticular.— Horses. — Cattle. — Camels  and  Dromeda- 
ries. —  Assyrian  Birds.  —  The  Ostrich  and  the 
Partridge.  —  Waterfowl  and  Birds  of  Prey.  — 
Fishes, 143-153 

Chapter  XII. — People  and  Cities. 

The  Assyrians  Semites. — Ethnic  Place  cf  th 
Race. — Determined  by  Language  and  Tradition. — 
Form  and  Feature  of  the  People. — Jewish  Physi- 
ognomy.— Brawny  Character  of  the  Assyrians. — 
Like  the  Jews  in  Religious  Belief. — The  Assyrians 
Warlike  and  Brave. — Aggressive  Disposition. — 
Cruelty  and  Ferocity. — A  People  of  Pride  and 
Haughtiness. — Have  the  Reputation  of  Craft  and 
Perfidy. — Luxurious  Habits. — Pleasure  the  End 
of  Life. — Learning  derived  from  the  Chaldseans. — 
Superiority  of  the  Assyrians  in  Government. — 
Lacking  in  Scientific  Knowledge. — Assyrian  Ar- 
chitecture considered. —  The  Building  Imagina- 
tion.— Assyria  next  to  Egypt  in  Structure. — Ruins 
of  Nineveh. — Description  of  the  Movmds. — The  An^ 
cient  City. — Its  Relation  to  the  Tigris. — Size  and 
Population  of  Nineveh. — Mistaken  Limits  of  the 
City. — What  should  be  included  and  what  ex- 
cluded.—The  Walls  of  Nineveh.— The  Gates.— The 


Towers.— Other  Defenses.— Difficulty  of  recon- 
structing the  Ancient  City.— Ruins  of  Calah.— Gen- 
eral Character  of  Nimrud.— Wasted  by  the  Ti- 
gris.—Royal  Palaces.— Described  by  Xenophon.— 
Khorsabad.— The  Mounds. — Wall.— Ruins  of  Ke- 
remles.— And  of  Asshur.— The  Site  and  Surround- 
ings.—Other  Ruins.— Building  Activity  of  the 
Assyrians, 153-161 

Chapter  XIII. — Chronology  and  Annals. 

Colonization  of  Assyria. — Babylonian  Origin. — 
Data  of  Early  History.— Table  of  Dynasties  and 
Kings. — The  Chronology. —  Legendary  Period. — 
Prehistoric  Glimpses.  —  Asshur-Upalllt  and  th« 
Chaldsean  Rulers. — The  Period  Succeeding. — Shal- 
maneser  I.  establishes  Empire  on  the  Tigris. — Tig- 
lathi-Adar  the  True  Founder  of  Assyria. — Re- 
duces Chaldsea  to  Dependence. — The  Succession 
broken. — Bel-Kudur's  War  with  Babylon. — Reign 
of  Asshur-Dayan.— Mutaggll  and  Ris-Illm. — For- 
eign Wars. — Chronicle  of  Tiglath-Pileser  I. — Hia 
Great  Wars. — The  Surrounding  Nations  are  con- 
quered.—Personal  Exploits  of  Tlglath. — A  Builder 
of  Temples. — Specimen  of  his  Inscriptions. — An 
Uncertain  War  -with  Babylon. —  Continuance  of 
the  same  under  BU-Kala. — Period  of  Decadence. — 
Reputation  of  Assyria. — Revival  of  the  Empire 
under  Izir-Pal. — His  Conquests. — Riches  and  Glory 
of  Nineveh.— Izir-Pal's  Palace  at  Calah.— The  Cit- 
ies flourish. — Shalmaneser  II.  maintains  the  Fame 
of  his  Father. — His  Syrian  Wars.— Conquers  Da- 
mascus.— Patronizes  Architecture  and  Letters. — 
The  Black  Obelisk.— Civil  War  of  Danin-Pal  and 
Shamus-Vul. — Reign  of  the  Latter. — His  Cam- 
paigns.— Conquest  of  Babylon. — Character  of  Sha- 
mus-Vul.— Reign  of  Vul-Lush  III. — Relics  of  his 
Time. — Legend  of  Semiramis. — Decay  and  Luxury 
following  Vul-Lush  III. — Doubtful  Dynasty  of 
Pul.  —  Assyria  and  Israel.  —  Tiglath-Pileser  II. 
reigns. — A  Reformer. — Reduces  Babylon. — Makes 
War  on  Samaria  and  Judah. — Supports  Ahaz 
against  Rezln  of  Damascus. — Carries  ofi"  the  Israel- 
ites.— Overawes  all  Syria. — Rebellion  of  Hoshea. — 
Shalmaneser  II.  reigns. — Affairs  in  Egypt. — The 
Assyrian  King  defeats  Hoshea. — Besieges  Tyre. — 
Revolution  headed  by  Sargon. — The  Latter  reduces 
Susiana  and  Babylon. — Defeats  the  Assyrian  Al- 
lies.—Comes  in  Conflict  with  Egypt.— Battle   of 


10 


CONTENTS   OF    VOLUME   I. 


Raphia.— Subdues  the  Arabs.— Puts  down  Revolts 
in  Philistia. — Suppresses  the  Insurrection  of  Mero- 
dach-Baladan.— Holds  Sway  at  Babylon.— Bad 
Success  in  Armenia. — Interferes  in  Elam. — Policy 
of  Deportation.— The  City  of  Sargon.— Sennacherib 
comes  to  the  Throne. — Insurrection  of  Babylon. — 
The  King  Victorious.— Overawes  Sidon. — Egypt 
goes  to  War. — Battle  of  Eltekeh.— The  King  over- 
runs Judah. —  Deports  the  Israehtes.  —  Subdues 
Revolt  in  Babylon.— Bad  Faith  of  Hezekiah.— De- 
struction of  Sennacherib's  Army. — War  with  Me- 
dia.— Afiair  of  Beth-Yakin. — Defeat  of  the  Malcon- 
tents of  the  South. — Overruns  Susiana. — Battle  of 
Chaluli. — War  yvith  Cilicia. — Monuments  of  Sen- 
nacherib.— His  Character. — Esar-Haddon  obtains 
the  Throne. — His  Wars. — Various  Expeditions. — 
Invades  Edom. — Conquers  Bazu. — Establishes  As- 
syrian Authority  in  Egypt. — Captures  Manasseh. — 
Accession  of  Asshur-Bani-Pal.  —  Defeats  Tirha- 
kah. — Egypt  overrun  by  Ethiopians. — Assyria  Vic- 
torious.— The  King's  other  Wars. — Restores  Order 
in  Susiana. — Reduces   that   Country   to   a   Prov- 


ince.— Affairs  in  Lydia. — The  King  defeats  the 
Arabs. — Decline  of  the  Empire. — War  with  Me- 
dia.— The  Scythian  Deluge.  —  Ravages  of  the 
Barbarians. — Accession  of  Saracus. — Invasion  of 
Assyria  by  Cyaxeres. — Overthrow  of  the  Em- 
pire,    162-190 

Chapter  XIV. — Religion  and  Art. 

Assyrian  Gods  derived  from  Clialdaea. — As- 
shur — His  Powers  and  Emblems. — Minor  Deities. — 
Place  of  Anu. — Attributes  and  Symbols  of  Bel. — 
Hea. — The  Moon-god  Sin.— Shamas-Vul. — Ninus. — 
His  Emblems.  — Merodach. — Nergal. — Nebo. — As- 
syrian Goddesses. — Associated  with  Male  Deities. — 
Table  of  the  Assyrian  System. — The  Good  Genius. — 
The  Evil  Genius. — Idolatry  of  the  Assyrians. — As- 
syrian Ethics. — Religious  Ceremonial. — Feebleness 
of  the  System. — Assyrian  Learning  derived  from 
Babylon. — Method  of  Writing. — Tablets  and  Cyl- 
inders. —  Cuneiform  Inscriptions.  —  Sculpture. — 
Trades  and  Manufactures. — Skill  of  the  Assyrians 
in  Industrial  Art, 191-200 


Book:    Kourth.— IVIedia. 


Chapter  XV. — Country  and  Products. 

General  Features  of  Media.— Natural  and  Polit- 
ical Boundaries. — Mountain  Ranges.— Zagros  and 
Elburz. — Aspect  of  the  Country.— ]Median  Rivers. — 
Cheerless  Landscapes. —  Poor  in  Water.— Lake 
Urumiyeh. — Provinces  of  Media. — The  Capital. — 
Features  of  Ecbatana. — Palace  and  Citadel. — The 
Northern  City. — Rhaga. — Charax.— Other  Towns.— 
Rock  of  Behistun. — The  Median  Climate. — Ex- 
tremes of  Temperature. — Atmospheric  Phenom- 
ena.—  Influence  of  Mountains. —  Rare  Rains. — 
Whirlwind  and  Mirage. — Forest  Gi'owth. — Or- 
chards.— Products  of  the  Soil.— Crops  of  the 
Plateau.— Gardens  and  Flowers. — Mineral  Wealth 
of  Media.— Wild  Beasts.— Domestic  Animals. — 
Birds.— Fishes  and   Reptiles, 201-210 

Chapter  XVI. — The  People. 

The  People  called  Medes. — Iranic  Origin. — 
Physical  Type. —  Beauty  and  Strength  of  the 
]\Iedes. —  Heroism. —  Horsemanship.  —  Intellectual 
Qualities.—  Cruelty.—  Luxury. — Warlike  Disposi- 
tion.— Weaponry  and  Tactics. — Median  Dress. — 
Toilet  and  Ornaments. — Polygamy. — Royal  Cere- 
monial.—  Hunting. — Animals  Pursued.  — Median 
Banquets. — The  King's  Life. — Absence  of  Gen- 
ius.—Art  of  the  Medes, 211-215 

Chapter  XVII. — ^Language  and  Religion. 

The  Aryan  Speech.— Affinities  of  the  Median 
and  Persian  Languages. — Few   Remnants  of  Me- 


dian Proper. — Art  of  Writing. — System  of  Alpha- 
bet.— Arrowhead  Method. — Materials  used. — The 
Zendavesta. — The  Nature  Worship  of  the  Irani' 
ans. — Priests. — Ahura-Mazdao. — His  Attributes. — • 
Sraosha. — Armati. —  Spirit  and  Duty. — The  gexia 
una. —  Mithra  and  Vayu. —  Soma. —  Devas  and 
Ahuras. — Incoming  of  Dualism. — Ahriman. — Prac- 
tical Ethics. — Sacrifices. — Eternal  Things. — Resur- 
rection. — Myth  of  King  Yima. — Legend  of  Thrse- 
tona. — Common  Myths  of  the  Medes  and  the 
Greeks. — System  of  Magism. — Sacred  Elements. — 
Disposal  of  the  Dead. — Divination. — Insecticide. — 
Impressiveness  of  the  System, 216-224 

Chapter  XVIII. — Civil  and  Military  An- 
nals. 

The  Madai. — Obscure  Origin. — Beginning  of 
National  History. — Early  Relations  with  Assyria.— 
Conquest  of  Media  by  Sargon. — The  Mythical  Dei- 
oces. — Appearance  of  Cyaxares. —  Organizes  the 
Kmgdom. — Makes  War  on  Assyria. — Is  routed. — 
Reorganizes  his  Army. — The  Invasion  of  Assyria 
again  Undertaken. — Incoming  of  the  Scythians. — 
They  seize  the  Country. — A  Reign  of  Terror. — 
Ended  by  the  Butchery  of  the  Scyths. — Cyaxares 
negotiates  with  Babylon. — Insurrection  and  Inva- 
sion join  Hands. — The  Assyrians  defeated. — Over- 
throw of  Nineveh. — Division  of  the  Empire. — 
Other  Wars  of  Cyaxares.— Overruns  Asia  Minor. — 
Battle  of  the  Eclipse.^ — Peace  made  with  Alyat- 
tes. — Sketch  of  Lydia. — Reign  of  Gyges. — Sardis. — 
Besieged  by  the  Cimmerians. — Alyattes    expels 


CONTENTS   OF    VOLUME   I. 


11 


the  Barbarians.— Gold  of  Sardis.— The  Three 
Powers  of  Western  Asia.— Period  of  Peace.— Am- 
bition of  Necho.— Battle  of'Carchemish.— Ciiarac- 
ter  of  Cyaxiires.— Reign  of  Astyages.— He  adds 
Cadusi.,  to  Media.— Method  of  Government.— 
Royal  Ceremonial.— Hunting.— Magism.— Rise  of 
Persia.— Cyrus  at  Ecbatana.— Intrigue  and  Coun- 


ter-plot.—Prophecy.— Cyrus  flees.— Median  Inva- 
sion of  Persia.  —  Battles.  —  Overthrow  of  the 
Medes.— Reversal  of  the  Position  of  the  Two 
Kingdoms.— Establishment  of  the  Medo-Persian 
p^j^ver.— Causes  of  the  Catastrophe.— Personal  In- 
fluence of  Cyrus, 224-238 


book:    Fiktth— babylonia. 


Chapter  XIX.— The  Country. 

Sketch  of  Lower  Mesopotamia.  —  Babylonia 
Proper.— Character  of  Susiana.— The  Euphrates 
Valley.— Products.— Mesopotamia  Proper.— Sketch 
of  the  Region.— Northern  Syria.— Syria  Proper.— 
HoUow  Syria.— Gateway  between  Asia  and  Af- 
rica.—Phoenicia.— Its  Advantages.— Early  Civili- 
zation. —  Tyre  and  Sidon.  —  Damascus.  —  Pales- 
tine.—Peculiar  Character  of  the  Valley.—  Petty 
Israelitish  States.  —  Philistia.  —  Idumsea.  —  Pal- 
myra.—Extent  of  the  Babylonian  Empire.— Its 
Rivers.— Oroatis.—Jerahi.—  Kuran  and  Dizful.— 
Kerkah.— Sajur  and  Kowcik.—Orontes.— Litany.— 
Barada.— Jordan.— Jarmuk  and  Jabbok.— Lakes. — 
Sabakhah.— Bahr-el-Melak.— Dead  Sea.— Its  Pecu- 
liarities.—Sea  of  Tiberiau.— Bahr-el-Huleh.— Bahr- 
el-Kades.— The  Arabian  Desert.— The  Egyptian 
239-2-n 


Empire, 

Chapter  XX.— Climate  and  Products. 

High  Temperatures  of  Babylonia.— Variations 
In  Difl'erent  Regions.— The  Sirocco.— Destruction 
of  Forests.— The  Cereals.— Abundant  yields.— 
Forest  growths.— General  Products  of  Syria.— 
Those  of  Palestine.— Mineral  Resources  of  Baby- 
lonia.— Gems.— Building  Materials.—  Babylonian 
Animals.— Birds.— The  Gray  Heron.— Fishes.— 
Domestic  Animals.— Camel.— Buflalo, .  .    •  250-254 

Chapter  XXI.— People  and  Cities. 

Mixed  Character  of  the  Babylonians. — Three 
Race  Elements  Predominant. — Physical  Appear- 
ance of  the  Babylonians.  —  Like  the  Assyr- 
ians.— Features. — The  Susianians.^ — Hair-dress. — 
Beards.— Swart  Complexion. — Intellectual  Charac- 
teristics.— Babylonian  Science. — Energy  and  En- 
terprise.— Avarice.  — Luxurious  Living.— Strength 
and  Heroism.— Cruelty. — Usages  of  War. — Meth- 
ods of  Civil  Government. — Pride  and  Egotism  — 
Religion. — Practical  Ethics. — Calm  Demeanor. — 
The  City  of  Babylon.— Size  and  Character  of  the 
Metropolis. — Great  Structures. — Temple  of  Belus — 
The  Royal  Palace.— The  Hanging  Gardens.— How 
watered. — The  Smaller  Palace. — The  Walls  of  Bab- 
ylon.—The  Towers. — Splendor  of  the  City. — Ex- 
isting Ruins. — Remains  of  El-Kasr  and  Amran. — 
The   Birs-Nimrud.— The  Old  Temple  of   Nebo.— 


Its  Mythological  Character.— Other  Characteris- 
tics.— Borsippa. — Opis  and  Teredon. — Susa.— Car- 
chemish.—  Tyre.  —  Her  Manufactures.  —  Sidon — 
Ashdod. — Jerusalem, 254-267 

Chapter  XXII.— Arts  and  Sciences. 

Babylonian  Architecture,— Must  be  studied  in 
Ruins.— The  Mounds.— Materials  of  Structure.— 
Plan  of  Structure.— Designs  in  Color.— The  Baby- 
lonian Palaces.— Bridges.— Bricks.— How  laid.— 
Cement.— Great  Magnitude  of  Buildings.— Rude 
Character  of  Painting  and  Sculpture.— Best  Speci- 
mens— Gem-engraving.—  Caricature.  —  Problems 
of  Stone-cutting.— Enameling.— Pigments.— Paint- 
ing in  Relief.— Metallurgy.— Pottery.— Glazing.— 
Glass-blowing.— Textile  Fabrics.— Brilliant  Dyes.— 
Lore  of  the  Chaldees.  —  Astronomy  in  Partic- 
ular.- Relics  of  Babylonian  Star-lore.— Measure- 
ment of  Time.— Uses  of  Eastern  Learning.— As- 
trology,    267-274 

Chapter  XXIII.— Manners  and  Customs. 

Meager  Personal  Monuments.— Dress  and  Habit 
of  the  Babylonians.— Articles  of  Adornment.— 
Priestly  Garments.— Military  Dress.— Weapons.— 
Organization  of  the  Babylonian  Army.— Usages  in 
■\Yar.  —  Objects  of  Invasion.  —  Priests.— Several 
Classes  of  Scholars.  —  Influence  of  Learning.— 
Schools.— Common  Vocations.— Commerce  in  Par- 
ticular.—Exports  and  Imports.— Babylonian  Lux- 
ury—Banquets.— Position  of  Women.— Degrading 
Customs.— Traces  of  Esteem  for  the  Sex,    274-278 

Chapter  XXIV.— Religion. 

Religious  Beliefs  derived  from  the  Chaldees.— 
Sli-ht  Variations  from  the  Old  System.-Princ.pal 
Deities  -Bel,  Merodach,  and  Nebo.-Images  of  the 
Gods.-Retinues  of  Priests.-Ceremonial.-Proces- 
sions  and  Banquets.-Cleanness  and  Unclean- 
ness -Symbolism  of  the  Babylonian  System.- 
Emblems  of  the  Deities.-Signs  not  understood.- 
Symbolic  Names  of  Temples, 278-280 

Chapter  XXV.— Civil  and  Military  An- 
nals. 
Periods    of    Babylonian    History.— Babylon   a 
Vice-royalty  of  Assyria.— Early  Troubles  between 


12 


COJSTTENTS   OF    VOLUME   I. 


the  North  and  the  South. — Alternate  Independ- 
ence and  Suppression. —  Syrian  Invasions. — Tlie 
Kingdom  established  by  Nabonassar. — Pileser  II. 
and  Merodach-Baladan.  —  Semiramis.  —  Obscure 
Successor  of  ITabonassar. — Merodach-Baladan  gains 
the  Throne. — The  Great  Conflict  with  Sargon. — 
The  Latter  Victorious.— Babylon  subordinated  for 
Seventy-five  Years. — Appearance  of  Nabopolas- 
sar.— His  Collusion  with  Cyaxares.— Success  of  the 
Conspiracy.— Nabopolassar  becomes  King.— Foreign 
Relations. — Babylonia  in  Alliance  with  Media. — 
Battle  of  Megiddo.— Necho's  Invasion  of  Babylo- 
nia.—Rout  of  the  Egyptians  at  Carchemish.— Neb- 
uchadnezzar triumplis  in  the  West. — He  becomes 
King. — Revolt  of  the  Phoenician  Cities.— Siege  of 
Tyre. — Insurrection  of  Jewry. — Zedekiah's  Fate- — 
Sketch  of  Israel  after  the  Exodus.— Entrance  into 
Canaan. — Division  of  the  Country. — The  Theoc- 
racy.— Establishment  of  the  Kingdom.— Career  of 


Saul. — Accession  of  David. — His  Wars. — Strife  of 
his  Sons. — Reign  of  Solomon. — Division  of  the 
Kingdom. — Jeroboam  rules  Israel. — Succession  of 
Israelitish  Rulers. — Overthrow  of  the  Kingdom. — 
Line  of  Rulers  in  Judah  from  Rehoboam  to  Zede- 
kiah. — Capture  of  Tyre. — War  with  Egypt  re- 
sumed.— Its  Result. — Traditions  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar.— Captives  in  Babylon. — Their  Work  in  that 
Metropolis. — Great  Cities  and  Enterprises. —  Char- 
acter of  Nebuchadnezzar. — His  Pride. — Falls  to 
dreaming. — The  Hebrew  Daniel  tells  him  the 
meaning. — The  King  goes  Insane. — Evil-lNIerodach 
succeeds  to  the  Throne. — Revolution. — Neriglissar 
reigns. — ^Nabonadius  obtains  the  Crown. —  The 
Shadow  of  Persia. — Babylonian  Alliance  with 
Lydia. — Attempts  to  protect  Babylon. — Lydia  falls 
before  the  ]\Iedes. — Cyrus  invades  Babylonia. — De- 
feats Nabonadius. — Capture  of  Babylon  by  the 
Persians.— End  of  the  Empire, 281-302 


BOOK    Si:KTH:.— PERSIA. 


Chapter  XXVI. — The  Country. 

Territorial  greatness  of  the  Empire.— Political 
divisions. — Persia  Proper. — Climate  and  Character- 
istics.—Rivers. —  Lakes. —  Mountains.  —  Districts. — 
Forests. — Plateau  of  Iran.  —  Its  Features. — 
Streams— Valley  of  the  Indus.— Land  of  the  Fish- 
eaters. — Elburz  Region. — Armenia. — Its  Mount- 
ains.— Asia  Minor. — Island  Possessions  of  Per- 
sia.— African  Dominions. — Great  Variety  of  Re- 
sources,    305-310 

Chapter  XXVII. — Climate  and  Products. 

Tremendous  Heats  of  Southern  Persia. — Chill 
in  the  Uplands. — Rigors  in  the  Mountains. — Cli- 
mate of  the  Indus  Valley. — Vegetable  Growths  of 
Persia.  —  Grains  and  Fruits. — Wild  Animals. — 
Fishes  and  Reptiles. — Domestic  Animals. — Persian 
Mines. — Pearis  and  Gems. — Animal  Life  of  the 
Provinces. —  Birds.  —  The  Iguana  and  Chame- 
leon,    311-314 

Chapter  XXVIII. — People  and  Cities. 

The  Persians  of  the  Iranic  Stock. — Same  Race 
with  the  IVIedes. — Principal  Tribes  of  the  Fam- 
ily.— The  Parthians. — The  Gandarians. — The  Sat- 
tagydians. — The  Gedrosians. — The  IVIycians. — The 
Scythians. — The  Cappadocians. — The  Phrygians. — 
The  City  of  Persepolis. — Pasargadfe. — Its  Ruins. — 
Susa. —  Miletus. —  Sardis. — Ephesus.  —  Temple  of 
Diana. — Its  Wealth  and  Adornments. — Review 
of  Climatic  Conditions  as  aff'ecting  Civiliza- 
tion,     314-318 

Chapter  XXIX. — Arts  and  Sciences. 

High  Rank  of  Persian  Architecture. — Exhibited 
in  Royal  Palaces  and  Tombs.— The  Two  Palaces 


of  Persepolis. — Character  of  the  Platform. — Plan  of 
the  Structure. — The  Terraces.  —  The  Ascent  by 
Steps. — Sculptures  of  the  Stair-cases. — What  they 
Signify.— The  Ten  Edifices.— Hall  of  Pillars.— 
Plouses  of  Xerxes  and  Artaxerxes. — Style  of  Col- 
umns and  Ornamentation. — The  Gate-ways. — The 
Hall  of  a  Hundred  Columns. — A  Place  for  Admin- 
istration.— The  Great  Hall  of  Audience. — Ruins 
of  Pasargadse. — Remains  at  Istakr. — The  Palace  of 
Susa. — The  Tombs  of  the  Kings. — General  Charac- 
ter of  Architecture. — Sculpture. — The  Things  rep- 
resented. —  Persian  Coins.  —  Utensils.  —  Personal 
Decorations. — Social  and  Economic  Arts. — Absence 
of  Science. — Unreflective  Character  of  the  Ar- 
yans,    319-326 

Chapter  XXX. — Manners  and  Customs. 

The  Persian  Type. — Stature  and  Features. — In- 
tellectual Qualities. — Literary  Abilities. — Warlike 
Spirit.— Moral  Qualities— The  Truth-telling  Char- 
acter. —  Self-indulgence.  —  Political  Servility.  — 
Usages  and  Manners. — The  Soldiery. — Weapons 
and  Armor.  —  Persian  Cavalry.  —  Scythe-bearing 
War-chariots. — Persian  Order  of  Battle. — Confi- 
dence in  Numbers. — Stratagems. — Generalship. — > 
The  King  commanding. — Decimal  Organization. — 
The  Persian  Army  marching. — Ethics  of  the  Bat- 
tle-field.—The  Empire  a  Land  Dominion. — ]\Iari- 
time  Skill  acquired. — Ancient  War-galleys. — The 
Trireme  in  Particular. — Pontoons.— The  Persian 
King. — His  Place  in  the  State. — His  Dress  and 
Regalia. — His  Officers. — A  Fragrant  Majesty. — 
The  Royal  Retinue.— Habits  of  the  Palace.— The 
Harem. — The  Queen-mother. — The  Eunuchs. — 
Princely  Houses, — Ceremonial  of  the  Court. — 
Rules  for  the  King. — He  hunts  and  games. — 
His  Reading  done  by  Proxy. — He  was  the  State. — 


CONTEWTS   OF    VOLUME  I. 


13 


Tenfold  Tribal  Division.— Dress  and  Manners  of 
the  Common  People.  —  Education  of  Boys.  — 
Disesteem  of  Industry. — Vanities.  —  The  Penal 
Code, 327-337 

Chapter  XXXI. — Language  and  Relig- 
ion. 

Kinship  of  Persic  with  European  Tongues. — 
Peculiarities  of  the  Language. — ^The  Alphabet. — 
Cuneiform  Method  of  Writing. — Persian  Inscrip- 
tions.— History  of  the  Arrow-head  System.— G rote- 
fend. — Affinity  of  Persian  and  Median  Religions. — 
Zoroaster. — His  Place  in  History. — His  Work. — 
Monotheism  and  Dualism. — Worship  of  Ahura- 
Mazdao.  —  Persian  Temples. —  Sacrifices. —  Idola- 
try.— The  Ahivras  and  the  Devas. — The  Good  Gen- 
ius.— Analogy  to  Judaism. — Apostasy. — Institution 
of  Magism. — Pi'evalence  of  Showy  Forms,  338-342 

Chapter  XXXII. — Civil  and  Military 

Annals. 

Primitive  Persia. — Foundation  of  the  Mon- 
archy.— Achsemenes. — Reign  of  Teispes. — Coming 
of  Cambyses. — Subjection  of  Persia  to  Media. — 
Residence  of  the  Crown  Prince  at  Ecbatana. — Cy- 
rus with  his  Grandfather. — The  Revolution. — 
Threefold  Division  of  Asia. — Sketch  of  Cyrus. — 
Relations  of  Persia  with  Lydia. — Croesus  and  Cyrus 
at  War. — Diplomacy  of  the  Latter. — Battle  of  Pte- 
ria. — Conflict  in  the  Valley  of  Hermus. — Siege  of 
Sardis. — Capture  of  Croesus  and  Subversion  of 
Lydia. — Contact  with  the  Greeks. — Revolt  of  Sar- 
dis.— Policy  of  Cyrus  with  the  ^gean  States. — 
Thales. — Conquest  of  Harpagus. — Cyrus  subdues 
Bactria. — The  Sacae  conquered. — Further  Con- 
quests in  the  East. — The  King's  Enmity  to  Baby- 
lon.— Undertakes  an  Invasion. — Overthrows  tliat 
Empire. — Persian  Power  extends  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean.— The  Aryan  Ascendency. — Cyrus  looks  to 
Egypt. — Restores  the  Jews. — Makes  a  Campaign 
into  the  Great  Plateau. — Is  slain  by  the  Massage- 
tse. — Sketch  of  his  Character. — Accession  of  Cam- 
byses.— He  kills  Smerdis. — Makes  an  Invasion  of 
Egypt-— Meets  the  Enemy  at   Pelusium.— Takes 


Memphis.— Overawes  the  Country. —  Disastrous 
Result  of  the  Expedition  against  Amun. — Takes 
Vengeance  on  the  Egyptians. — Story  of  the  False 
Smerdis. — Death  of  Cambyses. — His  Character. — 
Reign  of  the  Magus. — He  betrays  Himself. — Favor 
to  the  Magi  brings  Revolution. — Gomates  over- 
thrown by  the  Seven  Princes. — Accession  of  Da- 
rius.— Religious  Reform.— The  King  suppresses 
Magism. — Insurrections  against  the  Government. — 
The  Same  are  Suppressed  by  the  Royal  Armies. — 
Babylon  is  made  the  Capital. — Suppression  of 
many  Revolts. — The  King  as  a  Statesman. — Organ- 
ization of  the  Empire. — The  Satrapial  System. — 
Support  of  the  Government. — The  Administration 
of  Espionage. — Post-houses. — Coinage. — The  King 
conquers  India. — He  looks  into  Europe. — Scythian 
Expedition. — Revolt  of  the  Greek  Cities. — Sup- 
pression of  the  Insurrection. — "Sire,  remember 
Athens." — Policy  of  Darius. — The  Thracian  Cam- 
paign.— The  Fleet  destroyed. — New  Expedition. — 
Battle  of  Marathon. — Renewal  of  Preparations. — 
Death  of  Darius. — Xerxes  takes  up  his  Work. — 
The  Egyptian  Revolt. — The  Great  Invasion  of 
Greece  begun. — Persia  impends  over  Europe. — 
The  Army  of  Xerxes. — Crossing  of  the  Helles- 
pont.— Story  of  Thermopylae. — Salamis  and  Ruin. — 
Battle  of  Platea. — End  of  the  Expedition. — Ac- 
cession of  Artaxerxes. — Second  Revolt  in  Egypt. — 
Peace  of  Callias. — Syrian  Insurrection. — Greek 
Broils. — Death  of  Artaxerxes. — Troublous  Times 
ensuing. — The  Lydian  Revolt. — Athens  humiliated 
in  Sicily. — Leagues  Herself  with  Persia. — The 
Great  Kings  learn  the  Weakness  of  the  Greeks. — 
Revolt  and  Expedition  of  Cyrus  the  Younger. — 
Battle  of  Cunaxa. — Retreat  of  the  Ten  Thousand. — 
Peace  of  Antalcidas. — Accession  of  Ochus. — His 
Campaign  into  Egypt.— Sidon  destroyed. — Rise  of 
Macedonia. — Accession  of  Darius  Codomanus. — 
The  IMacedonian  Invasion  of  Persia. — Battle  of  the 
Granicus. — Conquest  of  Asia  Minor  by  Alexan- 
der.— Battle  of  Issus. — Route  of  the  Persians. — 
Preparations  of  Darius  for  the  Final  Conflict. — Ar- 
bela. — Overthrow  of  the  Empire. — Pursuit  and 
Death  of  Darius, 343-376 


Book  Skventh.— Parthta. 


Chapter  XXXIII. — The  Country. 

Place  of  Parthia  in  the  Scheme  of  Ancient 
History. — Point  of  View  from  which  the  Empire 
is  considered. — Chronological  Relations  of  Par- 
thia.— Reasons  for  giving  Parthian  History  in  this 
Place. — Parthia  in  some  Sense  a  Revival  of  the 
Persian  Power. — Time  Limits  of  the  Narrative. — 
Countries  to  he  considered. — Extent  of  Parthia 
Proper. — Character  of  the  Country. — The  Flora 
and  Fauna. — Climate. — Parthia  protected  by  her 
Position. — Nomadic   Character   of   the    Primitive 


Tribes.  —  Territorial  Expansion.  —  Surrounding 
Provinces. — Sketch  of  Chorasmia. — Character  of 
Margiana. — Of  Arya. — Of  Sarangia. — Of  Sagar- 
tia.— Of  Hyrcania. — More  Distant  Territories. — 
Sketch  of  Bactria. — Of  Arachosia. — Of  Sacastana 
and  Carmania.— Of  Persia  Proper. — Of  the  Meso- 
potamian  Regions. — Total  Geographical  Extent 
of  the  Empire, 377-383 

Chapter  XXXIV. — People  and  Arts, 

Ethnic    Origin   of   the    Parthians. — Of    Aryan 
Derivation. — But  Modified  with  Scythic  Blood. — 


u 


coy  TEXTS   OF    VOLUME   I. 


iceasons  of  the  Modification — Tlie  Horseback 
Habits  of  tlie  Race. — Unfixednes^  of  Character. — 
Primitive  Rehgious  Ciiaracter. — Zoroastrianism 
accepted. — Dualism.  —  Deterioration  into  Mag- 
ism. — Rise  of  tlie  Magian  Priesthood. — Supersti- 
tions of  the  People. — Decline  of  the  Faith  and 
Practice.  — Nature  Worship  revived. — Religious 
Results  of  Alexander's  Conquest. — Warlike  Spirit 
of  the  Parthians. — Parthian  Cavahy. — War  Man- 
ners of  the  Nation. — Organization  of  the  Army. — 
Methods  of  the  Campaign. — Tactics. — Efficiency 
of  the  Parthian  Horse.  —  Military  Operations 
limited  to  the  Day  and  the  Summer. — Parthian 
Weakness  in  the  Matter  of  Sieges.  —  War 
Vehicles. — Elephants  and  Camels. — Battle  in 
Ttrrorem. — Fonnulse  for  Armistice  and  Treaty. — 
Employment  of  Greek  Language. — Governmental 
Intercourse  and  Manners. — Pledges  and  Hos- 
tages.— Character  of  the  Court. — The  Hunt. — The 
Paradise.  —  Appearance  and  Manners  of  the 
King. — Royal  Garments  and  Insignia. — Place  of 
Woman. — Acquirements  and  Learning. — Absence 
of  Arts. — Weakness  of  the  Imaginative  and  Specu- 
lative Powers  of  Mind. — Architectural  Instincts 
and  Achievements. — Paucity  of  Parthian  Re- 
mains.— A  Movable  Capital. — Hatra  and  Ctesi- 
phon — Circular  Walls  of  the  Former. — Character 
of  the  Ruins. — The  Palace. — Nature  and  Extent 
of  the  Structure. — Arches  and  Sculptures. — At- 
tempted Restoration. — The  Temple  of  Hatra.— 
The  Parthians  not  Comparable  with  Egyptians 
and  Greeks. — The  Necropolis — Disposal  of  the 
Dead.  —  Sepulchral  Remains. — Parthian  Art. — 
Terra-cotta  Work. — Utensils. — Personal  Decora- 
tions.— Jewels. — Bas-reliefs. — The  Procession  of 
Victory.— Other  Scenes  in  Relief. — Small  ^Esthetic 
Instincts  of  the  Race, 383-396 

Chapter   XXXV. — CrviL    and    Military 
Annals. 

Obscurity  of  the  Primitive  Parthians. — First 
Emergence  of  the  Race. — Parthia  as  a  Persian 
Satrapy. — Falls  under  the  Dominion  of  Alexan- 
der.— Rapid  Changes  in  Ancient  History. — Parthia 
associated  with  other  Provinces. — Is  assigned  to 
Seleucus. — Establishment  of  the  Empire  of  the 
Seleucidse. — Fixing  the  Capital. — Transference  of 
the  Seat  of ,  Government  to  Antioch. — Break  of 
Seleucus  with  the  Asiatics. — Neglect  of  the  ]\Ies- 
opotamian  Countries  by  the  Kings  of  Antioch. — 
Accession  of  Antiochus  Soter. — Reign  of  An- 
tiochus  Theos. — Successful  Revolt  of  Bactria. — 
The  Example  followed  by  the  Parthians. — Ar- 
saces  Heads  the  Revolution. — Suppression  of  the 
Greek  Cities. — Tiridates  succeeds  to  the  Throne. — 
His  War  with  Ptolemy. — He  conquers  Hyrcania. — 
Callinicus  makes  an  Expedition  against  Parthia. — 
Is  overthrown. — Beginning  of  Parthian  Power. — 
The  Kingflom  improved  and  defended. — Qu^^stion 
of     removing    the     Capital. — Influence     of     the 


Greeks. — Accession  of  Artabanus  I. — He  con- 
tends with  Antiochus  III.  for  Media, — Makes 
War  on  Bactria. — Period  of  Obscurity. — Obscure 
Reign  of  Priapatius. — Aflfairs  in  the  Extreme 
East. — Revolt  of  the  Indian  Provinces. — Relations 
of  the  Punjaub  and  Syria. — Accession  of  Phraatea 
I. — Conquest  of  the  Mardi. — Resentment  of  Se- 
leucus IV. — The  Caspian  Gates. — Phraates  gains 
Possession  of  the  Pass. — Mithridates  takes  the 
Throne. — His  Place  among  the  Parthian  Kings. — 
Condition  of  Asia. — Reign  of  Eucratidas  in  Bac- 
tria.— The  Kingdom  of  Syria  weakens. — Compli- 
cations in  the  South-west. — Mithridates  makea 
War  on  Bactria.— Condition  of  AflTairs  at  An- 
tioch.— The  Parthians  conquer  the  Medes. — 
Hyrcania  annexed. — Elymais,  Persia,  and  Baby- 
lon subdued. — Heliocles  King  of  Bactria. — Con- 
quest of  that  Country  by  Mithridates. — Establish- 
ment of  the  Parthian  Empire. — Affairs  in  Syria. — 
Reign  of  Demetrius  II. — The  Greeks  iii  the 
Parthian  Empire. — Demetrius  begins  a  War. — 
Success  of  IMithridates. — Marriage  Project. — Par- 
thia Dominates  Western  Asia. — Character  of  the 
Government. — The  Nobility. — Councils  of  State. — 
Parthian  Constitution. — Order  of  Succession. — 
Power  of  the  JNIegistanes. — The  Surena. — Fixed- 
ness of  the  Government. — Median  Priesthood. — 
The  Satrapial  System. — Its  Variations. — The  Greek 
Cities. —  Freedom  of  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ments.— The  Parthian  Capitals. — Character  of  the 
Court. — Manners  of  the  King  in  Peace  and  in 
War. — Accession  of  Phraates  II. — He  makes  War 
on  Syria. ^ — Danger  from  the  Greek  Cities. — Winter 
Insurrection  against  the  Syrians. — Destruction  of 
the  Army  of  Sidetes. — Jewish  Independence. — 
The  Scythians  overrun  Parthia. — Phraates  Slain. — 
Accession  of  Artabanus  II. — Barbarian  Inroads 
from  the  North-east. — Nature  of  such  Move- 
ments.— Bactria  Overrun. — Character  of  the  Inva- 
ders.— Scythic  Cannibalism. — Artabanus  beats 
back  the  Barbarians. — Is  killed. — Mithridates  II. 
accedes  to  the  Throne. — Deflection  of  the  Stream 
of  Barbarism. — Ambitions  of  Mithridates. — An- 
nexation of  Armenia.^Outspreading  of  Rome 
into  Asia.  —  She  interferes  with  the  Asiatic 
States. — Comes  Face  to  Face  with  Parthia. — Ti- 
granes  of  Armenia  becomes  Independent. — Death 
of  Mithridates. — First  Sj-mptoms  of  Decadence. — 
Reign  of  Mnasciras. — Succeeded  by  Sanatroeces. — 
Armenian  Ascendency. — War  between  that  Coun- 
try and  Parthia. — Lncullus  in  Asia. — Accession 
of  Phraates  III. — Pompey  as  Proconsul. — Peace 
between  Parthia  and  Rome. — That  Power  domi- 
nates Armenia. — Assassination  at  the  Parthian 
Court.— IMithridates  III.— Is  followed  by  Oro- 
des.  Gabinius  Proconsul  in  Asia. — Is  Succeeded 
by  Crassus. — Outbreak  of  Hostilities. — Parthia 
invaded  by  the  Romans. — Crassus  advances  to 
the  Belik. — Great  Battle  fought. — Ruin  of  the 
Roman  Army. — Death  of  Crassus.— Extent  of  the 


COXTENrS   OF    VOLUME   I. 


15 


Disaster— Marriage  Union  of  Partliia  and  Ar- 
menia.—Affairs  at  Seleucia— Execution  of  the 
Surena.— Csesar  and  Pompey.— The  Latter  de- 
stroyed.-Caesar's  Projects.— His  Death.— Rela- 
tions of  Parthia  with  Rome  daring  the  Civil 
War. — Second  Triumvirate. — Antonius  in  Asia. — 
New  Tactics  of  the  Romans. — Accession  of  Phmates 
IV. — Antonius  malis  "War  on  Parthia. — Sketch  of 
the  Expedition. — Media  reconquered  by  Par- 
thia.— Civil  Dissensions  in  the  Empire.— Octavius 
Master  of  the  AVestern  World. — Death  of  An- 
tonius.— Compact  between  Rome  and  Parthia.^ 
Parthian  Princes  in  the  Eternal  City. — Protecto- 
rate of  Armenia. — Reign  of  Phraataces. — Acces- 
sion of  Vonones. — Is  expelled  by  Artabanus. — 
The  Armenian  Complication. — Reign  of  Artabanus 
III.— War  with  the  Jews  of  Babylon.— Bloody 
Annals  of  the  Court. — Reigns  of  Gotarzes  and 
"Vardanes. — Siege  of  Seleucia. — Attempt  to  Re- 
cover Armenia. — Death  of  Vardanes. — Rebellion 
of  ]\Ieherdates. — Reign  of  Volagases  I. — Corbulo 
in  Asia. — Civil  War  in  Parthia. — Expedition  of 
Psetus.^-Accession    of     Pacorus. —  Condition    of 


Parthia  at  Close  of  First  Century. —  Evils  of 
FeudaUsm. — Mixed  Character  of  the  Dynasty. — 
Chosroes  elected  King. — Further  Troubles  with 
Armenia. — Trajan  in  Partha. — Parthamasiris. — 
Victories  of  Trajan. — Earthquake  of  Antioch. — 
Roman  Expedition  against  Parthia. — Ctesiphon 
taken. — Romans  turned  back. — Hadrian  Makes 
Peace. — Accession  of  Volagases  II. — Character  of 
the  Reign. — Invasion  of  Alani. — Volagases  III. 
takes  the  Throne. — Antonines  at  Rome. — Verus 
in  Asia. — AVar  of  Cassius. — Great  Pestilence. — 
Afflictions  of  Parthian  Empire. — Reign  of  Vola- 
gases IV. — Course  of  Events  in  the  AVest. — Suc- 
cesses of  Severus  in  Asia. — War  in  Mesopotamia. — 
Disputed  Succession. — Volagases  V.  and  Arta- 
banus IV. — Carac.illa  Emperor. — His  Relations 
with  Artabanus  — Project  of  Intermarriage.— Cara- 
calla  Makes  AVar. — Is  Stabbed  in  IMoon-god  Tem- 
ple.— Macrinus  Succeeds. — Battle  of  Nisibis. — 
Defeat  of  the  Romans. — Revolt  of  Persia. — Vicis- 
situdes of  the  Conflict. — Downfall  of  the  Parthian 
Empire. — Causes  of  Decadence. — Transfer  of  His- 
torical Station  to  Europe, 397-444 


BOOK    ElOHTH.— GREECR. 


Chapter  XXXVI. — The  Country. 

Name  of  Hellas. — Limits  of  the  Peninsula. — 
IMountain  Ranges. — Spurs  and  Peaks. — Rivers. — 
Acheloos  in  Particular. — Principal  Lakes. — Coast- 
line of  Greece. — Natural  Divisions  of  Hellas. — Lim- 
its of  Northern  Greece. — Great  Variability  of 
Climate.— Structure  of  Central  Greece. — Character 
of  Peloponnesus. — Political  Divisions  of  Ancient 
Greece. — Thessaly. — Vale  of  Tempo. — Features  of 
Epirus. — Countries  of  Central  Hellas. — Doris. — 
Pliocis.  —  Locris.  —  Malis.^  Boeotia. — Attica. — Me- 
garis. — iEtolia. — Acarnania. — Corinth  and  Sicyo- 
nia.  —  Argolis.  —  Epidauria  and  Hermionis,  — 
Achaia. — Elis. — Arcndia. — Messenia.  —  Laconia. — 
Argolis. — Political  Unity  in  Hellas  forbidden  by 
Nature. — Mythology  Natural  to  such  a  Region.— 
Beauty  of  the  Grecian  Skies  and  Scenery,  447-456 

Chapter  XXXVII.— The  People. 

Who  the  Hellenes  were. — The  lonians. — Views 
of  the  Greeks  relative  to  their  Origin. — Testi- 
mony of  Language. — The  Hellenes  Aryans. — Le- 
gend of  Hellen  and  his  Sons. — AVork  of  yEolus. — 
Race  of  Dorus. — Descendants  of  Ion. — Acheeus 
and  his  Tribe.— The  Primitive  Pelasgians. — Per- 
sonal Qualities  of  the  Hellenes. — Stature.— Beauty 
and  Endurance.— The  Greek  the  Man  of  Nature.— 
Worship  of  Comeliness. — Symmetry  and  Grace. — 
Features. — The  Greek  AVoman. — Courage  of  the 
Hellenes. —  The  Greek  Mind  the  Best  of  the 
World. — Hellenic    Thought    Preeminent.— Greek 


Wit. — Craft  ^nd  Stratagem. — Sense  of  the  Beau- 
tiful.— The  Adventurous  Spirit. — Greek  Morals. — 
Deception  of  the  Race. — Morality  of  the  Philoso- 
phers.— Hellenic  Patriotism. — The  Love  of  Lib- 
erty.— Individuality  of  the  Greeks. — Greatness  of 
the  Race, 457-464 

Chapter  XXXVIII. — Language,   Litera- 
ture, AND  Art, 

Language  and  Ethnology. — Cognate  Tonguea 
of  Greek. — Growth  and  Spread  of  Greek. — Three 
Periods  of  Development.- — Dialects. — Doric. — 
Ionic. — Attic. — ^olic. — Greek  of  Athens. — Primi- 
tive Macedonian. — Hellenistic  a  False  AVord. — 
Spread  of  Greek  in  the  Age  of  Alexander. — Infec- 
tion of  Latin  at  Constantinople. — The  Alphabet. — 
Styles  of  Character. — Grammatical  Structure  of 
Greek.— The  Noun.— The  Adjective.— Tlie  Verb.— 
Sympathetic  Character  of  the  Language. — Its  Pre- 
eminence.— Greek  Literature. — Homer  and  his 
Songs. — Preserved  b\"  Rhapsody.— Revised  by  Pi- 
sistratus. — The  Cyclic  Bards. — Hesiod. — Appear- 
ance of  the  Lyric. — Elegy. — Tyrtseus  and  Calli- 
nus.  —  Minor  Bards.  —  The  Iambic. — Archilocus 
and  Hipponax. — The  Melos. — Sappho  and  Anac- 
reon. — Pindar. — The  Drama  appears. — Thespis  of 
Attica. — Development  of  the  Theater. — vEschylus 
and  his  AA''orks. — Sophocles. — His  Tragedies. — Eu- 
ripides.— Coming  of  Comedy. — Its  Relations  to 
Greek  Society. — Aristophanes. — His  Fierce  Sat- 
ires.— Menander  and  Possidippus. — Appearance 
of  Prose.-T-Cadmus. — Herodotus  and  his  Work. — 


16 


CONTENTS   OF    VOLUME   I. 


Thucydides.  —  Xenophon.  —  Rise  of  Oiatory. — 
Styles  of  Delivery.— Doubtful  Place  of  Oratory. — 
Early  Appearance  of  Art  in  Hellas. — Tiryns  and 
Mycense. — Schliemann's  Discovery.— Style  of  the 
Greek  Temple. — History  of  the  Column.— The 
Doric  and  the  Ionic. — Plan  of  a  Temple. — The 
Inner  Part. — Decorations  in  Color.— Effects  of  the 
Ionic  and  the  Doric  Structure. — The  Acropolis. — 
The  Erechtheum. — The  Parthenon.— The  Age  of 
Pericles.— Fame  of  the  Great  Painters. — Polyg- 
notus. —  Zeuxis  and  Parrhasius.  —  Tithmanes. — 
Apelles. — Greek  Sculpture. — Rude  Beginnings. — 
Myron  and  Polycletus. — Phidias. — Praxiteles. — 
Lysippus. — Schools  of    Rhodes  and  Pergamon. — 

Minor  Sculptors, 464-482 

Chapter  XXXIX. — Manners  and  Customs. 

Daily  Life  of  the  Greek.— The  Public  Mar- 
ket.—Flowers  and  Wit. — The  Crowds  that  gath- 
ered.—  The  Disputatious  Spirit.  —  Birth  of 
Politics. — The  Athenian  Buzz. — The  Courts. — The 
Pnyx. — The  Council. — Hospitality. — Sociability. — 
Home  Fare  of  the  Greeks. — The  Feast. — The  Ban- 
quet Ceremonial. — Wreaths  and  Songs. — Philoso- 
phy and  Banqueting. — Night  in  Athens. — Women 
and  Heroes. — Later  Restrictions  on  the  Sex. — 
The  Spartan  Women. — Women  of  Ionia. — Mar- 
riage.— Domestic  Ethics. — The  Helserx. — The  Greek 
Home. — Description  of  Houses.^Andronitis  and 
Gynseconitis. — The  Prostas. — House  Decoration. — 
Furniture. — The  Couch.— Toilet  of  AVomen. — Arti- 
ficial Lighting. — The  Library.  —  Bric-a-brac. — 
Greek  Slavery.— The  Slave  Classes,    .    .   .  482-490 

Chapter  XL. — Religion. 

Elements  of  Greek  Faith. — Piety  under  Frivol- 
ity.— Every  Man  his  Own  Priest. — Offerings  and 
Sacrifices.  —  Growth  of  Priesthood. — Its  Influ- 
ence.— The  Prophetic  Gift. — Dodona  and  Delphi. — 
The  Sacred  Oracle.— The  Pythia.— The  Delphic 
College. — Puncture  of  the  Fraud. —Mysteries  of 
Eleusis  and  Samothrace. — The  Eleusinian  Festi- 
val.—  Feast  of  Dionysus. — The  Panathentea. — 
The  Great  Procession. — Greek  View  of  Life  and 
Death. — Human  Sympathies. — The  Final  Scene. — 
Coffins,  Epitaphs,  and  Tombs, 491-497 

Chapter  !5tLI. — Myth  and  Tradition. 

The  Myth-m  iking  Arj^ans.  —  Fundamental 
Unity  of  Aryan  Mythology. — The  Greek  Legend 
of  Nature. — Zeus  and  his  Offspring. — His  Mar- 
riages.— Hera  — Poseidon. — Hades. — Athene. — De- 
meter. — Hestia. — The  Prytaneium. — Ares. — Aph- 
rodite. —  Her  Loves.  —  Hephaestus.  —  Phoebus 
Apo'lo. — His  Oracle. — Artemis. — Hermes. — INIinor 
Divinities. — Heracles  and  his  Labors. — Descent  of 
the  Myth  into  the  Legend. — Mythology  a  Natural 
Philosophy. — Intellectual  Vigor  of  the  Aryans. — 
Essence  of  the  Myth.— The  Greek  Mind  and 
Nature.— The  Things  to  be  Considered.— Mythol- 
ogy in  the  Descriptive  Stage. — Science  and  the 


Myth. — Growth  of  Myths  during  Migrations, — 
Linguistic  Metamorphosis  the  Explanation. — Il- 
lustrations of  the  Theory. — Legend  of  Perseus. — 
Theseus. — Qi^dipus. — Cadmus  and  Europa. — Ce- 
crops. — Asclepios.  —  The  Cyclopes.  —  Legend  of 
Deucalion. — Prometheus. — Epimetheus  and  Pan- 
dora.— Argonautic  Expedition. — Story  of  the  Tro- 
jan War, 498-511 

Chapter  XLII. — The  Hellenic  Dawn. 

The  Boeotian  Migration. — Return  of  the  Herac- 
lidse. — Vicissitudes  of  the  Movement. — The  Do- 
rians in  Peloponnesus.— Previous  History  of  the 
Peninsula. — Jostling  of  Other  Tribes  by  the  Do- 
rians. —  yEolian  Confederation.  —  Ionia.  —  Doric 
Hexapolis. — Truer  View  of  these  Movements. — 
Story  of  Minos  of  Crete. — Dawn  of  History. — Ele- 
ments of  Greek  Unity. — The  Olympian  Games. — 
Prizes  and  Rewards. — Management  of  the  Festi- 
val.— Pj'thian  Celebration. — Games  of  Nemea. — 
The  Isthmian  Games. — The  Amphyctionic  Coun- 
cil.— Its  Duties  and  Objects. — The  First  Sacred 
War.— Relations  to  Delphic  Oracle,   .    .    .  512-523 

Chapter  XLIII. — Growth  and  Law. 

Three  States  of  Peloponnesus. — Seeming  Lead- 
ership of  Argolis. — Growth  of  Sparta. — Lycurgus 
and  his  Work. — Divisions  of  Population  and 
Land. — Distribution  of  Powder  in  the  State. — 
The  Ephors. — Spartan  Education. — The  Spartan 
Child. — Endurance  of  Spartan  Youth. — The  Pub- 
lic Mess. — Singing  and  Playing. — Spartan  Con- 
tempt of  Luxury. — Spartan  Mother. — The  First 
Messenian  War.  —  The  Second  Conflict.  —  The 
Warrior  Tyrtaeus. — Career  of  Aristomenes. — Sub- 
jection of  Messenia.  —  Tegea  Conquered.— War 
with  the  Argives. — Political  Changes  in  Greece. — 
Coming  of  the  Despot. — Kingship  retained  in 
Sparta. — Sketches  of  Sicyon  and  Corinth. — The 
Despotism  of  Megara.— Story  of  Codrus. — The 
Archonship. — Class  Distinctions. — Powers  of  the 
State. — Draco  and  his  Laws. — Sacrilege  of  the 
Alcmpeonidte. — Appearance  of  Solon. — His  Mission 
to  Sparta. — Plain,  Mountain,  and  Shore. — Appeal 
to  Solon. — His  Laws. — Division  of  Citizens. — As- 
sembV  and  Senate. — Punishment  of  Crime. — The 
Statutes  registered. — Solon  in  Exile. — He  and 
Croesus.^-His  Return  to  Athens. — Relations  with 
Pisistratus. — Usurpation  of  the  Latter.— He  is 
Exiled.— Third  Tyranny.— Benefits  to  the  State.— 
Hippias  and  Hipparchus. — Appearance  of  Clisthe- 
nes. — Revolution  in  the  Government. — Popular 
Tendency. — The  Ostracism. — Isagoras  appeals  to 
Prejudice. — Cleomenes  humiliated. — Sparta  goes 
to    War.— The    Movement     fails. — Jealousy    of 

Sparta, 523-539 

Chapter  XLIV. — The  Persian  Wars. 

First  Relations  of  Greece  and  Persia. — Mega- 
bazus  in  Thrace. — Revolt  of  Naxos. — Artaphernes 
espouses  the  Cause  of   the  Oligarchs.— Siege  of 


COJSTTEJSfTS    OF    VOLUME   I. 


17 


Naxos.— Game  of  Histi^us.— Aristagoras  secures 
Help  at  Athens.— Burning  of  S-rdis.— "  Lord,  re- 
member the  Athenians  "-End  of  Histiteus.-Siege 
of  Miletus— Persian  Authority  restored —Mardo- 
nius    in    Asia     Minor.-Darius    would    conquer 
Greece  —The  ^ginetan  War.-The  Persian  War 
undertaken.-The  Advance.-Eretria  destroyed.- 
Miltiades  appears.-Battle  of  INIarathon.-Rout  of 
the  Persians.— Effects  of  the  Battle.— Honors  to  the 
Dead.— Death  of  Miltiades.— War  with  ^gina.— 
Themistoclee  and  the  Greek  Fleet.-Aristides.- 
Eivalry  of  the  Two  Leaders.— Xerxes  plans  the 
Conquest  of  Greece.— The  Advance  of  the  Great 
Army.-  Preparation  of  the  Greeks.— Athens  and 
Sparta  cooperate  -The  Story  of   Thermopylse.- 
Forcing  of   the   Pass.— Battle  of    Artemesium.— 
Xerxes  would  plunder  Delphi.— The  Destruction 
of  Athens.— Persian  Fleet  at  Phalerum.— Dissen- 
sions of  the  Greeks.— The  Day  of  Salamis.— Ruin 
and  Flight  of  the  Persians.— Greeks  and  Cartha- 
ginians  in    Sicily.— Mardoiiius   tries    to    seduce 
the  Athenians.-Battle  of  Platjea.— The  Persian 
Rout.— Spoils  of  the  Field.— Destruction  of  the 
Persian    Fleet    at    Mycale.— Humiliation   of    the 
Great  King, 539-556 

Chapter  XL V.— The   Athenian   Ascend- 
ency. 

Career  of  Pausanias.— His  Intrigues  with  the 
Persians.— The  Confederacy  of  Delos.— Supremacy 
of  the  Spartan  Fleet.— Rebuilding  of  Athens.— 
Progress  of  Democracy.— Fall  of  Themistocles.— 
End  of  Pausanias.— The  Just  Athenian.— Rise 
of  Cimon.— Battle  of  Eurymedon.— Disasters  to 
Spaita— Leadership  of  Pericles.— His  Politics.— 
Maritime  Sway  of  Athens.— Revolt  of  ^gina.— 
Battle  of  (Enophyta.— The  Long  Walls.— Peace 
•with  Persia.— The  Athenian  Empire.— Various 
Insurrections.— Revival  of  Aristocracy.— Glory  of 
Athens.— Policy  of  Colonization.— Excessive  Tax- 
ation.—Reduction  of  Samos, 556-566 

Chapter  XL VI.— The  Peloponnesian 
Wars. 

Corinth  and  Corcyra.— The  Latter  applies  to 
Athens.— Attack  on  Pericles.— Trial  of  Aspasia.— 
Thebans  begin  Hostilities.— Murder  of  the  Theban 
Prisoners.— Formation  of  Peloponnesian  League. — 
Support  of  Athens. —Invasion  of  Attica.— The 
Plague  in  Athens.— Death  of  Pericles.— Ravages  of 
the  War.— Potidaa  taken.— Platfea  overwhelmed 
by  the  Spartans.— The  Prisoners  executed.— Bat- 
tle of  Naupactus.— Revolt  of  Mitylene.— The  In- 
habitants saved  from  Destruction.— IVIassacre  in 
Corcyra.— Varyine  Progress  of  the  War.— Siege  of 
Sphacteria.— Success  of  Cleon.— Campaigns  of  the 


Eighth  Year.— Brasidas  in  the  Korth.— Defeat  oi 
Cleon.— Peace  of  Nicias.— Rise  of  Alcibiades.— He 
appears  at  the  Olympic  Games.— War  in  Man- 
tinea.— Melos  conquered  by  Athens.— Affairs  in 
Sicily.— Embassy  to  Egesta.— The  Sicilian  Expedi- 
tion undertaken.— Disputes  of  the  Commanders.— 
Mutilation  of  the  Hermse.— Alcibiades  ordered  to 
Trial.— Siege  of  Syracuse.— Ill  Success  of  the  Athe- 
nians.—Battles  in  the  Harbor.— Destruction  of  the 
Athenian  Fleet.— Retreat  of  Nicias.— Annihilation 
of  his  Army.— Consternation  at  Athens.— Revolt 
of  the  Dependencies.— Double  Work  of   Alcibi- 
ades.—Oligarchic  Revolution.— Affairs  in  Samos.— 
Negotiations.— Revolt  of  Eubrea.— The  Oligarchy 
overthrown.— Naval   Battles.— Return   of   Alcibi- 
ades.—Battle  of   Arginusse.- ^Egospotami.- Ruin 
of    the    Athenians.— Approach    of    Lysander    to 
Athens.— The   City   humiliated.— Destruction   of 
the  Defenses.— The  Oligarchy  reinstated.— Samoa 
subdued.— Reign  of  the  Thirty.— End  of   Alcibi- 
ades.—Reaction   against  Sparta.— Pausanias  sup- 
ports the  Oligarchy.— Democratic  Revolution.— 
Career  of  Socrates, 566-588 

Chapter  XL VIL— Spartan    and   Theban 
Ascendencies. 

Policy  of  Sparta.— A gis  and  Lysander.— Agesi- 
laiis.— The    Decharchy.— Cyrus  the    Younger.— 
Agesilaiis  in  Asia  INIinor.— Battle  of  Cnidus.— Revolt 
of  the  Greek  States.— Battle  of  Haliartus.— League 
against  Sparta.— Battle  of  Coronea.— Conon  and 
the  Persians— Siege  of   Corinth.— Revolution  in 
Tactics.— Iphicrates.— The  Peltastae  Victorious.- 
Revival  of   Athens.— Peace  of    Antalcidas.— The 
Mantinean  AVar.— The  Olynthian  League.— Seizure 
of   Thebes.— The   Northern  War.— Epaminondas 
and  Pelopidas.— Revolt  of  Thebes.— Athens  in- 
volved.—Character  of  Epaminondas.— Progress  of 
the  War  —Peace  of  Callias.— Isolation  of  Thebes.— 
Battle  of  Leuctra.— Jason  of  Pherae.— Epaminon- 
das in  the  South.— Athens  and   Sparta  in   Alli- 
ance.—Rise  of  Macedonia.— The  Tearless  Battle.— 
Embassy  to  Persia.— Thebes  and  Thessaly.— Effort 
for   Peace.— Battle    of    Cynoscephalaj.— Elis  and 
Arcadia.— Attempt  to  capture  Sparta.— Battle  of 
Mantinea.— Death  of  Epaminondas.— End  of  Ages- 
ilaiis. —  Greek    Affairs    in    Sicily.— Dionysius. — 
Plato.— Dion.— Story  of  Timoleon.— Sicilian  Des- 
potism  overthrown.— Greece  threatened  by  the 
North.— Philip  of  Macedon.— He  becomes  King.— 
His   Policy    relative   to   Greece.— Social  and   Sa- 
cred   Wars.— Seizure    of    Delphi.— Philip    takes 
Advantage     of     Dissensions.  —  Demosthenes.  — 
His    Orations. —  Negotiations    of     Athens    with 
Macedonia.— Pnilip   invades   Phocis.— The  Final 
Scene, 589-608 


18 


CONTENTS    OF    VOLUME   I. 


BOOK  Ninth.— IVlACEDONiA. 


Chapter  XL VIII.— Countries,  Cities,  and 
Tribes. 
Names  of  the  Country.— Regions  included  in  the 
Empire.— How  bounded.— Pi  incipal  Kiverd.— Val- 
leys.—Political  Divisions.— Orestis  and  Stympha- 
lia.— Eordasa  and  Pieria.— BottiiKa.— Emathca  — 
Mygdonia.—  Chalcidice.  —  Olynthus.  —  Bisaltia.— 
Pseonia.- ViaEgnatia.— MythoftheTermenidee.- 
Reign  of  Amyntas.— Alexander  and  Perdiccas.— 
Archelaus.— Amyntas  II.— Hia  Sons,    •    .611-616 

Chapter  XLIX.— Reign  of  Philip. 

Sketch  of  the  Great  King.— A  Pupil  of  Epami- 
nondas.  His  Residence  at  Thebes.— War  with 
lllyria.— Philip  becomes  Regent.  — Overthrows 
Arg£eus.— Defeat  of  the  Illyrians.— Condition  of 
Greece.— Decline  of  that  Country.— A  Macedonian 
Party  in  the  South.— Birth  of  Alexander.— Philip's 
Part  in  the  Social  War.— Relations  with  the  Athe- 
nian Democracy.— Affair  of  Amphipolis.- Taking 
of  Pydna  and  Potidpea.— Conquest  of  Thrace.— 
Sitalces.— The  Sacred  War  affords  Opportunity  for 
Interference  in  Greece. — The  King  loses  an  Eye. — 
Success  of  Onomarchus.  —  Is  overthrown  and 
killed  by  Philip.  — Battle  of  Chseronea.— The 
Olynthian  War. — Demosthenes  and  yEschines. — 
Party  Broils  in  Athena.— Isocrates  —His  Policy.— 
Philip  ends  the  War.  —  Terms  of  Settlement.— 
Aristotle.  —  Thrace  subdued.— Scythian  Expedi- 
tion.— Hostilityof  Athens.— Persia  on  the  Scene.— 
The  Triballi. — Perinthusand  Amphissa.— Athens 
joins  Amphissa — Defection  of  Thebes.— Chsero- 
nea,— Preparations  for  the  Invasion  of  Persia. — 
Philip  is  assassinated. — His  Character,  .    .  616-629 

Chapter  L. — Alexander  the  Great, 

The  Prince  becomes  King. — What  was  ex- 
pected.— Loyalty  of  Thessaly. — The  Amphictyones 
make  Alexander  Generalissimo. — lllyria  and  Coast 
Towns  revolt  —Are  suppressed. — Defeat  of  Thra- 
cians  and  Triballi.  —  Expedition  into  lllyria. — 
Greek  Insurrections. — Affairs  at  Thebes. — Capture 
of  the  City.— Obliteration  of  Theban  Power. — 
Athens  overawed.— The  King  will  invade  Asia. — 
At  Ilium.— Condition  of  Asia  Minor. — Battle  of  the 
Granicus. — The  Spoils. — Sardis,  Ephesus,  and  Mi- 
letus taken. — Halicarnassus. — INIarch  through  Ly- 
ciaand  Pamphylia. — Plot  for  Assassination  — Pam- 
phylian  Pass.  —  Destruction  of  Marmarians  — 
Further  Conquests. — "Excepting  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians."— Plans  of  the  Spartans. — Memnon. — His 
Death. — Alexander  at  Gordium. — The  Fabulous 
Knot. — Athenian  Embassy. — Conquests  in  Asia 
Minor.  —  The  Persians  in  Front.  —  Sickness  of 
the  King. — He  marches  Eastward. — The  Syrian 
Gate. — Battle  of    Issus. — Capture    of    the    Great 


King's  Family. — Alexander  turns  into  Syria. — 
Damascus  taken. —  Spartan  Intrigues. —  Negotia- 
tions with  Darius. — Capture  of  Tyre. — The  Great 
King  makes  Overtures. — Gaza  is  taken. — Egyi^t 
added  to  Macedonia. — Founding  of  Alexandria  — 
The  King  goes  to  Amun. — At  Memphis. — Tln'psa- 
cus — Enters  Mesopotamia. — Battle  of  Arbela. — 
The  Overthrow — Alexander  at  Babylon. — Goi  s 
to  Susa.  —  Thence  to  Persepolis.  —  The  Persian 
Gate  —  Reaches  the  Capital.  —  Burning  of  the 
Palace. — Intrigue  of  Darius. — Comes  to  Naught. — 
Flight  and  Death  of  Darius. — Overthrow  of  Bes- 
sus.— The  King  marries  Roxana. — The  Example 
followed. — Jealousy  of  Greeks  and  Persians. — 
Killing  of  Clitus. — Attempt  of  Hermolaiis.— Ex- 
pedition into  India. — Overthrow  of  Porus. — Games 
and  Cities  founded. — Conquest  of  India. — Thus 
Far,  but  no  Further. — The  Return. — Struggle  with 
the  Malli.— Division  of  the  Army.  —  Gedrosia. — 
Alexander  organizes  an  Empire. — His  Works  at 
Babylon. — Mutiny  in  Army. — Death  of  Hephaes- 
tion. — The  Cossees  subdued. — Plans  for  the  Civ- 
ilization of  Asia — Death  of  Alexander.  —  His 
Character.— View  of  the  Epoch, 629-663 

Chapter  LI. — Successors  of  Alexander. 

Succession  not  established. — Rupture  in  the 
Army.  —  Arrhidajus  and  Perdiccas.  —  Birth  of  a 
Son. — Division  of  Provinces. — Burial  of  Alexan- 
der.— Revolt  of  Greek  Soldiers.^Capi^adociana 
rise. — Quarrels  and  Jealousies. — Perdiccas  resisted 
by  Antigonus  and  Ptolemy. — Regent  invades 
Egypt. — Attempt  of  Greece  to  overthi'ow  Anti- 
pater.  —  The  Latter  proclaimed  Regent. — Transfor- 
mations of  Authority. — Movements  of  Eumenes. — 
Polysperchon  Regent. — Democracy  in  Greece. — 
Olympias  and  Eurydice  destroyed- — Eumenes 
and  Antigonus. — The  Former  put  to  Death. — 
Antigonus  makes  War  on  Seleucus. — Battle  of 
Gaza. — Greek  Kingdom  of  Syria  established. — 
World  divided  among  Alexander's  Successors. — 
War  renewed. — Antigonus  conquers  Cyprus. — 
Besieges  Rhodes. — Battle  of  Ipsus. — Second  Settle- 
ment.—Demetrius  Poliorcetes. — Soter  and  Phila- 
delphus  in  Egypt. — Battle  of  Corupedion. — Death 
of  Seleucus. — Alexandria  glorified. — Downfall  of 
Ceraunus,  —  Antigonus  II.  —  Achaean  League.  — 
Philip  succeeds  Doson  as  Regent.  —  Reign  of 
Soter.— War  with  the  Gauls.— Antiochus  Theos.— 
Syria  with  Egypt. — Murder  of  Berenice  and  its  Con- 
sequences.—  Hierax. — Battle  of  Ancyrse.  —  Par- 
thian War. — Revolts  of  Media  and  Persia. — Battle 
of  Raphia. — Provinces  reduced  by  Antiochus. — 
Reign  of  Philopater. — Philip  makes  War  in  Asia 
Minor. — Rome  puts  forth  her  Hand. — Flaminius 
at  Corinth, 66i-680 


List  of  Illustrations,  Volume  I. 


PAGE. 

Portrait  of  Author, Frontispiece. 

An  Egyptian    Princess — Time  of  the  Pha- 
raohs (Etching), 28 

Head-piece  for  Egypt, 29 

IMurchison  Waterfall — Upper  Nile,  ....  33 

Kilometer, 34 

Coptic  Women  Fording  the  Nile  (Modern),  .  35 
Diagram  showing  the  Ethnic  Place  of  the 

Egyptians, 37 

Coptic  Maiden  (Modern), 40 

Celebrities  of  Ancient  Egypt, 43 

Building  the  Pyramids, 45 

Pyramids  of  Gizeh, 46 

Sarcophagus  op  Menkera, 51 

The  Great  Sphinx, 53 

Pyramid  of  Dashur, '  .    .  54 

Obellsk  of  Heliopolis, 55 

Sphinxes  of  Ammun-Ra,  Thebes, 58 

Queen  Tai, 59 

Amenophis  III. — Ra-Hotep, 60 

Statue  op  Amenophis  IV., 60 

Seti  I.  burning  an  Offering  of  Incense,    .    .  61 

Hall  of  Columns  at  El-Karnak, 62 

Temple  of  Chesnu  at  Kabnak, 63 

Temple  of  Abydos, 63 

Eamses  the  Great, 64 

Ruins  of  Thebes, 65 

Menepta, 66 

Exodus  op  Israel, 67 

Egyptians  in  Battle  with  the  Ethiopians. — 

Drawn  by  C.  F.  Klimsh, 69 

Egyptians  Plowing, 72 

The  Bull   Apis, 73 

Temple  of  Isis,  Phil;e, 75 

HiPPARCHUS    IN    the    OBSERVATORY      OP    ALEX- 
ANDRIA,        76 

Fellah  Plowing, 77 

Erection  of  Public  Buildings, 78 

Egyptian  Dwelling, 78 

Egyptian  Dancer. — After  a   painting  by  H. 

Makart, 79 

Hieroglyphics  of  Ox-song, 80 

Process  of  Embalming, 81 

Funeral  Procession  crossing   the  Lake  of 

THE   Dead, 82 

Mummy  Cases, 82 

The  Egyptian  Trinity, 84 

Sacred   Beetle, 84 

Winged  Sun, 84 

Osiris 85 


PAaK. 

Isis, 86 

Column  of  Osiris, gg 

HoRus,  . 87 

Column  from  Temple  of  Dendera, 87 

The  Sacrifice   to  the  Nile. — Drawn  by  W. 

Gentz, 88 

Sacred  Ibis, 89 

Temple  of  Isis,  Island  of  Elephantine,  .  .  91 
Judgment    of   the   Dead.— From   the   Turin 

Papyrus, 92 

Temple  of  Dendera, 93 

Ruins  of  the  Temple  at  Karnak, 94 

Ruins  of  Kom  Ombo, 95 

Facade  of  an  Egyptian  Temple  (Restored),    96 

Column  from  Beni- Hassan, 96 

Column  from  Kom  Ombo, 96 

Column  from  Medinet-Habu, 96 

Protodoric  Column  from  Beni-Hassan,  ...    96 

Column  from  Thebes, 96 

Obelisk  of  Alexandria, 97 

Sculptured  Facade  of  the  Temple  of  Edfu,   98 

Egyptian  Alphabet, 99 

The    Rosetta  Stone, 99 

Champollion, 100 

Specimen  of  Egyptian  Writing, 100 

Cross  Section  of  the  Temple  of  Edfu,    .   .   .  102 

Head-piece  for  Chald^ea, 103 

Confluence  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  .  104 
Euphrates  and  Plain  op  Chald^a,  ....  106 
Date  Palm  of  the  Lower  Euphrates,  .       .    .  107 

Ur  of  the  Chaldees, 115 

Building  of  the  Temple  op  Warka,  Time  of 

Urukh, 117 

The  Seal  of  Ilgi, 118 

Kudur-Lagamer  Storming    a  Town   in   Ca- 
naan,      119 

Ruins  op  Susa, 120 

Brick  op  Babylon, 125 

Glazed  Coffins  from  Warka, 127 

Procession  op  Bel, 134 

Image  of  the  Fish-God, 136 

Image  of  Nebo, 137 

Nana,  the  Phcenician  Astarte, 138 

Head-piece  for  Assyria, 143 

Tigris  at  Nineveh, 145 

Assyrian  Mule, 151 

Assyrian  Partridge, 151 

Assyrian  Ostriches, 152 

Ninevite  Hero, 153 

Assyrian  King, 154 

19 


20 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS,    VOLUME  I. 


Assyrians  going  to  Battle, 155 

Assyrian  War-Chariot 155 

Captives  of  the  Assyrians, 156 

Assyrian  Princess  in  Full  Dress, 156 

Assyrian  Prince  in  Full  Dress, 157 

Region  about  Nineveh, 157 

Site  of  Nineveh 159 

Palace  of  Asshur-Izur-Pal, 168 

Ornamented  Pillar, 1G9 

Jehu's  Embassy  before  Shalmaneser,  ....  171 

Palace  op  Sargon  (Restored) 178 

Winged  Lion,  Time  op  Sargon, 179 

Death  of  Saracus, 189 

Assyrian  Writing, 198 

Arrow-head,  Tablets,  and  Inscriptions,    .   .  199 
Assyrian  Caricature— Dragons  Fighting,    .  199 

Assyrian  Soldiers  Fighting, 200 

Suing  for  Peace, 200 

Head-piece  for  Media, 201 

Sculptured  Rock  op  Behistun, 205 

Ruins  of  Persepolis, 213 

Cyrus   the   Great. — Drawn    by    W.    Camp- 

hausen, 235 

The  Young  Cyrus  entering  Ecbatana,  .   .   .  238 

Head-piece  for  Babylonia, 239 

Phcenician   Fleet  on   a  Voyage  of  Discov- 
ery.— Drawn  by  P.  Philippoteaux,     .    .    .  242 
Phcenician  Scene  at   Court. — Drawn  by  P. 

Philippoteaux, 243 

Dead  Sea,  looking  South, 244 

Babylon, 259 

Ruins  of  Tyre, 265 

View  of  Jerusalem, 266 

Image  op  Beelzebub, 279 

Image  of  Ashtaroth, 279 

High-priest  of  Israel, 288 

Battle  of  Michmash, 289 

Saul  Anointed  by  Samuel, 290 

Absalom's  Tomb, 291 

Temple  op  Solomon, 292 

Siege  of  Tyre  by  the  Babylonians,    ....  294 
Captive    Jews    led    into    Babylonia. — After 

the  painting  by  E.  Bendemann, 295 

Daniel  Interpreting  the  Dream   of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar,    297 

Ruins  of  Sardis, 299 

Crcesus  on  the  Funeral  Pyre. — Drawn   by 

H.  Vogel, 301 

Capture  of  Babylon,     302 

Head-piece  for  Persia, 305 

Miletus 317 

Temple  op  Diana  at  Ephesus  (Restored),   .   .  318 

Tomb  of  Cyrus, 324 

Ancient  Susa, 326 

Head  of  a  Persian  King, 333 

Rebuilding  of  Jerusalem, 350 

Cambyses    kills    the    Apis. — Drawn    by    H. 

Vogel, 354 

Battle  of  Cunaxa, 368 


Return  of  the  Ten  Thousand. — H.  Vogel,  .   .  370 
Darius  Codomanus  in  the  Battle  of  Issus,  .  371 
Victory  of  Alexander  on  the  Granicus. — 
After  the  painting  by  Chas.  Lebrun, .  .   .  372 

Battle  of  Issus, 373 

Alexander  Discovers  the  Body  of  Darius,  .  375 

Tail-piece, 376 

Head-piece  for  Parthia, 377 

Plan  of  Hatra, 391 

Ruins  of  Hatra, .  393 

Parthian  Slipper  Coffin, 394 

Parthian  Vases,  Jugs,  and  Lamps, 395 

Hunter  killing  a  Bear, 396 

Parthian  Warriors, 397 

Coin  of  Theodotus 401 

Coin  of  Arsaces  L, 402 

Coin  op  Artabanus  I., 404 

Coin  of  Mithridates  I., 409 

Magus  Megistos,  or  High  Priest, 413 

Sulla,   420 

Roman  Legionaries, 422 

Roman  Soldiers  going  into  Battle, 425 

Julius  C^sar, 427 

Charge  of  Parthian  Cavalry, 428 

Roman  Army  crossing  the  Tigris, 429 

Coin  of  Vardanes  I., 433 

Coin  of  Vardanes  II., 435 

Coin  of  Mithridates  IV., 435 

Parthian  Captives  Before  Marcus  Aueelius,  439 

Sack  of  Ctesiphon  by  the  Romans, 441 

Tail-piece. — Frieze  over  Doorway  of  Tem- 
ple of  Hatra  (After  Rawlinson),  ....  444 
Greek  Girls  at  their  Sports  (Etching),.  .    .  446 

Head-piece  for  Greece, 447 

Socrates, 463 

Ideal  Bust  of  Homer, 468 

Theater  of  Segesta  (Restored), 471 

Sophocles, 472 

Euripides, 472 

Aristophanes, 473 

Menander > 473 

Thucydides, 474 

Herodotus, 474 

Herodotus  reading  his  History. — Drawn  by 

H.  Leutemann, 475 

Fight  of  Achilles  and  Memnon, 478 

Capture  of  Helen  of  Troy, 479 

Fifty-oared  Greek  Boat, 480 

Phidias  in  his  Study, 481 

The  Parthenon  Restored, 482 

Types  of  Greek  Women, 487 

Delphi  and  Parnassus, 493 

Pythia  on  the  Tripod. — Drawn  by  H.  Leute- 
mann,     494 

Eleusinian  Feast. — Drawn  by  H.  Vogel,    .   .  496 

Colossal  Head  of  Zeus, 499 

Colossal  Head  of  Hera, 500 

Poseidon,     . 500 

Ruins  of  Troas, 509 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS,    VOLUME  I. 


21 


Heroes  of  the  Trojan  War, 510 

The  Wooden  Horse, 511 

Olympian  Games, 516 

Death  of  Codrus. — Drawn  by  H.  Vogel,  .  .  530 
Solon   dictating   his   Laws. —  Drawn  by  H. 

Vogel, 533 

Crcesus    showing    Solon    his    Treasures. — 

Drawn  by  H.  Leutemann, 535 

Clisthexes  in  the  Olympic  Games, 537 

Battle  of  Marathon, 543 

Discomfiture  of  the  Persians  at  Delphi,  .   .  549 

Battle  of  Salamis, 551 

Spartans  at  Plat^a, 554 

Athens  viewed  from  the  Pir^us, 558 

Pericles, 562 

The  Acropolis  (Restored), 565 

Alcibiades, 573 

Naval  Battle  in  the  Harbor  of  Syracuse,  .  577 
Destruction    op    the    Athenian    Army    in 

Sicily. — Drawn  by  H.  Vogel, 579 

Return    of   Alcibiades   to   Athens. — Drawn 

by  H.  Vogel, 583 

Death  of  Alcibiades, 586 

Last  Hours  of  Socrates. — After  the  painting 

by  David, 588 

Epaminondas  saves  the  Life  of  Pelopidas. — 

Drawn  by  H.  Vogel, 595 

Banquet  of  Damocles, 599 

Plato — Museum  of  DePauw  University,  .  .  .  604 
Demosthenes, 606 


^schines, 607 

Ancient  Corinth, 608 

Head-piece  for  Macedonia, 611 

Aristotle, 618 

"AsTOR  to  Philip's  Right  Eye," 621 

Tsocrates, 623 

Aristotle  and  his  Pupil  Alexander,  ....  625 

Alexander, 630 

Defeat  of  the  Thracians  by  the  Macedo- 
nian Phalanx, 632 

Thebans  and  ^Macedonians  in  Battle,    .   .    .  634 
Alexander  in  Peril  of  His  Life. — Drawn  by 

H.  Vogel, 637 

Alexander  Before  Tyre. — Drawn  by  H.  Vo- 
gel,     .    .  647 

Alexander  at  the  Temple  of  Amun,  ....  649 
Macedonians  crossing  the  Jaxartes,.    .    .    .655 
Defeat  of  Porus  by  the  Macedonians,  .    .    .  658 
Festival  in  Honor  of  the  Birth  op  Alex- 
ander's Son. — Drawn  by  H.  Leutemann,  666 

Ptolemy  Soter, 672 

Demetrius  Poliorcetes 672 

Philadelphus  planning   the   Alexandrian 

Library, 673 

Hall  in  the  Alexandrian  Library,    ....  674 

Pharos  of  Alexandria, 675 

Antiochus  I., 676 

Flaminius    proclaiming     Liberty     to    the 

Greeks. — Drawn  by  H.  Vogel, 679 

Tail-piece, 680 


Introduction  to  Volume  I. 


IVILIZATION  was  first 
planted  iu  the  great  river 
valleys  of  the  East.  The 
upland,  hill-country,  and 
2)lain  reacted  less  favora- 
ably  upon  the  faculties  of 
man  than  did  the  dark 
alluvium  richly  spread 
along  the  banks  of  overflowing  streams.  The 
exuberance  of  the  soil  thus  formed,  and  the 
copious  and  perennial  supply  of  water,  gave 
great  advantages  to  those  primitive  tribes  of 
men  who  chose  for  their  homes  the  valley-lands 
rather  than  the  mountain  slopes  and  plains. 
Accordingly  we  find  that,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Nature,  the  first  progressive  communities  were 
organized  by  the  river-banks,  on  the  fertile 
deposits  made  by  the  overflow  of  turbid  Avaters 
as  they  spread  out  to  meet  the  sea. 

In  such  a  locality  the  first  well-develoj^ed 
society  of  which  history  is  called  to  take  ac- 
count was  established.  Where  the  River  Nile 
bears  northwards  to  the  Mediterranean  his 
swollen  waters,  annually  yellowed  with  the  rich 
debris  of  the  mountains,  the  oldest  nation  of 
antiquity  was  planted.  The  secular  history  of 
mankind  properly  begins  with  Egypt. 

The  second  region  to  which  the  attention  of 
the  historian  is  directed  is  similar  to  the  first. 
The  valleys  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris, 
occupy iug  the  depression  between  the  Syrian 
plateau  and  the  table-land  of  Persia,  furnish  a 
situation  specially  favorable  to  the  development 
of  great  kingdoms.  Here  the  incentives  and 
instigations  to  a  civilized  life  are  scarcely  infe- 
rior to  those  of  Egypt;  and  accordingly  we 
find  that,  at  a  very  remote  period,  man  availed 
himself  of  the  natural  advantages  of  the  low- 
lands lying  along  the  two  great  I'ivers,  and 
planted  powerful  empires  on  their  banks. 

In  this  fruitful  and  well-watered  region  no 
fewer  than  three  of  the  great  monarchies  of 
the  ancient  world — Chald^a,  Assyria,  Baby- 
lonia— rose,  flourished,  and  fell.  It  will  thei-e- 
fore  be  natural,  after  tracing  the  vicissitudes 
of  Egyptian  history,  down  to  the  time  of  the 


conquest  of  that  country  by  the  Persians,  to 
turn  to  the  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Eu- 
i:)h rates,  and  narrate,  in  chronological  order,  the 
histories  of  the  three  great  kingdoms  founded 
on  the  banks  of  those  rivers.  The  Second, 
Third,  and  Fifth  Books  of  Ancient  History  will 
thus  be  occupied  with  an  account  of  the  Chal- 
dean, Assyrian,  and  Babylonian  monarchies. 

In  an  exhaustive  account  of  the  early  move- 
ments of  the  human  race,  we  should  next  en- 
ter the  valley  of  the  Indus.  Here  we  should 
see  the  oldest  branch  of  the  Aryan  family 
develojJing  into  the  civilized  condition,  until, 
by  the  sej)aration  of  the  Irauic  tribes  on  the 
west,  a  new  dominion  is  established  in  the 
hill -countries  of  Media  and  Persia.  We 
should  observe  the  growth  of  this  power, 
warlike  and  aggressive  from  the  first,  until 
attracted  by  the  wealth  and  emboldened  by 
the  effeminacy  of  the  Mesopotamians,  the  army 
of  Cyaxares  captures  Nineveh  and  makes  it 
the  capital  of  the  Median  dominions.  The 
Fourth  Book  will  be  occupied  with  the  history 
of  the  Median  Empire,  down  to  its  overthrow 
by  Cyrus  the  Great. 

With  this  event  we  may  properly  pause  to 
observe  the  revival  of  Babylonia  under  Na- 
bopolassar  and  his  successors.  We  shall  see  a 
new  power  arising  on  the  ruins  of  ancient 
Chakk^a  more  glorious  than  she,  but  destined 
to  a  brief  career.  The  Lower  or  Later  Empire 
of  the  Babylonians  will  occupy  a  few  of  the 
most  brilliant  and  interesting  chapters  in  the 
annals  of  antiquity. 

The  collapse  of  Babylonia  under  the  blows 
of  Cyrus  will  take  the  reader  again  beyond 
the  Zagros  and  open  to  him  the  records  of 
the  Medo-Persian  Empire.  Here  he  shall 
note  the  growth,  culmination,  and  decline  of 
the  greatest  power  ever  planted  by  the  Aryan 
race  in  Asia,  and  at  its  close  shall  mark  with 
admiration  the  triumph  of  the  freedom-loving 
Hellenes  over  the  consolidated  despotism  es- 
tablished by  Cyrus  and  his  successors. 

But  before  transferring  his  historical  sta- 
tion from   Asia  to  Eui'ope,  tlie    reader   may 

C23J 


24 


INTRODUCTION   TO    VOLUME   I. 


■well  pause  to  observe  the  rise  and  expansion 
of  a  great  native  dynasty  on  the  ruius  of  Per- 
sia. After  a  few  striking  evolutions,  and  the 
lapse  of  a  brief  period,  a  new  Asiatic  domin- 
ion, known  as  Parthia,  springs  up  as  the  rep- 
resentative State  of  the  Iranic  nations.  With 
this  Power  the  successors  of  Alexander  con- 
tend in  desultory  and  fruitless  wars  until 
what  time  the  shadow  of  Rome,  extending 
across  Asia,  reaches  the  Euphrates.  Then, 
for  two  and  a  half  centuries,  the  Mistress  of 
the  World  shall  find  a  barrier  to  her  progress 
in  the  long  lines  of  Parthian  cavalry  lying  in 
the  desert  horizon  of  Mesopotamia.  The  Sev- 
enth Book  will  be  devoted  to  the  history  of  the 
Parthian  Empire. 

The  next  change  of  scene  will  be  to  the 
Grecian  Archipelago.  In  the  islands  of  the 
.^gean,  and  around  the  adjacent  coasts  of 
Asia  Minor  and  Hellas,  we  shall  see  the  Hel- 
lenic tribes  establishing  themselves  and  laying 
the  foundations  of  the  most  brilliant  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Ancient  World.  For  a  while  Sparta, 
with  her  warrior  caste,  and  Athens,  with  her 
intellectual  activity,  will  occupy  the  fore- 
ground. The  hosts  of  Persia  will  be  precip- 
itated upon  the  small  but  vigorous  democracies 
of  the  Greeks,  only  to  be  destroyed  by  their 
valor.  Macedonia  shall  then  achieve,  partly 
by  prowess  and  partly  by  intrigue,  what  the 
Persians  could  not  accomplish — the  subjection 
of  the  Grecian  States.  The  Eighth  Book  will 
contain  an  account  of  the  rise  of  the  Hellenic 
colonies,  the  glory  of  the  Greeks,  and  their 
final  subordination  by  the  Macedonians. 

In  the  next  scene  the  Illyrian  Greeks  of 
the  North,  led  by  Philip  and  Alexander,  shall 
subvert  the  democratic  liberties  of  Hellas,  visit 
Asia  with  retribution,  overthrow  the  Medo- 
Persian  Empire,  and  carry  the  Greek  lan- 
guage to  the  banks  of  the  Indus.  Then,  as 
suddenly,  the  great  fabric  reared  by  Macedo- 
nian genius  shall  collapse  and  disappear.  The 
Ninth  Book  will  recount  the  history  of  Mace- 
donia, from  the  rise  of  the  kingdom  to  the 
decline  of  the  States  established  by  the  suc- 
cessors of  Alexander  the  Great,  in  Asia. 

In  addition  to  these  general  aspects  which 
the  history  of  the  Ancient  World  presents, 
certain  minor  considerations  will,  from  time  to 
time,  claim  our  attention.  Several  countries 
in  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  on    the  northern  coast 


of  Africa,  and  in  Europe,  will  at  intervals  de- 
mand attention  and  be  made  the  subjects  of 
special  chapters  in  proper  connection  with  the 
general  narrative.  In  this  way  the  history  of 
Lydia  and  the  other  kingdoms  of  Asia  Minor, 
Phoenicia,  Israel,  and  the  Greek  colonies  will 
be  presented. 

Summing  up  the  results  of  this  brief  gen- 
eral survey  of  Ancient  History,  we  find  the 
subject  presenting  itself  under  nine  principal 
heads,  or  divisions,  as  follows : 

I.  Book  First. — The  Egyptian  Ascend- 
ency. From  the  founding  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Memphis,  B.  C.  3892,  to  the  conquest  of 
the  country  by  the  Persians,  B.  C.  525. 

II.  Book  Second. — The  Chaldean  As- 
cendency. From  the  establishment  of  the 
Cushite  Kingdoms  on  the  lower  Euphrates, 
B.  C.  (about)  2400,  to  the  subjection  of  Bab- 
ylonia by  the  Assyrians,  B.  C.  1300. 

III.  Book  Third. — The  Assyrian  As- 
cendency. From  the  establishment  of  the 
Assyrian  Empire,  by  the  conquests  of  Tig- 
lathi- A  dar,  B.  C.  1300,  to  the  destruction  of 
Nineveh,  B.  C.  625. 

IV.  Book  Fourth. — The  Median  As- 
cendency. From  the  origin  of  that  kingdom 
to  its  overthrow  by  Cyrus  the  Great,  B.  C.  558. 

V.  Book  Fifth. — The  Babylonian  As- 
cendency. From  the  revival  of  the  Lower 
Empire  under  Nabopolassar,  B.  C.  625,  to  the 
conquest  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus,  B.  C.  538. 

VI.  Book  Sixth. — The  Persian  Ascend- 
ency. From  the  founding  of  the  Empire  of 
Achsemenes,  B.  C.  660,  to  the  battle  of  Arbela, 
B.  C.  331. 

VII.  Book  Seventh. — The  Parthian  As- 
cendency. From  the  revolt  and  accession  of 
Arsaces  I.,  B.  C.  256,  to  the  destruction  of 
the  Empire,  A.  D.  226. 

VIII.  Book  Eighth. — The  Hellenic  As- 
cendency. From  the  establishment  of  Greek 
colonies  in  Hellas,  in  the  mythological  ages,  to 
the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great,  B.  C.  323. 
IX.  Book  Ninth. — The  Macedonian 
Ascendency.     From    the    founding    of    the 

kingdom  by  Perdiccas  I.,  B.  C. .,   to  the 

absorption  of  the  last  of  the  fragments  of  Al- 
exander's dominions  by  the  Roman  Empire, 
B.  C.  146. 

In  this  order  the  History  of  the  Ancient 
World  will  be  presented  in  the  following  pages. . 


CYCLOPEDIA 


OK 


Universal  History 


VOLUME    I 


ORIENTAL  MONARCHIES 

HELLENIC  ASCENDENCY 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS 


1 1^1 1^1 1:4:1 1^1  mw\  m  w\  w\  i?^i  1^1  m  i^i  1^1  t^i  1^1  \m  \^ 


i*n^ii>^ii^ii 


\\:^\m  m  \M  m  m  m  \^\m  1^1  i^i  mm  m  m  m  m  m 


>^ii^ii^ii>»<i 


\mk  1[ir$f* 


EGYPT. 


Chapter  i.— The  Country 


HE  oldest  civilization  be- 
gan on  that  continent 
which  seems  to  be  least 
favorable  to  the  progress 
of  the  human  race. 
Africa  lies  under  the 
equator,  sun-scorched  and 
blasted.  In  the  broadest  part,  through  fifteen 
degrees  of  latitude,  the  country  is  a  desert, 
the  upheaved  bed  of  a  sea — more  impass- 
able than  the  trackless  deep.  The  whole  of 
the  southern  portion  of  the  continent  is  oc- 
cupied with  a  vast  plateau  which,  descending 
to  the  north,  sinks  at  intervals  into  jagged  hills 
and  anon  into  a  tangle  of  impenetrable  forests, 
wild  and  gloomy,  Avhere,  through  untold  ages, 
the  exuberant  forces  of  Nature  have  triumphed 
over  the  genius  and  cowed  the  spirit  of  man. 
The  African  coasts,  though  washed  on  three 
sides  with  oceans,  are  nowhere  indented  with 
great  bays  and  inlets.  Near  the  shores  the 
mountains  rise,  and  through  these  the  rivers, 
gathering  their  waters  in  the  table-lands  of  the 
interior,  burst  out  in  cataracts,  make  a  short 
and  precipitous  course  to  the  foot-hills,  and 
then  sluggishly  traverse  the  narrow  strip  of 
29 


low  and  marshy  land  lying  between  the  hill- 
country  and  the  sea. 

Northern  Africa  is  a  mountainous  district 
occupying  the  space  between  the  Sahara  and 
the  Mediterranean.  Near  the  western  ex- 
treme the  peaks  of  the  Atlas  range  rise  to  the 
region  of  perpetual  snow.  Further  to  the 
east  the  mountains  sink  down  into  hills  and 
finally  terminate  in  the  plain  of  Barca,  which 
is  scarcely  a  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  The  northern  slope,  between  the 
Atlas  and  the  MediteiTanean,  is  occupied  with 
ranges  of  hills,  deep  valleys — sometimes  cleft 
by  mountain  streams  and  sometimes  dry  and 
barren — plains  of  greater  or  less  extent,  and 
morasses  and  flats,  characterized  by  the  luxu- 
riant vegetation  peculiar  to  the  well-watered 
portions  of  Africa. 

At  the  eastern  extreme  of  this  northern 
slope,  looking  out  towards  the  Mediterranean, 
opens  the  Valley  of  the  Nn.E,  the  largest  in 
Africa  and  most  fruitful  in  the  world.  It 
occupies  the  north-eastern  corner  of  the  conti- 
nent, being  separated  from  Arabia  by  a  nar- 
row strip  of  sea  and  guarded  on  the  west  by 
the   fastnesses   of  the   desert.     Through    this 


30 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


valley,  from  south  to  north,  flows  the  great 
river,  famous  from  the  earliest  epoch  in  his- 
tory and  tradition.  Here,  on  either  side  of 
the  river,  stretching  almost  from  the  Tropic  of 
Cancer  to  the  Mediterranean,  lies  the  narrow 
belt  of  black  alluvium  known  as  Egypt. 

From  the  great  lakes  lying  under  the  equa- 
tor; from  the  spurs  of  the  table-lands  beyond 
the  equator;  from  the  slopes  of  mountains 
whose  gorges  are  filled  with  glaciers  and 
summits  are  covered  with  snow,  the  western 
branch  of  the  river  of  Egypt,  known  as  the 
White  Nile  or  Bahr-el-Abiad,  gathers  its  wa- 
ters. Plunging  down  from  the  highlands,  it 
reaches  a  country  of  swamps  and  morasses; 
infinite  jungles;  thickets  of  bamboo,  tama- 
risks, sycamores ;  humid  and  sunless  forests, 
where  zebras,  antelopes,  and  elephants  abound ; 
muddy  banks  covered  with  reeds,  through 
which  the  hippopotamus  heaves  his  huge  bulk 
and  crocodiles  slide  with  a  lazy  plunge.  Fur- 
ther on  in  its  course  the  river  enters  a  region 
of  grassy  plains,  interspersed  with  tropical  for- 
ests, and  occasionally  broken  into  hills. 

Far  to  the  south-east,  out  of  the  table-lands 
of  Abyssinia,  from  the  slopes  and  rivulets 
of  the  range  called  Samen,  the  Bahr-el-Azrak 
or  Blue  Nile  takes  its  rise,  and  descends  with 
a  smaller  volume  of  waters  to  join  the  AVhite 
Nile  at  Khartoom,  in  15°  30'  N.  From  this 
point  onward,  through  several  degrees  of  lati- 
tude, the  ranges  of  hills  lie  almost  at  right 
angles  to  the  course  of  the  river,  which  breaks 
through  the  successive  barriers  in  a  series  of 
cataracts,  the  last  being  at  Syene. 

The  country  on  either  hand  has  now  become 
a  desert,  and  begins  to  take  on  the  peculiar 
character  of  Egypt.  The  river  at  the  last  cat- 
aract is  a  thousand  yards  in  width.  From  this 
point  to  the  sea  is  a  distance  of  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  miles;  and  in  all  this  course  the  Nile 
receives  no  tributary  of  any  importance. 
From  Syene  to  the  Mediterranean  stretches  a 
vast  fissure  in  the  rocky  structure  of  the  con- 
tinent; and  in  the  bottom  of  this  fissure, 
more  or  less  winding  and  irregular  in  its 
course,  flows  calmly  and  majestically  the  great 
river  which  is  the  fundamental  fact  of  Egypt. 

Out  of  the  rock-bound  depression  through 
which  it  flows  the  Nile  has  created  a  narrow 


valley,  which  for  fecundity  of  vegetation  has 
no  equal  in  the  world.  On  the  west  the  val- 
ley is  protected  through  its  whole  extent  by 
the  range  of  hills,  which,  standing  back  but  a 
few  miles  from  the  river  and  parallel  with  its 
course,  form  an  effectual  barrier  against  the 
drifting  sands  of  the  desert.  Against  these 
hills,  rising  from  three  hundred  to  five  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  the  clouds  of  dust  which 
blow  up  from  the  blasted  wastes  of  Libya  and 
Barca  beat  in  vain.  Only  now  and  then, 
where  the  hills  press  close  to  the  river,  do  the 
blinding  storms  from  the  west  fling  a  thin 
shower  of  sand  into  the  valley. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  river  a  similar 
rampart  of  hills  stands  from  north  to  south 
between  the  bottoms  and  the  desert  flats  and 
sand-dunes  which  border  the  Red  Sea.  But  on 
this  side  of  the  river  the  valley  is  much  nar- 
rower than  on  the  west.  In  some  localities  the 
eastern  range  rises  abruptly  from  the  water's 
edge,  and  in  only  a  few  places  does  the  river 
divide  impartially  the  verdant  strip  through 
which  it  flows. 

The  greatest  breadth  of  cultivatable  land 
on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  is  about  three 
miles,  and  on  the  western  bank  about  ten 
miles;  but  the  average  breadth  on  either  side 
is  not  so  great.  About  seventy-five  miles 
from  the  Mediterranean  the  Nile  divides  into 
two  branches,  which  flowing,  the  one  in  a 
north-easterly  and  the  other  in  a  north-west- 
erly course,  inclose  between  them  and  the  sea 
the  triangular  district  called  the  Delta. 

The  climate  of  Egypt  is  peculiar  to  itself. 
In  no  other  country  do  the  same  conditions 
exist.  The  temperature  hardly  varies  as  much 
as  fifty  degrees  during  the  year.  For  eight 
months  of  the  twelve  the  heat  is  tempered  by 
refreshing  winds.  In  the  upper  parts  of  Egypt 
clouds  are  never  seen;  mist,  rain,  and  snow 
are  impossible.  Further  down  the  valley  an 
occasional  fleecy  cloud  floats  silently  south- 
ward. In  the  Delta  the  sea-breezes  from  the 
north  not  infrequently  bring  on  their  dripping 
wings  the  benevolent  gift  of  showers. 

Egypt  is  divided  into  three  principal  parts. 
The  first  division,  called  Lower  Egypt,  ex- 
tends from  the  Mediterranean  to  latitude 
twenty-nine  degrees  and  twenty  minutes  north. 


MAP  I. 

ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


Scale  of  English  Miles 


Note.  The  ancient  names  are  in  Capital  lellc 

i/nts_    PTOLEMAIS 


I.FolggrEm;.Ci:i, 


Ijougitude  East  of  Greenwich  34 


EG  YPT.—TRE  CO  UNTB 11 


33 


The  second  division,  more  recent  than  the 
other  two,  reaches  from  the  southern  limit  of 
Lower  Egypt  to  latitude  twenty-seven  degrees 
and  thirty-eight  minutes,  and  is  called  Middle 
Egypt.     The  third  division  extends  from  the 


MURCHISON  WATERFALL.— UPPER  NILE. 

southern  boundary  of  Middle  Egypt  to  the 
ancient  city  of  Philse,  in  latitude  twenty-four 
degrees,  and  is  known  as  Upper  Egypt.  The 
relative  extent  of  these  three  great  divisions 
of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  course  of  the 


34 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


river  and  the  shape  of  the  valley,  may  be  ac- 
curately traced  on  the  accompanying  map. 

In  addition  to  the  three  major  divisions  of 
the  country,  and  for  convenience  of  civil  ad- 
ministration, ancient  Egypt  was  divided  into 
provinces  called  Noivies.  Mention  of  such  di- 
visions has  been  found  as  early  as  the  First 
Dynasty,  and  in  the  subsequent  inscriptions 
the  name  of  hesp,  or  Nome,  is  constantly  re- 
curring. The  number  of  the  provinces  dif- 
fered at  different  periods,  the  lists  of  Herodo- 
tus and  Diodorus  being  in  several  places 
incomplete  or  contradictory.  The  standard 
number  of  Nomes,  according  to  Brugsch,  was 
forty-two;  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
forty-two  judges  who  constituted  the  High 
Court  of  Egypt,  as  well  as  the  myth  of  the 
forty-two  gods  who  presided  over  the  tribunal 
of  the  dead,  may  be  accounted  for  on  the  sup- 
position of  one  judge  for  each  Nome,  called  to 
a  general  council.  Each  of  the  Nomes  had 
for  its  center  a  city  and  a  temple,  and  here 
was  established  the  seat  of  civil  government 
for  the  district. 

The  possibilities  of  Egypt  are  all  traceable 
to  a  single  striking  phenomenon — the  annual 
inundation  of  the  Nile.  About  the  time  of 
the  summer  solstice,  when  the  sun  looking 
doAvn  vertically  upon  the  ice-gorges  in  the 
Abyssinian  mountains  melts  the  deposits  of 
snow  and  pours  them  in  yellow  cascades  to 
join  their  waters  in  the  tAVO  great  arms  of  the 
river,  the  first  pulsations  of  the  flood  are  felt 
in  Egypt.  Where  the  White  Nile  receives 
the  Blue  at  Khartoom,  the  initial  symptoms  of 
the  rise  are  sometimes  felt  as  early  as  April; 
but  the  true  swell  of  the  waters  does  not  gen- 
erally begin  until  the  middle  or  latter  part  of 
June.  Then  the  volume  of  the  river  begins  to 
increase;  the  channel  fills  to  overflow;  the 
current  grows  turbid,  widens  and  deepens;  by 
the  middle  of  August  the  inundation  proper 
pours  into  the  valley,  and  by  the  autumnal 
equinox  the  flood  is  at  its  height.  Then,  after 
the  maximum  has  been  reached,  the  waters  be- 
gin to  recede. 

The  banks  of  the  river  are,  in  most 
places,  higher  than  the  adjacent  valley-lands. 
To  prevent  a  violent  overflow,  huge  canals 
are   cut   into   the   bottoms   at   an   angle  with 


the  course  of  the  stream ;  and,  during  the 
recession  of  the  flood,  the  mouths  of  these 
canals  are  closed  and  the  retreat  of  the  waters 
thus  retarded.  Almost  five  months  elapse  be- 
fore the  river  finds  his  old  bed,  so  that  during 
nearly  three-fourths  of  the  year  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  swell  are  noticeable  in  Egypt. 


nii.(;.mi:ter. 


The  annual  flood  is  by  no  means  uniform 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  the  river. 
The  greatest  rise  is  in  Upper,  and  the  small- 
est in  Lower  Egypt.  At  the  first  cataract 
the  inundation  rises  forty  feet  above  low 
water.  At  Thebes,  thirty-six  feet  is  the  max- 
imum; at  Cairo,  twenty-five  feet;  while  at 
the  Damietta  and  Rosetta  mouths  of  the  Nile 
the  average  rise  is  only  four  feet.  The  vol- 
ume of  the  annual  overflow  is,  however,  by 
no  means  uniform.  In  some  years  the  flood 
is  twice  as  great  as  in  others.  If  the  swell 
does  not  exceed  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  the  rise 
is  regarded  as  scanty ;  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
four  feet  is  considered  a  meager  Nile;  from 
twenty -four  to  twenty-seven  feet,  a  good  Nile ; 
while  a  flood  of  more  than  twenty-eight  feet 
becomes  destructive  and  dangerous.  In  a  few 
rare  instances  there  is  no  rise  at  all,  which 
condition  is  a  sure  precursor  of  distress  and 
famine.  During  the  reign  of  the  Caliph  Mus- 
tansir  a  period   of  seven  years  (A.  D.  1066- 


EG  YPT. — THE  CO  UNTR  Y 


35 


1073)  elapsed  in  which  there  was  no  ir\mda- 
tion.  A  slight  rise  is  sure  to  occasion  dearth ; 
and  on  the  other  hand  a  great  flood,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  usual  disasters  attending  high 
waters,  entails  various  infectious  diseases,  es- 
pecially murrain  and  the  plague.  It  thus 
happens  that  a  variation  of  only  a  few  feet  in 
the  annual  overflow  of  the  river  produces  the 
most  important  results. 

From  time  immemorial  the  yearly  prosper- 
ity of  Egypt  has  been  estimated  by  the  peri- 


in  appearance  at  different  seasons  of  the 
year.  During  the  inundation  the  stream 
is  exceedingly  turbid.  Afterwards  for  about 
two  weeks  it  assumes  a  greenish  tinge,  owing 
to  the  presence  of  large  quantities  of  vegeta- 
ble matter  brought  down  from  the  tropics. 
Again  it  takes  the  turbid  appearance,  and  re- 
tains it  during  the  period  of  subsidence,  until 
the  winter  months,  when  the  waters  are  com- 
paratively clear.  At  all  times,  when  not  agi- 
tated, the  earthy  sediment  is  quickly  deposited, 


COrXIC  WOMEN  FORDINU  '^IIE  NILE  (MODEKN). 


odic  overflow  of  the  Nile.  At  Er-Rodah,  near 
Cairo,  in  Lower  EgyjDt ;  at  Memphis,  a  little 
further  south  ;  and  at  Thebes,  graduated  pil- 
lars, called  Nilometers,  register  the  height  of 
the  annual  inundation,  and  from  this  the  an- 
nual estimates  are  made. 

The  current  of  the  Nile  is  sluggish,  the 
average  velocity  being  at  low  water  no  more 
than  two  miles  per  hour,  and  during  the 
flood  not  exceeding  three  or  three  and  a-half 
miles.     The  water  of  the  river  differs  greatly 


and,   except   during   the   green   stage   of  the 
flood,  the  water  is  pure  and  sweet. 

Egypt  is  the  "Gift  of  the  Nile"— so  called 
from  antiquity.  As  the  waters  of  the  annual 
overflow  subside,  a  film  of  the  richest  alluvium 
is  deposited  over  the  whole  valley.  No  artifi- 
cial methods  of  renewing  the  soil  can  equal 
what  nature  has  here  gratuitously  provided. 
True  it  is  that  the  annual  layer,  contrary  to 
popular  belief,  is  exceedingly  thip,  aggrega- 
ting   only  about    four    and    a-half  inches   in 


36 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


a  century;  but,  notwithstanding  the  small 
amount  of  matter  actually  deposited,  the  soil 
of  the  valley,  lying  for  so  long  a  period  under 
the  fertilizing  water,  comes  forth  after  each 
inundation  fresh  and  fecund  as  though  still 
warm  from  creation.  Such  a  soil  no  cultiva- 
tion can  exhaust  —  no  abuse  destroy.  The 
cooling  of  the  air  by  the  immense  body  of 
water  which  rolls  through  the  valley,  and  the 
complete  saturation  of  the  earth  with  the 
flood  in   the  very  crisis  of  summer,  when  all 


the  circumjacent  countries  are  burned  to  a 
crisp,  constitute  the  two  essential  advantages 
which  Egypt  has  immemorially  enjoyed.  To 
these  facts  she  owes  her  preeminence  in  an- 
cient history.  -  Notwithstanding  her  rainless 
climate,'  and  the  gleaming  blue  of  her  cloud- 
less skies,  Egypt,  novirished  and  sustained, 
watered  and  cooled,  by  the  munificence  of  her 
solitary  river,  ofiered  to  the  primitive  race  of 
men  the  most  luxuriant  and  beautiful  home 
of  all  the  habitable  globe. 


CHAPTER  II.— The  people. 


HE  origin  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians  is  involved  in 
the  same  obscurity  that 
clouds  the  early  history 
of  most  races.  One  by 
one  the  ancient  peoples 
emerge  from  the  shadows, 
but  the  source  of  their  emergence  is  hidden  in 
the  vapor  and  mist  of  the  dawn.  Races,  like 
men,  have  no  recollection  of  their  own  infancy 
and  childhood. 

It  is  now  generally  agreed  that  at  a  very 
remote  period  an  aboriginal  population,  feeble 
in  numbers  and  prowess,  was  displaced  in 
Egypt  by  bands  of  immigrants  from  Asia; 
that  these  immigrants  belonged  to  a  Avhite 
race,  and  that  they  were  not  Semites  or  Ne- 
groes. It  appears  that  the  incursive  tribe 
came  in  full  force,  and  that  the  invaders  were 
not  modified  to  any  considerable  degree  by 
the  influence  of  the  original  population  of 
the  country.  The  early  inhabitants  of  the 
Nile  valley  and  of  the  district  drained  by  its 
tributaries  Avere  as  clearly  distinguished  from 
the  well-known  Nigritian  types  of  Africa  as 
were  any  of  the  white  peoples  of  Asia. 

The  motives  for  the  coming  of  these  white 
Asiatics  into  North-eastern  Africa  were  the 
same  which  usually  induce  tribal  migrations — 
namely,  overcrowding  in  the  original  seats  of 
the  tribe,  the  predatory  and  adventurous  im- 
pulse, and  those  strange  cosmic  influences 
which   draw  all    the   tendrils   of  animal  and 


vegetable  life  towards  the  "West.  The  law  ap- 
pears to  be  world-wide  in  its  operation. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  the  immigrant  tribes  that  peopled 
Egypt  were  thrown  into  that  country  by  the 
same  impulses  which  in  successive  ages  carried 
into  Europe  the  Celtic,  the  Hellenic,  and  the 
Teutonic  races;  and  the  influence  of  the  abo- 
rigines in  forming  the  new  nationality  of  Egypt 
was  not  greater  than  that  of  the  primitive  peo- 
ples north  of  the  Mediterranean  upon  the  in- 
vaders of  those  countries.  Doubtless  the 
principal  motive  which  impelled  the  Asiatic 
bands  towards  Egypt  was  conquest,  and  the 
course  of  their  movements  from  the  lower  part 
of  the  valley  southward  is  distinctly  marked. 
The  record  of  their  advances  through  Lower, 
Middle,  and  Upper  Egypt  is  unmistakable,  and 
the  evidence  thus  aflforded  gives  a  complete  ref- 
utation to  the  theory  that  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants of  the  country  were  the  descendants  of  the 
Ethiopians.  On  the  conti-ary,  it  is  definitely 
established  that  the  valley  of  the  Nile  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  northern  coast  of 
Africa,  as  far  south  as  the  hill-country  of 
Abyssinia,  were  settled  by  a  people  who  in 
color,  language,  and  institutions  were  wholly 
different  from  the  black  races  of  the  interior. 

It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the  ancient 
Egyptians  were,  ethnically  considered,  a 
branch  of  that  Cushite  family  of  Asiatic 
origin  which  at  a  very  remote  epoch  occupied 
and   civilized  the  lower  valley  of  the  Tigris 


EGYPT.— THE  PEOPLE. 


37 


and  the  Euphrates.  The  ethnic  position  of 
the  Egyptians  will  accordingly  be  given  as  in 
the  annexed  diagram : 


to  about  the  year  1500  B.  C,  a  scene  is  de- 
picted in  which  the  god  Horns  is  represented 
as  leading  a  company  of  sixteen  persons  in 


Cushite 


Stock.' 


DIAGRAM  SHOWING  THE  ETHNIC  PLACE  OF  THE  EGYPTIANS. 


It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that 
the  invaders  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile  were 
uninfluenced  in  their  primitive  character  by 
previous  contact  with  other  races.  The  lan- 
guage spoken  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  gives 
unmistakable  evidence  of  intercourse  between 
them  and  both  the  Semitic  and  Aryan  branches 
of  the  human  family.  But  the  ancient  speech 
of  Egypt  was  a  distinct  tongue,  and  the  at- 
tempt to  classify  it  as  a  Semitic  dialect  is  as 
erroneous  as  to  make  the  English  language  an 
offshoot  of  Latin,  or  German  a  derivative  of 
Greek. 

From  the  sculptures  and  inscriptions  it  is 
certain  that  as  many  as  four  races  of  men 
were  known  to  the  Egyptians — three  besides 
themselves.     In  a  tomb  at  Thebes,  belonging 


^Scholars  are  divided  in  opinion  as  to  the 
original  stock  from  which  the  ancient  Egyptians 
and  the  modern  Copts  are  descended.  One  class 
of  writers,  headed  by  Bunsen,  hold  that  the  stem 
from  which  the  Cushite  races  sprang  was  cer- 
tainly Semitic— a  judgment  based  on  the  fact  of 
Semitic  radicals  and  idioms  in  the  Egyptian  lan- 
guage. Another  class,  headed  by  Renan,  as 
stoutly  maintain  that  the  primitive  stock  of  the 
Egyptian  and  Abyssinian  races  was  Aryan  or 
Indo-Europic.  Each  of  these  theories  seems  to  be 
beset  with  difficulties  quite  insuperable.  A  better 
opinion  is  that  the  primitive  people  of  southern 
Arabia,  of  the  lower  Tigris,  of  the  ocean  shores  as 
far  east  as  India,  and,  on  the  west,  of  the  Nile 
valley  and  Abyssinia,  were  neither  Semites  nor 
Aryans.  The  Author  has  accordingly  given  to  the 
original  stem  of  these  races  the  general  designa- 
tion of  "  Cushite  Stock,"  without  attempting  to 
trace  its  Aryan  or  Semitic  affinities. 


groups  of  four,  each  group  belonging  to  a 
different  race.  In  the  company  the  Egyptian, 
Semitic,  Nigritian,  and  Aryan  types  of  man- 
kind are  delineated  with  a  clearness  not  to  be 
mistaken;  so  that  both  before  and  after  the 
original  conquest  of  the  Nile  valley  by  the 
people  called  Egyptians,  it  is  certain  that 
they  were  ethnically  modified  by  contact  with 
other  races. 

The  Asiatic  invaders  of  Egypt,  upon  their 
entrance  into  the  valley,  found  themselves  in 
the  midst  of  strange  surroundings.  Their 
previous  life  was  in  no  manner  suited  to  the 
new  condition.  The  vocation  of  the  hunter, 
the  wild  flight  of  the  nomad,  and  the  vigil  of 
the  shepherd  were  no  longer  practicable.  In- 
stead of  the  open  plains  and  boundless  deserts, 
they  found  here  a  narrow  oasis,  green,  cool, 
and  luxuriant.  Here  were  no  forests.  Here 
were  no  storms  of  rain.  Here  nature  restored 
the  soil  with  her  own  riches,  and  yielded  her 
abundance  without  labor.  The  first  result  of 
the  new  situation  was  that  the  immigrants 
abandoned  the  pastoral  life  for  the  pursuits  of 
agriculture,  and  at  a  very  early  date  acquired 
fixed  habitations. 

The  first  season  after  the  invasion  would 
bring  to  the  new  people  the  striking  phenome- 
non of  a  flood  in  the  river;  and  the  regular 
recurrence  of  the  same  fact  year  by  year  would 
force  upon  their  attention  the  advantages  as 
well  as  the  dangers  of  the  overflow,  and  sug- 
gest the  best  means  of  protecting  man  and 
beast.     Intercourse  must  be  maintained  dur- 


258674 


56 


UNIVEy.SAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ing  the  long  period  of  the  inundation,  and 
the  primitive  dealings  of  the  mart  must  be 
carried  on  by  water.  Supplies  must  be  pro- 
vided and  landmarks  must  be  firmly  set,  so 
that  there  shall  be  no  displacement  by  the 
flood.  The  cooperation  of  man  with  man  was 
a  necessity  of  the  situation.  The  range  of 
hills  on  either  hand,  pressing  upon  the  in- 
creasing population,  stimulated  the  establish- 
ment of  social  order,  and  rendered  necessary 
the  organization  of  large  communities.  The 
situation  favored  the  multiplication  of  villages, 
the  projection  of  common  enterprises,  and  the 
building  of  cities.  In  no  country  of  the  an- 
cient world  were  there  so  many  towns,  great 
and  small,  crowded  into  so  narrow  a  district 
as  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  The  existence 
of  great  civic  communities  sprang  from  the 
conditions  here  suggested. 

Nature  to  the  ancient  Egyptians  presented 
a  fixed  and  unchanging  outline.  In  no  other 
region  of  the  globe  did  natural  phenomena 
recur  in  an  order  so  monotonous.  The  few 
birds  that  frequented  the  plashy  brink  of  the 
river  gave  forth  an  ominous  cry.  The  land- 
scape was  solemn ;  the  sky,  still  and  cloudless. 
Man  surrounded  with  such  a  scene  and  im- 
pressed by  such  associations  must  soon  acquire 
a  character  stern,  sedate,  and  passionless. 
The  ancient  Egyptians  were  the  most  un- 
mirthful  of  all  the  peoples  of  antiquity.  The 
environment  was  such  as  to  blunt  the  mirth- 
ful sentiments  and  dwarf  the  fancy.  Only  a 
race  unimpassioned  and  saturnine  could  in- 
habit and  develop  Egypt. 

The  sameness  of  nature  had  another  and 
still  more  important  influence  upon  the  early 
inhabitants  of  the  country.  The  unchanging 
aspect  and  persistent  recurrence  of  the  same 
phenomena  strongly  stimulated  the  natural 
disposition  of  men  to  follow  the  same  pursuit 
from  generation  to  generation,  thus  laying  the 
foundation  of  the  system  of  caste.  Whenever 
a  vocation  is  handed  down  from  father  to  son 
for  several  generations,  that  pursuit  becomes 
more  honorable  than  others,  and  it  is  soon  re- 
garded as  a  misfortune  and  disgrace  to  fall 
out  of  the  line  of  ancestral  activities  and 
achievements.  In  Egypt  only  a  few  pursuits 
were  possible:    and  whenever  a  given  family 


had  become  identified  with  a  certain  calling, 
as  of  agriculture,  priestcraft,  or  war,  it  soon 
became  little  less  than  a  scandal  and  a  sacrilege 
in  a  member  of  that  family  to  abandon  the 
honored  vocation  or  to  affiliate  with  those  who 
followed  less  favored  pursuits.  In  but  a  few 
countries  of  the  world  were  the  antecedent 
conditions  of  caste  so  sti'ongly  operative  as 
in  Egypt,  and  in  but  a  few  were  castes  so 
early  and  firmly  established. 

The  abundance  soon  acquired  by  the  an- 
cient Egyptians,  the  fertility  of  their  lands, 
the  clustering  villages,  and  the  facility  of 
access  to  the  valley,  quickly  aroused  the  pred- 
atory lust  of  the  surrounding  tribes.  The 
nomads  of  the  deserts  and  hills  saw  in  the 
rich  bottoms  every  inducement  to  foray  and 
incursion.  Those  who  were  bravest  to  repel 
attacks  and  swiftest  in  punishing  the  maraud- 
ers Avould  soon  be  held  as  public  benefactors, 
deliverers  of  the  land  out  of  the  hands  of 
brigands  and  robbers. 

Property  is  always  swift  to  reward  its  de- 
fender. The  esteem  in  which  the  warrior  is 
held  increases  with  each  successful  defense  of 
the  fields  and  villages.  The  timid  tillers  of 
the  soil  willingly  yield  the  palm  of  precedence 
and  authority  to  the  soldier  who  fights  their 
battles.  He  grows  strong,  and  stands  high 
above  those  who  build  walls  and  gather  har- 
vests. The  situation  in  Egypt  was  of  a  kind 
to  call  into  constant  requisition  the  services  of 
a  valorous  soldiery,  and  consequently  to  estab- 
lish and  make  preeminent  a  military  caste  in 
the  country. 

In  the  establishment  of  ancient  states  and 
kingdoms,  he  who  stood  as  the  interpreter  of 
Nature  was  likewise  held  in  great  honor  and 
esteem.  The  mysterious  character  of  the  duty 
which  he  was  caUed  to  perform  lent  a  charm  to 
his  office  and  gave  to  the  priest — for  such  he 
was — a  reputation  for  sanctity  and  wisdom. 
Popular  respect  soon  grew  into  veneration, 
and  the  local  repute  of  the  seer  quickly  wid- 
ened into  general  fame. 

In  proportion  to  the  magnitude  and  mystery 
of  the  problems  which  the  priest  had  to  solve 
would  be  the  reverential  awe  and  respect  with 
which  he  would  be  regarded  by  the  people. 
If,  at    any    time    or    under   any   conditions. 


EGYPT.— THE  PEOPLE. 


39 


the  phenomena  of  Nature  seemed  of  manifest 
explanation,  if  the  causes  of  things  appeared 
to  be  easily  traceable  to  other  causes  already 
^explained  by  reason  or  tradition,  to  that  extent 
would  the  office  and   influence  of  the  priest 
•suffer  in  popular  esteem ;   and  if,  under  other 
•conditions,  natural   phenomena  seemed  to  be 
ispecially  involved  and  mysterious,  if  the  causes 
•of  things  appeared  occult  and  far  beyond  the 
j-each  of  human  vision,  to  that  degree  would 
ihe  character  and  office  of  the  seer  be  held  in 
veneration.     In  no  other  country  of  ancient 
or  modern  times  were  the  aspects  and  processes 
■of  Nature  clothed  in  such  profound  mystery  as 
in  Egypt.     Here  the  one  great  striking  phe- 
nomenon— the  inundation  of  the  Nile — seemed 
■to  be  absolutely  causeless.     The   absence   of 
.rain  and  snow  left  the  popular  imagination 
without  even  a  vague  hint  respecting  the  ori- 
;gin  of  that  great  natural  fact  upon  which  his 
very  life  depended.     The  source  of  the  river, 
being  inaccessible  by  distance  and  the  inter- 
position   of    the    cataracts    which    effectually 
barred  up-stream  exploration,  seemed  almost  as 
remote  and  infinite  as  the  origin  of  the  annual 
-flood.     The  solemnity  of  the  procession  of  the 
planets    and    stars,    unobscured    by    tree    or 
mountain  or  cloud,  heightened   the   eflfect  of 
the  mundane  mystery.     As  the  yellow,  turbid 
waters    swelled    bank-full    and    silently   over- 
spread the  valley,   rising  higher  and   higher 
without  apparent  cause,  driving  the  flocks  to 
the  higher  grounds  and  the  people  into  upper 
compartments,  the   ancient  Egyptians    found 
themselves  in  a  situation  strangely  combining 
the  hurry  and  commotion  of  cities  with   the 
solitude  of  the  seas.     They  who,  in  the  midst 
■of  such  phenomena,  seemingly  causeless  and 
preternatural,  assumed  the  task  of  accounting 
for  the  order  and  the  cause  of  things — that  is, 
-of  constructing  a  system  of  natural  and   re- 
ligious philosophy — would  from  the  beginning 
be  regarded  by  the  people  with  peculiar  awe 
and  veneration.     Even  the  powerful  soldier- 
class   would   do   reverence   to   those   who   ex- 
plained— and  perhaps  influenced — that  hidden 
world  of  mystery  from  which  proceeded  both 
benefits  and  disasters.     The  natural  environ- 
ment   in    which    the    civilization    of    ancient 
JEgypt  was  planted  was  exceptionally  favorable 
N.— Vol.  1—3 


to  the  development  of  a  priestly  caste,  sepa- 
rated from  the  people  and  specially  powerful 
in  the  affairs  of  the  nation. 

In  a  country  of  hills  and  rivers  and  forests, 
the  people  are  easily  divided  into  distinct 
communities,  having  diverse  tastes  and  con- 
flicting political  interests.  In  such  a  situation 
there  is  a  natural  tendency  to  the  development 
of  popular  institutions.  Republics  spring  up 
and  flourish  under  conditions  of  struggling 
personal  interests  and  antagonistic  political 
preferences.  In  countries  where  the  physical 
and  industrial  situation  of  all  classes  is  the 
same,  institutions  of  an  opposite  sort  are  likely 
to  prevail.  Monarchy  finds  its  natural  soil  in 
the  sameness  of  the  situation  of  its  subjects. 
And  this  was  peculiarly  the  condition  in  an- 
cient Egypt.  A  great  number  of  civic  com- 
munities, some  greater,  some  of  less  note,  but 
all  in  like  relation  as  to  soil,  industry,  dispo- 
sition, interest,  and  physical  surrounding, 
could  but  suggest  a  strong  centralized  govern- 
ment, despotic  in  its  nature  and  military  in 
its  methods.  The  situation  was  such  as  to 
foster  and  develop  a  race  of  warrior-princes, 
before  whose  ambitions  the  liberties  of  the 
Egyptians  would  fall  an  easy  prey. 

Such  then  was  the  ethnic  origin  of  the 
people  of  Egypt,  so  far  as  it  is  understood; 
and  such  were  the  antecedent  physical  condi- 
tions by  which  that  people  was  most  deeply 
impressed  during  the  formative  period  of 
Egyptian  nationality.  From  these  conditions 
arose  the  peculiar  institutions  which  flourished 
for  so  long  a  period  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  were  a  people  of 
great  power  and  vigor,  but  without  the  passions 
and  caprices  of  most  of  the  European  tribes. 
The  constitution  of  the  race  was  at  once  elas- 
tic and  conservative,  energetic  and  restful, 
obedient  and  pertinacious.  It  was  a  race  self- 
conscious  without  egotism,  haughty  without  dis- 
dain, laborious  without  great  motives,  ambi- 
tious without  enthusiasm,  warlike  without  the 
spirit  of  conquest. 

In  physical  form  the  Egyptians  were  closely 
allied  to  the  Asiatic  peoples  with  whom  they 
were  ethnically  related.  The  person  and  coun- 
tenance, however,  soon  assumed  a  distinct  type 
under  the  influence  of  the  peculiar  climate  to 


40 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


■which  they  were  exposed.  Judging  from  the 
mummies  and  sculptures,  the  expression  of  the 
Egyptian  face  was  sedate,  fixed,  impassive. 
The  forehead  was  symmetrical,  but  rather  low 
and  receding.  The  eyes  were  black,  large,  and 
longer  than  those  of  any  other  race.  The 
nose    was    of    unusual    length    and    slightly 


lonians.  The  beard  was  scantier,  and  was 
either  shaven  or  plaited  and  worn  in  a  man- 
ner exceedingly  artificial.  The  complexion 
varied  from  a  pink  flesh-color  and  light  olive 
in  children  and  girls  to  a  darkish  brown 
in  men.  The  accompanying  cut  of  the  head 
of  a  modern  Coptic  maiden  will  serve  to  show 


COPTIC  MAIDEN  (MODERN). 


formed  in  the  bridge.  The  mouth  was  calm 
and  expressive ;  lips  full,  but  not  protruding ; 
teeth,  white  and  regular;  chin,  small  and 
round;  cheek-bones,  rather  high  and  promi- 
nent. The  general  outline  of  the  face  was 
oval,  the  features  of  the  man  being  narrower 
than  those  of  the  woman.  The  hair  was  long, 
full,  black,  and  crisp,  like  that  of  the  Baby- 


to  what  extent  ages  of  time  and  mutations  of 
circumstance  have  modified  the  physiognomy 
of  Ancient  Egypt  into  the  face  of  to-day. 

The  Egyptians  were  a  lithe  and  active  peo- 
ple, capable  of  considerable  endurance,  but 
by  no  means  so  heavy  and  muscular  as  th^ 
average  of  the  European  races.  Judging 
from   the  recorded    reigns   of  the  kings.   th& 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


41 


longevity  was  considerably  above  that  of  most 
peoples  of  modern  times,  though  not  greater 
than  that  of  several  ancient  nations.  Nor 
does  it  appear  that  the  disposition  of  the 
Egyptian — albeit  he  was  a  grave  and  solemn 
being  —  was  incapable  of  cheerfulness  and 
pleasure.  His  courage  and  pertinacity,  his 
persistent  prosecution  of  life-long  enterprises, 


his  skill  in  architecture  and  valor  in  war,  his 
industry  and  frugality  in  peace,  his  placid 
demeanor  in  society  and  undoubted  preemi- 
nence in  the  greatest  of  ancient  arts,  will 
be  abundantly  shown  in  tracing  the  history 
of  those  mighty  kingdoms  founded  and 
maintained  by  his  genius  in  the  valley  of 
the  Nile. 


CHAPTER.    III.— CIVIL   AND    NIIIvlTARY    ANNALS. 


HE  chronology  of  the  ear- 
lier ages  of  Egyptian  his- 
tory is  confused  and  un- 
certain. The  sources  from 
which  the  dates  are  taken, 
though  unusually  abun- 
dant, are  in  many  parts 
obscure,  and  in  some  conflicting.  According 
to  the  Greek  historians,  the  Egyptians  were 
the  oldest  race  of  men.  When  Herodotus 
traveled  in  Egypt  (about  450  B.  C),  the 
priests  recited  to  him  traditions  of  the  extra- 
ordinary antiquity  of  their  people.  They  read 
to  him  from  a  roll  of  papyrus  the  names  of 
three  hundred  and  forty-one  kings  who  had 
reigned  over  the  country  between  the  time  of 
Menes,  founder  of  Memphis  and  first  mortal 
ruler  of  Egypt,  and  the  reign  of  Seti^.  Be- 
fore this  time  the  land  was  said  to  have  been 
for  thousands  of  years  under  the  dominion  of 
several  dynasties  of  gods — first  the  Eight  Gods, 
then  the  Twelve  Gods,  then  Osiris,  then  Ty- 
phon,  and  last  of  all  Horus,  who  immediately 
preceded  Menes,  the  first  mortal  king.  The 
priests  also  took  Herodotus  into  the  temple  of 
Thebes,  and  showed  him  in  one  of  the  halls 
the  wooden  eflSgies  of  three  hundred  and  forty- 
five  priests  who  from  father  to  son  had  exer- 
cised the  highest  priestly  ofiice  during  the  reigns 
of  the  kings  from  Menes  to  Seti.  Each  in  his 
own  life  had  placed  his  statue  there. 

From  these  data  Herodotus  made  up  his 
estimate  of  the  antiquity  of  Egypt.  Allow- 
ing three  generations  to  a  century,  he  com- 
puted   the   whole    time — three    hundred    and 

^  In  Greek,  Sethos. 


forty  generations — from  Menes  to  Seti  at 
11,340  years.  From  the  accession  of  Seti 
to  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  the  Persians  in 
525  B.  C.  Herodotus  reckons  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years ;  so  that  according  to  the  Greek 
calculations,  based  as  they  were  upon  the  tra- 
ditional records  kept  by  the  Egyptian  priest- 
hood, the  accession  of  Menes  antedates  some- 
what the  year  12,000  B.  C. 

Four  centuries  after  the  time  of  Herodotus, 
Diodorus  traveled  in  Egypt,  and  to  him  also  the 
legends  of  the  priests  were  rehearsed.  They 
now  placed  the  number  of  their  kings  at  four 
hundred  and  seventy,  beginning  with  Menes; 
and  Diodorus  declares  that  of  all  these  kings 
the  priests  had  preserved  in  their  holy  books 
individual  sketches,  showing  such  minute  details 
as  how  tall  each  king  was,  what  he  was  like,  and 
what  he  did.  According  to  the  computations 
of  Diodorus,  if  the  length  of  a  generation  be 
estimated  as  by  Herodotus,  the  accession  of 
Menes  is  thrust  back  to  the  year  16,492  B.  C. 
If  the  estimate  be  reduced  by  allowing  four 
instead  of  three  generations  to  a  century,  the 
epoch  of  Menes  is  brought  down,  according  to 
the  data  of  Herodotus,  to  9175,  and  according 
to  Diodorus,  to  the  year  12,500  B.  C.  Such 
are  the  fabulous  aspects  of  the  question. 

From  such  extravagant  recitals  only  thus 
much  is  clear:  that  the  priests  of  Egypt  pos- 
sessed recorded  lists  of  their  kings,  extending 
in  a  long  series  to  an  almost  incredible  antiq- 
uity; and  that  even  of  a  mythical  age  prece- 
ding this,  when  gods  and  demi-gods  ruled  the 
people,  accredited  traditions  were  recited. 

After  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  th© 


42 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


monuments  of  Egypt  were  opened  to  the  re- 
searches of  the  Greeks.  Eratosthenes,  the 
famous  librarian  of  Alexandria,  transcribed 
from  the  sacred  books  of  Thebes  the  names 
and  histories  of  thirty-eight  kings  who  had 
reigned  in  that  city  ;  and  this  list  was  after- 
wards carried  out  and  completed  by  Apollo- 
dorus,  who  added  the  names  of  fifty-three  ad- 
ditional Theban  monarchs,  making  ninety-one 
in  all. 

A  short  time  previous  to  this,  about  the 
year  250  B.  C,  a  learned  Egyptian,  named 
Manetho,  a  scribe  in  the  temple  of  Thebes, 
produced  in  three  books  a  work  on  the  history 
of  Egypt.  The  book  itself,  in  the  confusion 
of  after  times,  Avas  lost ;  but  fragmentary  chap- 
ters of  it  were  copied  into  the  works  of  other 
historians,  notably  Josephus,  Julius  Africa- 
nus,  Eusebius,  and  Syncellus,  and  were  thus 
preserved  for  posterity.  According  to  Mane- 
tho, the  rule  of  the  Egyptian  kings  began 
with  Menes  and  extended  through  thirty  dy- 
nasties, down  to  the  time  of  Artaxerxes  Ochus, 
a  period  of  5,366  years.  The  date  of  the 
reign  of  Artaxerxes  is  340  B.  C,  which  gives 
for  date  of  the  accession  of  Menes  the  year 
5706  B.  C.  This  reckoning,  however,  is  in 
Egyptian  years,  the  same  giving,  when  re- 
duced to  the  Julian  calendar,  the  year  5702 
as  the  date  of  Menes. 

The  next  view  of  the  case  is  that  presented 
by  the  historian  Diodorus,  already  referred  to. 
Further  investigations  among  the  priests  and 
temples  of  Thebes  revealed  to  him  many 
sources  of  error  in  the  traditional  accounts 
first  given  of  the  lists  of  kings.  The  correc- 
tions and  reductions  of  dates  thus  suggested, 
contracted  the  extravagant  computations  ac- 
credited by  the  priests,  until  the  accession  of 
Menes  was  brought  down  to  a  date  somewhat 
more  recent  than  the  year  5000  B.  C.  One 
account  gave  Diodorus  assurance  that  "for 
more  than  4,700  years,  kings,  mostly  native, 
had  ruled,  and  the  land  had  prospered  greatly 
under  them."  Another  narrative  stated  clearly 
that  the  oldest  pyramid  was  built  3,400  years 
before  the  time  of  Diodorus's  travels.  The 
corrected  view  of  this  historian,  therefore, 
fixes  the  date  of  Menes  at  about  the  year 
4800  B.  C. 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  problem  pre- 
sented to  modern  research  is  this:  Laying  side 
by  side  the  lists  of  kings  given  by  Manetho 
and  preserved  by  Josephus,  Eusebius,  Africa- 
nus,  and  Syncellus;  the  lists  of  the  same  as 
contained  in  the  works  of  Diodorus;  the  lists 
of  the  same  given  by  Eratosthenes ;  the  lists 
of  the  same  as  preserved  in  what  is  known  as 
the  Turin  Papyrus  (belonging  to  a  period 
somewhere  between  1000  and  1500  B.  C); 
the  lists  of  the  same  as  deciphered  from  the 
existing  monuments  of  Egypt — to  determine 
by  comparison  and  equation  of  dates  the  true 
chronology  of  the  period.  The  chief  difficulty 
which  confuses  the  problem  is  this:  Whether 
any,  a  few,  or  many  of  the  kings  belonging 
to  the  thirty  dynasties  extending  from  Menes 
to  the  subjugation  of  Egypt  by  the  Persians 
were  contemporaneous — reigning  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  at  the  same  time,  or 
whether  all  the  dynasties  were  consecutive — 
succeeding  each  other  in  chronological  order 
from  first  to  last.  For  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
that  one  dynasty  might  have  had  dominion 
in  Lower  while  another  was  reigning  in  Mid- 
dle or  Upper  Egypt. 

Some  aichjeologists  and  historians  have  de- 
cided this  question  in  one  way  and  some  in 
another.  Some  have  held  that  a  few  of  the 
dynasties  were  contemporaneous  and  most  of 
them  consecutive ;  while  others  have  reversed 
the  order.  The  lists  given  by  Manetho  were 
evidently  intended  to  be  given  in  consecutive 
order,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  those  of 
Eratosthenes,  and  of  those  transcribed  from 
the  monuments.  But  a  comparison  of  one  list 
with  another  always  shows  discrepancies.  The 
archseologist  Mariette,  accepting  the  lists  of 
Manetho,  has  placed  the  accession  of  Menes 
at  5004  B.  C,  The  historian  Brugsch  has 
fixed  upon  4400  B.  C.  as  the  true  date  of 
that  event;  and  Professor  Lepsius,  following 
a  somewhat  different  line  of  investigation,  has 
reduced  the  latter  estimate  by  508  years,  set- 
ting the  era  of  Menes  at  the  year  3892  B.  C. 
This  last  date  is  accepted  by  Dr.  Duncker 
as  the  best  approximation  which  is  possible 
in  the  present  state  of  historical  researches, 
though  Baron  Bunsen  stoutly  maintains  that 
the    Lepsian    date    ought    to    be    reduced    to 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


43 


CELEBRITIES  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


44 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the    year    3643    B.   C— a   difference    of  243 
years. 

The  system  of  Lepsius  may  be  regarded  as 
approximately  established ;  and  the  following 
table  will,  therefore,  present  the  best  that  is 
now  known  of  the  twenty-six  Egyptian  dynas- 
ties from  the  accession  of  Menes  to  the  con- 
quest of  the  country  by  the  Persians : 


Old  Empire  \ 


Middle  Empire 


New  Empire-! 


I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 

XV 

XVI 

XVII 

XVIII 

XIX 

XX 

XXI 

XXII 

XXIII 

XXIV 

XXV 

XXVI 

XXVII 


This  (Abydos) 
Memphis     . 

Elephantine 
Memphis     . 

Heracleopolis 

Thebes     . 


Xo'is  .... 
(TheHyksos) 


Thebes 


Tanis    . 

Bubastis 

Tanis    . 

Sais  .    . 

( The  Ethiopians 

Sais 

(The  Persians)  . 


DATE 
B.  C. 


3892 

3639 

3338 

3124 

2840 

2744 

2592 

2522 

2674- 

2565^ 

2423 

2380 

2136 

2167t 

2101 

1842 

1684 

1591 

1443 

1269 

1091 

961 

787 

729 

716 

685 

525 


*  Dynasties  IX.  and  X.,  reigning  at  Heracleopolis,  ante- 
dated somewhat  the  contemporaneous  Dynasties  VII.  and 
VIII-,  reigning  at  Memphis. 

t Dynasty  XIV.,  in  like  manner,  antedates  Dynasty 
XIII.,  at  Thebes. 


The  civil  and  political  history  of  Egypt  be- 
gins with  the  reign  of  Menes, ^  founder  of  the 
First  Dynasty.  He  was  a  native  of  This,  the 
modern  Abydos,  in  Upper  Egypt.  To  him 
belongs  the  distinction  of  having  brought  un- 
der one  dominion  the  several  Egyptian  states. 
Selecting  with  great  wisdom  a  site  on  the 
lower  Nile,  a  short  distance  above  the  diverg- 
ence into  the  Delta,  he  constructed  a  dam, 
turned  the  course  of  the  river  to  the  east,  and 
in  the  district  thus  reclaimed  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  Memphis,  the  most  splendid  city  of 
Egypt.  Here  he  established  his  capital;  here 
was  built  the  temple  of  Ptah;  and  here  the 
first  recorded  triumphs  of  Egyptian  civilization 
were  achieved. 

'  In  Egyptian,  Mena. 


On  the  north  and  west  of  the  city,  Menes 
directed  artificial  lakes  to  be  constructed  as 
a  part  of  the  defenses  of  his  metropolis. 
On  the  south  side  a  huge  dyke  was  thrown 
up  as  a  protection  against  inundations  of 
the  river.  The  treasures  of  the  government 
were  established  in  the  city;  the  laws  were 
revised,  and  the  methods  of  administration 
perfected  by  the  king  and  his  counselors. 
After  a  long  reign  of  sixty-two  years,  Menes 
lost  his  life  in  a  battle  with  a  hippopotamus, 
and  was  enrolled  by  his  countrymen  among 
the  gods  of  Egypt. 

Menes  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by 
Ateta,^  to  whom  is  attributed  the  building 
of  the  citadel  and  palace  of  Memphis.  He  is 
reputed  to  have  been  a  physician  and  writer 
of  works  on  anatomy,  fragments  of  which 
have  survived  to  the  present  day. 

The  third  monarch  was  Kenkenes,  of  whom 
no  traditions  ai-e  preserved.  The  fourth  was 
Uenephes,  in  whose  reign  occurred  the  first 
famine  recorded  in  Egyptian  history.  To  him 
is  attributed  the  building  of  the  pyramid  of 
Kochome,  the  oldest,  perhaps,  of  all  these 
marvelous  structures.  During  the  reign  of 
Semenpses,  the  seventh  king  of  the  First 
Dynasty,  a  great  plague  is  said  to  have  oc- 
curred, and  many  accompanying  portents  are 
mentioned  in  the  traditions  of  the  time.  The 
fact  of  a  plague  and  a  famine  at  an  epoch  so 
remote  as  the  earliest  dynasty  is  sufficient 
proof  that  the  country  was  already  old  and 
thickly  peopled. 

The  accession  of  Butan^  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  Dynasty  II.  During  the  reign  of 
this  monarch  an  earthquake  is  said  to  have 
opened  a  great  chasm,  swallowing  up  many 
people  near  the  city  of  Bubastis,  in  Lower 
Egypt.  The  successor  of  Butan  was  Kakan,* 
who  is  celebrated  for  having  introduced  the 
worship  of  the  bull  Apis  at  Memphis,  the 
calf  Mnevis  at  Heliopolis,  and  the  sacred  goat 
at  Mendes.  The  reign  of  the  next  king, 
Bainnuter,*  was  distinguished  by  the  passage 
of  a  law  making  woman,  equally  with  man, 
eligible  to  the  crown  of  Egypt.  During  the 
reign  of  Nephercheres,  the  seventh  sovereign 


^In  Greek,  Athotis. 
^In  Greek,  Kaiechos. 


''In  Greek,  Bo'ethos. 
*In  Greek,  Binothris. 


EGYFT.-CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


45 


.         f  tl,P  Nile  are  said,  iu  a  tradition  repeated  by  Manetho,  to  liave  been 
^'  ^'^^bo  eVr:  t^llTeZ^e^y.  and  tbe  eigbtb  naonarcb,  naxned  L.SOCHKXS,  is 

::^  ^LAeen  a  ^  -  ^^^  ^  ^l;:  ^  S;.pbian  .in.  ......  .bo 

Tbe  royal  bouse  was  now  cbanged  by^^  ^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^      ^^^.^^  ^.^  ^^.^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

who  had  been  subjected  by  tbe  Egyptians,  revolted,  and  were 
fricrbtened  back  into  allegiance  by  an  alleged  increase  m  tbe 
dis'c  of  the  moon  as  they  were  marching  to  battle.  Tbe  legend 
is  no  doubt  traceable  to  tbe  occurrence  of  a  lunar  eclipse,  a 
phenomenon  which  exercised  a  striking  influence  upon  the  super- 
stitious  imaginations  of  the  ancients.  Nebka  was  succeeded  by 
TosoRTHROS,  the  Peaceful,  tbe  Egyptian  ^sculapius,  who  is  said 
to  have  been  a  patron  of  letters  and  to  have  introduced,  or 
at  any  rate  improved,  tbe  art  of  building  with  hewn  stone.  The 
last  king  of  this  dynasty  was  Snefru,  the  B^erer,  though  the 
lists  of  Manetho  add  the  name  of  Sepburis  as  tbe  last  of  Dy- 

nasty  III.  .        « 

The  close  of  this  line  of  sovereigns  is  marked  as  the  time  trom 
^vhicb  Egyptian  history  can  begin  to  be  reproduced  from  exist- 
ing  contemporaneous  monuments.  Of  the  following  three  dynas- 
ties  abundant  materials  are  found  in  the  manifold  and  won- 
derful sculptures  of  tbe  age  for  the  reconstruction  of  both  the 
political  and  tbe  social  history  of  tbe  epoch. 

The  Fourth  Dynasty,  also  a  Mempbian  House,  began  with 
the  accession  of  Khufu.'^  This  is  the  epoch  of  the  pyramid- 
builders,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  eras  in  ancient  Egyptian  his- 
tory The  government  had  become  consolidated.  Ihe  regal 
power  bad  expanded  with  tbe  growth  of  the  kingdom  The 
population  bad  so  multiplied  as  to  fill  the  land  and  to  place  at 
the  disposal  of  absolute  monarchs  a  vast  amount  of  unemployed 
manual  labor.  The  native  fertility  of  the  lands  bad  given  to 
aP  classes  a  greater  amount  of  leisure  than  was  enjoyed  by  any 
otber  ancient   people.      The   long   continuance   of  the   annual 

2  In  Greek,  Cheo-ps;  in  IVIanetho,  Swph^s. 


BUILDING  THE  FYKAMIDS. 


46 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


inundation,  during  which  the  ordinary  vocations 
of  industry  were  measurably  suspended,  gave 
additional  opportunity  to  the  kings  to  divert 
the  labor  of  the  populace  to  ends  of  personal 
fame  and  monumental  vanity.  Under  these 
conditions,  the  peculiar  ambition  of  the  times 
was  directed  to  the  construction  of  magnificent 
sepulchers  for  the  kings.  The  pyramids  were 
the  result  of  this  monument-building  impulse. 
AVest  of  Memphis,  at  a  distance  of  about 
ten  miles  and  running  parallel  with  the  river, 
rises  a  barren  plateau.  The  elevation  is  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Nile,  and 


chambers  hewn  out  of  the  rock:  and  what 
more  natural  than  that  the  king,  who  in  life 
was  lifted  so  high  above  his  subjects,  should 
in  death  be  buried  with  a  more  magnificent, 
sepulcher?  So  the  royal  sarcophagus  was- 
placed  in  a  more  spacious  chamber  under  a. 
grander  monument  of  stone.  By  degrees  the- 
sepulchral  heap  grew  into  definite  shape,  tak- 
ing the  immovable  form  and  severe  aspect  of 
a  pyramid.  The  structure  became  more  andl 
more  regular  in  its  interior  arrangement  and 
external  outline  until,  sharply  defined  against, 
the  sky,  the  finished  pile  stood  forth  the  pride 


PYRAMIDS  OF  GIZEH. 


stretches  north  and  south  for  many  miles  be- 
tween the  verdant  valley  and  the  Libyan  des- 
ert beyond.  Owing  to  the  rocky  character  of 
the  ridge,  its  elevation  above  the  river-level, 
and  the  fact  that  the  Sun,  the  chief  deity  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians,  seemed  to  sink  to  rest 
behind  it  at  nightfall,  the  kings,  looking  from 
their  palace  in  Memphis,  and  musing  upon 
the  common  fate  which  should  soon  call  them 
to  the  abodes  of  the  gods,  naturally  chose  the 
western  plateau  as  the  most  fitting  place  to 
build  their  tombs. 

In   the   sides   of  this    hilly    elevation    the 
bodies  of  the  common   dead  were   placed  in 


of  the  builders  and  the  marvel  of  after  ages. 
Along  the  plateau  west  of  Memphis,  betweea 
Abu  Roash  and  Dahshur,  about  seventy  of 
these  mighty  monuments  were  erected.^  Among: 
these  three  were  preeminent  on  account  of 
their  size  and  magnificence.  They  are  known, 
as  the  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  near  which  city 
they  stand.  They  are  certainly  the  work  ot 
the  Fourth  Dynasty,  and  were  built  in  the- 
twenty-fifth  century  before  the  Christian  era. 
The  three  are  the  most  conspicuous  objects  in  a. 

'  In  the  district  mentioned  in  the  text.  Pro- 
fessor Lepsius  has  traced  the  outlines  of  sixty- 
seven  pyramids. 


v_ 


8000B.0.29  28  27         26  25  24  23         22  21        2000B.C.  19 


n         lOOOB.C.    9 


^  ERVPtlai 


EGYPT. 

From    the    Accession    of    Dynasty    V.. 

B.  C.  2840,  to  the  Conquest  of  the 

Country  by  Cambyses,  B.  C.  525. 

1       40.  Accelsslon  ofDylnnsiy  V.      r                      ) 
Decl  ine^of  ^tbe^Emplre. 

CHALD^EA. 

Fronn  the  Establishment  of  the  First  Dy- 

nasty. B.  C.  2550,  to  the   Conquest 

of  Babylon   by  Cyrus.  B.  C.  538. 

(sHI^ONOLOGIGAIi  (©HAI^T 
No.  I. 

ANCIENT  AFRICANS. ASIATIC  KIHaCOMS. 

—  SHOWING  — 

THK  PEOCRESS  OF  EVENTS  FROM  B.  C.  3892  TO  B.  C.  B2B. 

PREPARED  BY  JOHN  CLARK  RIDPATH,  LL.  D. 


4000B.0. 39         38  37  36 


35  34  33  32  31 


Accession  of  Dynasty  V. 


ffi'VIS 


MEDIA. 

The  Establishment   of   the 
Kingdom 

theConauest  by  the  Persians. 


BABYLONIA. 

Th<  Assyrian  Domlnatio 

theConquest  by  Cyrus 
^-  C.  538. 


KINCDOM  OF  ISRAEL 
The  Colonization    m    e^,„, 


■■fK?.r. 


'^o'^yE 


G"  ^' 


illshe'd 


lury  by  8pnnacberlb. 
sroy  ot  BsbyloDla. 
u(-s(  of  Babylon  by 


XI 


Tc  mple-   ft  A  »rlah  reig 


irpatlon  of 
ptivHy  of 


ersutborltyin  tht 


Epocli pt  »ie grefti'nesa  of  Bj 
67.  AcoeSfllOD  of  Kvll-Mero 


Idolatry  by  HewltlBti 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


61 


group  of  ten  similar  structures,  the  other  seven 
in  the  neighborhood  being  of  less  magnitude 
and  importance. 

The  largest  and  most  ancient  of  these  three 
great  piles  is  the  pyramid  of  Khufu,  founder 
of  Dynasty  IV.  It  was  originally  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet  in  height;  but  the  apex 
has  been  broken  away,  until  it  now  measures 
only  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Each  side 
of  the  base  is  seven  hundred  and  sixteen  feet 
in  length,  the  slant  being  five  hundred  and 
seventy-four  feet.  The  structure  contains 
nearly  ninety  million  cubic  feet  of  masonry. 
It  stands  precisely  on  the  thirtieth  parallel  of 
latitude,  and  the  four  sides  face  the  four  car- 
dinal points  of  the  compass  with  geometric 
exactitude.  On  the  north  side,  precisely  in 
the  middle,  and  fifty-two  feet  above  the  origi- 
nal ground-level  of  the  pyramid,  a  rectangular 
opening  is  cut,  being  the  door  of  a  de- 
scending passage  three  feet  broad  and 
four  feet  high.  This  passage  leads  down- 
wards at  an  angle  to  a  chamber  hewn 
in  the  rock  of  the  foundation,  more  than 
a  hundred  feet  below  the  ground-level 
of  the  base.  The  chamber  lies  in  a  per- 
pendicular line  six  hundred  feet  directly 
under  the  apex  of  the  pyramid  and 
thirty-six  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
Nile.  At  certain  points  in  the  main 
passage  to  this  chamber  diverging  ways  are 
cut,  leading  to  two  other  chambers,  which  also 
lie  in  the  axis  of  the  pyramid  immediately 
above  the  first. 

It  was  in  the  solemn  stillness  of  these  cham- 
bers that  the  stone  coffins  containing  the  royal 
mummies  were  laid  to  their  final  rest.  Upon 
the  walls  round  about  Avas  sculptured  the 
story  of  the  dead  king's  deeds.  The  door  of 
the  passage  was  sealed  with  a  stone,  and  the 
name  of  the  deceased  monarch  added  to  the 
lists  of  gods  in  the  temple.  It  is  said  that 
three  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  men  were 
employed  for  twenty  years  in  the  building  of 
the  monument  of  Khufu. 

The  second  of  the  three  great  pyramids 
in  this  group  was  built  by  Khafra,  brother 
and  successor  of  Khufu.  It  is  on  a  level 
slightly  above  that  of  the  first,  and  was 
originally  four  hundred  and  fifty-seven  feet  in 


altitude.  The  masonry  is  somewhat  inferior 
to  that  exhibited  in  the  monument  of  Khufu. 
The  general  proportion  is  the  same,  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  chambers  within  identical 
with  that  in  the  larger  structure. 

The  third  pyramid  on  the  ridge  of  Gizeh 
was  built  by  Menkera,*  a  successor  of 
Khafra  and  fourth  or  fifth  king  of  Dy- 
nasty IV.  This  structure  is  but  two  hundred 
and  thirty-three  feet  at  the  base,  and  the 
slant  height  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet. 
The  Menkera  pyramid  stands  on  looser  soil 
than  its  more  ambitious  sisters,  and  the  sub- 
structure is  consequently  of  greater  relative 
proportions.  Part  of  the  exterior  consists  of 
polished  slabs  of  granite.  The  sepulchral 
chamber  within  is  double,  one  apartment  be- 
ing behind  the  other.  In  the  innermost  vault 
the  mummy-box  of  Menkera  himself  was  found 


SARCOPHAGUS  OF  MENKERA. 

Found  in  the  tomb  of  that  king  at  Gizeh. 

in  recent  times  by  General  Howard  Vyse, 
and  the  hieroglyphic  legend  written  on  the 
case,  containing,  in  addition  to  the  name  of 
the  king,  the  myth  of  the  God  Osiris,  has 
been  deciphered  and  rendered  into  English.' 
Until  recently  no  other  of  the  royal  mummies 
had  been  recovered. 

The  pyramids  are  built  of  successive  layers 
of  stone  varying  from  two  to  six  feet  in  thick- 
ness, according  to  the  size  of  the  structure. 
Each  layer  is  less  in  area  than  the  one  on 
which  it  rests,  and  thus  the  structure  is  made 


'  In  Greek:  Mencheres,  or  Mycerinus. 

^  The  sarcophagus  in  which  the  mummy  lies  is 
bhie  basalt,  and  bears  the  following  inscription : 
"  O  Osiris,  King  Menkera,  ever  living  one  ;  begot- 
ten of  the  sky,  carried  in  the  bosom  of  Nut,  scion 
of  Seb.  Thy  mother  Nut  is  outstretched  over 
thee ;  in  her  name  of  the  mystery  of  the  sky  may 
she  deify  thee,  and  destroy  thy  enemies.  King 
Menkera,  ever-living  one." 


62 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


to  present  on  either  side  the  appearance  of  a 
series  of  stone  steps  narrowing  and  receding 
to  the  top.  It  is  stated  by  Diodorus  on  the 
authority  of  the  Egyptian  priests  that  the  im- 
mense masses  of  stone  used  in  constructing 
the  pyramids  were  brought  from  Arabia,  and 
were  put  into  place  by  building  up  beneath 
them  huge  mounds  of  earth  from  which  the 
blocks  could  be  slid  into  position  as  from  an  in- 
clined plane.  Certain  it  is  that  in  many  in- 
stances the  stone  used  in  the  pyramids  is  not 
found  within  many  miles  of  where  the  struc- 
tures are  erected. 

Ancient  fable  and  modern  ingenuity  have 
been  put  on  the  rack  to  explain  the  purpose 
of  the  pyramids  on  some  hypothesis  other  than 
that  they  were  the  burial  places  of  the  kings. 
Some  authors  have  found  in  the  mechanical 
exactness  with  which  the  great  structures  were 
reared  an  evidence  that  their  dimensions  Avere 
intended  as  the  basis  of  a  system  of  weights 
and  measures.  Others  have  discovered  that 
the  pyramids  were  constructed  with  a  geomet- 
rical design,  and  with  the  purpose  of  teaching 
astronomy.  Others  still,  disdaining  such  hum- 
ble theories,  have  declared  that  nothing  less 
than  a  divine  origin,  plan,  and  purpose  could 
account  for  the  wonderful  skill  and  hidden 
mystery  of  the  great  monuments.  As  it  re- 
spects all  such  theories,  the  historian  can  say 
no  more  than  that  the  pyramids  are  solely, 
plainly,  and  indubitably  the  sepulchers  of  the 
dead  kings  of  Egypt.  That  they  stand  with 
their  faces  to  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the 
compass  signifies  no  more  than  that  men  in  all 
ages  have  by  preference  built  their  houses  with 
the  four  sides  set  to  the  north,  south,  east, 
and  west.  That  the  tomb  of  Khufu  stands 
on  the  thirtieth  parallel,  whether  it  was  so 
placed  fortuitously  or  with  design,  implies  no 
more  at  most  than  that  the  thirtieth  degree 
was  known  to  the  men  who  built  the  pyramid — 
a  thing  by  no  means  marvelous. 

The  principal  reigns  of  Dynasty  IV.  were 
of  extraordinary  length.  According  to  Man- 
etho,  Khufu  reigned  for  sixty -three  years; 
Khafra,  for  sixty-six  years,  and  Menkera  for 
sixty-three  years.  But  according  to  Diodorus 
the  first  is  reduced  to  fifty  and  the  second  to 
fifty-six  years.     Even  these  figures  are  to  be 


accepted  with  some  caution,  for  it  is  related 
in  an  inscription  that  Queen  Mertitef,  who 
had  been  a  wife  of  Snefru,  last  king  of  Dy- 
nasty III.,  was  a  favorite  of  both  Khufu  and 
Khafra — an  impossible  thing  unless  her  charms 
survived  for  more  than  a  century. 

The  reigns  of  the  three  great  kings  were 
marked  by  military  exploits  as  well  as  domestic 
progress  and  architectural  grandeur.  Khufu 
made  war  in  Ethiopia  and  completed  the  con- 
quests which  had  been  undertaken  by  Snefru. 
On  the  rocks  of  the  Wadi  Maghara,  in  the  pe- 
ninsula of  Sinai,  is  a  sculptured  image  of  Khufu 
lifting  on  high  a  war-club  over  an  enemy 
kneeling  before  him.  To  this  king  is  also 
ascribed  the  authorship  of  a  part  of  the  Fu- 
neral Ritual — one  of  the  few  existing  remnants 
of  Egyptian  literature. 

To  the  great  monarch,  Khafra,  is  attrib- 
uted the  building  of  the  enigmatical  colossus 
called  the  Sphinx.  This  great  image  stands 
north  of  the  second  pyramid  of  Ghizeh,  which 
bears  the  name  of  Khafra.  The  efiigy  is  the 
symbolical  form  of  the  god  Harmachu,  mean- 
ing Horus  the  Resplendent,  to  whom  the  ad- 
jacent temple  was  dedicated.  The  figure  is 
hewn  out  of  the  living  rock,  has  the  body  of 
a  crouching  lion  and  the  head  of  a  man, 
capped  and  bearded,  and  is  one  hundred  and 
ninety  feet  in  length.  Between  the  paws, 
which  are  extended  to  a  distance  of  fifty  feet, 
is  a  monumental  stone  bearing  the  name  of 
Khafra,  who  is  said  to  have  dedicated  the 
image.  The  shoulders  are  thirty-six  feet  in 
breadth,  and  the  head  measures  from  top  to 
chin  twenty-eight  feet  and  six  inches.  The 
drifting  sands  of  centuries  have  fallen  around 
the  mighty  eflRgy  until  only  the  solemn  visage, 
looking  out  toward  the  Nile,  and  a  small  part 
of  the  shoulders  and  back  remain  above  the 
level  of  the  desert. 

The  heavy  drain  made  upon  the  labor  and 
the  public  revenues  by  the  monumental  enter- 
prises of  Khufu  and  Khafra  gave  rise  to  the 
tradition,  current  in  the  times  of  Herodotus, 
that  those  kings  were  the  oppressors  of  the 
people  and  enemies  to  the  worship  of  the  gods. 
It  appears  that  the  priests  gave  countenance 
to  this  report,  as  well  as  to  that  which  made 
Menkera  the  restorer  of  the  national  religion 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


53 


-^hich  had  been  despised  and  neglected  by  his 
predecessors.  Careful  examination  of  contem- 
poraneous sculptures  have  shown  both  tradi- 
tions to  be  without  foundation  in  fact. 

With  the  close  of  the  Fourth  Dynasty — 
••even  before  its  close — a  decline  is  noticeable 
in  the  political  power  and  architectural  grand- 
eur which  had  prevailed  under  Khufu  and 
Khafra.  The  accession  of  Dynasty  V.  was 
•without  eclat  or  splendor.  Of  the  reigns  of 
the  nine  kings  who  are  said  to  have  comprised 
the  line  very  little  is  recorded.  The 
practice  of  giving  a  throne  name  or  _J 

title   to    the    sovereign  began   with  j^-ci 

AssA,  next  to  the  last  monarch  of  ^^ 

this  dynasty.     To  this  period  also  is        ^ 
referred  the  composition  of  one  of     -^ 
the  oldest  works  in  Egyptian  litera-        ^ 
ture — a    treatise    on    moral    duties        i 
written  by  Prince  Ptah-hotep,  son      ^ 
•of  Assa.     In  the  time  of  the  last       ~ 
king  of  the  line,  named  Una,  the     'Zj- 
form   of   the    royal   sepulchers   was     _^~^ 
-changed    from    the   regular   to   the 
truncated    pyramid,    as    illustrated 
in     the     great     monument     called 
*' Pharaoh's    Seat,"'    north    of    the 
pyramids  of  Dashur. 

The  kings  of  the  Sixth  Dynasty 
belonged  to  a  family  from  Elephan- 
tis^  in  Upper  Egypt.  It  is  probable 
that  the  seat  of  government  was 
ibr  a  while  transferred  from  Mem- 
phis into  Middle  Egypt.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  during  the  period  Memphian 
influence  was  less  marked  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  kingdom  than  it  had  been 
previously.  From  this  epoch  begins  the  his- 
tory of  the  foreign  Avars  of  conquest  under- 
taken by  the  Egyptian  sovereigns.  National 
ambition  began  to  take  the  place  of  religious 
solemnity,  and  the  effect  of  this  diversion  of 
the  public  mind  was  immediately  noticeable  in 
the  decline  of  art  and  the  neglect  of  monu- 
mental enterprises.  The  period  is  marked  by 
a  less  careful  style  in  the  sculpture,  and  less 
elaborate  designs  in  the  royal  sepulchers. 


'In  Egyptian  Mastahat-Faraoon. 
*  Elepliantis  is  a  small  island  in  the  Nile,  oppo- 
fiite  Syene. 


The  growth  of  the  military  spirit  is  attested 
by  the  famous  inscription  of  Una,  found  in  a 
tomb  at  Abydos,  wherein  it  is  set  forth  that 
great  foreign  wars  had  been  undertaken  and 
conquests  made  by  the  armies  of  the  king. 
The  conquered  countries  and  nations  are  men- 
tioned by  name,  from  Avhich  it  appears  that 
the  royal  forces,  levied  from  all  classes  of  the 
population,  and  composed  in  part  of  Negroes 
enlisted  from  the  surrounding  tribes,  had 
already   carried    the   Egyptian    dominion   far 


1  1    U    -1  lU.NX. 


into  the  deserts  of  Syria  and  Arabia.  Una, 
himself,  was  general  of  five  expeditions 
against  the  Amu  and  Herusha  tribes,  probably 
a  Semitic  race  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula.  Nu- 
bia was  also  subjugated  and  a  stone  pillar  set 
up  at  the  cataracts  of  Wadi  Haifa  commemo- 
rative of  the  conquest. 

The  chief  interest  of  Dynasty  VI.  centers 
in  the  long  and  glorious  reign  of  Pepi.'  He 
took  the  throne  at  the  age  of  six  and  held  it, 
according  to  the  united  testimony  of  Manetho, 
Eratosthenes,  and  the  inscriptions,  for  ninety- 

^In  Greek,  Phiops;  in  Eratosthenes,  Apappu^ 


54 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


five  years.  It  was  during  this  extraordinary 
reign  that  the  great  conquests  already  referred 
to  were  made,  and  the  dominion  of  Egypt  ex- 
tended to  the  Red  Sea  and  the  cataracts  of 
the  Nile.  The  inscriptions  of  Pepi  are  very 
numerous  in  all  parts  of  the  country  from 
Tanis  in  Lower  Egypt  and  the  Wadi  Mag- 
hara,  where  the  king  is  represented  on  the 
rocks  as  striking  down  an  enemy,  to  Nubia, 
where  it  is  said  his  dockyards  were  established. 
In  Middle  Egypt  he  founded  the  "City  of 
Pepi,"  the  site  of  which  is  now  unknown,  and 
built  for  his  tomb  the  second  of  the  two  great 
pyramids  of  Dashur. 


At  the  close  of  Dynasty  VI.  there  is  a 
great  break  in  the  monumental  records  of 
Egypt.  Of  the  next  four  dynasties  no  trust- 
worthy contemporaneous  inscriptions  have 
been  discovered.  The  lists  of  Manetho,  how- 
ever, cover  the  period,  and  a  few  names  of 
kings  succeeding  the  Sixth  and  preceding  the 
Eleventh  Dynasty  have  been  deciphered  from 
a  tablet  at  Abydos  and  the  Chamber  of  Kings- 
at  El-Karnak.  According  to  Manetho,  Dy- 
nasties VII.  and  VIII.  belonged  to  a  Memphian. 
line,  and  Dynasties  IX.  and  X.  to  a  Heracle- 
opolite  family.  Beyond  this,  little  is  known. 
Whether  the  dynasties  occupying  this  gap  of 


PYRAMID  OF  DASHUR.— Length  about  200  feet. 


The  successor  of  Pepi  was  his  sou  Merenra. 
Una  was  made  viceroy  of  Upper  Egypt,  and 
to  him  Ethiopia  was  a  tributary  province.  In 
that  country,  beyond  the  Tropic  of  Cancer, 
timber  yards  were  established  for  building 
ships.  The  copper  mines  of  Arabia  and  of  the 
peninsula  of  Sinai  were  developed,  and  the 
quarries  of  granite  of  Elephantis  were  opened 
to  furnish  stone  for  the  monuments.  Of  the 
reign  of  Neferkara,  brother  and  successor  of 
Merenra,  little  is  known;  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  Queen  Nitocris,  last  of  the  line, 
though  after  times  were  filled  with  her  fame.' 

•The  Story  of  Cinderella  has  been  traced  by 
curious  antiquaries  to  a  legend  by  Queen  Nitocris. 


more  than  a  century  and  a  half  (2592-2423 
B.  C.)  were  contemporary — some  reigning  in 
Upper  and  others  in  Middle  Egypt — remain* 
an  undecided  question.  It  is  more  than  likely 
that  some  of  the  kings  of  the  House  of  Her- 
acleopolis,  belonging  to  Dynasties  IX.  and  X.,. 
were  local  and  contemporary  with  the  sover- 
eigns of  the  Memphian  line. 

The  Twelfth  Dynasty  was  introduced  with 
the  reign  of  Amenemha'  I.,  2380-2371  B.  a 
He  had  been  a  successful  minister  of  a  pre- 
ceding king,  and  began  his  own  career  as  a 
sovereign  by  imitating  the  civil  and  military 
policy  of  Pepi.     All  Egypt  was  under  his  do- 

•In  Greek,  Amenemes. 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


65 


:::::::::::-!!::::::^i 

.  ^^—      ~ —    — -— 

. 



:r:=r 

— f 

— 

1 

^~ — 

— — -=■ 

^ 

'J 

f 

—        -     - i 

^        ~~~ 

— -""1 

w  ~ 

^^^^^--^-^  ii 

gs^- 

-^v- ^ —   M^ 

^^f 

-—^ —    ^ 

^^ 

"H 

^^~ 

H 

-_■■■"  i^^ 

— ~~  "  ^^^ 

^^ 

— ~~  •^^^^^ 

^^ 

^ "" ^^Qraral 

OB^ 

minion,  from  Tanis  to  Nubia,  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  wes- 
tern desert.  Especial  attention  was  given  during  his  reign 
to  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  these  enlarged 
boundaries,  to  the  irrigation  of  the  country  by  means  of 
canals,  and  to  the  civil  administration  of  the  provincial 
governors.  Sculpture,  architecture,  and  the  building  of 
monumental  tombs  were  revived  and  practiced  with  the  old- 
time  zeal.  The  figure  and  fame  of  Amenemha  have  been 
preserved  in  a  colossal  statue  of  red  granite,  found  at  Tanis, 
in  Lower  Egypt. 

The  successor  of  Amenemha  was  Usertesen^  I.     Under 
this  sovereign  the  kingdom  reached  a  pitch  of  prosperity  never 
previously  attained  since  the  downfall  of  the  Fourth  Dy- 
nasty.    The  vigor  and  splendor   of  his  administration  are 
attested  alike  by  tradition  and  monument.     The  inscriptions 
on  the  rocks  in  the  Wadi  Haifa  show  something  of  the  ex- 
tent  and   importance  of  his  foreign  con- 
quests, and  the  obelisk  of  Heliopolis,'  the 
oldest  which   has  been  preserved  to  our 


'In  Duncker,  Sesurtesen.  The  kings  of 
this  family  are  known  as  the  Usertesid^. 

=*  The  inscription  repeated  on  the  four  sides 
of  the  obeUsk  of  Heliopolis  may  serve  to 
show,  once  for  all,  the  style  in  which  these 
old  magnificent  kings  were  celebrated.  The 
sculptured  legend  runs  thus:  "Horus,  the 
life  of  that  which  is  born,  the  child  of  the  sun, 
UsERTESEN,  wlio  is  belovcd  by  the  spirits  of 
Heliopolis,  who  will  live  forever,  the  golden 
hawk,  the  life  of  that  which  is  born,  this 
gracious  god  has  erected  this  obelisk  at  the 
beginning  of  the  great  festival.  He  has  erected 
it  who  assures  us  of  life  forever." 


OBELISK  OF  HELIOPOLIS. 


56 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


day,  bears  witness  to  the  grandeur  of  his  works 
and  reputation. 

The  policy  of  this  great  monarch  was  still 
further  advanced  by  his  successor,  Amen- 
EMHA  II.,  and  UsERTESEN  II.,  the  details  of 
whose  reigns  are  not  so  fully  known.  But  of  the 
next  king,  Usertesen  III.,  the  materials  are 
again  abundant.  No  former  sovereign  had  a 
reign  so  glorious  as  this,  the  most  illustrious 
of  the  Usertesidie.  The  boundary  of  Egypt 
on  the  south  was  now  fixed  at  Semneh  and 
Kummeh,  beyond  the  Second  Cataract.  Here 
were  built  outposts  and  fortresses,  and  stone 
tablets  were  erected,  defining  the  established 
limits  of  the  kingdom. 

But  these  triumphs  of  political  enterprise 
and  military  prowess  were  eclipsed  by  the 
great  works  of  engineering  belonging  to  this 
reign.  The  most  noted  of  these  were  the 
great  temple  called  the  Labyrinth  and  the 
famous  artificial  lake  of  Moeris.  Both  of 
these  wonders  were  constructed  in  the  peculiar 
urn-shaped  valley  called  the  Feiyoom,  a  few 
miles  south-west  from  Memphis.  In  this  place 
there  is  a  cleft  in  the  Libyan  hills,  through 
which  the  valley  of  the  Nile  spreads  out, 
bayou-like,  for  a  considerable  distance  to  the 
west.  Through  this  opening  in  the  hills  the 
engineers  of  Amenemha  cut  a  broad  canal,  lead- 
ing from  the  Nile  into  the  valley  of  Feiyoom, 
and  there,  by  excavation  and  dykes,  dis- 
charged the  waters  from  the  annual  inunda- 
tion into  the  artificial  lake.  A  large  part  of 
the  valley  was  inclosed  Avithin  the  strong  dams 
which  held  this  overflow.  The  western  part 
of  the  Feiyoom  was  on  a  lower  level,  and  to 
all  the  region  the  waters  of  the  lake  were 
distributed  in  season,  making  the  whole  a 
luxuriant  garden  throughout  the  year.  The 
reservoir  Avas  abundantly  stocked  with  fish, 
furnishing  food  and  amusement  to  the  people. 

More  marvelous  than  the  waters  of  Moeris 
was  the  national  temple  called  the  Labyrinth, 
built  near  the  entrance  of  the  canal  into  the 
lake.  Perhaps  no  structure  of  antiquity  was 
more  justly  celebrated.  Herodotus  declares, 
after  personal  inspection,  that  its  merits  were 
greater  than  its  fame,  insomuch  that  not  all 
the  temples  of  the  Greeks  put  together  could 
equal,  either  in  cost  or  splendor,  this  solitary 


wonder  of  Egypt.  The  Labyrinth  containe(J 
twelve  roofed  courts,  abutting  on  each  other,, 
with  opposite  entrances,  six  to  the  north  and. 
six  to  the  south.  The  Avhole  Avas  inclosed 
Avith  a  A'ast  Avall.  The  temple  Avas  half  above 
ground  and  half  subterranean,  each  division 
containing  fifteen  hundred  apartments.  Those 
above  ground  Avere  visited  and  examined  by 
Herodotus  himself,  who  seems  to  have  been 
struck  dumb  Avith  Avonder  at  the  elaborate 
magnificence  of  the  structure.  The  subterra- 
nean chambers  Avere  the  sepulchers  of  the 
kings  and  the  halls  of  the  sacred  crocodiles. 
So  great  and  complicated  Avere  the  Avinding 
ways,  the  system  of  colonnades,  and  the  hid- 
den entrances,  that  a  traveler  Avithout  a  guide 
could  not  extricate  himself  from  the  infinite 
complexity  of  the  palaces  around  him. 

In  addition  to  the  great  monuments  Avhich 
mark  the  reigns  of  the  UsertesidsB,  the  domes- 
tic life  of  the  times  Avas  of  a  sort  to  excite  equal 
admiration.  In  the  tombs  of  Beni  Hassan, 
belonging  to  this  epoch,  five  varieties  of  plows 
are  depicted.  The  farming  life  is  shoAvn  in 
detail ;  sheep  and  goats  treading  the  seed  into 
the  ground ;  Avheat  gathered  into  sheaves, 
threshed,  measured,  carried  in  sacks  to  the 
granary ;  flax  bundled  on  the  backs  of  asses ; 
figs  gathered ;  grapes  throAvn  in  the  press ; 
Avine  carried  to  the  cellar ;  the  overseer  and 
the  hands  in  the  fields  and  gardens  ;  the  bas- 
tinado laid  on  the  backs  of  laggards.  The 
scene  changes  to  herds  and  flocks ;  fine  breeds 
of  bullocks ;  calves,  asses,  sheep,  goats ;  cows 
milked ;  butter  made ;  cheese  handled ;  fowls 
strutting  in  the  yard ;  fine  varieties  of  geese 
and  ducks.  In  other  sculptures  Ave  see  the 
spinners  and  weavers  at  their  Avork ;  the  pot- 
ter manipulating  the  clay  or  burning  the  ware 
in  the  furnace  ;  the  smith  manufacturing  jave- 
lins and  lances;  the  painter  with  his  colors; 
the  mason  Avith  his  troAvel ;  the  shoemaker  at 
his  bench ;  the  glass-bloAver,  Avith  distended 
cheeks,  plying  his  art.^  In  another  part  the 
interior  of  the  Egyptian  home  is  shown,  fur- 
nished according  to  the  Avealth  and  taste  of 
the  occupant ;  servants  at  their  work  -^  kitchen 

'  Duncker's  History  of  Antiquity,  Vol.  I,  p.  118» 
"^  In   these  groups  Negroes   are    easily    distin- 
guished from  the  natives. 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS.. 


57 


utensils  in  use ;  domestic  apes ;  cats  and  dogs. 
Public  life  is  also  displayed :  soldiers  exer- 
cising in  arras;  battles  fought;  walls  battered; 
towns  cari'ied  by  storm.  Sports  have  come 
in  vogue:  wrestlers  with  strained  sinews; 
jugglers ;  musicians ;  dancers,  both  men  and 
women ;  dwarfs  and  deformities  exhibited ; 
fishing  parties  with  hooks  and  spears  and  nets ; 
every  phase  of  life  depicted  in  imperishable 
tablets  of  stone. 

After  the  short  reign  of  Amenemha  IV., 
the  Twelfth  Dynasty  ended  with  Queen  Se- 
BEKNEFRURA,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dynasty 
XIII.,  of  which  no  more  is  known  than  that 
the  thirteen  kings  of  this  line  occupied  the 
throne  for  an  aggregate  period  of  but  fifty 
years,  and  that  the  kingdom  declined  rapidly 
from  the  grandeur  which  it  had  attained  un- 
der the  Usertesid^e.  The  short  reigns  of  the 
sovereigns  of  this  house  indicate  an  epoch  of 
social  disturbance  and  civil  commotion.  An- 
other break  occurs  at  this  time  in  the  monu- 
mental records,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
first  shocks  of  impending  disasters  had  already 
disturbed  and  alarmed  the  country.  For  the 
first  time  the  seat  of  government  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Delta  and  fixed  at  the  city  of 
Xois,  from  which  circumstance  the  kings  of 
the  Fourteenth  Dynasty  are  called  Xoites. 
This  house  succeeded  in  maintaining  itself, 
though  Inirdly  beyond  the  limits  of  the  cap- 
ital, during  the  whole  of  the  stormy  and  law- 
less period  of  invasion  which  Avas  soon  to 
follow. 

From  causes  not  Avell  understood  Egypt 
was  now  no  longer  Avarlike  and  aggressive. 
On  the  contrary,  the  condition  of  the  country 
was  such  as  to  invite  assault.  The  armies  of 
Khufu  and  of  Amenemha  III.  had  gone  to 
dust.  The  national  spirit  and  resources  had 
withered  to  such  an  extent  as  to  promise  suc- 
cess to  barbarian  invaders,  and  the  invaders 
quickly  came. 

Out  of  Syria  and  desert  Arabia  a  swarm  of 
men,  belonging  to  tribes  of  no  historic  reputa- 
tion, gathered  on  the  eastern  frontier  and  then 
burst  into  the  kingdom.  They  overran  Mid- 
dle Egypt  and  captured  Memphis.  They 
sacked  the  towns,  pillaged  the  villages,  and 
broke  the  statues.     They   made  prisoners  of 


princes,  put  men  to  the  sword,  and  sold 
women  and  children  into  slavery.  The  leader 
of  the  horde,  named  Salatis,  took  up  his 
abode  at  Memphis  as  king  of  the  country. 
Lower  and  Upper  Egypt  Avere  both  made 
tributary  to  the  barbarian.  He  planted 
garrisons  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
and  along  the  eastern  border  built  fortresses 
against  Assyria.  EastAvard  from  Bubastis  he 
founded  the  ncAV  city  of  Avaris,'  fortified  it 
with  a  strong  Avail,  and  placed  therein  the 
bulk  of  his  army,  numbering  240,000  men. 
Such  was  the  founding  of  the  ncAV  line  of 
sovereigns  knoAvn  as  the  Hyksos,^  or  Shep- 
herd Kings  of  Egypt. 

After  Salatis  came  in  succession  five  of 
these  barbarian  soA^ereigns,^  Avhose  joint  reigns 
covered  a  period  of  two  hundred  and  forty 
years.  BetAveen  them  and  the  native  Egyptian 
princes  Avho,  now  in  the  Delta  and  noAV  in 
Upper  Egypt,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt 
there  Avas  almost  constant  war.  But  the  in- 
surrections Avere  unsuccessful ;  the  Hyksos 
triumphed  more  and  more,  and  the  whole 
country  falling  under  their  sway  sank  into  a 
state  of  semi-barbarism.  The  period  of  this 
dominion  lasted,  according  to  Manetho,  for 
five  hundred  and  eleven  years,  during  which 
the  fame  of  Egypt  Avas  virtually  extinguished. 
Only  a  few  monumental  records  of  the  time 
have  survived  the  cataclysm  ;  but  the  sketches 
of  Manetho,  Josephus,  and  the  Turin  Papyrus 
bear  Avitness  to  the  deplorable  condition  of 
the  land  Avhile  the  invaders  comprising  Dy- 
nasties  XV.  and    XVI.  remained   in    power. 

Finally  a  rebellion  broke  out  in  the  district 
of  Thebes.  The  insurrectionists,  led  by  native 
captains,  Avon  a  decisive  victory  over  the 
Shepherds,  compelling  them  to  draw  in  their 
outposts  and  concentrate  their  forces  at  Ava- 
ris.  This  place  was  besieged  by  Tuthmosis,  a 
Theban  king ;  and  when  neither  besieged  nor 
besiegers  were  successful  a  compact  was  en- 
tered into  in  accordance  with  Avhich  the  Hyk- 


'  At  or  near  the  site  of  the  modern  Pelusium. 

'The  Avord  is  from  hijk,  meaning,  in  the  sacred 
language,  a  king ;  and  sos,  in  the  vulgar  dialect, 
signifying  a  shejiherd. 

'Names  of  Hyksos  after  Salatis:  Beon,  Apach- 
mas,  Apophis,  Annas,  Assis. 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


SOS  were  to  take  their  flocks  and  herds  and 
Zeave  the  country  forever.  So  the  fierce  in- 
vaders who  had  held  Egypt  in  terror  withdrew 
into  the  deserts  of  Syria. 

After  the  overthrow  of  the  Hyksos,  the 
'Theban  House  became  dominant  in  all  Egypt. 
■This,  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty,  began  with  the 
accession  of  Aahmes/  about  1591  B.  C.  Up- 
oer  and  Lower  Egypt  were  again  consolidated 


troduction  of  the  horse  into  Egypt  and  of  the 
war  chariot.  It  is  the  age  in  which  the  rela- 
tive places  of  the  priestly  and  the  military 
caste  in  Egyptian  society  are  reversed,  and 
the  soldier  made  preeminent.  In  sculpture 
and  monumental  elaboration  there  was  a  re- 
naissance of  the  art  of  Dynasties  XI.  and  XII. 
The  famous  temple-palace  of  Amun-Ra  at 
Thebes  was  built,  and  obelisks  were  erected 
here  and  there,  commemorative  of  the  great 
deeds  of  the  age. 

Aahmes  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ameno 
PHis '  I. ,  and  he  by  his  son  Tuthmosis  I. ,  dur- 


SPHIXXES  OF  AMMUN-RA.-THEBES. 


-under  one  crown.  Aahmes  secured  the  influ- 
ence and  favor  of  Ethiopia  by  marrying  the 
icing's  daughter,  the  princess  Nefru-ari,  fa- 
mous for  her  dusky  charms,  her  Avealth,  and 
•her  accomplishments.  Egyptian  supremacy 
■over  the  surrounding  nations  was  again  ac- 
knowledged or  forced  by  the  sword.  The  de- 
•cayed  and  ruined  temples  were  restored  to 
'their  old4ime  richness  and  splendor.  The 
•military  spirit,  stirred  into  activity  by  the 
-struggle  for  independence,  burned  for  the  ex- 
.oitements  of  war.  It  is  the  epoch  of  the  in- 
*  .Frequently  written  Amosis. 


ing  whose  reign  the  first  great  campaigns  were 
undertaken  against  Assyria  and  the  East. 
Phoenicia  and  Syria'  were  subdued,  and  the 
arms  of  Egypt  borne  to  the  banks  of  the  Eu- 
phrates. Late  in  his  reign,  Tuthmosis  asso- 
ciated with  himself  on  the  throne  his  daughter 
Hatasu,  who,  after  the  king's  death,  reigned 
jointly  with  her  elder  brother  Tuthiviosis  II. 
Her  rank  and  influence  in  the  state  furnish 
another  proof  of  the  high  estimation  in  which 
women  were  held  by  the  ancient  Egyptians. 

'In  Egyptian  Ammun-Hotep ;   sometimes  Ra- 
Hotep. 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


59 


Hatasii  outlived  her  brother,  and  then  asso- 
<;iated  with  herself  her  younger  brother  Tuth- 
MOSis  III.  Him  she  outranked  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  public  affairs  she  directed  at  her 
will.  By  her  the  temple  of  Amun-ra  was 
completed,  and  her  fame  is  recorded  in  the 
great  obelisks  at  Thebes. 

After  a  happy  and  prosperous  reign  of 
twenty-one  years.  Queen  Hatasu  Avas  suc- 
ceeded by  Tuthmosis,  who  obliterated  as  far  as 
practicable  his  sister's  name  and  inscriptions 
from  the  monuments,  dating  his  own  reign 
irom  the  beginning  of  hei's.  The  Assyrian 
wars  were  still  carried  on,  and  a  great  battle, 
in  which  the  Egyptians  were  victorious,  was 
fought  at  Migiddo.  Kadesh,  the  chief  city  of 
the  Kheta  tribes,  was  twice  taken  by  the 
J]gyptians,  and  the  king  marched  his  armies 
as  far  as  Nineveh.  The  entire  reign  of  fifty- 
iive  years  was  characterized  by  military  activ- 
ity and  civil  enterprise. 

The  next  king  of  the  dynasty  was  Ameno- 
PHis  II.  In  the  beginning  of  his  reign  the 
^Egyptians  captured  Nineveh.  On  his  return 
from  one  of  his  eastern  campaigns,  he  is  said 
to  have  brought  back  the  bodies  of  seven 
kings  whom  he  had  slain  in  battle,  and  whose 
heads  he  put  up  as  trophies  on  the  walls  of 
Thebes.  After  a  short  reign  he  was  succeeded 
'by  his  son  Tuthmosis  IV.,  who,  according  to 
Manetho,  held  the  throne  for  nine  years,  and 
was  in  turn  succeeded  by  his  son  Amen- 
OPHis  III.  He,  like  Aahmes,  married  a  for- 
eign princess.  Queen  Tai',  perhaps  out  of  Ara- 
bia. He  began  his  reign  by  abandoning 
warlike  enterprises,  and  devoted  himself  and 
iiis  empire  to  works  of  peace.  Architecture 
again  flourished.  New  temples  were  built  at 
Thebes,  and  two  great  statues,  both  of  him- 
self, with  his  mother  and  the  queen  in  relief 
AS  the  front  of  the  die,  were  erected  in  the  ad- 
joining plain. 

These  two  huge  effigies  in  granite,  stand- 
ing in  front  of  what  was  once  the  sanctuary 
•of  Osiris,  have  survived  the  wreck  of  centu- 
ries, and  still  rise  above  the  flat  in  solemn 
■state  by  the  edge  of  a  forest  of  palms.  The 
northern  colossus  is  the  most  famous,  being 
the  statue  which  was  known  to  the  Greeks  by 

4he  name  of  the    Vocal  Memnon.     According 
N.— Vol.  1—4 


to  the  Greek  tradition,  based  on  the  narrative 
of  travelers  who  had  visited  the  spot,  the  fig- 
ure was  said  to  give  forth  at  sunrise  a  musical 
strain  resembling  the  twanging  of  harp-strings. 
From  the  base  of  the  pedestal  to  the  crown  it 
is  fifty-nine  feet  in  height.  The  ruined  palace 
of  Luxor  likewise  bears  witness  to  the  grand- 
eur of  the  reign  of  Amenophis.  This  gorgeous 
temple  was  connected  with  a  similar  palace  at 


QUEEN  TAI. 


El-Karnak  by  an  avenue  guarded  by  a  thou- 
sand sphinxes,  and  at  Thebes  a  colonnade  in  the 
same  style  was  lined  Avith  colossi  of  the  god- 
dess Pasht.  In  the  inscriptions  of  his  times 
this  monarch  is  known  by  the  distinguished 
title  of  Pacificator  of  E<jypt. 

Next  in  the  succession  was  Amenophis  IV., 
son  of  the  ])receding  king.  He  seems  to  have 
inherited  from  his  foreign  mother  a  taint  of 
heresy,  together  with  a  person  of  extravagant 


60 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


AMEiNOPHIS  III.— RA-HOTEP. 


Ugliness.     Both  he  and  his  family  are  figured 
in   the   monuments   with    bodies   unnaturally 
attenuated  and  features  of  abnormal  repulsive- 
ness.     He  began  his  reign  by  introducing  the 
adoration   of  the  sun  with  a  ceremonial  un- 
known to  the  national  worship.     Hymns  were 
chanted  by  an   orchestra  of  harpers,  and   the 
altars  and  aisles  of  the  temples  were  strewed 
with  flowers  in  a  manner  utterly  at  variance 
with    the    long   established  forms,   and 
suggestive  of  the  religion  of  the  Vedas. 
The    king  changed   his  name  to  Khun- 
aten/    and    abandoning    Thebes   tians- 
ferred   his    capital    to    Middle   Egypt. 
Leaving  seven  daughters  and  no  son  he 
transmitted  his  crown  to  a  dynasty  of 
sons-in-law,  who  were  presently 
overthrown    in    a    reactionary 
movement  headed   by  Harem- 
heb,  a   descendant  of  Ameno- 
phis  III.     By  this  king  the  he- 
retical   work    of     the     fourth 
Amenophis   was  obliterated   as 


^  Aten,  being  the  name  of  the 
solar  disc. 


far  as  possible,  and  the  dynasty  ended  with  his 
reign  in  B.  C.  1443. 

Dynasty  XIX.  was  founded  by  the  great 
House  of  Ramses.  The  first  sovereign  of  this- 
name  was  perhaps  related  by  descent  with  the 
Shepherd  Kings,  whose  warlike  qualities  he- 
seems  to  have  inherited.  He  began  his  career 
by  conducting  some  successful  campaigns  m. 
Ethiopia,  and  Syria.  He  concluded  a  treaty 
with  the  nation  of  Hittites,  and  after  a  short, 
reign  died,  leaving  the  crown  to  his  son  Seti^  I. 

This  monarch  took  care  to  strengthen  his. 
claim  to  the  throne  by  marrying  the  Princess. 
Tai,  granddaughter  to  Amenophis  III.,  thus 
uniting  his  rights  with  those  of  the  preceding- 
dynasty.  The  offspring  of  this  marriage  was' 
Ramses  II,  who  on  arriving  at  years  was  asso- 
ciated with  his 
father  in  the 
government. 

Aftei  an  intei- 
val  Seti  abdicated 

favor  of  his 
son,  not,  ho\\e\ei, 
until  he  had  sis- 


statue  OF  AMENOPHIS  IV. 


J 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


61 


nalized  his  reign  with  some  of  the  finest  archi- 
tectural works  of  Egypt.  Chief  among  these 
may  be  mentioned  the  great  Hall  of  Columns 
at  El-Karnak,  containing  in  a  series  of  mag- 
nificent sculptures  the  story  of  Seti's  cam- 
paigns and  victories. 

Ramses^  Jl.  (1388-1322  B.  C.)  was  the  most 
illustrious  of  all  the  kings  of  Egypt.  He  is 
surnamed  the  Great.  Already  at  ten  years 
of  asre  he  took  part  in  his  father's  wars.  After 
the  death  of  that  sovereign  the  young  prince, 
fired  with  military  ambition,  began  to  meditate 
the  conquest  of  the  world.  According  to  He- 
rodotus, Diodorus,  and  Manetho — though  the 
narratives  are  by  no      _^ ,  ,  ,- 


means  consistent 
throughout  —  Ramses 
first  brought  into  sub- 
jection what  neigh- 
boring nations  soever 
had  shown  signs  of 
rebellion  against  the 
domination  ,of  Egypt. 
Then  dividing  the 
country  into  thirty- 
six  Nomes,  and  ap- 
pointing his  brother 
Armai's  to  the  regency 
in  his  absence,  he  col- 
lected a  vast  army  of 
six  hundred  thousand 
foot  soldiers,  twenty- 
four  thousand  horse, 
and  tAventy-seven 
thousand  war  chariots, 

and  set  out  on  his  campaign  for  the  conquest 
of  the  nations. 

Over  the  grand  divisions  of  his  army  King 
Ramses  placed  in  command  certain  military 
comrades  who  had  been  educated  under  his 
father's  direction  in  the  same  discipline  with 
himself.  First  of  all,  he  directed  his  forces 
into  Ethiopia,  and  subduing  the  country  im- 
posed a  tribute  of  ivory,  ebony,  and  gold. 
On  the  Red  Sea  he  built  a  fleet  of  four  hun- 
dred ships — the  first  war  vessels  ever  con- 
structed by  the  Egyptians — and  subdued  by 
land  and  water  the  islands  and  sea  coasts  as 
far  as  India.  The  Avhole  of  Asia  to  the  Ganges 
^  In  Greek,  Sesostris,  Sesosis,  or  Sethosis. 


and  beyond  yielded  to  his  arms,  whereupon, 
turning  to  the  north,  he  conquered  Scythia  as 
far  as  the  river  Tanais,  dividing  Asia  from 
Europe. 

Thence  passing  into  Thrace  the  king  con- 
tinued his  career  until  the  severity  of  the 
climate  and  scarcity  of  food  brought  him  to  a 
pause.  Everywhere  in  his  triumphant  course 
he  set  up  pillars  bearing  the  inscription :  "  This 
land  Sesostris,  king  of  kings  and  lord  of  lords, 
conquered  with  his  arms."  After  nine  years 
the  victorious  monarch  returned  laden  with  the 
untold  spoils  of  war  and  captives  taken  from 
many  nations. 


SETl  I.  BURKING   AN   OFFERING  OF  INCENSE. 

Such  is  the  rather  florid  account  left  by 
Herodotus  and  Diodorus  of  the  foreign  cam- 
paigns of  Ramses  II.  Modern  research  has 
shown,  by  deciphering  the  inscriptions  on  the 
rocks  of  Beyrout,  in  the  ruins  of  Tanis,  in 
the  Ramesseum  at  Karnak,  and  in  a  temple 
built  by  Ramses  in  Nubia,  that  the  praises  of 
the  great  monarch's  wars  have  been  sounded 
in  too  high  a  key,  and  that  his  real  exploits 
were  less  prodigious  than  they  are  painted  in 
the  pages  of  the  Greek  historians.  It  appears 
that  his  chief  campaigns  were  into  Ethiopia, 
Syria,  and  Arabia.  No  doubt  his  conquests 
were  carried  as  far  as  Mesopotamia,  and  per- 
haps the  larger  part  of  Western  Asia  owned 


UNIVERSAL  mSTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


62 

his  sway ;  but  the  written  traditions  of  the 
great  king  are  contradictory  in  many  parts, 
and  in  not  a  few  are  evidently  the  result  of 
fulsome  eulogy.     The  building  by  Kamses  of 


a  great  wall  from  Pelusium  to  Heliopolis,  in 
order  to  protect  his  eastern  frontier  against 
the  onsets  of  the  Syrians  and  Arabs,  can 
hardly   be   regarded    as   the  work   of  a  con- 


HALL  OF  COLUMNS  AT  EL-KARNAK. 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


63 


queror;  and  the  cutting  of  a 
system  of  canals  from  Mem- 
phis downward  to  the  sea  was 
in  all  probability  an  enter- 
prise intended  to  impede  the 
movements  of  an  invading 
enemy.  None  the  less,  the 
monuments  of  the  Second 
Ramses,  even  when  inter- 
preted with  a  liberal  allow- 
ance for  exaggeration,  prove 
conclusively  the  greatness  of 
the  king  and  the  glory  of  the 
age  which  produced  them. 

By  this  monarch  was  com- 
pleted the  celebrated  Hall  of 
Columns,  which  had  been  be- 
gun  by   his    father   at    Kar- 
nak,  as  well  as  the  temple  of  Amenophis  III. 
at   Luxor.      Before    this    magnificent    edifice 
were  placed  two  sitting  colossi  of  himself  and 
two  obelisks  of  red  granite,  one  of  which  still 
stands  with   its  everlasting  legend  as  sharply 


TEMPLE  OF  CHESNU   AT  KARNAK,   BUILT  BY   RAMSES  III. 

cut  as  in  the  day  of  its  creation,  and  the  other 
in  like  splendor  displays  its  quaint  hieroglyph- 
ics in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  at  Paris. 

Almost  everywhere — in  Lower  Egypt,  Up- 
per Egypt,  and  far  beyond — the  monuments 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  ABYDOS. 


64 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


remind  us  of  the  exploits  and  glory  of  the 
great  king.  High  up  in  Nubia,  at  Abu  Sim- 
bul,  in  a  valley  with  perpendicular  walls  of 
yellow  sandstone,  two  temples,  the  one  dedi- 
cated to  Ra  by  Ramses  and  the  other  to 
Hathor  by  his  queen,  are  cut  in  the  native 
rock.  Before  the  temple  of  Ramses  are  four 
gigantic  colossi  of  himself.  The  statues  are 
seated  on  thrones,  and  are  over  seventy  feet 
in  height.  The  shoulders  are  twenty-five  feet 
in  breadth,  and  from  the  elbow  to  the  finger-tip 
the  measure  is  fifteen  feet.     In  calm  serenity 


EAMSES  THE  GREAT. 


of  expression,  truthfulness  of  proportion,  and 
austere  dignity  of  posture,  these  great  statues 
are  hardly  surpassed — perhaps  not  equaled — 
in  the  whole  range  of  ancient  art.  On  the 
walls  of  the  great  temple  at  Abydos,  in  a 
long  procession  of  deified  kings,  Ramses,  as  a 
god,  stands  glorious;  and  before  the  altar,  as 
a  mortal,  he  ofiers  sacrifices  to  his  ancestors 
and  to  himself. 

Under  the  munificent  patronage  of  the 
House  of  Ramses,  the  city  of  Thebes,  now  the 
capital  of  the  empire,  eclipsed  the  old-time 
glory  of  Memphis.  Here  the  marvelous  works 
of   Tuthmosis,    of   Amenophis,    of    Seti,    of 


Ramses  II.  and  III.,  rising  in  massive  forms 
on  both  sides  of  the  Nile,  towered  in  majestic 
outline  around  a  horizon  of  more  than  fifteen 
miles.  Structures  of  so  much  solid  grandeur 
have  nowhere  else,  perhaps,  been  reared  by 
the  genius  of  man. 

Ramses  the  Great  was  succeeded  in  1322 
B.  C.  by  Menepta,  who  reigned  for  twenty 
years.  This  king  has  now  been  generally  ac- 
cepted by  historians  as  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
exodus  of  Israel.  The  story  of  this  remark- 
able race  begins  with  the  call  of  Abraham 
from  his  home  in  Ur,  near  the  Euphrates,  to 
his  promised  abode  in  Canaan.  Here  his  de- 
scendants multiplied  to  the  fifth  generation, 
when  Jacob,  the  grandson  of  Abraham,  with 
his  children  and  grandchildren  to  the  number 
of  about  seventy,^  "  went  down  into  Egypt." 
For  a  famine  had  arisen  in  Canaan,  and  Jacob 
dispatched  his  sons  to  the  Egyptian  granaries 
to  purchase  supplies.  Joseph,  one  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  had  previously  been  sold  by  his 
brothers  into  bondage,  and  had  come  to  fiU  an 
important  position  in  the  government  of 
Egypt;  and  thus  it  happened  that  the  wicked 
clansmen  were  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
injured  brother,  who,  instead  of  punishing, 
forgave  them,  and  sent  for  the  aged  father  and 
his  house. 

The  family  of  Jacob  was  thus  established 
(B.  C.  about  1550)'*  in  Lower  Egypt,  east  of 


'It  seems  a  matter  of  surprise  that  an  event 
of  so  much  importance  (viewed  from  the  Hebraic 
side  of  history)  as  the  Exodus  should  have  been 
so  difficult  to  recognize  and  fix  chronologically  in 
the  Egyptian  annals.  The  difficulty  in  question 
has  mostly  arisen  from  the  erroneous'date  of  1491 
B.  C,  given  by  the  Hebrews  as  the  time  of  their 
departure.  This  date  would  throw  the  Exodus 
back  to  the  time  of  the  Shepherd  Kings — a  view 
of  the  case  no  longer  entertained. 

*The  date  of  the  going  down  of  Jacob  has  been 
sharply  contested.  The  event  could  not  have  oc- 
curred before  the  time  of  the  Hyksos  (2001-1591  B. 
C),  for  in  that  case  the  Hebrews  would  have  been 
expelled  along  with  the  Shepherds.  It  could  not 
have  occurred  during  the  dominion  of  the  Hyksos, 
for  the  position  of  Joseph  in  Pharaoh's  service, 
the  manner  of  administration,  and  the  type  of 
Egyptian  life  described  in  Genesis  preclude  such 
a  supposition.  It  must  have  occurred  after  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Shepherd  Kings — that  is,  subse- 
quent to  the  year  1591  B.  C.  The  Author  has, 
therefore,  taken  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


65 


the  Delta  and  on  the  borders  of  Syria.  Here 
they  grew  and  multiplied  in  "  the  land  of 
Ooshen,"  or  Ramses,  as  it  was  called  by  the 
^Egyptians.  The  period  of  the  stay  of  the 
Hebrews  in  the  land  of  their  sojourn  was 
about  two  hundred  and  forty  years.  For  a 
time  the  growing  tribe  was  held  in  honor  by 
the  government  and  people;  but  under  Seti 
I.  and  Ramses  II.  the  ruling  class  began  to 
look  askance  at  the  strangers,  and  then  to  op- 
press them.     They  were  set  to  work  at  build- 


and  were  beaten  by  task-masters  until  they 
broke  out  in  insurrection. 

In  the  course  of  time,  denial  of  religious 
privileges  complicated  and  intensified  the  re- 
bellion. Moses  appeared  as  a  leader  of  his 
people,  and  demanded,  in  a  personal  interview 
with  the  king  at  Tauis,  the  privilege  of  con- 
ducting them  a  three  days*  march  into  the 
desert  to  sacrifice  to  Jehovah.  But  Menepta 
replied  by  charging  the  Hebrews  with  a  pur- 
pose to  escape  their  tasks  under  a  pretense  of 


KUIXS  01' 

ing  and  digging.  The  treasure-cities  of  Pi- 
thom  and  Ramses  were  enlarged  by  their 
labor.  Perhaps  the  great  canal  projected 
by  Seti  from  the  Nile  at  Bubastis  to  the 
Arabian  Gulf  was  carried  as  far  as  the  Lake 
of  Crocodiles  by  the  toil  of  the  Hebrews. 
They  were  sent  to   sweat  in   the  brickyards, 


tury  as  the  best  approximation  to  the  date  of  Is- 
rael's colonization  in  Egypt.  He  is  not  unaware 
that  this  construction  seems  to  allow  too  short  a 
period  for  the  development  of  the  great  race  of  the 
Exodus. 


THEBES. 

piety.  Whereupon  Moses,  by  signs  and  won- 
ders done  in  the  king's  house  and  kingdom, 
humbled  the  monarch  and  compelled  him  "to 
let  the  people  go." 

After  some  delays  the  Israelites  departed 
along  the  bank  of  the  canal,  touching  the 
principal  Hebrew  towns,  and  gathering  their 
population  as  they  went.  The  route  then  lay 
through  the  Wadi  Tumilot,  reaching  the 
Gulf  of  Suez  a  few  miles  south  of  the  present 
city  of  that  name.  Here  the  fugitives  were 
hemmed  in  by  the  forces  of  Menepta,  which 


66 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


had  been  sent  after  the  retreating  host.  At 
this  point  in  the  gulf  there  is  a  shallow, 
stretching  from  shore  to  shore,  almost  fordable 
at  low  tide.  By  "a  strong  east  wind,"  the 
waters  of  the  sinus  were,  on  the  night  of  Is- 
rael's encampment  there,  driven  back  to  the 
head  of  the  gulf,  leaving  bare  the  sandy  bot- 
tom. Over  this  the  hosts  of  the  Hebrews, 
numbering,  it  is  said,  six  hundred  and  three 
thousand  men  of  the  soldier  age,  or  more  than 
two  million  in  all,  crossed  to  the  other  side  in 
safety,  Avhich  the  Egyptians  in  pursuit  essay- 
ing to  do  were  drowned.     For,  the  waters  re- 


.LJJ^i_i  ;,1J'  l_i  .M_.j  II  J-1JJJ_LL3 


turning  to  their  place,  the  Pharaoh's  horsemen 
and  chariots,  Avith  wheels  clogged  in  the  mire, 
were  panic-stricken  and  overwhelmed. 

The  story  of  the  Exodus  is  told  by  Man- 
etho,  and  quoted  by  Josephus,  in  terms  quite 
difierent  from  the  Biblical  narrative,  though 
in  the  main  corroborative  of  the  event.  Man- 
etho's  account  is  to  this  effect :  That  after  the 
accession  of  King  Amenophis  (Menepta)  he 
was  seized  with  a  desire  to  see  the  gods.  To 
this  end  he  took  counsel  of  a  certain  priest 
also  named  Amenophis,  who  advised  the 
king  that  if  he  would  see  the  gods  he  must 


clear  the  land  of  Egypt  of  the  leprous  an(f 
unclean. 

The  Pharaoh  accordingly  collected  all  the- 
diseased  to  the  number  of  eighty  thousand  and 
threw  them  into  the  stone  quarries  east  of  the 
Nile.  Among  the  victims  of  this  peculiar 
quarantine  were  certain  priests  and  learned 
men,  which  fact  coming  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  son  of  Papius  alarmed  him  lest  be  should' 
be  visited  with  the  anger  of  the  gods  for  hav- 
ing conspired  to  drive  holy  men  into  shame 
and  servitude.  Albeit  he  saw  in  a  vision  that- 
others  would  come  to  the  help  of  the  lepers- 
and  would  hold  dominion  over  Egypt  for 
thirteen  years.  This  he  wrote  on  a  roll  of 
papyrus,  and  then  committed  suicide. 

Pharaoh  now  became  alarmed  and  liberated 
the  lepers  from  the  quarries.  He  gave  them 
Avaris,  which  had  been  left  in  ruins  since  the- 
expulsion  of  the  Hyksos.  Repairing  the  city, 
the  lepers  chose  one  Osarsiph,  a  priest  of 
Heliopolis,  as  their  leader.  He  gave  them 
laws,  enacting  among  other  things  that  his^ 
people  might  kill  and  eat  the  gods,  that  is, 
the  sacred  animals  of  Egypt.  He  then  bade- 
them  fortify  Avaris,  and  at  the  same  time 
send  an  embassy  to  Jerusalem  to  inform  the 
expelled  Hyksos  of  the  situation  of  affairs,  to- 
invite  them  to  an  invasion  of  the  country, 
and  to  promise  them  the  keys  of  Avaris  on- 
their  coming.  The  Shepherds  eagerly  accepted 
the  invitation,  and  came  down  with  an  army 
of  two  hundred  thousand  to  reconquer  the- 
kingdom  of  their  forefathers.  Hearing  of  the 
invasion  the  superstitious  Amenophis,  after 
gathering  a  force  of  three  hundred  thousand 
soldiers,  forebore  to  fight,  choosing  instead  to 
retire  into  Ethiopia  until  the  thirteen  prophetic 
years  of  leper  domination  should  pass. 

So  Egypt  was  given  up  to  the  unclean. 
The  latter  held  high  carnival  in  the  sacred 
places  of  the  Egyptians  until  in  process  of 
time  Menepta  came  back  with  a  combined 
army  of  Egyptian  soldiers  and  Ethiopian  mer- 
cenaries, and  drove  the  leprous  hordes  and 
their  allies  in  a  common  rout  out  of  the  land. 
And  meanwhile  the  name  of  Osarsiph,  leader 
of  the  lepers,  had  been  changed  to  Moyses. 

The  next  Pharaoh  after  Menepta  was  Seti 
n. ,  who  was  succeeded  by  Menepta  JI.   Theu^ 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


67 


in  1269  B.  C,  came  the  accession  of  Ramses 
III.,  who,  in  a  reign  of  thirty-two  years, 
brought  back  the  empire  to  something  of  the 
glory  which  it  had  under  the  elder  kings  of 
the  dynasty.  Naval  battles  are  pictured 
among  the  inscriptions  of  this  reign.  The 
Hittites  and  the  Amorites  are  mentioned 
among  those  whom  Ramses  III.  conquered  in 


Pharaoh,  descendant  of  Ramses  the  Great. 
But  the  kingdom  was  again  entering  a  decline. 
The  day  of  warlike  exploits  was  past.  The 
inscriptions  no  longer  tell  the  story  of  grand 
deeds  and  heroic  enterprises.  Art — except  the 
art  of  copying — expires,  and  architecture  lan- 
guishes. Of  King  Ramses  XII.  a  quaint  legend 
is  recited,  how,  having  married  the  daughter  of 


./'Mi/Pf/HFAUr,  - 


EXODUS  OF  ISRAEL. 


war.  The  Nubians,  the  Negroes,  and  the 
Libyans  each  in  turn  felt  the  terror  of  his 
arms.  Ten  successful  campaigns  attested  his 
prowess  and  ambition. 

From  1222  to  1091  B.  C.  the  throne  of 
Egypt  was  occupied  by  eleven  kings,  all  by 
the  name  of  Ramses.  This  period  covers  the 
remainder  of  the  Nineteenth  and  all  of  the 
Twentieth  Dynasty.  The  latter  began  with 
the  accession  of  Setnekht,  a  certain  obscure 


the  king  of  Bachtan,  and  her  sister  being  sick 
unto  death,  the  father  besought  Ramses  to 
send  him  some  priest  or  god  of  Egypt  who 
should  be  able  to  save  the  life  of  his  child. 
Whereupon  the  Pharaoh  dispatched  up  the 
river  in  a  fleet  of  boats  an  image  of  the  moon- 
god  Chunsu,  before  whom  the  evil  spirit  that 
possessed  the  maiden  was  banished  and  sent 
to  his  own  place.  So  great  was  the  covetous 
ecstasy  of  the  king  of  Bachtan  that  for  three 


68 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


years  and  more  lie  would  not  permit  the  effigy 
of  the  moon-god  to  be  returned  to  the  sender, 
finally,  he  himself  was  seized  with  an  illness, 
and  thereupon,  being  in  alarm,  he  hastened  to 
■send  back  Chunsu  to  his  place  in  the  temple 
at  Karnak. 

This  epoch  in  Egyptian  history  is  marked 
for  the  presence  of  foreign  influences  in 
the  civil  affairs  of  the  kingdom.  The  Phara- 
ohs now  generally  chose  in  marriage  prin- 
cesses from  distant  courts.  Foi'eign  settle- 
ments became  common  in  Egypt.  A  Semite 
colony  was  established  at  Bubastis.  The 
presence  of  Semitic  names — Assyrian,  Babylo- 
nian, Phoenician — gave  token  of  constant  in- 
tercommunication between  the  Egyptians  and 
ithe  nations  of  the  East.  Several  kings  of 
Dynasty  XXII.,  reigning  at  Bubastis,  bore 
names  indicative  of  foreign  descent.  Of  this 
•sort  was  Sheshank  I. ,  the  Shishak  of  the  Bib- 
lical narrative,  who  founded  the  Twenty-sec- 
ond Dynasty. 

Meanwhile  the  influence  and  power  of 
Ahe  religious  order  had  increased  as  the  national 
.spirit  expired,  insomuch  that  Dynasty  XXI., 
reigning  at  Tanis  in  Lower  Egypt,  was  a  dy- 
nasty of  priests.  They  appeared  in  public 
<;lad  in  the  sacerdotal  robes  worn  by  the  min- 
isters of  Amun-Ka.  It  was  Psiuen-san,  one 
of  this  priestly  line,  who  gave  his  daughter  in 
marriage  to  Solomon.  But  the  dynasty  was 
distinguished  by  no  important  enterprise. 

The  daughter  of  the  last  king  of  this  House 
>was  married  to  Osorkon,  son  of  Sheshank. 
The  latter  became  a  partisan  in  the  struggles 
'between  Judah  and  Israel.  To  him  fled  Jero- 
'boam,  escaping  from  the  wrath  of  Solomon. 
Later  in  his  reign,  after  the  revolt  of  the  Ten 
Tribes,  he  made  war  on  Rehoboam,  and  de- 
•9poiled  his  temple  and  palace.  In  one  of  the 
inscriptions  at  El-Karnak  is  given  a  list  of  a 
'hundred  and  thirty  towns  and  districts  which 
were  taken  by  Sheshank  on  his  expedition 
■through  Syria.  After  his  return  an  important 
•modification  was  made  in  the  constitution  of 
^e  empire,  by  which  the  office  of  high-priest 
•of  Amun-Ra  was  made  hereditary  in  the 
king's  family. 

The  process  of  disintegration  was  now 
•everywhere   apparent.      The   employment   of 


Libyan  mercenaries  in  the  army  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  native  soldiery  increased  the  ten- 
dency to  decay.  A  number  of  semi-inde- 
pendent principalities  arose  in  different  parts 
of  Egypt.  No  Pharaoh  seemed  able  to  main- 
tain the  unity  of  the  nation.  A  lethargy, 
like  that  which  preceded  the  invasion  of  the 
Hyksos,  paralyzed  both  king  and  j^eople. 

The  Twenty-third  Dynasty,  with  capital  at 
Tanis,  held  the  throne  of  Lower  Egypt  for  a 
brief  and  inglorious  period.  At  length  Taf- 
NEKHT,  prince  of  Sais,  leading  Pharaoh  of 
Dynasty  XXIV.,  rallied  his  powers  and  re- 
vived, in  some  measure,  the  waning  energies 
of  the  empire.  But  the  princes  ruling  in 
some  of  the  Egyptian  provinces,  in  alliance 
with  the  priest-king  of  Napata,  called  in  the 
aid  of  the  Ethiopians,  who  were  already  in 
the  ascendant  in  Upper  Egypt  as  far  north  as 
Thebes,  overthrew  Tafnekht,  and  established 
Dynasty  XXV.,  called  the  Ethiopian.  The 
capital  was  nominally  at  Thebes.  Piankhi, 
the  priest-king  under  whose  leadership  the 
revolution  had  been  accomplished,  himself  a 
descendant  of  the  Theban  house,  was  estab- 
lished on  the  throne.  But  Egypt  was  really 
ruled  from  Ethiopia;  and  in  the  next  reign 
the  logic  of  events  was  recognized  by  giv- 
ing the  seat  of  the  Pharaohs  to  Kashta,  a 
native  Ethiopian,  who  had  married  a  princess 
of  Thebes. 

Meanwhile,  the  claims  of  the  Saite  House 
were  maintained  by  Bokenranf,  son  of  Taf- 
nekht, who  seized  the  occasion  of  the  Ethi- 
opian usurpation  to  raise  a  revolt  in  Lower 
Egypt.  But  the  insurrection  was  only  tem- 
porarily successfnl.  For  a  short  time  he  held 
the  throne,  but  the  Ethiopian  powers  were 
rallied  by  Shabak  and  led  against  Lower 
Egypt  in  a  victorious  campaign.  Sais,  the 
capital  of  Bokenranf,  was  besieged  and  taken, 
and  himself  burned  to  death. 

In  the  troublous  times  that  followed  the 
Ethiopian  conquest,  the  country  was  broken 
up  into  petty  principalities,  ruled  for  the 
most  part  by  native  governors,  who  were 
virtually  vassals  of  Ethiopia.  At  one  time 
Queen  Amenieitis,  sister  of  Shabak,  reigned 
at  Thebes ;  but  the  power  of  the  local  princes 
was  limited,  and  only  for  a  season.     Later  in 


EGYPT.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


69 


his  reign  Shabak,  instigated  by  Hoshea,  king 
of  Israel,  was  drawn  into  a  confederacy  of 
the  princes  of  Syria  and  promised  his  aid  in 
a  campaign  against  Sargon,  king  of  Assyria. 
But  the  latter,  more  rapid  in  his  movements 
than  his  enemies,  bore  down  upon  the  con- 
federates, struck  Shabak's  army  at  Eaphia, 
only  a  short  distance  from  the  eastern  borders 
of  Egypt,  and  inflicted  on  him  a  disastrous 
defeat,  718  B.  C.  The  Ethiopian  king  fled 
into  his  own  dominions,  retaining  only  Ethi- 
opia and  a  part  of  Upper  Egypt.  In  Lower 
and  Middle  Egypt  the  native  princes  trans- 
ferred their  allegiance  to  Sargon,    and   thus 


ates;  but  when  the  Assyrians,  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five  thousand  strong,  had  come 
into  the  vicinity  of  Pelusium  they  were  de- 
stroyed by  some  peculiar  visitation  or  panic 
which  the  Egyptians,  in  common  with  the 
Jews,  regarded  as  miraculous.^  (B.  C.  698.) 
Sennacherib  fled  to  Nineveh  aud  abandoned 
his  Egyptian  wars.  In  the  lull  that  followed 
the  Assyrian  discomfiture,  Tahraka  invaded 
Egypt,  killed  Shabatok,  and  again  brought 
the  Avhole  land  under  Ethiopian  domination 
(B.  C.  692). 

On   the   accession  of  Esarhaddon,  son   of 
Sennacherib,   to   the   throne   of  Assyria,  the 


EGYPTIANS  IN  BATTLE 
Drawn  by  C 

the  influence  of  Assyria  was   established   in  | 
the  country. 

During  the  reign  of  Shabatok,  son  aud 
successor  of  Shabak,  the  Ethiopian  ascend- 
ancy was  restored  for  a  time  throughout 
Egypt.  But  at  the  same  time  Shabatok  lost 
-the  Ethiopian  crown  in  a  struggle  with  his 
rival,  Tahkaka.  Soon  afterward  the  native 
Egyptian  princes  made  an  alliance  with  Hez- 
ekiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  joined  battle  with 
Sennacherib,  the  successor  of  Sargon.  The 
«,llied  army  was  defeated  in  Southern  Pales- 
tine and  the  princes,  one  by  one,  made  their 
submission.  Soon,  however,  they  were  again 
in  arms,  instigated  and  supported  by  Tahraka, 
of  Ethiopia.  A  second  time  the  army  of 
Sennacherib   advanced   against  the   confeder- 


^^^TH  the  Ethiopians. 

F.  Klimsh. 

struggle  began  anew  for  the  mastery  of 
Egypt.  In  the  year  672  an  Assyrian  army 
invaded  the  country,  captured  Memphis  and 
Thebes,  and  drove  Tahraka  into  his  own  do- 
minions. Egypt  was  divided  into  twenty 
provinces  under  as  many  princes,  the  leader 
of  whom  was  Neku,  of  Sais.  In  a  few  years, 
however,  Tahraka  returned,  drove  out  the  As- 
syrian garrisons,  and  reestablished  his  author- 
ity. But  he,  in  turn,  was  speedily  put  down 
by  Ashur-bani-pal,  the  successor  of  Esarhad- 
don. Several  revolts  were  suppressed,  and 
after  a  time  the  native  princes  of  Egypt 
were  won  over  to  the  Assyrian  interest.  Left 
with  some  measure  of  local  independence, 
they  accepted   the   yoke    of  Assyria,  which. 


^  See  Second  Kings  xix,  35-36. 


70 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


on  the  whole,  was  less  galling  than  that  of 
Ethiopia. 

The  dominion  of  Assyria  was  already 
waning  in  the  East.  On  the  North  the  fero- 
cious Scythians  were  breaking  through  the 
borders  of  the  empire.  The  Assyrian  forces 
were  called  home  to  ward  off  the  threatened 
danger.  Egypt,  for  the  time  being,  was  re- 
lieved from  the  menace  of  foreign  arms. 
Quick  to  seize  the  opportunity,  Psametik, 
prince  of  Sais,  raised  a  revolt,  quelled  the 
native  rulers  who  opposed  him,  drew  to  his 
banner  an  army  of  Egyptians,  Tyrians,  and 
Greek  mercenaries,  set  up  the  standard  of 
nationality,  and  in  a  short  time  established 
Dynasty  XXVI.  (B.  C.  685). 

Under  his  vigorous  rule  and  that  of  his 
successors  the  spirit  of  the  Egyptians  rap- 
idly revived.  But  the  new  culture  which 
sprang  up  after  the  revolution  was  no  longer 
distinctly  Egyptian.  War,  colonization,  and 
commercial  intercourse  had  filled  the  cities, 
especially  the  seaport  towns  of  Egypt,  with  a 
new  class  of  citizens :  foreigners,  Ethiopians, 
lonians,  Carians,  Phoenicians,  Jews.  The  new 
art  was  no  longer  the  classical  art  of  Old 
Egypt.  The  Egypt  of  the  Pharaohs  was  dead. 
The  language  was  infected.  The  outlandish 
jargon  of  dragomans  was  already  heard  among 
the  ruins  of  the  ancient  civilization.  None 
the  less,  the  age  of  Psametik  I.  was  a  genu- 
ine renaissance,  imitating  the  styles  of  Dy- 
nasties IV.  and  v.,  and  adding  something  to 
the  monumental  glory  of  the  past. 

Even  for  warlike  enterprises  the  reign  of 
Psametik  is  distinguished.  Lower  Nubia  was 
recovered  in  a  struggle  with  Ethiopia.  In  an 
expedition  across  the  eastern  border  the  power 
of  the  Philistines  was  broken.  Nor  is  it  cer- 
tain to  what  extent  the  dominion  of  the  king 
might  have  been  extended  had  not  a  mutiny 
in  his  array  destroyed  his  prospects.  The 
native  soldiery  became  jealous  of  the  Ionian 
and  Carian  mercenaries,  on  whose  influence 
the  king  especially  relied,  and  broke  out  in  a 
successful  revolt.  All  efforts  to  reconcile  the 
mutineers  proved  unavailing,  and  Psametik 
was  obliged  to  witness  their  departure  into 
Ethiopia,  where  they  took  service  and  received 
lands  from  the  king.     The  opportunity  which 


thus  for  a  time  seemed  within  the  grasp  of 
Egypt  to  become  again  influential  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  East  faded  suddenly  away. 

In  the  year  611  B.  C,  Neku  II.,  son  of 
Psametik,  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  the 
country.  The  first  years  of  his  reign  were 
occupied  with  the  decayed  project  of  con- 
structing a  canal  from  the  Red  Sea  into  the 
Nile.  Commerce  was  patronized.  A  navy 
was  built,  manned  by  Phoenician  sailors,  and 
sent  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea  to  explore  the 
coasts  of  Africa.  In  the  first  summer  of  their 
voyage,  and  again  in  the  second,  the  seamen 
landed,  pitched  a  camp,  sowed  grain,  and 
gathered  a  harvest.  In  the  third  season  they" 
returned  to  Egypt  by  way  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, having  accomplished  what,  after  twenty- 
one  centuries,  Vasco  da  Gama,  sailing  in  the- 
opposite  course,  did  with  so  great  toil  and 
peril — the  circumnavigation  of  Africa. 

But  the  monarch  in  whose  reign  the  famous 
voyage  was  made  was  less  fortunate  in  his- 
schemes  of  war.  Covetous  of  the  prize  of- 
fered in  the  East  by  the  decay  of  Nineveh,  he 
organized  an  army,  marched  to  Megiddo,  joined 
battle  there  with  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  whom 
he  slew,  and  then  advanced  to  Carchemish,  on 
the  Euphrates.  The  epoch  was  in  the  ebb 
between  the  collapse  of  Assyria  and  the  rise  of 
Babylon.  After  three  years,  however,  Nabo- 
polassar,  the  Babylonian  monarch,  sent  out  a 
powerful  army,  commanded  by  his  son,  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, to  drive  the  Egyptians  from  the 
land.  The  decisive  battle  was  fought  in  605 
B.  C,  on  the  field  of  Carchemish.  The 
army  of  Neku  Avas  utterly  defeated,  and 
the  power  of  Egypt  in  the  East  forever  extin- 
guished. 

Psametik  II.  came  to  the  throne  in  the  year 
595.  His  short  reign  was  distinguished  by  na 
event  except  a  fitful  expedition  undertaken 
against  the  king  of  Ethiopia.  His  son  and 
successor,  Uahabra,^  inherited  the  crown  in 
the  year  590,  and  attempted  to  carry  forward 
the  ambitious  designs  of  his  grandfather. 
Under  his  influence  a  confederation,  embrac- 
ing Egypt,  Palestine,  and  Phoenicia,  wa» 
formed  against  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  the  fleet 
of  the  latter,  manned  by  Tyrian  mercenaries^ 

^  In  Greek,  Apries ;  in  Hebrew,  Hophra. 


EGYPT.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


71 


-was  defeated  by  the  fleet  of  Uahabra.  But 
the  land  forces  of  the  Babylonian,  advancing 
into  Palestine,  besieged  and  captured  Jerusa- 
lem, sacked  the  city,  pillaged  the  temple,  and 
i)roke  the  confederacy  to  pieces. 

A  still  greater  calamity'  soon  overtook 
TJahabra  and  ruined  his  house.  Undertaking 
an  ill-advised  war  against  the  Greek  colonies 
of  Cyrene,  his  army  was  defeated;  and  the 
native  soldiers  thereupon  charged  their  defeat 
to  a  concealed  purpose  of  the  king  to  de- 
stroy them  and  to  put  Hellenic  mercenaries 
in  their  place.  A  violent  revolt  followed, 
Leaded  by  Aahmes,  Avho  was  chosen  king 
fey  the  insurgents;  and  in  571,  the  forces  of 
Uahabra  were  routed  in  battle  and  himself 
-dethroned. 

It  is  probable  that  this  sudden  and  compara- 
tively bloodless  revolution  was  conducted  by 
Aahmes  under  the  instigation  and  direction 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  that  the  crown  of 
Egypt  was  held  by  Aahmes  as  a  tributary  of 
the  Babylonian  king.  Nevertheless,  the  Egyp- 
tian prince  at  once  proceeded  to  legitimate 
his  line  by  taking  in  marriage  the  heiress  of 
the  Saite  dynasty,  Queen  Shapertap,  grand- 
daughter of  Psametik  I.  He  endeavored  to 
arouse  the  national  spirit  by  cleansing  and  re- 
storing the  temples,  encouraging  art,  and 
patronizing  learning.  The  Greek  influence, 
however,  was  clearly  in  the  ascendant,  and 
triumphed  more  and  more.  Naucratis  became 
a  Greek  town  with  Greek  privileges,  and  the 


guards  of  Memphis  were  for  the  most  part 
Ionian  and  Carian  mercenaries. 

This  encouragement  of  Hellenic  influences 
was  a  part  of  the  foreign  policy  of  the  king. 
For  he  saw  with  ever-increasing  alarm  the  rising 
power  of  Persia,  and  recognized  the  instant 
necessity  of  preparing  for  the  inevitable  onset. 
This  he  did  with  commendable  energy.  With 
all  of  the  Greek  states  he  established  relations 
of  amity.  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  and  Poly- 
crates,  prince  of  Samos,  he  joined  in  an  al- 
liance against  the  Persian.  But  before  the 
storm  broke  out  of  the  East  upon  the  West, 
Aahmes  died  and  bequeathed  the  crown  to 
Psametik*  HI.,  his  son. 

Cambyses,  king  of  Persia,  was  already  on 
the  march  against  the  Western  confederates. 
The  Egyptian  army  was  drawn  out  to  Pelu- 
sium  to  stay  the  coming  invasion.  Here 
Psametik,  who  may  be  styled  the  last  of  the 
Pharaohs,  was  met  by  Cambyses,  defeated  in 
battle,  and  driven  back  to  Memphis.  In  this, 
the  ancient  capital  of  his  country,  the  Egyp- 
tian concentrated  his  forces,  and  was  besieged 
by  the  victorious  Persians.  The  city  was 
taken,  after  a  brief  investment,  in  the  year 
525  B.  C.  The  king  was  captured  and  led  to 
death.  The  triumphant  soldiery  of  Cambyses 
marched  over  the  prostrate  gods  of  Egypt,  and 
the  New  Empire,  which  through  centuries  of 
glorious  achievement  had  been  the  pride  of 
the  world,  was  extinguished.  The  land  of  the 
Pharaohs  became  a  Persian  province. 


CHAPTER    IV.— IVLANNERS    AND    CUSTONIS. 


NLY  a  few  Egyptian  books 
have  survived  the  wreck 
of  ages.  And  the  few 
that  do  exist  are  treatises 
on  Death  rather  than 
pictures  of  Life.  The 
funeral  procession,  the 
sepulcher,  the  ordeal  of  the  soul,  the  judg- 
ment of  the  gods — these  are  the  choice  themes 
of  the  literature  of  Egypt.  Whereas  other 
civilized  nations  have  given  us  in  their  liter- 


ary works  a  transcript,  more  or  less  complete, 
of  the  daily  life  of  the  people,  the  Egyptians 
have  left  us  little  more  than  the  ceremonial 
of  the  tomb. 

But  in  a  graphic  pictorial  delineation  of 
Manners  and  Customs  the  Egyptians  sur- 
passed all  other  races,  whether  ancient  or  mod- 
ern. On  monument  and  temple-wall,  on  pol- 
ished tablet  and  face  of  the  native  clifl^,  on 
granite   obelisk   and   red-stone   sarcophagiis- 

*In  HerodotuSj  Psammenitus. 


72 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


everywhere  were  pictured  the  quaint  details 
of  common  life.  From  the  stony  pages  of 
these  imperishable  records  the  hopes  and  fears, 
the  toils  and  sorrows,  the  purposes  and  aims 
of  the  people  of  the  villages  and  fields  of 
Egypt  can  be  gathered  as  from  the  open  book 
of  yesterday. 

In  the  society  of  ancient  Egypt  the  king 
was  first  and  greatest.  Above  the  common 
throng  he  was  immeasurably  lifted  up.  He 
was  the  one  source  of  political  life  to  the 
nation.  From  him  flowed  all  the  civil  and 
official  rights  of  the  people.  He  only  was 
not  bound  by  authority.  He  was  not  subject, 
neither  indeed  could  be.  The  double  crown 
which  he  wore  was  no  meaningless  symbol.^ 

In  Egypt  every  circumstance  of  the  envi- 


EGYPTIANS  PLOWING. 

From  a  Bas-relief  of  the  Oldest  Dynasty,  Memphis. 

ronment  conspired  to  augment  the  influence 
of  the  KING.  The  monarchy,  once  established, 
rapidly  developed  into  a  despotism.  Herodo- 
tus declares  that  the  Egyptians  could  not  have 
lived  without  a  king.  He  was  alike  the  prin- 
ciple of  social  coherence  and  the  fountain  of 
political  power.  Before  his  feet  commander 
and  nobleman,  magistrate  and  priest  bowed  in 
abject  attitude.  The  custom  of  universal 
kneeling  in  the  presence  of  the  sovereigns  of 
the  East  acquired  in  Egypt  a  peculiar  signifi- 
cance.    In  other  courts  it  was  an  act  of  rev- 


'  The  high  miter  or  royal  cap  of  the  king  (see 
the  picture  of  Ramses  the  Great,  page  64)  was  the 
crown  of  Lower  Egypt ;  the  low  miter,  of  Upper 
Egypt.  After  the  consohdation  of  the  monarchy 
the  two  crowns  were  combined  in  a  peculiar 
fashion  so  as  to  preserve  the  outlines  of  both. 


erence,  respect,  humility;  in  Egypt  it  was  an 
act  of  worship. 

The  Egyptian  king  was  a  god.  He  was 
defined  and  invoked  by  all  the  divine  appella- 
tions and  epithets.  He  was  not  merely  like 
the  gods,  but  was  one  of  them.  He  was  not 
the  minister  of  the  sun,  but  the  sun  himself, 
dispensing  life  and  light.  He  was  the  mighty 
Horus;  the  good  god;  the  master.  On  aU 
the  monuments  and  temples  in  perpetual 
rhythm  of  repetition  the  attributes  divine  are 
carved  with  infinite  pleonasm.  Everywhere 
the  king  is  the  outpourer  of  life,  the  mighty 
god,  son  of  Ptah,  beloved  of  Amun,  ofispring^ 
of  Ra,  child  of  the  sun,  the  eternal.  The 
young  Ramses  draws  the  milk  of  life  from  the 
breast  of  Isis,  and  the  goddess  Anuke  nurses 

the  boy-king  Horus 
into  strength  and 
beauty. 

To    the    Egyp- 
tians  all   this  was 
very  real.  They  be- 
lieved   profoundly 
in  the  godhead  of 
their  sovereign, 
and    because    they 
believed,    worship- 
ed.       Before     his 
death   he   was  en- 
rolled    with     the 
spirits   of   his   an- 
cestors; priests  were  appointed  to  his  service; 
and  he  himself  bowed  in  worship  before  his 
own   effigy.     Between    him    and    the  higher 
powers  no  human  agency  could  interpose;  for 
who  could  mediate  between  the  gods  and  one 
of  their  own  number?   The  priesthood  was  only- 
common  clay  before  the  glory  of  Pharaoh. 

In  the  discipline  and  duties  of  his  official! 
life  the  king  of  Egypt  was  quite  another 
creature.  In  the  great  work  of  ruling  his 
people  he  was  the  slave  of  traditional  cere- 
mony. Every  part  of  his  daily  life  was  guarded 
by  form — each  moment  apportioned  to  its 
place  in  the  royal  programme. 

How  each  day  the  king  must  live  and  act 
is  curiously  related  by  Diodorus.  The  royal 
ritual  is  complete.  In  the  morning,  first  of 
all,  the  monarch  read  the  communications  and 


EGYPT.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


73 


reports  sent  in  from  different  quarters  of  his 
empire.  Then  the  sacred  person  must  be  puri- 
fied by  ablutions  and  the  kingly  robes  put  on. 
Next  came  an  offering  to  the  gods — a  sacrifice 
made  by  the  priests  in  the  name  of  their  sov- 
ereign. The  high-priest  himself  offered  prayer 
while  the  sacrificial  beast  was  brought  to  the 
altar.  He  recounted  that  the  king  was  a 
righteous  ruler,  honorable,  just,  and  pure. 
He  was  gentle  in  demeanor,  kind  to  his  friends, 
terrible  to  his  enemies.  If  any  fault  had  been 
committed  it  was  not  the  king  who  did  it,  but 
the  officers  of  his  court;  himself  was  incor- 
ruptible. He  rewarded  honest  men  and  pun- 
ished liars.  He  was  a  sovereign  faithful  in 
every  duty  and  pious  towards  the  gods.  Might 
the  higher  powers,  therefore,  grant  him  long  life, 
a  prosperous  reign,  and  great  glory  hereafter. 

As  soon  as  the  ceremony  was  ended,  the 
priest  read  to  the  king,  out  of  one  of  the 
sacred  books,  -the  wise  sayings  and  great  deeds 
of  his  ancestors,  and  exhorted  him  to  emulate 
their  wisdom  and  virtue.  At  other  hours 
histories  and  poems  were  rehearsed  for  the 
monarch's  pleasure  and  profit.  Anon  he 
walked  abroad  accompanied  by  his  retinue, 
but  must  return  at  the  prescribed  moment. 
At  the  table  he  must  be  abstemious  to  the 
last  degree.  Only  the  flesh  of  calves  and 
geese  might  be  eaten,  with  a  fixed  portion  of 
wine.  All  crude  and  vulgar  articles  were 
strictly  excluded  from  the  royal  board.  Pure 
food  was  essential  for  the  preservation  of  the 
purity  of  the  king's  life.  Even  the  priests 
ate  no  other.  How  much  more  must  he  who 
is  greater  than  all  priests  so  live  as  to  expel 
all  disorder  and  evil? 

Equal — even  greater — care  and  circumspec- 
tion were  taken  to  preserve  the  king  from 
social  contamination.  Those  who  composed 
his  household  and  servants  were  all  persons  of 
distinction.  No  menial  was  allowed  to  enter 
his  presence  lest  some  low  word  should  pollute 
the  royal  ears.  Educated  priests  and  noble- 
men conversed  with  him  and  with  each  other 
in  his  hearing.  They  went  with  him  about  the 
palace  and  on  his  walks  abroad,  reciting  ever- 
more his  father's  praises  and  his  own,  and 
laying  upon  others  the  sins  and  mistakes  of 
his  administration. 


On  public  occasions  the  pageants  were 
oriental  in  their  magnificence.  The  king  was 
borne  to  his  coronation  on  a  throne  under  a 
canopy  of  purple.  A  score  of  priests,  carry- 
ing censers  and  the  statues  of  the  gods,  with 
trumpeters  in  the  van,  led  the  procession. 
A  scribe  made  proclamation  of  the  great 
event.  Fan-bearers  stood  on  the  right  and 
left,  and  high  officers  of  state  bore  the  weapons 
and  insignia  of  the  king.  Behind  the  throne 
followed  the  body-guard,  soldiers,  and  priests, 
with  the  white  Bull  Apis  led  by  his  attendants 
and  nurses. 

The  court  of  an  Egyptian  king  was  com- 
posed of  a  numerous  retinue  of  officers.  The 
government  was  one  of  centralized  authority. 


THE  BULL  APIS. 


At  the  head  stood  the  Supreme  Court,  com- 
posed  of  thirty,  or  sometimes  forty-two  judges. 
Ten  of  these  were  chosen  from  each  of  the 
priestly  colleges — the  first  at  Memphis,  the 
second  at  Thebes,  and  the  third  at  Heliopolis. 
From  the  thirty  a  supreme  justice  was  chosen, 
who  presided  at  the  sessions  of  the  court. 
Upon  his  front  he  wore  a  breastplate  called 
"Truth,"  garnished  with  precious  stones  and 
suspended  by  a  chain  of  gold. 

Before  this  reverend  assemblage  were  heard 
and  decided  all  grave  questions  of  state, 
of  administration,  of  law.  The  proceedings 
were  characterized  by  the  utmost  regularity 
and  judicial  fairness.  Eight  great  volumes  of 
statutes  at  large  contained  the  laws  and  prece- 
dents of  the  kingdom,  and  to  these  the  judges 
scrupulously  adhered.  After  the  high  officers 
of  the  court  came  a  multitude  of  others. 
There  were  bearers  of  the  fan,  bearers  of  the 
parasol,  keepers  of  the  king's  bow,  officers  of 
the  guard,  stewards  of  the  palace,  treasurers, 


74 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


overseers  of  buildings,  masters  of  the  horses, 
keepers  of  the  records,  stewards  of  the  graoa- 
ries,  stewards  of  the  royal  flocks,  butlers,  and 
attendants. 

The  chambers  and  apartments  of  the  king 
were  furnished  with  the  gorgeous  profusion  of 
the  East.  The  furniture  was  decked  with  sil- 
ver and  gold.  The  horses  were  richly  capari- 
soned, and  the  king's  barges  were  trimmed 
with  many-colored  sails  and  gilded  till  they 
flashed  in  the  sun.  The  lounges  and  beds  of 
the  palace  were  trimmed  and  cushioned  in 
luxurious  patterns,  and  the  royal  kitchen  was 
furnished  with  utensils  as  costly  as  they  were 
curious  and  quaint. 

Every  thing  thus  conspired  to  maintain  the 
popular  faith  that  the  kings  and  the  gods  were 
one.  When  the  Pharaoh  died  he  was  mourned 
for  seventy  days — as  though  Apis  were  dead. 
It  was  a  time  of  fasting  and  sorrow.  Wine 
might  not  be  drank  or  flesh  eaten  in  these 
days  of  lamentation.  But  when  a  new  king, 
son  of  the  dead  monarch  perliaps,  ascended 
the  throne,  then  indeed  "the  sun  gave  light 
again" — a  new  Horus  had  risen  on  the  world. 

Generally  the  crown  descended  to  the  chil- 
dren of  the  king,  with  little  or  no  discrimination 
against  the  daughters.  The  constitution  of  the 
oldest  empire  of  the  world  did  not  admit  that 
it  was  a  misfortune  to  be  born  a  woman.  In  a 
few  instances  the  line  of  hereditary  descent  was 
broken  by  revolt  and  usurpation. 

Besides  the  king  and  his  retinue  of  princes 
there  were  few  eminent  Egyptians.  There 
were  no  distinguished  families  in  the  land, 
no  great  generals,  no  orators,  no  poets,  no 
statesmen.  Even  the  priests  were  noted  as 
a  class,  not  as  men.  All  grandeur  proceeded 
from  the  sovereign — was  derived  from  him. 
In  no  other  great  nation  of  the  world  has 
there  been  such  a  dearth  of  individual  achieve- 
ment. The  great  names  of  Egypt  are  the 
names  of  the  Pharaohs. 

The  military  caste  in  Egyptian  society 
was  not  distinguished  for  the  warlike  grandeur 
of  its  leadership  or  the  personal  heroism  of  its 
soldiery  ;  it  was  strong  en  masse — victorious  by 
its  impersonal  momentum.  The  army  was 
well  disciplined  rather  than  well  organized, 
and  war  was  carried  on  with  some  degree  of 


scientific  skill.  The  weapons  were  provided 
from  the  royal  armories.  Helmets,  shields, 
bows  and  arrows,  lances,  and  swords  with 
curving  blades,  were  served  forth  to  the  bat- 
talions according  to  the  exigency  of  the  serv- 
ice. The  trumpet  sounded  the  march,  the 
battle,  the  retreat.  In  attacking  towns  the 
battering  ram  and  protecting  shed  were  em- 
ployed in   the  manner  of  the  Roman   siege. 

In  the  Old  Empire  the  cavalry  service  was 
unknown,  and  war-chariots  were  not  used  un- 
til after  the  expulsion  of  the  Hyksos.  There 
were  two  great  military  orders — the  one  called 
the  Hermotyhlam,  so  named  from  the  peculiar 
apron  which  constituted  the  feature  of  their 
uniform ;  and  the  other,  the  Kalasirians,  from 
the  linen  coat  which  they  wore.  The  former 
were  the  soldiers  of  Upper  Egypt  and  the 
western  part  of  the  Delta;  the  latter  of  the 
eastern  Delta  and  the  province  of  Thebes. 
For  it  was  a  resident  soldiery,  living  indepen- 
dently on  lands  granted  by  the  king.  Each 
family  of  the  warrior  caste  had  an  allotment 
of  about  twelve  acres — a  homestead,  the  pro- 
ducts of  which  belonged  to  the  occupants.  In 
times  of  emergency  this  military  order  could 
bring  into  the  field  a  force  of  five  hundred 
thousand  men. 

The  favored  rank  of  Egyptian  society  was 
the  PRIESTS.  To  them  belonged  one-third  of 
the  lands  of  the  kingdom.  They  were  the 
holy  order  in  whose  hands  rested  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  national  religious  faith,  the  con- 
duct of  the  ceremonies  in  the  temples,  the  dir 
rection  of  the  sacrifices,  the  work  of  education, 
and  the  general  culture  of  the  Egyptians. 

By  the  priests  no  secular  duties  might  be  per- 
formed. They  were  expected  to  devote  them- 
selves exclusively  to  the  business  of  their 
sacred  oflfice,  and  to  this  end  they  were  guar- 
anteed a  liberal  support.  The  revenues  from 
their  lands,  together  with  certain  taxes  and 
contributions  of  corn,  wine,  and  animals 
brought  for  sacrifice,  furnished  abundant 
maintenance,  and  gave  the  priests  unlimited 
command  of  time  for  their  religious  duties. 
The  performance  of  the  sacred  ceremonies  was 
accordingly  elaborate  and  expensive.  The 
ritual  was  followed  with  great  exactness  and 
regularity,   and   every  minute  detail  of  wor- 


EGYPT.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


75 


ship  and  sacrifice  attended  to  with  punctilious 
respect  for  the  scriptures  and  traditions. 

The  Egyptian  priests  were  divided  into 
several  ranks  or  classes,  according  to  the  dig- 
nity and  importance  of  the  services  rendered. 
In  every  temple  was  one  High-priest,  who 
ministered  only  in  the  greatest  things.  After 
him  came  the  Prophet,  who  was  overseer  of 
the  temple;  a  Scribe,  who  was  proficient  in 
writing  and  had  charge  of  the  property;  a 
Chamberlain,  who  took  care  of  the  images, 
vestments,  and  sacrifices;  an  Astronomer,  who 
recorded  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens;  and 


the  planets  were  named  and  the  stars  mapped 
with  wonderful  accuracy.  Here  were  made 
the  beginnings  of  that  sky-lore  which  in  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  B.  C.  astonished 
Hipparchus  as  he  studied  the  heavens  in  the 
observatory  at  Alexandria. 

Among  the  priestly  rank  the  hereditary 
principle  struggled  with  the  principle  of  fit- 
ness. Priests  might  be,  and  were,  promoted 
from  one  rank  to  another,  according  to  the 
merit  of  service ;  but  in  general  the  office  was 
handed  down  from  father  to  son  in  regular 
succession.     Five  orders  were    recognized   in 


TEMPLE  OF  ISIS,  PHILAE. 


a  Minstrel,  who  conducted  the  chants.  After 
these  in  rank  were  the  image  bearers,  the 
nurses  of  the  sacred  animals,  the  embalmers, 
and  ordinary  servants  of  the  temple. 

The  most  famous  shrines  in  the  kingdom 
were  the  temples  of  Amun  at  Thebes,  of  Ptah  at 
Memphis,  of  Ka  at  Heliopolis,  and  of  Isis  at 
Philse.  The  high-priest  of  Amun  at  Thebes 
was  the  high-priest  of  Egypt — next  to  the 
Pharaoh  in  glory.  In  the  temples  colleges 
were  established,  and  were  for  centuries  the 
chief  centers  of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  na- 
tion. Here  were  the  seats  of  "the  learning  of 
the  Egyptians,"  famous  throughout  the  East. 

Here  the  sciences  grew  and  flourished.     Here 

N.— Vol.  1—5 


the  temples — first  priests,  second  priests,  etc., 
the  fifth  being  the  lowest  rank.  It  is  recorded 
of  one  Baken-Chunsu  that,  beginning  service 
in  the  third  order,  he  rose  in  distinction  until 
he  became  high-priest  of  Amun  at  Thebes. 

The  discipline  of  the  priest's  life  was  exceed- 
ingly exacting.  The  rules  for  the  purification 
of  the  body,  for  food,  and  for  conduct  were  rig- 
orous in  the  extreme.  The  ritual  prescribed 
that  every  priest  must  perform  ablutions  twice 
by  day  and  twice  by  night.  On  every  third  day 
the  whole  person  must  be  shaven,  especially 
the  beard  and  eyebrows.  No  clothing  could 
be  worn  except  of  linen.  The  shoes  were  of 
papyrus.  Woolen  goods  were  abominable.    No 


76 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


priest  could  touch  the  hair  or  skins  of  beasts 
without  defilement.  The  animals  for  sacrifice 
must  first  be  purified  by  the  attendants. 


The  priest's  food  was  ordered  in  accordance 
with  the  same  strict  regulations.  No  flesh,  ex^ 
cept  that  of  calves  and  of  geese,  might  be 


HIPPARCHUS  IN  THE  OBSKRVATORY  OF  ALEXANDRIA. 


EGYPT.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


77 


eaten.  Fish  might  not  be  touched.  Peas  and 
beans  were  absolutely  interdicted — might  not 
be  looked  upon.  The  least  excess  brought 
defilement  and  disgrace.  The  layman  might 
eat  what  he  would,  but  the  priest  must  be 
pure  and  holy.  Fasts  were  frequent  and  se- 
vere. Sometimes  for  six  weeks  together  the 
priest  would  mortify  his  body  in  order  that 
the  roots  of  deadly  sins  might  be  destroyed. 
Celibacy  was  not  a  part  of  the  discipline,  but 
multiplicity  of  wives,  permitted  to  the  Pha- 
raoh and  his  noblemen,  was  forbidden  to  the 
priests. 

The  common  people — the  Third  Estate — of 
Egypt  were  divided  into  three  classes:  hus- 
bandmen, artisans,  and  shepherds.  The  lines 
of  division  were  not  very  clearly  drawn,  nor 
is  there  much  ground  for  believing  that  one 
of  these  classes  outranked  the  other  in  social 
reputation.     There  is  no  doubt  that  the  mili- 


FELLAH  PLOWING, 


tary  and  priestly  orders  stood  much  higher  in 
general  society  than  did  the  handcraftsmen 
and  laborers;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  as 
between  artisans  and  husbandmen  there  was 
much  distinction  of  rank.  The  shepherds  and 
swineherds  are  declared  by  Diodorus  to  have 
been  the  lowest  stratum  of  Egyptian  society — 
a  class  held  in  aversion  and  contempt  by  all 
the  other  orders. 

A  man's  place  as  a  citizen  in  the  social 
scale  was  for  the  most  part  determined  by  the 
rank  in  which  he  was  born.  It  was  not  im- 
possible that  this  order  should  be  broken  and 
the  artisan  become  a  husbandman,  or  even 
the  shepherd  an  artisan ;  but  such  transfer  of 
social  rank  was  the  exception — not  the  rule. 

In  no  other  country,  perhaps,  did  the  he- 


reditary principle  go  so  far  towards  fixing  the 
industrial  pursuits  of  men  as  in  Egypt.  The 
vocation  of  the  father  was  followed  by  the 
son.  One  inscription  bears  witness  to  the 
fact  that  the  profession  of  architect  had  been 
practiced  in  a  given  family  for  twenty-three 
generations.^ 

The  naturally  conservative  character  of  the 
people  cooperated  with  hereditary  influences 
to  limit  certain  occupations  to  certain  families, 
and  certain  families  to  certain  occupations; 
but  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  in  the  strictest 
sense  of  the  term  the  castes  of  Egypt  were  not 
rigid.  Intermarriages  between  the  various 
orders  of  society  were  never  prohibited,  and 
without  exclusiveness  in  this  regard  there  can 
be  no  true  caste. 

Transitions  from  one  social  and  civil  rank 
to  another  were  common,  or  at  least  not  in- 
frequent in  all  periods  of  Egyptian  history. 
The  inscriptions  on  the  tombs  never  ascribe 
any  merit  to  the  birth  of  the  occupant,  but 
rather  to  what  he  did.  Nor  was  it  impossible, 
or  even  improper,  for  an  Egyptian  to  belong 
to  two  castes  at  once.  He  might  be  farmer 
and  mechanic,  or  priest  and  soldier,  without 
destroying  his  social  rank.  The  disrepute  of 
the  shepherd  life  has  been  traced  to  the  fact 
that  the  keepers  of  the  flocks  (not  the  breeders 
of  herds,  who  were  well  esteemed)  were  mostly 
Libyan  and  Arabian  nomads,  and  not  native 
Egyptians. 

The  life  of  the  common  people  of  Egypt 
was  passed  with  the  usual  vicissitudes  of  toil 
and  rest.  To  the  farmer  and  gardener  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  gave  abundant  rewards  for 
their  labor.     The  greatest  drawback  on   the 

^  It  would  be  an  interesting  inquiry  to  deter- 
mine how  far  the  superior  excellence  of  ancient 
art  is  traceable  to  genius  accumulated  by  the  force 
of  heredity.  The  transmission  of  skill  is  a  fact 
that  can  not  be  denied ;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
if  the  hereditary  impulse  were  allowed  freely  to 
Avork  out  its  results  through  many  generations,  a 
degree  of  power  in  the  direction  of  a  certain  ac- 
tivity might  be  reached  which  would  astonish 
and  bewilder  by  the  beauty  and  precision  of  its 
work.  Is  it  not  possible  that  the  inferiority  of  art 
and  design  in  our  own  times  is  in  a  large  measure 
traceable  to  the  fact  that  herein  the  force  of  he- 
redity is  constantly  thwarted  and  broken  up  by 
the  multifarious  and  ever  shifting  pursuits  of 
modern  life? 


78 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.—TRE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


THE  ERECTION  OP  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  (EGYPT). 


comfort  and  independence  of  the  lowly  popu- 
lace was  the  fact  that  the  lauds  belonged  to 
Pharaoh.  The  husbandmen  held  their  home- 
steads only  by  lease,  and  were  thus  virtually 
the  tenants  of  the  king.  Even  the  labor  of 
the  people  might  be  commanded  by  the  mon- 
arch who,  for  his  own  caprice  and  pride  did 
not  hesitate  to  squander  on  the  vainglorious 
pile  that  was  to  guard  his  withered  mummy 
the  toil  of  generations.  It  was  by  the  confis- 
cated labor  of  the  people  that  the  pyramids 
were  built.  The  tasks  of  those  who  toiled  at 
the  public  works  and  in  the  mines  and  quar- 
ries were  many  times  cruel  and  severe.  The 
laborer  might  be  driven  to  his  work  with  rod 
and  whip,  or  beaten  for  imperfect  service. 
The  private  employer  and  public  taskmaster 
alike  might  exercise  the  right  of  chastisement 
over  those  who  were  employed  by  them,  and 


a  thousand  sculptures  show  that  the  overseers 
did  not  neglect  to  vindicate  their  right. 

Bating  the  occasional  severity  of  their 
labor  and  the  fact  that  Pharaoh  owned  their 
lands,  the  common   people  of  Egypt,  for  the 


EGYPTIAN   DWELLING. 

From  a  Bas-relief. 


most  part,  lived  a  happy  and  prosperous  life. 
The  domestic  tie  was  strong,  and  the  pleasures 


EGYPT.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


79 


of  toine  of  a  higher  order  than  in 
any  other  nation  of  antiquity.  The 
monuments  furnish  numberless  ex- 
amples of  the  tenderness  shown  by 
parents  to  their  children,  and  the 
manifestations  of  courtesy  and  affec- 
tion between  man  and  wife  are  so 
common  as  to  show  that  the  rule 
was  kindness — ^the  exception  cru- 
elty. Even  where  the  sculptures 
bear  witness  to  family  jars  and  so- 
cial scandals  the  delineation  is  gen- 
erally given  in  the  spirit  of  humor 
rather  than  in  satire  and  bitterness. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  Egyp- 
tian home  was  by  no  means  the 
abode  of  squalor  and  despair.  Com- 
forts as  great  as  those  found  in  the 
peasant-homes  of  modern  Europe 
were  enjoyed  by  the  people  of  the 
Nile  valley  four  thousand  years 
ago.  The  houses  of  the  artisans 
and  husbandmen  were  generally  of 
brick,  and  were  as  well  furnished 
as  the  houses  of  the  workingmen  of 
to-day,  and  perhaps  better  built. 
In  humbler  homes  the  stools  and 
benches  and  cots  were  of  primitive 
patterns  and  rude  workmanship; 
but  in  the  houses  of  the  well-to-do 
and  wealthy  the  tables,  beds,  and 
chairs  were  elaborately  finished  and 
ornamented  in  the  highest  style 
with  foreign  woods  and  quaint  de- 
vices of  workmanship. 

Though    sedate,   the   Egyptians 
were  fond  of  amusements,  and  the 
various  games  in  which  the  people 
delighted   are    fully  delineated    on 
the  monuments.     The  juggler's  art 
was  carried  to  great  perfection.     It 
was  the  delight  of  the  performer  to 
deceive  the  senses  of  the  beholder 
of  his  tricks.     Wrestling,  jumping, 
and  tumbling  were   sports  greatly 
enjoyed  by  the  people.     The  figures 
of    athletes     performing    feats    of 
strength  or  boxing  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  bystanders  are  deline- 
ated  in   many   of   the    sculptures. 


EGYPTIAN  DANCER. 
After  the  Painting  by  H.  Makart. 


80 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


On  one  of  the  walls  of  Beni  Hassan  the 
different  phases  of  a  game  of  ball,  involv- 
ing running  and  leaping,  are  pictured;  and 
in  another  part  the  performers  are  throw- 
ing a  set  of  balls  into  the  air,  catching  them 
in  their  faU.  Of  the  indoor  games,  draughts 
or  checkers  was  the  most  popular  contest. 
All  classes,  from  the  Pharaoh  to  the  swine- 
herd, found  delight  in  this  amusement.  Dice 
were  thrown,  as  in  modern  gaming,  the 
cubes  being  numbered  as  at  present,  but  the 
numbers  differently  arranged.  Many  other 
contests  of  chance  and  skill,  or  both  combined, 
are  represented  in  the  paintings  and  sculp- 
tures of  Thebes  and  Beni  Hassan.  The 
children  were  well  provided  with  such  home 
amusements  as  were  calculated  to  develop  the 
body  and  divert  the  mind.  Dolls  and  wooden 
manikins,  with  a  jointed  anatomy  operated 
by  strings,  gave  infinite  amusement  to  the 
solemn-eyed  urchins  of  the  Egyptian  household. 

Among  the  higher  classes  music  was  the 
chief  delight.  Musical  instruments  of  almost 
every  conceivable  pattern — harps,  guitars, 
lyres,  sistra,  flutes,  pipes,  triangles,  horns, 
trumpets,  and  drums — are  found  plentifully 
distributed  among  the  sculptures  of  the  tombs, 
temples,  and  palaces.  The  attitude  of  the 
player  is  carefully  delineated.  The  military 
band  leads  the  cohort.  The  dancers  take 
their  places,  step  to  the  strains  of  their  own 
instruments,  follow  the  cry  of  the  caller,  or 
whirl  to  the  clapping  of  hands.  The  dance 
of  ancient,  as  of  modern,  Egypt,  was  accom- 
panied with  graceful  postures  of  the  body  and 
pleasing  gesticulations  on  the  part  of  the  per- 
former. 

Many  styles  of  dancing  were  cultivated 
by  the  Egyptians  according  to  the  diverse 
tastes  of  the  different  classes  of  society. 
The  dance  of  the  priests  differed  from  that 
of  the  townsmen  and  peasantry,  while  the 
upper  orders  of  Egyptian  society  danced  not 
at  all  or  only  in  private  parties.     Nor  was 

^  An  old  Egyptian  myth  relates  the  playing  of 
a  game  of  dice  by  Mercury  with  the  Moon.  It 
was  before  the  birth  of  Osiris.  The  stake  was  the 
five  days  necessary  to  make  out  a  full  year  in  the 
Egyptian  calendar.  Fortunately  Mercury  won, 
and  the  five  days  were  accordingly  added  to  the 
three  hundred  and  sixty. 


the  voice  of  song  unheard  in  the  Egyptian 
home.  Though  poetry  was  less  cultivated  in 
Egypt  than  in  the  countries  settled  by  the 
Aryan  races  north  of  the  Mediterranean,  the 
musical  talent  was  perhaps  more  highly  devel- 
oped by  the  former  than  by  the  latter  peoples ; 
and  the  songs  of  Egypt,  though  lacking 
in  poetic  inspiration,  were  melodious  and 
beautiful.' 

The  people  of  Egypt  bestowed  unusual 
care  upon  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  The  races 
of  men  have  held  two  theories  in  regard  to 
the  proper  disposal  of  the  human  body  after 
death.  The  first  is  that  the  mortal  part  should, 
as  speedily  as  practicable  after  the  extinction 
of  life,  be  reduced  to  ashes;  the  second  is  that 
the  body  should  be  preserved  and  honored  as 
a  living   guest.*     Those  races  among  whom 

^  In  the  fields  men  sang  at  the  harvest  or  fol- 
lowing the  plow.  The  appended  stanza  from  an 
"Ox-Song"  was  sung  at  the  threshing-floor,  and 
has  been  preserved  in  one  of  the  inscriptions: 

/J       />A\W\      /vWAV\    A  0 

III     I    I   I  LU    -A. 


© 
JJ 


111  111^^  /> 


1       I       I 


I    I    I    1^ 


I  1 


I  I    I 


The  following  is  the  translation  of  this  song: 
Thresh  for  yourselves, 
Thresh  for  yourselves, 

0  Oxen ! 
Thresh  for  yourselves, 
Thresh  for  yourselves. 
Measures  for  yourselves, 
Measures  for  your  masters. 
The  marks  ©  ^  to  the  left  of  verses  1  and  3 
signify  repeat. 

^  It  may  be  truly  said  that  the  system  of  earth 
burial  adopted  by  the  nations  of  modern  times 
has  preserved  all  the  objectionable  features  of  cre- 
mation and  embalming,  without  the  merits  of 
either.  It  is  a  poor  compromise  between  super- 
stition and  science. 


EGYPT.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


81 


the  worsliip  of  ancestors  has  prevailed,  have 
adopted  the  latter  view,  and  for  this  reason 
have  embalmed  their  dead.  The  art  of  thus 
preserving  the  remains  of  the  departed  was 
practiced  more  generally  and  successfully  by 
the  ancient  Egyptians  than  by  any  other  peo- 
ple. Embalming  was  as  much  a  profession  as 
the  practice  of  medicine,  and   the   bodies  of 


third;  and   among  these  the  friends  selected 
according  to  their  rank  and  means. 

The  dead  body  was  then  delivered  to  the 
embalmers,  by  whom  the  brain  was  removed 
through  the  nostrils.  Then  an  incision  was 
made  in  the  left  side  with  a  sharp  stone. 
Through  this  opening  the  entire  viscera  were 
removed,  and   being  thoroughly  cleansed   by 


PROCESS  OF  EMBALMING. 


all  except  the  poorest   of  the   poor  were  in 
some  measure  preserved  against  decay. 

When  an  Egyptian  died  the  friends  of  the 
deceased  went  at  once  to  the  embalmer.  By 
him  they  were  shown  a  set  of  models,  that  is, 
wooden  images  painted  and  wrapped  in  imita- 
tion of  the  different  styles  of  mummies  pre- 
pared at  the  establishment.  The  models  were 
divided   into  three   classes;  first,  second,  and 


washing  with  palm  wine,  were  covered  with 
pounded  aromatics  and  deposited  in  four  urns. 
The  cavity  of  the  body  was  filled  with  pow- 
dered myrrh,  cassia,  and  other  fragrant  sub- 
stances, and  the  wound  carefully  sewn  up. 
The  whole  body  was  then  packed  for  seventy 
days  in  salt  and  carbonate  of  soda,  at  the  end 
of  which  tijue  it  was  washed  and  then  wrapped 
in  linen  bands  anointed  on  the  inner  surface 


82 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


FUNERAL  PROCESSION  CROSSING  THE  LAKE  OF  THE  DEAD. 


witli  a  certain  gum  which  acted  as  glue.  The 
mummy  was  finally  put  into  a  wooden  case 
in  the  form  of  a  man,  and  delivered  to 
the    relatives,   by  whom   it   was    set    upright 


MUMMY   CASES. 


against  the  wall  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  their 
house. 

The  cost  of  preparing  a  mummy  in  the 
first  style  is  said  to  have  reached  as  high  as 
twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  In  the  sec- 
ond style  the  expense  was  about  three  hundred 
dollars,  and  the  third  was  so  cheap  as  to  be 
within  the  reach  of  all. 

In  the  second  method  of  embalming,  the 
body  of  the  deceased  was  filled  with  the  oil 
of  cedar,  which  was  of  such  strength  as  to 
dissolve  the  viscera.  After  this  was  done  the 
body  could  be  easily  cleansed  and  preserved 
by  the  action  of  soda  and  salt.  The  cavities 
of  the  head  and  trunk  were  generally  filled 
with  aromatic  spices,  resins,  or  bitumen — but 
the  latter  was  used  only  in  preparing  the 
bodies  of  the  poor.  When  a  priest  or  one  of 
the  wealthy  classes  was  embalmed  the  mummy 
was  prepared  with  great  elaboration  and  ex- 
pense. Sometimes  the  linen  bandage  employed 
measured  a  thousand  yards  in  length ;  the 
case  was  tastefully  painted  and  ornamented 
with  gold-leaf;  and  the  sarcophagus  of  wood 
or  stone  was  profusely  adorned  and  sculptured. 
Such  was  the  fantastic  figure  of  the  actor  as 
he  quit  the  stage  for  the  sepulcher. 

In  every  thing  relating  to  the  fact  of  death 
the  ancient  Egyptians  had  peculiar  and  solemn 
rites.  The  ceremonies  of  the  hour  were  di- 
rected not  only  to  the  body  of  the  departed 
and  its  careful  preservation  from  decay — not 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


83 


only  to  its  honorable  establishment  among  the 
ancestral  effigies  of  the  household — but  also 
to  such  forms  and  ceremonies  as  might  prop- 
erly induct  the  spirit  of  the  dead  into  the 
realms  of  blessedness.  The  funeral  ritual  was 
solemn  and  elaborate.  Prayers  were  offered 
for  the  repose  and  chants  recited  for  the 
happy  reception  of  the  dead  among  the  im- 
mortals.    The  day  of  sepulture  was  a  time  of 


great  lamentation.  As  the  mummy  of  the 
dead  was  placed  in  a  barge  to  be  taken  across 
the  Lake  of  the  Dead — for  it  was  the  manner 
of  the  Egyptians  to  bear  the  bodies  about  to 
be  entombed  across  the  water  to  the  place  of 
sepulture — the  members  of  the  household,  es- 
pecially the  women,  were  wont  to  follow  in 
another  barge,  and  with  uplifted  hands  and 
unbound  hair  to  cry  out  for  the  lost/ 


Chapter,  v.— reliqion  and  Art. 


N  the  present  chapter  a 
sketch  will  be  given  of 
the  religious  system  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians  and 
of  the  arts  which  they 
invented  and  practiced. 
The  first  topic  will,  it  is 
believed,  prove  of  unusual  interest  as  embody- 
ing the  ethical  and  philosophical  beliefs  of  the 
oldest  race  of  mankind;  and  the  second  will 
hardly  fail  of  like  interest  as  presenting  the 
artistic  concepts  and  achievements  of  those 
who  were  in  many  respects  the  greatest  people 
of  the  ancient  world. 

The  primitive  religious  beliefs  of  the 
Egyptians  have  not  been  clearly  determined. 
The  oldest  monuments  reveal  the  worship 
of  many  gods;  but  the  eminent  Egyptolo- 
gist, De  Eouge,  has  been  led,  from  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  religious  systems  of  Egypt, 
to  affirm  that  the  original  principle  in  them 
all  is  the  idea  of  one  god.  Other  scholars, 
equally  distinguished,  have  decided  that  the 
fragments  of  inscriptions  and  manuscripts 
which  have  been  preserved  to  our  day  do  not 
warrant  De  Rouge's  conclusion.  Certain  it 
is  that,  however  monotheism  may  have  orig- 
inally prevailed  in  Egyptian  philosophy,  the 
idea  at  a  very  early  date  grew  into  a  polythe- 
istic development ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  the 
spiritual  concept  in  the  religion  of  Egypt  suf- 
fered less  by  polytheistic  degeneration  than 
among  almost  any  other  people  worshiping 
a  multiplicity  of  gods.  It  was  the  moving 
spirits,    rather   than    the    material    forms,    of 


things  that  were  adored  by  the  Egyptians, 
Only  in  a  few  instances,  as  under  Dynasty 
XVIII.  (see  p.  58),  was  the  attempt  made  to 
introduce  the  idolatry  of  material  forms. 

Notwithstanding  this  high  form  under 
which  the  religion  of  the  Egyptians  was  pre- 
sented, it  was  none  the  less  a  system  closely 
allied  with  natural  philosophy.  The  deities 
worshiped  were  regarded  as  the  moving  powers 
of  Nature.  A  knowledge  of  the  deities  was 
therefore  necessary  in  order  to  interpret  the  pro- 
cesses and  phenomena  of  the  external  world. 

The  first  and  greatest  of  the  Egyptian 
gods  was  Ptah.  His  principal  sanctuary  was 
at  Memphis,  and  here  his  worship  is  said  to 
have  been  as  old  as  the  city  itself.  Nearly 
all  of  the  Pharaohs  contributed  to  enlarge 
and  adorn  the  great  Memphian  temple  where 
Ptah  was  adored.  He  was  the  god  of  light, 
of  heat,  of  fire,  and  as  such  was  worshiped 
by  the  Greeks  under  the  name  of  Hephaestus. 

The  fundamental  theory  of  the  Egyptian  re- 
ligion was  that  whatever  gave  life  was  worthy 
of  adoration.  The  sun,  or  the  spirit  that  ruled 
the  sun,  was  preeminently  the  giver  of  life; 
therefore,  the  sun,  or  the  spirit  of  the  sun,  was 
a  god,  and  worthy  of  worship  in  the  highest. 
This  spirit  of  life  and  light  and  truth  was 
Ptah.  He  stood  at  the  head  of  the  dynasties 
of  the  gods.  His  names  were  sublime.  He 
was  the  lord  of  truth,  the  ruler  of  the  sky, 

'  The  usage  of  ferrying  the  dead  over  the  water 
to  the  tombs  was  much  practiced  on  Lake  Moeris, 
nor  is  it  improbable  that  the  custom  originated 
with  the  priests  of  the  Feiyoom. 


84 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  king  of  both  worlds,  the  weaver  of  the 
beginning,  the  producer  of  the  egg  of  the 
sun  and  the  moon.  He  was  a  creative  spirit, 
having  the  power  of  both  sexes  within  him- 


THE  EGYPTIAN  TRINITY. 


From  a  Column  at  El-Kamak. 

self.  Therefore  was  he  the  Double  God,  and 
therefore  was  the  sacred  beetle^  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  tradition  of  the  land,  brought 
forth  without  the  agency  of  sex,  placed  on 
Ptah's  shoulders  as  his  head.  His  body  was 
painted  green,  for  he  was  the  giver  of  vege- 
tation. In  his  hands  he  bore  a  Nile  gauge 
and  a  scepter.     On  a  Memphian  pillar  (now 

preserved    in    the 
Berlin     Museum), 
Ptah  is  defined  as 
the  god  who  made 
himself  to  be  god, 
the  double   being, 
who  exists  by  him- 
self, the  only  unbe- 
gotten  begetter  in 
heaven  or  in  earth. 
He  was  the  spirit 
of  intelligent  crea- 
tive power,  and  as  such  was  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  the  one  God  known  in  the  symbol- 
ism of  Egypt. 
^  Scarahseus  sacer. 


THE  SACRED  BEETLE. 


After  Ptah  came  E,A.  He  was  the  chief 
divinity  worshiped  at  Heliopolis.  He  Avas 
more  particularly  the  god  of  the  sun,  the 
Helios  of  the  Greeks,  and  as  such  gave  his 
name  to  the  city.  Sometimes  he  is  repre- 
sented as  a  chUd,  sitting  on  a  leaf  of  lotus; 
for  in  the  Egyptian  fancy  the  sun  of  the 
winter  months  was  a  little  chUd.  Afterwards, 
at  the  vernal  equinox,  he  was  a  youth ;  then, 
in  summer,  a  bearded  man ;  and,  at  the  au- 
tumnal equinox,  an  old  man,  gray  and  de- 
crepit. The  allegory  of  human  life  furnished 
a  symbol  for  the  god.  He  was  borne  daily 
around  the  world  in  a  boat  navigated  by 
spirits  who,  hour  by  hour,  drew  the  growing 
deity  to  his  destined  place  in  the  west,  and 
thence  over  the  waters  of  the  under  world  to 
his  renewal  in  the  morning.  "The  old  man 
becomes  again  a  child,"  is  the  language  of  the 
monuments. 

In  the  sculptures  of  Egypt  Ra  is  repre- 
sented as  a  red  god,  having  the  head  of  a 
hawk.  Upon  his  crest  he  bears  the  solar  disk. 
His  symbol  is  generally  the  hawk — emblem 
of  watchfulness.  The  sun  sees  all  things.  He 
drives  away  all  darkness.  Ra  struggles  against 
the  gloomy  powers,  and  overcomes  them.  He  is 
accordingly  adored  as  the  victorious,  the  van- 
quisher. The  worship  of  Ra  was  more  gen- 
eral than  that  of  any  other  deity  except  Osi- 
ris, and  was  frequently  combined  with  the 
worship  of  other  gods,  such  as  Amun,  Num, 
and  Sebek.  Thus  were  produced  the  com- 
pound systems  of  Amun-Ra,  Num-Ra,  Sebek- 
Ra,  etc.,  in  which  both  deities  were  adored 
together.  At  Heliopolis  two  animals  were 
sacred  to  this  god :  the  black  bull,  Mnevis, 
and   the   famous   Phoenix.     For  it  was  from 


THE  WINGED  SUN. 

the  temple  of  this  city  that  the  fabled  bird 
began  its  annual  flight  around  the  world. 
The  cat  and  the  hawk  were  likewise  sacred  to 
Ra,  and  the  two-winged  globe  of  the  sun  his 
emblem.  It  was  from  this  great  solar  deity 
that  the  kings  of  Egypt  derived  their  power 
and  glory:  they  were  all  the  sons  of  Ra. 
While   the   system  of  Ptah   and   Ra — the 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


85 


Beginner  and  the  Sustainer  of  Life— was  in  pro- 
cess of  development  at  Memphis  and  generally 
throughout  Lower  Egypt,  the  same  myths  in 
a  modified  form  appeared  at  Thebes.  The 
Memphian  Ptah  became  the  Theban  Amun. 
The  peculiarity  of  the  latter  deity  was  that  he 
was  the  invisible  one.  He  was  accordingly 
worshiped  as  the  concealed  or  veiled  god.  He 
is  represented  as  sitting  on  a  throne,  a  scepter 
in  his  hand  and  two  feathers  rising  from  his 
crest.  By  his  side  stands  the  goddess  Mut, 
who  is  styled  the  Mother  and  the  Lady  of 
Darkness.  The  vulture  was  her  symbol.  In 
the  sculptures  representing  battles  the  vulture 
is  often  seen  hovering  over  the  head  of  Pha- 
raoh—the genius  of  protection.  In  the  later 
development  of  Upper  Egypt  the  god  Chnum 
was  associated  with  Amun,  and  the  latter  thus 
came  to  bear  the  symbolism  of  the  former- 
being  the  head  and  horns  of  a  ram. 

Just  as  Amun  was  the  Theban  development 
of  Ptah,  so  the  Theban  Atmu  was  the  coun- 
terpart in  Upper  Egypt  of  the  Memphian  Ra. 
Atmu  was  a  special  form  of  the  solar  deity. 
With  a  slight  variation  of  attributes,  the 
names  Tum  and  Mentu  were  applied  to  the 
same  divinity.  Turn  was  the  setting  sun,  the 
sun  hidden  behind  the  west,  the  sun  of  the 
under  world.  Mentu  was  the  sun  of  the  east- 
ern horizon,  the  sun  of  morning  and  the  day. 
Atmu,  like  Ptah,  was  called  the  father  of  the 
gods.  He  was  the  spirit  of  the  primeval 
floods,  out  of  whose  mists  and  vapor  the  sun 
was  born.  Therefore  he  was  called  the  egg  of 
Ra.  His  emblems  were  the  sun-dial  and  the 
horologe. 

Next  in  the  Egyptian  theonomy  stand  the 
deities   Shii   and   Seb.     They  were  the  gods 
alike  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  being  wor- 
shiped with  equal  zeal  at  Thebes  and  Mem- 
phis.    Shu  was  light  personified.     He  was  the 
genius  of  celestial  force,  and  is  represented  as 
supporting  heaven.     In  his  human   form  he 
bears  the  ostrich  feather,  the  symbol  of  truth ; 
for  light  and  truth  are  inseparable.     His  con- 
sort, Tefnet,  goddess  of  heaven,  was  repre- 
sented with  the  head  of  a  lioness— a  symbol 
holding  the  same  relation  to  the  female  deities 
as  did  the  hawk-head  to  the  gods.     Seb,  with 
his  consort,  Nut,  was  the  founder  of  the  great 


family  of  Osiris.  Seb  was  the  genius  of  the 
earth  and  Nut  of  the  heavens,  and  both  were 
worshiped  in  human  form,  as  were  Kronos 
and  Rhea  by  the  Greeks. 

The  greatest  of  all  the  Egyptian  myths— 
the  most  popular  and  universal— were  those 
of  Osiris  and  Isis.^  Isis  was  the  receptive  and 
Osiris  the  fructifying  power  in  Nature.  They 
were  the  spirits  of  Blessing  and  of  Life. 
Their  color  is  green;  for  the  living  earth  is 
green;  and  the  sacred  tamarisk,  with  its  per- 
ennial verdure,  is  the  emblem  of  that  indwell- 


ing life  which  was  given  by  Osiris  and  bora 

of  Isis. 

The  primitive  seats  of  the  worship  and  lore 
of  Osiris  were  at  Philse  and  Abydos.  Oppo- 
site the  former  city,  on  a  little  island  in  the 
Nile,  whose  every  sand  was  sacred,  was  Osiris's 
grave,  hidden  under  the  tamarisks.  An  oath 
taken  by  this  grave  was  the  most  solemn 
thing  known  to  the  Egyptian.  Other  tradi- 
tions recorded  his  burial  at  Abydos,  and  the 
priests  of  the  temple  in  that  city  prayed  to 
rest  near  the   tomb  of  their  god.     In  Lower 

1  In  Egyptian,  Hesiri  and  Hes. 


86 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— TSE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Egypt  the  worship  of  Osiris  was  raaintained  at 

Memphis,  at  Sa'is,  and  in  the  towns  of  the  Delta. 

The   most    famous    sanctuary  of  Isis   was 

situated  at  Busiris,  in  the  district  lying  be- 


tween the  branches  of  the  Nile,  and  here  the 
goddess,  together  with  Osiris,  was  adored  in 
prayers  and  praises.  At  the  annual  festival 
great  lamentation  was  made  for  Osiris's  death. 
While  the  supplications  of  the  priests  were 
made  a  bull  was  flayed;  the  thighs  were  cut 
away;  the  body  was  filled  with  bread,  honey, 
and  incense.  Then  the  whole  was  drenched 
with  oil  and  set  on  fire.  While  the  flames  as- 
cended the  people  lamented,  and  what  re- 
mained of  the  sacrifice  was  eaten. 

Blessing  and  Life  were  good;  but  there 
was  also  Evil  in  the  world.  There  was  a  spirit 
of  e\al.  He  was  the  serpent  called  Typhou 
by  the  Greeks,  but  the  Egyptians  called  him 
Set.^  He  was  the  genius  of  malevolence.  He 
slew  Osiris,  his  kinsman,  on  the  seventeenth 
day  of  the  month  Athyr.'^    Isis  lamented  the 


'  In  Hebrew,  Satan. 
"On  this  day  the  sun — Osiris- 
the  sign  of  the  scorpion. 


-passes  through 


death  of  her  lord ;  and  at  the  great  commemo- 
ration a  gilded  heifer  covered  with  a  black  veil 
of  linen  was  exhibited  for  four  days  as  a  sym- 
bol of  the  sorrow  of  the  queen  of  Life  for 
the  god  of  Blessing.  At  the  end  the  priests 
brought  out  a  chest,  and  the  people  cried 
"Osiris  is  found!"  A  serpent  was  slain  in 
efl&gy,  and  libations  were  poured  out  to  the 
living  deity. 

Among  the  sculptures  Isis  generally  ap- 
pears as  a  maiden  with  the  horned  disk  of  the 
moon  for  her  head.  She  has  a  scepter 
with  flowers,  and  the  emblem  of  life  is  in  her 
hand.  In  the  inscriptions  she  is  honored  with 
the  titles  of  the  great  goddess  and  the  royal 
spouse.  As  to  Set,  he  was  burning  red  in 
color,  and  the  ass  was  his  sacred  animal.  He 
was  called  the  almighty 
destroyer  and  blighter. 
He  filled  the  world  Avith 
forms  of  evil — serpents 
and  crocodiles  and  hip- 
popotami, beetles  and 
dragons  and  asps.  The 
hot  wind  that  blasted 
the  trees  was  the  breath 
of  Set.  The  mildew  and 
the  blight  were  flung  by 
his  hands  upon  the  gar- 
dens and  orchards. 

Of  Osiris  and  Isis 
was  born  the  child  Ho- 
RUS.  He  came  into  the 
world  to  avenge  his 
father.  As  a  child-god 
he  sits  on  a  lotus-leaf, 
his  finger  on  his  lips. 
As  a  youth  he  takes 
the  name  of  Buto. 
Then  he  becomes  the 
strong  Horus,  the  great 
helper,  the  pillar  of 
the    world.      He    does         column  of  osiris. 

honor  to  the  spirit  of  From  Mediuet  Habu,  Time 
1  .       /.  ,  1  TT      •      xi  of  Ramses  III. 

his  lather.     Me  is  the 

genius  of  light.  He  rides  in  the  sun-boat 
and  stabs  the  serpent  Apopis.  He  treads 
the  crocodiles  under  his  feet,  and  in  the 
form  of  the  winged  disk  of  the  sun  tri- 
umphs   over    the    hippopotamus.      The    wor^^ 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


87 


stiper  of  Horus  cried  out  In  his  supplication : 
"Come  to  me  quickly  on  this  day  to  guide 
the  holy  bark,  to  force  back  all  lions  from  the 
land  of  Egypt  and  all  crocodiles  into  the  Nile. 
Shamelessness  and  sin  come  and  appear  upon 


earth ;  but  when  Horus  is  invoked  he  destroys 
them.  All  mankind  rejoice  when  they  see 
the  sun.  They  praise  the  son  of  Osiris,  and 
the  serpent  turns  and  flees."  Horus  was  the 
god  of  light,  turning  the  gloom  of  winter  into 
the  verdure  and  life  of  spring.  He  was  the 
Apollo  of  the  Greeks. 

Associated  with  Horus  was  the  goddess 
Hathor,  the  Aphrodite  of  the  Greek  myths. 
The  principal  seat  of  her  worship  was  at 
Aphroditopolis.  She  is  represented  as  the 
queen  of  the  dance  and  revel.  To  her  was 
attributed  the  power  of  maternity  and  the 
mystery  of  love.  On  the  monuments  she 
stands  with  a  tambourine,  sometimes  in  fetters. 
Like  Isis,  she  wears  the  horned  crescent,  the 
moon's  disk  between.     In  the  sculptures  of  the 


"^\ii 


temples  no  fewer  than  three  hundred  and 
sixty  local  forms  are  given  to  this  goddess, 
the  queen  of  the  passions  of  Egypt. 

Among  the  deities  worshiped  by  the  Egyp- 
tians the  god  Thoth^  held  a  place  inferior  to 
Ea.     He   was  the  chief  Moon-god,  and  was 
represented  with   the   head   of  an    Ibis.     To 
him  is  attributed  the  introduction  of  letters 
and  the  reckoning  of  time.     In  the  conflict 
which  Horus  had  with  the  dragon  Set,  Thoth 
by  his  wisdom  aided  in  destroying  the  serpent. 
He  was  the  god  of  knowledge  and  of   art. 
At  the  last,  when  the  souls  of  the  dead  are 
brought  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Osiris,  it 
is  Thoth  who  records  the 
sentence  of  eternal  doom. 
After  Thoth,  who  may, 
perhaps,    be    regarded    as 
the  last  of  the   principal 
gods    of   Egypt,    came    a 
number  of  others  of  less 
reputation.     Among  these 
minor   divinities    may   be 
mentioned  Mat,  the  god- 
dess of  Truth,  and  her  son, 
the    jackal-headed    Anu- 
Bis.     Next  were  the  four 
genii   called   the  Amenu, 
who  presided  over  the  pro- 
cess of  embalming.  Chnum 
has     already    been    men- 
tioned as  associated  with 
Amun   in   the   system   of 
Upper  Egypt.    Khem  was 
the  Greek  Pan,  and  Nit 
was    a    local    divinity    of 
Sais.     To  these  should  be 
added  the  Nile,  who,  un- 
der   the    name    of   Hapi, 
was  believed  in  and  wor- 
shiped as  the  god  of  fer- 
tilitv  and  abundance.     In  column  from  the  temple 

•'  OF     DENDERAH,     WITH 

times  of  low  water,  espe-  hathoe  masks,  tim^ 
cially  when  the  annual  op  ciESAR. 
flood  was  scanty,  portending  famine,  ofierings 
were  made  to  the  great  river  with  the  hope  of 
increasing  his  benevolence.  Traditions  exist 
that  at  such  times  a  maiden,  bound  in  fetters 
after  the  similitude  of  Hathor,  was  thrown 
1  Variously  written,  Thaut,  Taut,  Tanut,  Toth. 


im 


li  m 


^' 


i 


88 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


THJ£  SACRIFICE  TO  THE  NILE. 
Drawn  by  W.  Gentz. 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART, 


89 


into  the  tide  as  a  sacrifice  of  life  to  a  deity 
that  might  not  be  otherwise  appeased.^ 

Much  has  been  written  of  the  adoration  of 
animals  by  the  Egyptians.  It  is  hardly  cor- 
rect to  say  that  any  beast  was  worshiped. 
Certain  animals  were  sacred  to  certain  gods. 
They  were  the  symbols  of  the  deities — the 
bodily  presence  of  the  invisible  principle  or 
power.  Perhaps  no  intelligent  Egyptian  wor- 
shiped the  bull  or  the  goat;  but  the  theology 
of  the  land,  as  formulated  by  the  priests  and 
the  philosophers,  indicated  these  animals  as  the 
best  living  embodiment  of  the  gods  to  whom 
they  were  sacred.  It  was  through  the  symbol 
that  the  god  was  worshiped ;  and  since  the 
gods  were  many,  many  were  the  symbols. 

To  the  creative  deities — the  robust  gods  of 
power  and  mastery — the  sacred  animal  was  the 
bull;  and  correlative  with  this  the  cow  was 
sacred  to  the  goddesses  of  birth  and  receptivity. 
To  Amun  and  Chnum  the  ram  was  sacred; 
to  Ptah  the  beetle ;  to  Osiris  the  heron ;  to  Ptah 
and  Isis  the  vulture;  to  Ra  and  Horus  the 
hawk  and  the  cat;  to  Thoth  the  Ibis;  to 
Anubis  the  ape;  to  Set  and  his  later  counter- 
part, Sebek,  the  crocodile. 

Here  superstition  found  abundant  material. 
The  sacred  animals  had  a  portion  of  the  divinity 
within  them.  Any  offense  to  the  beast  was 
an  offense  to  the  god  of  whom  the  creature 
was  the  symbol.  The  sacred  animals  must  be 
treated  as  deities.  If  the  city  was  burning 
the  cats  must  be  saved — they  were  the  crea- 
tures of  the  guardian  Horus,  who  rose  to  light 
the  world.  To  honor  these  animals  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  people — to  cut  up  bits  of 
flesh  for  the  hawks  and  stand  calling  for  them 
to  come,  or  to  coax  the  cats,  already  replete 
with  delicacies,  to  take  more  milk  and  bread — 
were  acts  of  profound  piety,  as  it  respected 
the  supernal  powers.  To  kill  one  of  these  sa- 
cred creatures,  whether  intentionally  or  unin- 
tentionally, was  a  deed  worthy  of  death. 
Diodorus  relates  that  as  late  as  the  time  of 
the  Ptolemies,  when»  the  Egyptians  were  ex- 


^  According  to  the  best  historical  opinion  the 
belief  that  human  sacrifices  were  made  to  the 
Nile  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  is  without  founda- 
tion— a  fact  which  seems  to  render  mythical 
Gentz's  striking  sketch  of  The  Sacrifice  to  the  Nile. 


ceedingly  anxious  to  secure  the  favor  of  the 
Cffisars,  a  Roman  visitor  in  Egypt  had  the 
misfortune  to  kill  a  cat,  whereupon,  in  spite 
of  all  authority  and  all  fear  of  consequences, 
a  mob  gathered  and  took  his  life. 

Among  the  various  races  of  animals  set 
apart  to  the  gods,  certain  individuals  were 
preeminently  sacred.  These  were  known  by 
the  priests,  and  were  detected  by  marks  and 
signs  which  distinguished  them  from  the  com- 
mon herd.  An  animal,  when  once  thus  desig- 
nated, was  regarded  as  an 
incarnation  of  the  deity. 
The  beast  was  led  into  the 
temple  of  the  god  to  whom 
the  creature  was  sacred  and 
was  thenceforth  addressed 
in  prayer  and  supplication 
as  if  the  god  himself.  By 
the  common  people, 
perhaps,    the    dis-      ^<^,.///);/v' 


SACRED  IBIS. 


tinction  between  the  deity  and  the  sacred  ani- 
mal was  not  much  regarded ;  but  by  the  priests 
the  discrimination  was,  no  doubt,  maintained 
between  the  spirit  and  the  material  form  of 
their  god. 

As  it  respected  the  bull  sacred  to  Ptah  and 
Osiris,  the  Egyptian  theology  declared  that 
the  first  Apis  was  conceived  by  the  influence 
of  a  ray  of  light  from  heaven.  After  this, 
Apis  procreated  his  own  kind,  and  the  priests 
were  able"  to  detect  the  true  god  from  the  un- 
divine  herd  with  which  he  pastured.  Apia 
was  black.  He  had  a  triangular  spot  of 
white  on  the  forehead,  and  under  his  tongue  a 
fleshy  growth  in  the  form  of  the  sacred  beetle 


90 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  Ptah.  His  back  was  marked  with  spots 
of  white  in  the  shape  of  an  eagle,  and  his  tail 
was  streaked  with  party-colored  hairs. 

When  Apis  was  found  he  was  put  for  forty- 
days  in  the  meadows  of  Nilopolis.  He  was  then 
conveyed  in  a  boat  to  the  temple  of  Ptah  at 
Memphis.  There  he  was  bathed  and  anointed 
and  clad  in  the  finest  garments.  Distinguished 
priests  fed  him  with  the  costliest  food,  and 
precious  frankincense  smoked  ever  before  him. 
When,  at  last,  death  put  an  end  to  the  elab- 
orate mockery,  the  extinct  god  was  honored 
with  a  gorgeous  funeral  upon  which  wealthy 
noblemen  and  kings  squandered  their  for- 
tunes. But  the  soul  of  Apis  had  gone  into 
another,  whom  the  priests  were  not  slow  in 
discovering  and  restoring  to  his  place  in  the 
temple.  If  Apis  refused  to  die,  at  the  end  of 
twenty-five  years  he  was  drowned  in  a  sacred 
fountain  ;  for  the  imposing  ceremony  of  a  new 
installation  might  not  be  too  long  postponed. 

At  that  season  of  the  year  when  the  inun- 
dation of  the  Nile  began,  promising  peace  and 
plenty  for  the  year  to  come,  a  peculiar  heron, 
bearing  upon  his  crest  two  long  black  feath- 
ers, appeared  in  Egypt.  The  coming  of  this 
bird,  called  Bennu,  seemed  to  announce  the 
fertilization  of  the  land  and  the  return  of  life. 
Doubtless,  therefore,  the  heron  brought  the 
blessings  of  abundance  ;  and  to  Osiris,  the  god 
of  blessing,  the  bird  was  sacred.  In  the  great 
temple  of  Heliopolis  the  heron  was  conse- 
crated as  the  great  Bennu  of  On,  the  self- 
begotten  creature  who  caused  the  divisions  of 
time  to  men. 

Closely  connected  with  this  myth  was  the 
more  famous  one  of  the  Phcenix.  The  legend 
recites  that,  once  in  every  five  hundred  years, 
a  great  bird,  gold-colored  and  red,  and  shaped 
like  an  eagle,  came  out  of  Arabia  to  the  tem- 
ple of  the  sun  in  Heliopolis.  Here  in  the 
sanctuary  of  the  sun-god  the  winged  creature 
buried  the  corpse  of  his  father,  embalmed  in 
myrrh.  On  reaching  the  age  of  five  hundred 
years,  the  phcenix  prepared  a  funeral  pile  and 
burned  himself  upon  it.  Then  out  of  the 
ashes  he  rose  by  recreation  of  himself  and 
bore  away  the  remains  of  his  old  body  to  He- 
liopolis. The  phoenix  was  sacred  to  Osiris; 
and  the  fable  is  no  doubt  the  mythical  ex- 


pression of  the  completion  of  some  astronom- 
ical cycle,  perhaps  the  return  of  the  planets 
to  a  given  aspect.  The  jDlanet  Venus  is  called, 
on  the  Egyptian  monuments,  "the  Star  of 
Bennu-Osiris." 

To  Ra  of  Heliopolis  the  male  cat  was  sa- 
cred, and  the  female  to  Pasht — the  divinity  of 
Bubastis.^  In  like  manner  the  vulture  of 
Mut,  the  ibis  of  Thoth,  and  the  hawk  of  Ho- 
rus,  were  set  apart  as  objects  of  popular  ven- 
eration and  priestly  care.  When  these  ani- 
imal  gods  died  their  bodies  were  generally 
embalmed  with  as  much  care  as  those  of  men 
of  the  highest  rank.  The  mummies  of  the 
holy  creatures — bulls,  cows,  jackals,  dogs,  cats, 
vultures,  hawks,  ibises,  herons,  and  even  croc- 
odiles— are  found  abundantly  scattered  among 
the  sacred  rubbish  of  Thebes,  Abydos,  Mem- 
phis, Bubastis,  and  Hermopolis. 

The  faith  of  Egypt  was  not,  however, 
wholly  given  up  to  incongruous  myths  and 
absurd  symbolism.  Mixed  with  the  material- 
istic degeneration  of  the  national  religion  were 
many  concepts  approximating  the  best  beliefs 
of  the  ages.  Everywhere  there  was  the  rec- 
ognition of  a  difference  between  soul  and  body. 
The  spiritual  nature  of  man  was  clearly  ap- 
prehended. Immortality  was  accepted  as  a 
thing  taken  for  granted.  Osiris  had  the  power 
of  aAvakening  life  out  of  death.  He  was  the 
god  of  the  human  soul  and  of  everlasting  life. 
There  was  an  invisible  world  where  the  spirits 
of  men,  eternal  and  indestructible,  dwelt  under 
the  dominion  of  Osiris. 

After  death  the  human  soul  was  believed 
to  descend  with  the  setting  sun  under 
the  world.  Here,  in  a  place  called  the  haU 
of  Double  Justice,  on  the  Day  of  Justifica- 


^  As  a  specimen  of  the  hymnody  of  Egypt  the 
following  chant  to  the  male  cat  of  Ra  may  be 
given :  "  Thy  head  is  the  head  of  the  Sun-god  ;  thy 
nose  is  the  nose  of  Thoth,  the  twice  mighty  lord 
of  Hermopolis.  Thy  ears  are  the  ears  of  Osiris, 
who  hears  the  voice  of  all  who  call  upon  him. 
Thy  mouth  is  the  mouth  of  Turn,  who  has  pre- 
served thee  from  every  stain.  Thy  heart  is  the 
heart  of  Ptah,  who  has  purified  thee  from  every 
taint  of  evil  in  thy  parts.  Thy  teeth  are  the  teeth 
of  the  Moon-god ;  and  thy  thighs  are  the  thighs 
of  Horus,  who  avenged  the  death  of  his  father, 
and  retaliated  upon  Set  the  evil  which  he  pur- 
posed against  Osiris." 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


91 


tion,  the  soul  is  examined  and  its  actions 
weighed.  Osiris  is  on  the  throne.  With  a 
crown  on  his  head,  surrounded  with  lotus- 
flowers  springing  out  of  the  water  of  life,  he 
holds  the  whip  and  the  crosier.  Anubis,  the 
leader  and  keeper  of  the  dead,  and  Horus, 
the  god  of  life,  handle  the  balance,  while 
forty-two  spirits,  sitting  beside  Osiris,  watch 
the  weighing  of  the  spirit  and  its  deeds.     The 


a  hypocrite,  or  a  liar;  he  has  not  taken  the 
property  of  the  gods ;  he  is  not  a  drunkard ; 
he  has  not  slandered  his  neighbor ;  he  has  not 
slighted  his  father  or  the  king;  he  has  not 
babbled;  he  has  not  despised  the  gods,  or 
stolen  the  wrappings  of  the  dead.  If  the 
heart  in  the  scale  outweighs  the  feather,  the 
soul  is  acquitted.  His  heart  is  given  him 
again.    His  body  is  deified.    Hathor  and  Nut, 


THE  TEJIi'hE  OK  ISIS.-ISLANU  UE  ELEEHANTINE. 


heart  of  the  dead  is  put  into  one  scale  and  an 
ostrich  feather — symbol  of  truth  and  justice — 
into  the  other;  and  while  one  of  the  gods 
stands  ready  to  record  the  result,  the  dead 
himself  recites  the  acts  which  are  likely  to 
justify  him  in  the  presence  of  the  deities. 
None  of  the  forty-two  sins  has  he  committed. 
He  has  done  no  wicked  thing;  he  has  not 
murdered;    he    has   not   stolen;    he    has    not 

prayed  that  he  might  be  seen ;  he  has  not  been 

N.— Vol.  1—6 


goddesses  of  life  and  the  sky,  pour  upon  him 
the  living  water,  and  he  passes  into  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  immortals.  As  it  respects  the 
fate  of  the  soul  when  the  heart  of  the  dead 
was  outweighed  by  the  feather,  the  Egyptian 
monuments  are  silent.  No  clue  has  as  yet 
been  found  to  throw  light  on  this  important 
part  of  the  national  faith;  but  a  legend  re- 
cited by  Herodotus  points  to  metempsychosis 
as  the  destiny  of  the  wicked.      The   impure 


92 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


soul  is  driven  into  an  animal,  and  thence  into 
another,  in  earth,  or  air,  or  sea,  until  after 
three  thousand  years  of  transmigrations  it  is 
again  admitted  into  a  human  body  and  a  sec- 
ond time  born  into  the  world. 

In  the  practical  ethics  of  life  the  ancient 
Egyptians  do  not  suffer  by  comparison  with 
the  other  nations  of  antiquity.  Affairs  of 
business  appear  to  have  been  transacted  with 
more  than  the  usual  care  and  honesty.  The 
people  were  cautious  in  incurring  obligations, 
and  generally  punctilious  in  fulfilling  them. 
There  was  nearly  always  something  of  a  relig- 


The  lawyer  must  necessarily  be  versed  to  a 
certain  extent  in  the  lore  and  traditions  of 
the  priests.  It  was  religious  considerations, 
indeed,  rather  than  conflicting  secular  interests, 
that  broke  the  harmony  of  the  Egyptian  state, 
and  introduced  the  spirit  of  faction.  The  en- 
mities between  the  towns  were,  generally  based 
on  hostile  religious  creeds.  In  one  city  the 
people  would  slay  and  eat  the  animal  which 
in  another  was  held  most  sacred;  and  the 
people  of  the  second  city  would  return  the 
compliment  by  killing  and  eating  the  gods  of 
the  first.     In  a  third  town  the  sacred  beasts 


JUDGMENT  OF  THE  DEAD. 
From  the  Turin  Papyrus. 


ious  sanction  to  the  business  of  man  with 
man.  The  duties  and  courtesies  of  life,  es- 
pecially such  as  appertained  to  domestic  ties 
and  social  relations,  were  observed  with  more 
sincerity  and  good  faith  than  among  most 
other  nations  of  antiquity.  In  the  Egyptian 
villages  and  toAvns  there  was  very  little  brawl- 
ing and  disorder.  The  administration  of  jus- 
tice, in  both  civil  and  criminal  causes,  was 
speedy,  regular,  and  impartial.  Affidavits  and 
pleas  were  carefully  prepared  in  writing,  and 
the  pettifogger  was  frowned  out  of  court. 
Albeit,  it  was  the  religious  bias  of  the  law 
which  complicated  and  embarrassed  its  practice. 


of  a  fourth  would  be  destroyed  as  a  pest,  and 
so  on  through  the  whole  round  of  counter 
idolatries.  The  goat  of  Mendes  was  hardly 
regarded  as  sacred  beyond  the  limits  of  that 
city.  At  Cynopolis  the  dog  was  worshiped, 
and  at  Lycopolis  the  wolf;  and  the  Cynopo- 
lites  and  Lycopolites  mutually  murdered 
each  other's  deities.  The  people  of  Dendera 
hunted  and  destroyed  the  crocodile,  sacred  at 
Kom  Ombo;  the  Mendesiaus  ate  the  holy 
sheep  of  Thebes;  and  the  Lycopolites  did  the 
same  thing,  following  the  example  of  their 
god,  the  wolf.  These  sacrilegious  acts  were 
the  basis  of  innumerable   feuds   and  mutual 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


93 


detestation  between  the  different  sections  of 
the  country.  A  people  who  could  build  the 
pyramid  of  Khufu  and  carve  the  statue  of 
Amenemha  III.  could  not  purify  their  creed 


sense  in  man  is  deeply  impressed  with  the 
mysteries  of  the  national  faith,  and  this  sense, 
struggling  for  expression,  carves  in  the  rock 
the  forms  of  the  gods — the  symbols  and  em- 


TEJIPLK  OF  DENDERA. 


from   folly,  or  their  practices  from  gross  su- 
perstition. 

The  Art  of  a  people  is  generally  closely  re- 
lated to  their  system  of  religion.  In  the 
earlier  stages  of  civilization  the  imaginative 


blems  of  the  powers  unseen.  The  generations 
following  improve  upon  the  first  rude  models, 
and  the  coming  ages  copy  and  imitate  the 
work  of  the  ages  that  have  preceded  them. 
Moreover,  the  houses  of  the  gods  must  be 


94 


UNIVERSAL  mSTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


grander  and  nobler  structures  than  the  houses 
of  men.  Magnificent  temples,  such  as  that 
at  Thebes,  of  Avhose  splendor  the  ruins  of 
El-Karnak  and  Kom  Ombo  still  preserve  the 
dim  and  glorious  tradition,  spring  up,  exhaled 
from  the  pious  spirit  of  the  epoch,  and  the 
lofty  fresco,  with  its  infinite  allegories  tells 
the  story  of  aspiration  and  hope.     It  is  only 


Egyptians  displayed  no  small  degree  of  good 
taste  and  skill.  The  dwellings  of  the  common 
people  were  generally  square  and  two  stories 
in  height,,  with  an  open  gallery  above.  The 
materials  used  were  sun-dried  bricks  laid  in 
bitumen,  the  columns  of  support  and  related 
parts  being  generally  of  wood.  The  rooms 
were  ranged  around  the  three — sometimes  all 


RUIXS  OF  THE  TEMPLE  AT  KARNAK. 


in  the  later  developments  of  ancient  societies 
that  art  was  in  some  measure  divorced  from 
religion  and  made  to  do  service  in  the  secular 
affairs  of  men.  These  tendencies  are  well 
illustrated  in  the  art-history  of  ancient  Egypt. 
Among  the  Egyptians,  Architecture  held 
the  most  important  place.  The  art  of  building 
so  as  to  secure  permanence  and  beauty  was  suc- 
cessfully cultivated  from  a  very  early  epoch. 
In   the   construction   of   ordinary   houses  the 


four — sides  of  an  open  square  or  court-yard. 
In  this  trees  were  planted,  cisterns  digged, 
and  fountains  constructed  according  to  the 
wealth  and  taste  of  the  owner.  In  the  more 
aristocratic  mansions  were  inclosed  two  courts, 
an  outer  and  an  inner — the  latter  being  for 
the  use  of  the  women  of  the  household  and 
their  intimate  friends.  Without,  the  entrance 
to  the  dwelling  was  between  two  pillars  and 
by  way  of  a  porch,  which  generally  contained 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


95 


the  name  of  the  proprietor  and  the  traditions 
of  the  family  sculptured  in  hieroglyphics. 
The  roofs  of  the  houses  were  flat,  and  through 
these  ventilating  shafts,  provided  with  large, 
square  fans  to  catch  the  wind,  were  carried 
into  the  apartments  below.  The  ceilings  of 
the  better  sort  of  houses  were  frequently  stuc- 
coed with  a  considerable  degree  of  skill,  and 


Syenite,  one  of  the  best  building  materials  in 
the  world.  Others  furnished  porphyry,  lime- 
stone, and  sandstone,  and  still  others  inex- 
haustible stores  of  granite.  It  was  of  these 
well-nigh  imperishable  materials  that  the  build- 
ers of  ancient  Egypt  reared  their  temples  and 
palaces  and  tombs. 

The  ability  to   work  in  stone  was  preem- 


RUINS  OF  KOM  OMBO. 


ornaments  were  employed  in  the  various 
parts  according  to  the  fancy  and  wealth  of 
the  owner. 

The  public  edifices  of  Egypt  were  built  of 
stone.  In  these  structures  were  attained  a 
grandeur  and  magnificence  hardly  surpassed 
in  ancient  or  modern  times.  The  valley  of 
the  Nile,  especially  in  its  upper  course,  was 
rich  in  quarries.  Those  at  Syene  have  given 
name   to   the   famous   crystalline   rock   called 


inently  an  art  of  the  Egyptians.  No  other 
people  have  handled  the  obdurate  strata  of 
Nature's  rocky  bed  with  equal  ease  and  skill. 
In  most  countries  the  carving  of  granite  has 
been  regarded  as  a  difficult  or  impossible 
work ;  but  to  the  ancient  Egyptian  sculptor 
this  hard  and  unyielding  rock  was  only  as  so 
much  soapstone  which  he  carved  and  figured 
at  his  will.  Sculptures  amd  hieroglyphics 
were   scattered   everywhere   with  a  profusion 


56 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


i^^E 


FACADE  OF  AN   EGYPTIAN  TEMPLE  (RESTORED). 

indicative  of  perfect  ease  in  the  management  of  the  hardest  substances ;  but  the  means  by 
which  such  marvelous  results  were  reached  have  never  been  ascertained.  It  is  not  even  known 
that  the  Egyptians  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of  iron  and  steel.  To 
suppose  that  they  were  not,  heightens  our  wonder  at  the  work  which  they 

achieved.    To  suppose  that 

they  were,  seems  inconsis- 
tent with  the  fact  that  no 

steel  implement  has   been 

found  among  the  ruins  of  Egypt. 

And  what  still  further  compli- 
cates the   problem    is   the   fact 

that  the  bronze  chisels  discovered 

in  the  quarries  and  stone-yards, 

though     perfectly     edged     and 

sharp  as  new  when  found,  and 

battered  on  the  top  from  long 

service  under  the  hammer,  will 

not   now  bear   a   single    stroke 

against  the  very  granite   upon 

which  it  is  evident  they  were 
formerly  used,  without  turning  the  edge  and  becoming  useless.  Of 
the  many  conjectures  which  have  been  offered  to  explain  the  method 

employed  by  the  Egyptians  in 


cutting  the  hardest  varieties  of 
stone,  not  one  seems  clear  and 
satisfactory.      The    monuments 
furnish    ample    illustrations    of 
the   manner  in  which  the  ma- 
sons and  sculptors  plied  their  art. 
The  workman  kneels  or  sits  or 
stands  before  the  block ;  he 
lifts    the    hammer    in    his 
right  hand,   and  with  the  ' 
left  holds  the  chisel  to  the 

face  of  the  stone ;  but  how  should  a  chisel  of  bronze  make 
any  impression  on  a  slab  of  granite? 

The  public  buildings  of  the  Egyptians  were  elaborately, 
The   monuments,    likewise,    bore    upon  their   exposed   parts,  as 


COLUMN  FROM  BENI 
HASSAN. 


COLUMN  FROM  KOM 
OMBO,  200  B.  C. 


COLUMN   FROM  THEBES. 


COLUMN    FROM    MEDI- 
NET-HABU. 


PROTODORIC  COLUMN 
FROM  BENI-HASSAN, 


even  profusely,  sculptured. 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


97 


on  the  faces  of  obelisks,  and  still  more 
notably  in  their  chambers  and  vaults,  an 
endless  variety  of  carved  figures  and  in- 
scriptions. Nor  were  these  sculptures  and 
hieroglyphics  so  executed  as  to  leave  the  im- 
pression of  great  labor  expended  and  time 
consumed  in  the  work.  On  the  contrary, 
every  thing  points  to  the  conclusion  that  these 
seemingly  impossible  carvings  were  regarded 
as  easy  and  commonplace  achievements.  The 
figures  and  hieroglyphics  are  elaborately  em- 
bossed and  counter-sunk  in  a  manner  which 
is  astounding  to  a  modern  worker  in  granite ; 
and  the  edges  of  the  inscriptions,  after  the 
disasters  of  forty  centuries,  are  as  sharp  and 
beautifully  delineated  as  though  they  were 
the  work  of  yesterday.  Such  is  the  perfection 
of  these  marvelous  inscriptions  that  they 
are  to  be  regarded  as  engravings  rather 
than  sculptures. 

It  was  in  the  architecture  of  Egypt 
that  the  column  was  first  introduced  as  an 
element  of  building.  The  columnar  aspect 
in  some  of  its  many  varieties  was  a  pe- 
culiar feature  of  all  the  Egyptian  tem- 
ples; and  this,  together  with  the  absence 
of  the  arch,  constituted  the  type  of  build- 


ing which  prevailed  in   the   Nile    valley  for 
more  than  two  thousand  years. 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  surprise  that  a 
people  so  skillful  in  architectural  work  should 
have  been  unacquainted  with  the  uses  of  the 
arch  as  an  element  of  beauty  and  strength; 
but  Avith  a  few  rare  exceptions  of  the  minor 
sort — and  these  generally  in  the  vaulted 
passages  of  tombs  or  other  subterranean 
structures — the  arch  seems  to  have  been  un- 
known. Of  columns  there  were  eight  varie- 
ties, all  traceable  in  their  ultimate  analysis 
to  the  square  uncarved  pier  or  pillar.  This, 
indeed,  when  ornamented  with  a  single  line 
of  hieroglyphics  running  down  the  middle  of 
the  faces,  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  and 
oldest  style  of  column  found  in  Egypt. 

The  second,  so-called  protodoric,  form 
was  the  polygonal  piUar,  plain  or  fluted. 
This  second  stage  of  development  was 
emphasized  by  the  addition  of  paint  and 
the  simpler  sort  of  inscriptions  upon 
the  angular  faces.  The  third  style  of 
column  introduced  the  capital,  which  at  the 
first  was  in  the  form  of  a  bud  of  papyrus. 
This    style    of    capital    was    maintained 


OBELISK  OF  ALEXANDRIA. 


98 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


through  several  dynasties,  during  which  time 
the  column  itself  passed  through  successive 
modifications,  until,  in  the  epoch  of  Amen- 
emha  HI.,  it  became  a  round  shaft  rounded 
in  at  the  base.  In  the  fourth  order  the  capi- 
tal, known  as  the  lotus  capital,  took  the  form 
of  an  inverted  beU,  with  ornaments  so  under- 
cut as  to  be  seen  only  from  immediately  be- 
neath; and  this  style  in  turn  gave  place  to 
the  palm-tree  column,  so  named  from  its  re- 
semblance to  the  palm  with  the  lovjer  branches 
lopped  away.  In  the  sixth  order  the  crown 
of  the  palm  used  in  the  capital  gave  place  to 
the  head  of  Isis,  or  that  of  Hathor,  the  Egyp- 
tian Venus.     This  style  was  much  employed 


SCULPTURED  FACADE  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF   EDFU,   TIME  OF  THE  PTOT,EHrrES. 

under  the  House  of  Ramses,  whose  architects 
sometimes  substituted  for  the  head  of  Isis  or 
Hathor  that  of  a  cow  with  long  reverted 
horns.  The  seventh  order  was  composite,  the 
columns  being  round,  and  the  capitals  a  mix- 
ture of  former  types— the  bell,  the  palm- 
crown,  and  the  Isis-head  being  frequently 
combined  in  a  single  capital.  The  eighth  cr- 
ier is  known  as  the  Osiride  variety,  so  called 
from  the  figures  of  Osiris  set  in  the  front  of 
the  pillar  which  served  as  a  column  of  support. 
Sometimes  the  statues  of  other  gods  or  of  kings 
were  substituted  for  the  figure  of  Osiris.' 

'The  height  of  the  Egyptian  columns  varied 
from  fifteen  feet  to  sixty  feet,  and  the  diameter 
from  two  feet  four  inches  to  about  twelve  feet— the 


In  statuary  the  Egyptian  artists  have  never 
been  surpassed.  Not,  however,  in  carving 
the  graceful  forms  of  airy  sprites  and  nymphs, 
but  rather  in  the  colossal  gi'andeur  of  heroic 
figures  did  Egypt  surpass  the  art  of  other  na- 
tions. The  great  statues  of  the  kings — colossi, 
sphinxes,  gods — have  been  already  mentioned 
and  described  in  the  different  parts  of  the  his- 
tory to  which  they  more  particularly  per- 
tained. It  need  only  be  added  that  in  giving 
to  figures  in  stone  an  air  of  solemn  dignity 
and  everlasting  repose  the  Egyptian  sculptors 
have  excelled  the  artists  of  every  other  age 
and  clime. 

As  related  to  the  other  monuments,  the 
obelisks  of  Egypt  are 
deserving  of  special 
mention.  They  were 
in  the  nature  of  memo- 
rial stones,  set  up  to 
commemorate  some  im- 
portant event — the  cor- 
onation of  a  new  Pha- 
raoh, a  proclamation 
by  him,  a  victory  over 
invaders,  the  building 
of  a  city  or  temple. 
The  obelisks  are  of 
granite  or  syenite,  four- 
square, tapering,  pol- 
ished, covered  with 
hieroglyphics,  and  from 
eight  to  over  one  hun- 
dred feet  in  height. 
They  generally  stand  in  pairs  before  the  city 
gate  or  entrance  to  temple. 

In  the  spoliation  of  Egj^pt  these  quaint  mon- 
umental stones  have  been  taken  by  gift,  pur- 
chase, or  robbery  to  distant  climes  and  nations. 
The  Roman  emperors  carried  some  of  them  to 
the  Eternal  City;  one  stands  in  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde,  at  Paris;  one  interests  London; 
and  another,  its  mate — both  from  Alexandria — 
adorns  the  Central  Park  at  New  York. 

Of  those  arts  which  tended  to  humanize 
the  people,  Writing  held  the  highest  place 
among  the  Egyptians.  The  system  which 
they  employed,  though  extremely  complicated 

largest  being  of  the  fourth  order,  found  in  the  tem- 
ple at  Karnak. 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


99 


and  laborious,  was  cultivated  at  an  earlier  date 
and  to  a  fuller  extent  than  by  any  other  race 
of  men.  Within  the  present  century  the 
treasures  of  the  hieroglyphics  have  been  un- 
locked,  and  the    mystery  which    surrounded 


1       Aa 

> 

Ma 

i 

Am, 

p>-J     la 

««». 

m 

<2>- 

Ar 

\  ^ 

V 

Na 

1 

As 

^^ 

» 

Bu 

V 

Aic 

^      Ba 

<>«t 

Pa 

? 

Bk 

J       Ba 

I 

Pa 

-a^ 

En 

<—    Ei 

<=> 

Ea 

T 

Er 

^^     Zi 

>^ 

JLli 

) 

Km 

-^     Ea 

V 

Sa 

C3 

Ks 

Q     n& 

p 

Sn 

C3f=>^ 

JOb 

nJ      ITa 

f>  - 

Sa 

-==s> 

Mr 

1     na 

1 

Stt 

I 

Kft 

U  «" 

1 

Ta 

'^ 

ITa 

v\      lo 

« 

Tu 

a 

Pr 

X      la 

8 

Ua 

X- 

Sb 

i^V 

V 

TJi 

# 

6b 

\\' 

^ 

Ui 

»-*^ 

Ts 

^^    T^ 

1 

ES'a 

5 

TJh 

y  Ka 

o 

KTiv 

> 

Ur 

m      ~K.tt 

IE 

SliA 

°p 

Bhm 

1       E^a 

ar 

Sho 

SI 

Bh'n 

V""' 

CZJ 

Bhi 

o=^ 

Bh't 

/ — ■    Ma 

^ 

Eha 

§ 

Kh»p 

^     aia 

(»)(b 

TOra» 

EGYPTIAN   ALPHABET. 

them  dispelled  by  the  patience  and  ingenuity 
of  French,  German,  and  English  scholarship. 
It  is  now  known  that  in  the  course  of  Egyp- 
tian history  down  to  the  time  of  the  Roman 
emperors  four  systems  of  writing  were  success- 
ively employed.     Further  back  than  the  old- 


est of  these  it  is  evident  that  pictorial  symbols 
were  used  to  represent  ideas;  but  at  what 
date  the  ideographs  or  picture-writing  proper 
flourished,  and  under  what  circumstances  it 
gave  place  to  an  improved  style  of  conveying 
thought,  can  not  now  be  known. 

The  oldest  system,  then,  employed  within 
the  historic  periods  of  Egypt  was  the  so-called 
Hieroglyphics,  or  sacred  carvings.  It  was 
long  supposed  that  the  pictorial  symbols  used 
in  this  famous  writing  were  true  ideographs 
or  actual  pictures  of  the  things  intended  to  be 
represented,  and  that  the  system  was,  there- 


THE  ROSETTA  STONE,   BRITISH  MUSEUM. 

fore,  analogous  to  that  employed  in  the  writ- 
ing of  the  Mexicans  and  North  American 
Indians;  but  the  investigations  of  Champol- 
lion,  De  Rouge,  Young,  and  Mariette  have 
shown  conclusively  that  the  opinion  is  un- 
founded, and  that  the  hieroglyphics  are  true 
phonetic  writing,  in  which  the  words  are  spelled 
out  just  as  in  any  of  the  Aryan  languages.  It 
is  to  Champollion  in  particular  that  this  dis- 
covery is  due.^ 


1  In  1799  what  is  known  as  the  Rosetta  Stone 
was  discovered  by  some  of  Napoleon's  men  while 
making  an  excavation  at  Rosetta,  in  Lower  Egypt. 
The  stone  contained  an  inscription  written  in 
three   diflferent   characters:    First,   Hieroglyphic; 


100 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  difference  between  liieroglyphic  and 
alphabetic  writing  has  thus  been  shown  to  be 
only  this:  that  in  the  hieroglyphic  sys- 
tem the  sounds  of  the  language  are  represented 
by  pictures,  many  of  them  no  doubt  adopted 
from  an  older  ideographic  symbolism,  whereas 


CHAMPOLLION. 


in  the  alphabetic  system  the  sounds  of  the 
language  are  represented  by  arbitrary  charac- 
ters which  have  lost  all  resemblance  to  the 
objects  of  which  they  were  no  doubt  originally 
pictures.  It  has  thus  transpired  that  that 
which  was  so  long  supposed  to  be  the  picture- 
writing  of  Egypt  is  really  not  picture-writing 
at  all,  but  a  system  of  pictorial  phonetics  in 
close    analogy  with   other    ancient   writings. 


eecond,  Demotic,  or  common  character  of  the 
Egj'ptians ;  third,  Greek.  From  the  Greek  it  was 
discovered  that  the  inscription  was  tri-Hngual; 
that  is,  each  of  the  writings  was  a  translation  of 
the  other.  Beginning  with  this  clue.  Dr.  Young 
finally  succeeded,  in  1815,  in  deciphering  from  the 
hieroglyphic  character  the  single  word  Ptolemy; 
and,  to  the  profound  amazement  of  the  scholars 
of  the  age,  the  spelling  was  found  to  be  Phonetic, 
and  not  ideographic.  The  learned  antiquarian  also 
made  out  the  name  of  Berenice  among  the  pictorial 
writings  in  the  frescoes  of  Karnak;  and  in  1822 
CLampollion  deciphered  the  word  Cleopatra  from 
an  obelisk  found  at  Philfe.  Afterwards,  continu- 
ing his  researches,  he  completed  the  translation 
of  the  Rosetta  Stone,  thereby  opening  up  the 
whole  field  of  Egyptian  writings  to  the  long-baffled 
scholars  of  the  West. 


Nevertheless  the  hieroglyphics  constitute  a 
system  so  exceedingly  complex  and  obscure 
as  to  be  extremely  difficult  to  master,  even  by 
scholars  of  profound  attainments  in  language. 

Owing  to  the  slowness  and  painstaking 
elaboration  demanded  in  writing  the  Egyptian 
tongue  in  hieroglyphics,  the  priests  at  an  early 
date  introduced  a  modification  of  the  symbols 
by  which  the  pictorial  figures  were  abbreviated 
and  turned  into  a  system  of  cursive  signs 
running  readily  into  each  other  in  formation 
and  constituting  the  second  general  variety  of 
Egyptian  writing  called  the  Hieratic.  The 
system  was  introduced  as  early  as  the  Eleventh 
Dynasty.  It  was  in  this  style  that  the  great 
body  of  the  Egyptian  literature  was  composed ; 
and  it  is  by  the  resolution  of  the  cursive  hier- 
atic forms  back  into  the  hieroglyphics  of 
which  they  were  the  abbreviated  characters, 
that  we  are  enabled  to  translate  the  few  rolls 
of  papyrus  which  the  ages  have  spared  to 
modern  times. 

Meanwhile,  a  vulgar  or  non-literary  lan- 
guage arose  in  Egypt.  This  tongue  grew  into 
importance  and  encroached  upon  the  archaic 
and  obsolescent  forms  of  speech  employed  by 
the  priests  and  literati.  As  early  as  the  times 
of  Psametik  (B.  C.  600)  it  was  found  nec- 
essary to  concede  something  to  the  common 
speech.  The  people  at  large  no  longer  un- 
derstood the  sacred  language;  and  the  Pha- 
raohs found  it  expedient  to  translate  proclama' 


J 

I 


3 

'y* 

.^b- 

% 

^ 

"^-^ 

1 


m 


4=n 


■A 


SPECIMEN  OF  EGYPTIAN   WRITING. 


tions,  edicts,  and  finally  the  sacred  papyri  into 
the  vulgar  tongue.  Thus  arose  the  third  sys- 
tem of  composition  known  as  the  Demotic, 
which  came  into  general  use  and  maintained 
its  place  in  Egypt  until  the  second  century 
of  our  era. 

With  the  new  ethnic  development  of  the 


EGYPT.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


101 


Egyptian  race,  about  the  date  last  mentioned, 
we  pass  into  the  Coptic  or  last  phase  of  the 
language.  Coptic  holds  about  the  same  rela- 
tion to  ancient  Egyptian  as  English  does  to 
Anglo-Saxon.  The  Demotic  character  of  the 
preceding  era  gave  place  to  the  Coptic  alpha- 
bet, and  the  use  of  the  old  systems  entirely 
ceased.  An  acquaintance  with  the  Coptic 
language  and  literature,  diligently  cultivated 
in  recent  times,  has  been  the  basis  of  the  pro- 
found erudition  which  has  opened  the  treas- 
ures of  ancient  Egypt,  and  constitutes  the 
special  branch  of  learning  known  as  Egypt- 
ology. 

In  writing,  the  Egyptians  used  a  sharpened 
reed 'and  a  palette  containing  two  small  wells, 
the  one  of  red  and  the  other  of  black  ink. 
The  black  was  used  for  the  ordinary  text,  the 
red  being  reserved  for  initial  letters,  the  first 
words  of  chapters,  and  other  emphatic  or  crit- 
ical parts.  For  paper  the  leaves  of  the  pa- 
pyrus were  used,  being  joined  together  in  strips 
trimmed  to  the  width  of  ten  inches,  and  fre- 
quently as  much  as  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
in  length,  the  text  being  written  in  vertical 
lines  from  one  end  to  the  other. 

In  mimetic  art  the  Egyptians  had  little 
skill ;  but  in  the  composition  and  management 
of  colors  they  were  more  expert  than  any 
other  people  of  antiquity,  except  the  Greeks. 
The  hues  in  which  the  artists  of  Thebes  most 
delighted  were  red,  green,  and  blue.  In  the 
laws  of  color-harmony  the  Theban  painters 
appear  to  have  been  as  well  versed  as  those  of 
modern  times.  It  was  an  imperative  rule 
with  Egyptian  artists  to  produce  pleasing 
efiects  by  contrast  of  color.  Strong  colors 
were  rarely  used  without  the  employment  of 
some  complementary  tint  to  soften  the  glare. 

Painting  as  an  art  in  Egypt  was  closely 
related  to  architecture.  In  common  with  the 
early  Greeks  and  Etruscans,  the  Egyptian 
artists  -painted  their  sculptures.  Color  was  an 
invariable  concomitant  of  statuary  and  of  the 
reliefs  and  intaglios  with  which  the  temples  and 
tombs  abounded.  Columns,  and  especially  capi- 
tals, were  highly  ornamented  with  the  colors 
tvhich  were  added,  and  the  infinite  figures  and 
inscriptions  covering  facades  and  halls  were  in 
like  manner  carefully  painted.    So  skillful  was 


the  work  that  the  alleged  incongruity  of  color 
and  form  in  sculpture  little  offended  the  taste 
of  the  beholder.  Though  this  style  of  work 
is  repugnant  to  that  dictum  of  modern  criti- 
cism which  requires  in  sculpture  the  exposure 
of  the  native  stone,  the  Egyptians  chose  to 
combine  the  efiects  of  color  with  the  charm  of 
outline ;  and  it  can  not  well  be  doubted,  when 
we  take  into  consideration  the  severe  aspect 
of  all  Egyptian  structures,  that  a  certain 
cheerfulness  and  life  were  given  thereto  by 
the  addition  of  paint. 

Perhaps  no  better  idea  of  the  combined 
effects  of  sculpture  and  painting  can  anywhere 
be  obtained  than  in  the  great  palace-temple  of 
Ramses  III.,  at  Medinet-Habu.  On  the  north- 
east wall  of  this  famous  ruin  is  depicted  the 
king  seated  on  his  throne  under  a  gorgeous 
canopy.  The  throne  is  inscribed  with  a  hawk- 
headed  figure  leading  a  lion  and  sphinx.  Be- 
hind the  monarch  stand  the  winged  effigies 
of  Truth  and  Justice.  The  shrine  is  borne 
by  twelve  princes  of  the  realm.  High  officers 
of  state  wave  their  labella  before  the  mighty 
Ramses.  Priests  carry  his  arms  and  insignia. 
The  sons  of  the  king  follow,  bearing  the  foot- 
stool of  their  father's  throne,  and  accompanied 
by  scribes  and  great  warriors.  In  another 
part  is  seen  a  procession  of  scholars,  fan- 
bearers,  and  soldiers.  A  great  scribe  makes 
a  proclamation  from  a  roll  of  papyrus,  and 
the  high-priest  of  Egypt  burns  incense  before 
the  shrine.  Birds  fly  abroad  to  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world  as  if  to  announce  to 
gods  and  men  of  the  north,  south,  east,  and 
west  the  glory  and  renown  of  Pharaoh.  All 
this  and  more  is  elaborately  sculptured,  and 
the  effect  artistically  heightened  by  the  art  of 
the  painter.  In  the  temples  and  palaces  of 
Thebes  a  like  profusion  of  color  and  form 
give  evidence  of  the  industry  and  skill  of  the 
Egyptian  artists.  Nor  have  the  fingers  of 
time  much  more  efl^aced  the  brilliant  hues 
which  were  laid  on  the  surface  of  the  sculp- 
tures than  they  have  crumbled  the  stone 
itself. 

Not  only  were  the  statues  and  reliefs,  the 
columns  and  halls  of  palaces  and  temples 
elaborately  painted,  but  the  hieroglyphics  and 
papyrus  rolls,  were  also  embellished  with  col' 


102 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ors  of  great  durability — red,  blue,  yellow,  or 
black — according  to  the  taste  of  the  age ;  nor 
were  the  Egyptians  without  ability  to  de- 
lineate living  forms  or  landscapes  wholly  by 
means  of  color.  The  specimens  of  such  an- 
cient art  which  have  survived  to  our  own 
(times  are  more  remarkable,  however,  for  the 
brightness  and  luster  of  their  tints  than  for 
any  excellence  of  general  design  or  particular 
skill  in  drawing. 

The  civilization  of  Ancient  as  of  Modern 


Egypt  was  wanting  in  ideality.  The  genius 
of  the  people  rose  not  into  the  realm  of  the 
imagination,  but  flew  low  on  heavy  and  un- 
aspiring wing,  skimming  the  dusky  horizon  of 
the  practical.  Solidity  and  grandeur,  a  cer- 
tain stillness  of  aspect  and  durability  in  pur- 
pose rather  than  the  winged  ideality  of  a 
lighter  and  diviner  art,  are  the  qualities  which 
are  reflected  from  the  massive  monuments 
slumbering  in  eternal  repose  amid  the  sands 
and  bulrushes  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 


CROSS  SECTION   OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  EDFU. 


^ay'ciV'ti>''tttfviyMjy'yy'toy'<»''<>>'yi>^ 


i 


}(ii     /^r>^    rCQx    xQx    ./^>3,    .g<>^     .cQ^,    .CQ>,     .cQx    .<^     r^    (^ 


iualt  ^fttittit* 


CHALD^^A. 


CHAPTER  VI.— The  country. 


OT  unlike  Egypt  was  the 
Land  of  the  Chalde- 
ans. The  great  wastes  of 
Arabia  are  raised  but  little 
above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Journeying  eastward  from 
this  desert  region  the  trav- 
eler, before  he  begins  the  ascent  of  the  moun- 
tain ranges  of  Kurdistan,  comes  upon  the 
long  belt  of  fertile  territory  included  between 
the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris.  Within  this 
verdant  strip  of  alluvium  and  valley-land, 
generally  known  by  its  Greek  name  of  Meso- 
potamia, flourished  three  of  the  most  re- 
nowned kingdoms  of  antiquity  —  Chaldsea, 
Assyria,  and  Babylonia. 

Beginning  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  of 
Western  Armenia,  about  the  intersection  of 
the  thirty-eighth  meridian  east  from  Greenwich 
with  the  thirty-eighth  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
this  famous  Mesopotamian  region  winds  away 
to  the  south-east,  and  narrows  to  a  point  on 
the  Persian  Gulf  about  longitude  48°  25'  E. 

For  nearly  five  hundred  miles  in  its  lower 
course  the  country  between  the  rivers  has  all 
the  characteristics  of  a  valley;  but  above  the 
thirty-fourth   parallel  it  widens,   rises  into  a 


hill-country,  and  in  its  upper  part  becomes  a 
plateau,  bordered  on  the  north  and  east  with 
mountains.  The  whole  distance  from  the  ex- 
treme north-west  of  the  peculiar  district  em- 
braced by  the  two  great  rivers  to  the  head  of 
the  Persian  Gulf  is  about  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  miles. 

The  peculiarities  and  importance  of  this 
remarkable  region  are  traceable  to  the  two 
magnificent  streams  which  constitute  its  boun- 
daries. Bordered  on  the  west  by  waste  plains 
and  deserts,  and  on  the  east  by  a  country  of 
hills  and  mountains,  the  low-lying  plain  be- 
tween was  rimmed  with  deep  channels  of 
fresh  water,  never  failing,  exhaustless. 

The  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  rise  not 
far  apart  in  the  mountains  of  Armenia.  The 
former  has  its  source  on  the  north  of  the 
range,  and  the  latter  in  the  southern  slopes. 
The  course  of  the  Euphrates  is  first  to  the 
west;  then  it  breaks  through  the  mountains 
and  sweeps  in  a  broad  circuit  to  the  right, 
and  then  turns  in  a  direction  almost  due 
south-east  to  its  far-oS*  confluence  with  the 
Persian  Gulf. 

The  course  of  the  Tigris  is  much  more  south- 
erly and  direct.     Descending  from  the  moun- 

(103) 


104 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


tains  the  stream  steadily  approximates  the 
Euphrates  until,  in  latitude  33°  N.,  a  junc- 
tion of  the  two  rivers  seems  imminent.  Here, 
however,  the  Tigris  bends  to  the  east  and  the 
Euphrates  slightly  to  the  west,  thus  widening 
the  district  between  them  into  the  shape  of  an 
ancient  urn.  About  two  degrees  further 
south  the  confluence  actually  occurs,  though 
in  ancient  times  each  river  pursued  its  course 
through  separate  channels  to  the  Gulf. 

In  their  upper  course  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Tigris  traverse  a  region  of  steppes  broken 
by  rocky  ridges  and  interspersed  with  pas- 
tures and  fruitful  districts.     The  banks  of  the 


dwindling,  as  does  the  Nile,  from  the  diffusion 
and  loss  of  waters. 

The  bed  of  the  Euphrates  is  lower  than 
that  of  the  Tigris,  and  its  course  more  quiet 
and  regular.  The  Tigris,  on  his  higher  level, 
pressed  in  a  narrow,  rocky  channel,  hurries 
with  swifter  flow  and  greater  turbulence. 
Frequent  tributaries  descending  from  the 
ridges  and  tablelands  of  Iran  join  the  eastern 
river,  maintaining  and  swelling  his  floods, 
while  the  solitary  Euphrates  is  left  to  waste 
his  wealth  of  waters  in  the  sands. 

The  whole  region  lies  sloping  to  the  west — 
drooping  as  if  to  rest  its  western  eaves  on  the 


^-  a«- 


rivers  are  fringed  with  plane-trees,  tamarisks, 
and  cypresses.  Here  and  there  are  meadow- 
lands,  alternating  with  low  hills.  Further  on, 
as  the  rivers  descend  to  the  level,  the  valleys 
broaden ;  but  at  the  same  time  the  higher  dis- 
trict between  becomes  more  sterile — a  kind  of 
upland  waste,  abounding  in  ostriches  and  bus- 
tards, the  native  home  of  wild  asses  and  no- 
madic tribes  of  men. 

After  this  desolate  hill-country  is  passed, 
and  the  two  rivers  have  sufiiciently  approxi- 
mated to  share  each  other's  influence,  they 
enter  a  plain  of  brown  alluvium,  rich,  inex- 
haustible. Through  this  region  for  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  four  hundred  miles  the 
streams   pursue    their  course,   the    Euphrates 


desert  of  Arabia.  For  this  reason  the  Eu- 
phrates, not  confined  by  rocky  barriers,  has 
ever  shown  a  disposition  to  encroach  upon  his 
right-hand  bank,  fixing  his  channel  still  fur- 
ther and  further  to  the  west.  This  tendency 
has  been  of  vast  importance  to  the  region 
along  the  western  bank  in  the  matter  of  irri- 
gation :  as  far  as  the  waters  of  the  river  could 
be  carried  by  artificial  channels,  assisted  by 
the  natural  pressure  of  the  current  westward, 
the  desert  could  be  reclaimed  and  converted 
into  a  garden. 

Like  the  Nile,  the  Euphrates  and  the  Ti- 
gris are  subject  to  annual  floods.  With  the 
approach  of  summer  the  snows,  lying  heaped 
in  the  gorges  of  the  Armenian  mountains,  are 


CHALB^A.-THE  COUNTRY. 


105 


dissolved  and  poured  out  into  the  upper  trib- 
utaries of  the  rivers.  Rains  also  descend,  and 
the  combined  effects  are  seen  in  overflowed 
banks  and  submerged  valleys. 

The  inundation  in  the  Tigris  begins  as 
early  as  the  first  of  June,  while  that  in  the 
Euphrates,  whose  fountains  lie  for  the  most 
part  on  the  north  side  of  the  mountain  ranges, 
does  not  begin  until  the  early  part  of  July. 
Unlike  the  Nile,  however,  the  rising  of  whose 
waters  is  so  regular  and  calm  as  to  be  hardly 
perceptible  from  day  to  day,  the  floods  of  the 
two  great  rivers  of  Mesopotamia,  especially 
those  of  the  Tigris,  are  frequently  violent  and 
destructive.  Sometimes  in  the  course  of  a 
few  hours  the  valleys  are  deluged,  and  the 
Bandy  plains  bordering  the  rivers  in  their 
lower  course  converted  into  a  wide  and  tur- 
bulent sea  rolling  down  to  the  gulf. 

In  the  matter  of  tributaries  both  rivers  are, 
in  their  upper  course,  plentifully  supplied — 
the  Tigris  abundantly.  On  the  east  the  Eu- 
phrates receives  the  Belik  and  the  Khabur, 
the  latter  widely  branching  into  the  hill- 
country  of  Mygdonia.  The  principal  tribu- 
taries of  the  Tigris  are  the  Great  and  Lesser 
Zab,  the  Adhem,  and  the  Gyndes.  A  hun- 
dred smaller  streams  contribute  their  waters ; 
but  in  its  lower  course  even  the  Tigris  is 
Bcantily  supplied  with  affluent  streams. 

For  eight  hundred  miles  above  its  entrance 
into  the  Persian  Gulf  the  Euphrates  receives 
not  a  single  tributary  As  a  consequence,  no 
other  river  in  the  world  is,  in  the  different 
parts  of  its  course,  so  greatly  variable  in  its 
quantity  of  waters.  At  the  junction  of  the 
Khabur  the  breadth  of  the  Euphrates  is  three 
hundred  and  fifty  yards,  and  this  general 
width,  with  a  depth  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet,  is  maintained  as  far  south  as  the  city  of 
Hit,  in  latitude  33°  34'  N.  From  this  point 
the  river  dwindles.  In  the  first  hundred  miles 
below  Hit  the  width  is  reduced  to  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards.  After  this  the  volume 
is  absorbed  by  canals  and  natural  channels, 
branching  right  and  left,  until  at  the  site  of 
Babylon  the  width  is  no  more  than  two  hun- 
dred yards,  with  a  depth  of  fifteen  feet.  At 
the  thirty-second  parallel  the  stream  is  reduced 
to  a  width  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards, 


with  a  depth  of  only  twelve  feet,  indicating  a 
loss  of  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  waters  which 
filled  the  channel  in  the  upper  course  of  the 
river.  In  its  lower  course  next  the  sea  the 
Euphrates  recovers  a  part  of  its  wasted  waters 
by  the  return  of  the  canals,  and  enters  the 
gulf  with  a  width  of  two  hundred  yards  and 
a  depth  of  eighteen  feet,  the  Tigris  grows 
in  volume  through  its  whole  extent,  and  at  its 
confluence  with  the  Euphrates  is  the  greater 
river  of  the  two.  The  entire  length  of  the 
Euphrates  is  1,780  miles  and  of  the  Tigris 
1,146  miles,  including,  in  each  case  the  wind- 
ings of  the  channels. 

In  the  present  Book  we  are  concerned  only 
with  that  part  of  Mesopotamia  included  by 
the  great  rivers  of  Assyria  after  they  descend 
to  the  alluvial  plain  through  which  they  flow 
in  their  lower  course.  The  line  of  division 
between  Upper  and  Lower  Assyria  may  be 
definitely  indicated  as  beginning  at  Hit,*  on 
the  Euphrates,  and  extending  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  across  the  Mesopotamian  re- 
gion to  Samarah  on  the  Tigris.  Below  this 
line  the  country,  in  shape  like  an  ancient 
goblet,  is  an  alluvium,  deposited  by  the  rivers, 
not  unlike  Egypt  in  its  physical  features,  and 
next  to  Egypt  the  oldest  country  with  which 
history  is  concerned — Chald^eA. 

That  which  most  attracts  attention  and 
excites  wonder  in  the  region  here  described  is 
the  absence  of  those  physical  features  with 
which  the  landscapes  of  nearly  all  countries 
are  diversified.  Here  nothing  is  to  be  seen 
except  the  two  great  rivers,  their  banks 
fringed  with  palms  and  cypresses.  On  all 
sides  the  sandy  plains  stretch  away  to  the 
horizon,  the  dead  expanse  broken  now  and 
then  by  a  mound  or  ruin,  or  marked  by  a 
long,  low  line  of  earth,  the  bank  of  some  an- 
cient canal.  Close  to  the  border  of  the  river 
where  the  marsh-lands  abound,  and  along  the 
artificial  channels  through  which  the  waters 
are  distributed,  the  vegetation  is  green,  luxu- 
riant; but  these  verdant  strips  soon  disap- 
pear, and  the  eye,  except  in  early  spring,  rests 
on  nothing  but  an  arid  plain,  swelling  towards 
the  south  into  an  occasional  ridge  or  sand- 
dune.  To  the  west,  at  a  distance  of  from 
'  The  same  as  Ihi  or  Is. 


106 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


twenty  to  thirty  miles  from  the  Euphrates, 
vegetation  wholly  disappears,  and  the  Arabian 
desert,  desolate  and  unbroken,  spreads  away 
to  the  sky. 

The  present  extent  of  Chaldsea  Proper, 
that  is,  of  the  urn-shaped  district  between  the 
two  rivers,  is  about  fifteen  thousand  square 
miles.  The  long  strip  of  fertile  territory  ly- 
ing between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Arabian 
desert  has  an  area  of  eight  thousand  square 
miles ;  so  that  the  aggregate  area  of  Chaldsea, 
if  determined  by  the  present  geographical 
condition  of  the  country,  would  be  about 
twenty-three    thousand    square    miles — a  dis- 


more  than  a  hundred — perhaps  two  hundred — 
miles  further  than  at  the  present  day. 

The  simple  physical  structure  of  Chaldsea, 
the  mild  climate,'  the  presence  of  a  perennial 
supply  of  fresh  water  without  the  annoyance 
and  interruptions  of  frequent  and  violent 
rains,  and  especially  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
only  equaled  in  its  fecundity  by  the  never- 
failing  fruitfulness  of  Egypt — all  contributed 
to  supply  to  the  primitive  tribes  of  this  region 
incentives  to  civilization  second  only  to  those 
afforded  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

The  low-lying  flats  stretching  from  river  to 
river  had  in  them  the  best  elements  of  natural 


THE  EUPHRATES  AND  PLAIN  OF  CHALD^A. 


trict  equal   in   extent   to  the  State  of  West 
Virginia. 

But  the  ancient  limits  of  "the  land  of  the 
Chaldseans"  were  less  in  extent  than  here  de- 
fined. From  the  remotest  epoch  the  Persian 
Gulf  has  been  steadily  receding  to  the  south. 
The  enormous  amount  of  earthy  matter  car- 
ried down  by  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris 
and  deposited  further  and  further  seaward  has 
crowded  back  the  waters  of  the  gulf  and  built 
up  a  district  thousands  of  square  miles  in  ex- 
tent. The  rate  of  the  recession  of  the  sea  has 
been  estimated  at  a  mile  in  each  seventy  years, 
and  by  some  authorities  at  a  mile  in  thirty 
years.  Nor  is  it  doubtful  that  within  the  his- 
toric period  the  Persian  Gulf  extended  inland 


wealth.  Even  beyond  the  Tigris  the  lands 
were  fruitful.  Between  the  rivers  the  fertility 
was  marvelous.  Wheat  and  barley,  castor- 
beans  and  sesame,  grew  wild.  In  the  low 
marshes  bordering  the  streams  the  succulent 
and  bulbous  plants  flourished  in  native  abun- 
dance. Here  thousands  of  aquatic  birds  cir- 
cled around  the  ponds  and  hatched  their 
young  among  the  rushes.  Both  of  the  rivers 
abounded    in   fish — always  a  chief  factor  in 


^The  climate  of  Chaldpea  is  rather  milder  than 
that  of  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas.  On  the  lower 
Euphrates  snow  is  unknown,  and  though  the  heat 
of  summer  is  excessive,  the  vicissitudes  from  hot 
to  cold  are  so  quiet  and  equable  as  to  affect  but 
slightly  the  constitution  of  the  inhabitants. 


CHALDuEA.—THE  COUNTRY. 


107 


a  people's  food.  On  the  higher  lands  ap- 
ples and  .dates  were  plentifully  produced  and 
flourished  without  culture  or  attention.  The 
truthful  Xenophon  was  struck  with  astonish- 
ment at  the  beauty  and  fruitfulness  of  the 
date-palms  growing  along  the  river/ 

That  such  a  district  should  in  the  earliest 
times  attract  a  great  population,  and  that  this 
population  should  be  stimulated  to  vast  civil- 
izing enterprises,  was  natural,  inevitable.  The 
Primitive  Man  was  quick  to  discover  that  sit- 
uation which  afforded  him  the  greatest  rewards 
with  the  smallest  expenditure  of  toil.  There 
he  fixed  his  habitation.  There  also  his  fel- 
lows, driven  by  hunger  from  the  hill-country 
or  desert  waste,  came  and  established  their 
abodes.  The  hut  became  a  hamlet;  the  vil- 
lage, a  great  city.  Whatever  opposition  na- 
ture presented  added  to  the  zest  of  endeavor. 
The  necessity  of  standing  guard  against  the 
danger  of  the  sudden  overflow  of  the  river, 
the  work  of  draining  the  marsh-lands,  and  of 
digging  vast  canals  for  the  purposes  of  irriga- 
tion, were  additional  motives,  rather  than  dis- 
couragements, to  the  zeal  of  an  ambitious 
people. 

To  her  other  advantages  ancient  Chaldsea 
added  the  proximity  of  the  sea.  The  Persian 
Gulf,  a  spacious  body  of  water,  lay  always  at 
her  feet.  It  was  an  invitation  to  commerce 
and  the  consequent  establishment  of  friendly 
and  beneficial  relations  with  distant  states. 
The    branch    of  the    sea   which   washed    the 


^  Herodotus  says  of  Chaldsea:  "Of  all  countries 
that  we  know  there  is  none  that  is  so  fruitful  in 
grain.  It  makes  no  pretension,  indeed,  of  growing 
the  fig,  the  olive,  the  vine,  or  any  other  tree  of  the 
kind ;  but  in  grain  it  is  so  fruitful  as  to  yield  com- 
monly two  hundred  fold,  and  when  the  produc- 
tion is  at  the  greatest  even  three  hundred  fold. 
The  blade  of  the  wheat-plant  and  of  the  barley- 
plant  is  often  four  fingers  in  breadth.  As  for  the 
millet  and  the  sesame,  I  shall  not  say  to  what 
height  they  grow,  though  within  my  knowledge ; 
for  I  am  not  ignorant  that  what  I  have  already 
written  concerning  the  fruitfulness  of  Babylonia 
will  appear  incredible  to  those  who  have  not  vis- 
ited the  country."  To  this  Theophrastus  adds: 
"  In  Babylon  the  wheat  fields  are  regularly  mown 
twice,  and  then  fed  off"  with  beasts  to  keep  down 
the  luxuriance  of  the  leaf;  otherwise  the  plant 
does  not  run  to  ear." 

N.— Vol.  1—7 


Chaldpean  sands  was  protected  by  its  position 
from  the  violent  storms  which  make  the  In- 
dian Ocean  a  terror  to  the  mariner.  This 
circumstance  was  a  further  incentive  to  mar- 
itime enterprises,  and  will  account  in  some 
measure  for  the  early  ascendency  of  the 
Lower  Empire  over  the  neighboring  king- 
doms. How  well  the  people  of  this  region 
improved  the  advantages  of  their  situation 
will  appear  as  we  survey  the  records  of  the 


DATE  PALM  OF  THE  LOWER  EUPHRATES. 

great  state  which  they  planted  and  so  long 
upheld  by  their  valor.  Having  control  of 
the  wide  water-courses  by  which  the  products 
of  one  of  the  richest  districts  in  Asia  must 
be  carried  abroad,  and  holding  to  the  broad, 
deep  arm  of  the  sea  which  constituted  her 
harbor  on  the  south,  Chaldaea  easily  asserted 
and  maintained  her  preeminence  among  the 
earliest  and  greatest  monarchies  of  the  ancient 
world. 


108 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY,^THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  VII.— PEOPLE  AND  LANGUAOE. 


HE  kinship  of  the  people 
of  ancient  Chaldjea  with 
the  other  nations  of  an- 
tiquity has  been  much 
debated.  For  a  long 
time  it  was  confidently- 
maintained  that  the  Chal- 
dseans  belonged  to  the  Semitic  family  of  man- 
kind, being  in  close  affinity  with  the  Hebrews, 
who  traced  their  descent  from  Shem.  It  was 
urged  in  proof  of  this  position  that  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people  who  planted  the  first 
kingdoms  on  the  Lower  Euphrates  Avas  so 
closely  allied  Avith  the  Hebrew  and  Aramaic 
dialects  as  to  point  unmistakably  to  a  com- 
mon origin  for  these  several  tribes. 

This  view  is  still  maintained  by  some  of 
the  ablest  linguists  and  historians ;  but  within 
our  own  times  an  opposing  theory  has  been 
advanced  which  seems  likely  to  supplant  the 
other.  A  review  of  the  whole  question  has 
tended  to  show  that  the  ancient  Chaldseans 
belonged  to  the  Hamitic  family  of  man- 
kind, having  their  closest  affinities  of  race 
with  the  primitive  tribes  of  Arabia,  the  Abys- 
sinians,  the  Egyptians,  and  the  peoples  of 
Northern  Africa.  Recent  investigations  have 
greatly  strengthened  this  view  by  showing 
that  the  language  spoken  by  the  ancient  in- 
habitants of  Chaldsea,  instead  of  being,  as 
had  been  supposed,  a  Semitic  tongue,  was 
really  a  distinct  speech,  though  modified  by 
Semitic  influences.  The  question  here  pre- 
sented to  the  student  of  history  is  of  a  kind 
to  excite  his  interest,  and  to  demand  at  the 
hands  of  the  historian  some  further  exposition 
of  the  present  state  of  human  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  different  races  of  men. 

The  best  classification  adopted  by  ethnolo- 
gists, at  the  present  day,  is  that  which  divides 
mankind  into  three  races:  Black  races.  Brown 
races,  and  White  or  Ruddy  races.'     These  dis- 

'  It  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  color  of  the 
Ruddy  races  of  men  should  have  been  so  univer- 
Bally  mistaken  for  white.     There  has  never  been  a 


criminations  on  the  line  of  color  were  as 
strongly  drawn  at  the  day  dawn  of  authentic 
history  as  they  are  to-day,  and  are,  therefore, 
rightly  employed  as  the  best  criteria  by  which 
to  distinguish  one  race  of  men  from  another. 

In  point  of  civilization  the  Ruddy  races 
have  far  outstripped  the  Brown,  and  the 
Brown  have  outstripped  the  Black.  So  strik- 
ingly has  this  difference  in  progress  been  man- 
ifested that  the  historian  is  not  called  upon 
to  relate  the  annals  of  any  of  the  Black  races 
of  men ;  and  his  references  to  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  Brown  races  are  few  and  rather 
incidental.  The  Avhole  field  of  ancient  and 
modern  history  is  virtually  occupied  with  the 
ambitions,  activities,  and  grand  monuments 
of  those  Ruddy  peoples  who,  springing  from 
a  common  origin  in  the  East  and  scattering 
everywhere,  have  obtained  and  held  the  mas- 
tery of  the  world. 

In  the  period  covered  by  ancient  history 
the  Ruddy  race  extended  in  its  distribution 
from  the  valley  of  the  Indus  to  the  western 
shores  of  Europe,  and  from  the  equator  where 
it  crosses  Africa  to  the  Baltic  Sea.  Within 
this  wide  extended  and  diversified  area  of  coun- 
try the  primitive  tribes  of  men  were  nearly 
all  of  a  common  ancestral  family.  In  a  large 
part  of  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the 
Russian  empire  the  original  tribes  were  brown, 
but  beyond  this,  within  the  region  above  de- 
fined, neither  Brown  races  nor  Black  contrib- 
uted to  form  the  original  population. 

The  Ruddy  family  of  mankind  has  been 
divided  by  ethnologists  into  three  principal 
races.     These  are — 

1.  The   Aryan    Race.     This   branch   of 


White  race,  properly  so-called.  The  color  of  the 
fairest  people  of  the  fairest  race  of  ancient  or  mod- 
dern  times  has  been  a  hue  very  different  from 
white.  The  term  flesh-color  or  red  much  more 
nearly  describes  the  complexion  of  our  own  race 
than  the  long-accepted  epithet,  white — which  term, 
indeed,  has  never  been  properly  applied  to  any 
race,  except  to  emphasize  the  contrast  between 
the  Ruddy  and  the  Black  or  Brown. 


CHALDJEA.— PEOPLE  AND  LANGUAGE. 


109 


the  human  family  is  frequently  designated  by 
the  biblical  epithet  Japhetic,  so  named  after 
Japhet,  the  eldest  son  of  Noah.  To  this  race 
the  names  Indo-Gennanic  and  Indo-European 
have  also  been  applied  by  scholars ;  but  the 
name  Aryan  (from  the  root  AR,  signifying  to 
plow)  has  now  been  generally  accepted  as  the 
term  by  which  the  people  of  Europe  are  to 
be  designated.  The  dispersion  of  this  race  at 
the  present  time  is  world-wide,  but  within  the 
period  embraced  by  ancient  history  the  Ar- 
yans were  limited  to  Europe  and  the  approx- 
imate parts  of  Asia. 

2.  The  SE»nTic  Race.  The  name  of  this 
division  is  derived  from  Shem,  the  second 
son  of  Noah,  and  the  term  Semitic  has  been 
adopted  by  scholars  as  properly  descriptive  of 
that  ancient  people  who,  branching  from  be- 
yond Assyria,  carried  their  tribes  into  North- 
ern Arabia,  across  the  Red  Sea  and  Upper 
Egypt  into  the  African  desert,  northward 
into  Armenia,  westward  into  Canaan,  and  far 
out  through  the  Mediterranean,  touching  the 
coasts  of  Africa,  and  reaching,  perhaps,  even 
to  Spain  and  Britain. 

3.  The  Hajhtic  Race.  The  name  of  this 
family  of  mankind  has  likewise  been  derived 
from  the  name  of  one  of  the  sons  of  Noah — 
Ham.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Semitic  division 
the  term  Hamitic  has  been  adopted  from  bib- 
lical language,  and  is  used  by  ethnologists 
and  historians  to  designate  that  branch  of 
the  human  race  which  taking  its  rise  some- 
where between  the  Caspian  and  the  Persian 
Gulf,  held  its  course  westward  through  Chal- 
dsea;  branched  to  the  south  around  the  sea- 
line  of  Arabia  into  Eastern  Africa ;  entered  by 
a  direct  migration  to  the  west  the  valley  of  the 
Nile,  and  further  on  peopled  the  whole  coast 
of  Northern  Africa;  branched  again  by  a  de- 
flection to  the  north,  and  passing  through 
Asia  Minor  may  have  entered  Southern  Greece 
and  Italy,  planting,  perhaps,  in  these  two  coun- 
tries the  primitive  tribes  afterwards  known  as 
Pelasgians  and  Etruscans.  But  whether  the 
latter  peoples  were  certainly  of  Hamitic  origin 
is  still  a  matter  of  dispute. 

It  has  not  been  well  established  whether 
the  ethnic  affinity  between  the  Chaldseans  and 
the  Egyptians,  already  referred  to  in  the  pre- 


ceding Book,  resulted  from  a  migration  of 
tribes  from  the  lower  Euphrates  to  the  valley 
of  the  Nile,  or  whether  the  migratory  move- 
ment was  in  the  opposite  direction  from  Egypt 
into  Chaldsea.  Certain  it  is  that  so  far  as 
history  is  concerned  the  Egyptians,  having 
developed  the  older  civilization,  may.  fairly  be 
regarded  as  the  older  people ;  and  the  pre- 
sumption would  be  that  the  migratory  move- 
ment by  which  race  relationship  was  established 
between  the  Egyptians  and  the  Chaldaeans  was 
from  the  west  to  the  east.^ 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  if  the  foregoing 
analysis  and  scheme  of  the  dispersion  of  the 
Ruddy  or  White  races  be  correctly  given,  the 
primitive  people  of  Upper  Mespotamia  be- 
longed to  the  Semitic  family,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Lower  Mesopotamia,  or  Chaldsea 
Proper,  to  the  Hamitic  family  of  mankind; 
and  the  student  of  history  will  from  the  pre- 
ceding discussion  have  little  difficulty  in  ap- 
prehending the  nature  of  the  relationship. 

More  than  the  other  peoples  of  antiquity 
the  ancient  Chaldseans  were  modified  by  con- 
tact with  neighboring  races.  Some  tribes  of 
brown  Turanians,  coming  from  the  north-east, 
appear  to  have  invaded  the  country  at  a  very 
remote  epoch,  and  by  settlement  therein  to 
have  amalgamated  with  the  Chaldseans.  Like- 
wise the  Semites  of  Assyria,  by  constant  inter- 
course, influenced  the  language  and  manners 
of  the  people  who  ruled  on  the  Lower  Eu- 
phrates. Nor  is  it  improbable  that  Aryan 
tribes,  by  early  contact  with  the  inhabitants 
of  Chaldsea,  may  have  contributed  some  ele- 
ments to  the  speech  and  character  of  the 
nation. 

What  we  know  of  the  personal  character- 
istics of  the  ancient  Chaldseans  has  been  gath- 
ered from  an  examination  of  the  physiognomy 
and  form  of  those  peoples  known  to  be  of  the 
Hamitic   race,  rather  than  from  the  existing 


'  Eawlinson  in  summing  up  the  evidence  on 
this  point  says:  "On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  seems 
most  probable  that  the  race  designated  in  Scrip- 
ture by  the  hero-founder  Nimrod,  and  among  the 
Greeks  by  the  eponym  of  Belus,  passed  from  East 
Africa,  by  way  of  Arabia,  to  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates  shortly  before  the  opening  of  the  his- 
torical period."  Rawlinson's  Ancient  Monarchies, 
Vol.  I.,  page  54. 


110 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


monuments  of  Chaldsea.  The  Ethiopians  are 
noted  for  their  swart,  reddish  complexion  and 
their  crisp  or  frizzled  hair.^  Herodotus  de- 
scribes the  people  of  Babylon  as  being  of  a 
dark  complexion  and  having  straight  black 
hair.'  The  Abyssinians,  the  Copts,  the  Arabs, 
and  the  people  of  Beloochistan  of  modern 
times  furnish  the  best  idea  of  the  features  and 
complexion  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Chal- 
dsea,  whose  color  seems  to  have  been  a  dark 
red-brown  or  copper-hue,  and  whose  person 
appears  to  have  been  well  proportioned  and 
somewhat  delicate  in  outline.  The  figure  of 
the  modern  Abyssinians  is  slender;  their  fea- 
tures regular  and  handsome.  The  forehead 
is  well  formed,  indicating  a  fair  degree  of 
intelligence;  the  eyes  are  dark  and  lustrous; 
the  nose,  straight  and  high ;  and  the  chin, 
firm  and  prominent.  Nor  are  the  lips  heavy 
and  repulsive,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Negro 
races  of  the  interior  of  Africa.  And  this, 
perhaps,  is  a  fair  type  of  the  Chaldsean,  who 
four  thousand  years  ago  gathered  dates  and 
built  cities  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates. 

The  Chaldseans  were  a  people  brave,  war- 
like, and  energetic.  The  proximity,  at  a  very 
early  period,  of  powerful  kingdoms  on  the 
east  and  north  was  calculated  to  stimulate  the 
military  spirit  in  repelling  invasion  and  mak- 
ing conquest.  Agriculture  was  the  one  fun- 
damental industry  suggested  by  the  character 
of  the  country.  While  this  pursuit  was  of  a 
kind  to  incite  the  energies  of  the  people,  it 
was  also  calculated  to  provoke  aggression  and 
thereby  to  kindle  the  spirit  of  war. 

In  ingenuity  and  skill  the  Chaldseans  dis- 
played both  natural  aptitude  and  acquired 
proficiency;  and  in  those  social  qualities  and 
dispositions  by  which  the  humanity  of  a  race 
is  so  well  estimated,  they  suffer  not  by  com- 
parison with  the  better  and  more  enlightened 
nations  of  the  ancient  world. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  name  Chaldcean 

'The  frizzled  hair  of  the  Ethiopians  does  not 
at  all  resemble  the  woolly  hair  of  the  Negroes, 
and  the  other  physical  characteristics  of  the  two 
races  are  equally  dissimilar. 

^  Hair  of  this  kind  lias  been  found  in  a  Chal- 
dsean  tomb  of  a  very  early  period,  the  quantity 
being  so  abundant  as  to  indicate  that  the  head  of  the 
occupant  had  been  profusely  adorned  by  nature. 


was  ever  employed  by  the  races  dwelling 
about  the  Persian  Gulf  to  designate  them- 
selves. Nor  is  it  likely  that  in  the  earliest 
times  this  appellative  was  used  by  the  people 
of  other  kingdoms  as  the  name  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Babylon  and  the  adjacent  regions. 
In  the  ninth  century  before  our  era  the  term 
Chaldcean  first  appears  in  the  Assyrian  in- 
scriptions. Later  the  word  was  generally  em- 
ployed as  the  name  of  the  people  of  Lower 
Mesopotamia.  The  historian  Berosus,  who  was 
certainly  competent  to  say  what  should  be  the 
race-appellation  of  his  own  people,  called 
them  Chaldseans.  The  home  of  Abraham  is 
mentioned  in  Genesis  as  Ur  of  the  Chaldees, 
though  this  does  not  imply  that  the  term 
"Chaldees"  was  used  as  eai'ly  as  the  times  of 
Abraham.  The  words  Chaldee,  Chaldsea,  etc., 
are  the  same  as  the  Burbur  word  Khaldi, 
meaning  the  Moon-god,  and  that  also  is  the 
meaning  of  the  word  Ur  or  Hur.  This  is  to 
say  that  Abraham  was  called  from  the  city  of 
the  Moon-worshipers,  or  the  city  of  the  Chal- 
dseans. In  the  later  Scriptures  the  word  is  of 
frequent  occurrence.  Habakkuk  says,  "Lo, 
I  raise  up  the  Chaldeeans,  that  bitter  and 
hasty  nation."  Isaiah  in  one  place  calls  Baby- 
lon ' '  the  daughter  of  the  Chaldseans,"  and  in 
another  "the  beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  excel- 
lency;" while  in  Job  we  are  told  that  "the 
Chaldseans  made  out  three  bands  and  fell 
upon  the  camels."  Among  the  Roman  authors 
the  word  is  of  frequent  occurrence,  being 
found  in  the  writings  of  Suetonius,  the  Annah 
of  Tacitus,  and  the  Satires  of  Juvenal.  This 
common  use  of  the  term  by  ancient  authors 
may  well  be  regarded  as  sufficient  authority  for 
the  retention  of  the  name  in  modern  writings.* 
Modern  investigations  have  shown  that  the 
primitive  inhabitants  of  Chaldsea  consisted  of 
four  principal  tribes.  On  the  monuments 
sovereignty  over  four  races  is  ascribed  to  the 
early  mouarchs,  and  the  inscriptions  speak  of 
four  tongues  or  dialects  among  the  people.  It 
is  not  probable  that  these  tribal  differences  of 


'This  peculiarity  in  the  naming  of  the  race 
whose  chief  capital  was  Babylon  has  its  parallel 
in  the  case  of  the  Greeks,  who,  though  called 
Greeks  ])y  all  the  world  besides,  never  even  heard 
of  such  an  appellation. 


CHALDJEA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


Ill 


speech  were  so  marked  as  to  indicate  diversity 
of  races,  but  rather  a  diversity  among  the 
branches  of  a  common  stock.  The  inscriptions 
show  that  the  Chaldee  was  indeed  a  composite 
language,  but  its  vocabulary  is  always  essen- 
tially Cushite  or  Hamitic,  just  as  the  English 
vocabulary,  though  composite,  is  fundament- 
ally Anglo-Saxon.  In  the  Chaldee  grammar 
there  are  strong  traces  of  Turanian  influence, 
just  as  in  English  the  impress  of  the  Latin 
models  which  were  dominant  in  the  minds  of 
the  British  monks  of  the  Middle  Ages  has 
been  stamped  upon  our  grammar. 

The  nearest  approach  found  among  living 
languages  to  the  ancient  Chaldee  is  in  the  dia- 
lects of  Abyssinia,  and,  among  ancient  tongues, 
in  the  language  of  Egypt.  ^  It  is  not  to  be 
disputed,  however,  that  Chaldee  contained  so 
many  foreign  elements  as  to  make  the  work 
of  classification  difficult,  and  to  give  plausible 
grounds  for  disputing  its  Cushite  character. 

Some  portions  of  the  grammar  of  Chaldsea 
have  been  satisfactorily  explained,  but  other 
parts  are  still  either  obscure  or  altogether  un- 
known. The  conjugation  of  the  verb  is  rep- 
resented as  exceedingly  complicated.  In  so 
far  as  the  process  has  been  explained  it  is  said 
to  be  somewhat  analogous  to  the  verb-forms 
in  Hebrew.     In  the  formation  of  the  objec- 


tive case  of  nouns  the  suffix  kii  is  added,  as 
in  Hindustanee.  The  plurals  of  nouns  and 
pronouns  are  formed  by  doubling  the  root- 
word.  Thus  the  pronoun  ni,  meaning  "  him," 
is  made  plural  by  reduplication,  nini  (equiv- 
alent to  him-him)  meaning  "them."  In  the 
formation  of  the  ablative  case  of  pronouns 
the  preposition  kita,  meaning  "  with,"  which 
generally  governs  that  case,  is  divided,  and  the 
governed  word  put  between  the  parts.  Thus 
kita  is  "with,"  and  7nu,  "me;"  but  the  ex- 
pression "with  me,"  instead  of  being  written 
kita  mu,  is  ki-mu-ta.  Ki-m,i-ta  means  "with 
US'"  ki-zii-ta,  "with  thee;"  ki-nini-ta,  "with 
them,"  etc.  This  is  as  if  we  should  say  in 
English,  "  wi-me-th,"  for  "with  me;"_"wi-w8- 
th,"  for  "with  us;"  "  wi-</iee-th,"  for  "with 
thee;"  "  \vi-them-th"  for  "with  them,"  etc. 
Several  other  peculiarities  of  Chaldee  have 
been  explained  by  Smith  and  Rawlinson,  but 
the  system  as  a  whole  is  but  poorly  under- 
stood, even  by  the  best  oriental  scholars. 

As  to  the  nature  of  the  writing  employed 
by  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Lower  Mesopo- 
tamia and  the  character  of  the  inscriptions 
which  they  have  left  to  modern  times,  these 
topics  will  be  discussed  in  a  succeeding 
chapter  on  the  Science  and  Art  of  the  Chal- 
dseans. 


Chapter  vill.— Chronolooy  and  annals. 


ONCERNING  the  antiq- 
uity of  the  Chaldsean 
Empire  we  have  the  tes- 
timony of  one  native  his- 
torian, Berosus.  This 
famous  annalist  flour- 
ished during  the  first 
half  of  the  third  century  before  the  Christian 
era.  He  was  a  priest  of  Bel  at  Babylon,  and 
had    access    to    the    records    of    his   country. 


'  A  few  equivalents  will  serve  to  show  the  af- 
finities of  Old  Chaldee — thus: 
English,  "after;"  in  Chaldee,  egir:  in  Abyssinian,  igria. 
"        "great;"  "         gula;  "  guda. 

"         "little;"  "  tura;  "  tuna. 

"         '"father;"  "  atta;  ■'  etea. 


Soon  after  the  conquest  of  Babylon  by  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  Berosus  wrote  a  History  of 
Chaldcea  in  Greek,  in  three  books,  and  dedi- 
cated the  work  to  Antiochus,  king  of  Syria. 
If  this  history  by  Berosus  had  been  preserved 
to  the  present  time  it  would,  no  doubt,  throw 
much  light  upon  many  of  the  vexed  questions 
of  antiquity.  Unfortunately,  the  work  has 
perished — except  a  few  fragments  which  were 
transcribed    by  Apollodorus    and    Polyhistor, 


English, 

"brother;"  in 

Chaldee 

sis ;  in  Abyssinian,  isha. 

'  road;" 

kharran;        "         kara. 

•  horse :  ' 

kurra;  in  Arabic,  gurra. 

"  mouniaia ;" 

gabri:              "       jabal. 

'river;" 

ar;                    "        nahr. 

"house;" 

e;     in  Egyptian.    ?. 

112 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


two  Greek  authors  of  the  first  century  B.  C, 
and  from  them  were  afterwards  quoted  by 
Eusebius  and  Syncellus.  It  is  only  from  these 
fragments  that  we  gather  a  Babylonian's  own 
views  of  the  previous  history  of  his  country. 

The  work  of  Berosus  begins  with  an  ac- 
count of  the  traditions  of  the  Chaldseans  con- 
cerning the  creation  of  the  world  and  the 
origin  of  man.  The  chapter  which  narrates 
the  genesis  of  things  runs  thus:  "  Once  all  was 
darkness  and  water.  In  this  chaos  lived  horrid 
animals,  and  men  with  two  wings,  and  others 
with  four  wings  and  two  faces,  and  others 
again  that  were  both  male  and  female.  Some 
had  the  thighs  of  goats,  and  horns  on  their 
heads ;  others  had  horses'  feet,  or  were  formed 
behind  like  a  horse  and  in  front  like  a  man. 
There  were  bulls  with  human  heads ;  and 
horses  and  men  with  the  heads  of  dogs  ;  and 
other  animals  of  human  shape  with  fins  like 
fishes ;  and  fishes  like  sirens ;  and  dragons, 
and  creeping  things,  and  serpents,  and  wild 
creatures,  the  images  of  which  are  to  be  found 
in  the  temple  of  Bel.  Over  all  these  ruled  a 
woman  of  the  name  of  Omorka.  But  Bel 
divided  the  darkness  and  clove  the  woman 
asunder,  and  of  one  part  he  made  the  earth, 
and  of  the  other  the  sun,  and  moon,  and 
planets ;  and  he  drew  off  the  water,  and  ap- 
portioned it  to  the  land,  and  prepared  and 
arranged  the  world.  But  those  creatures 
could  not  endure  the  light  of  the  sun,  and 
became  extinct. 

"When  Bel  saw  the  land  uninhabited,  and 
yet  fruitful,  he  smote  off"  his  head  and  bade  one 
of  the  gods  mingle  the  blood  which  flowed 
from  his  head  with  earth,  and  form  therewith 
men  and  animals  and  wild  creatures,  who 
could  support  the  atmosphere.  A  great  mul- 
titude of  men  of  various  tribes  inhabited 
Chaldsea,  but  they  lived  without  any  order, 
like  the  animals.  Then  there  appeared  to 
them  from  the  sea,  on  the  shore  of  Babylo- 
nia, a  fearful  animal  of  the  name  of  Oan. 
His  body  was  that  of  a  fish,  but  under  the 
fish's  head  another  head  was  attached,  and  on 
the  fins  were  feet  like  those  of  a  man,  and  it 
had  a  man's  voice.  Its  image  is  still  pre- 
served. The  animal  came  at  morning,  and 
passed   the   day   with   men.     But  it  took  no 


nourishment,  and  at  sunset  went  again  into 
the  sea,  and  there  remained  for  the  night. 
This  animal  taught  men  language  and  science, 
the  harvesting  of  seeds  and  fruits,  the  rules 
for  the  boundaries  of  land,  the  mode  of  build- 
ing cities  and  temples,  arts  and  writing,  and 
all  that  pertains  to  the  civilization  of  men." 

Such  is  the  mythical  account  of  the  origin 
of  things  as  related  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
history  of  Berosus.  The  next  part  of  the 
work  is  devoted  to  the  chronology  of  the  Chal- 
dsean  kingdom  from  the  creation  down  to  the 
sixth  century  before  our  era.  The  epoch  be- 
fore the  flood — for  Berosus  has  an  account  of 
a  deluge — is  assigned  to  ten  kings,  to  whom 
fabulous  reigns  are  allotted  as  follows: 

1.  Alorus,  a  Chaldsean,  who  reigned 36,000  years. 

2.  Aloparus,  son  of  Alorus,  who  reigned 10,800  " 

3.  Almelon,  a  native  of  Sippara,  who  reigned. ..46,800  " 

4.  Ammenon,  a  Chaldsean,  who  reigned 43,200  " 

5.  Amegalarns,  of  Sippara,  who  reigned 64,800  '' 

6.  Daonus,  of  Sippara,  who  reigned 36,000  " 

7.  Edorankhus,  of  Sippara,  who  reigned 64.800  " 

8.  Amempsinus,  a  Chaldsean,  who  reigned 36,000  " 

9.  Otiartes,  a  Chaldsean,  who  reigned 28,000  " 

10.  Hisuthrus,  the  Chaldsean  Noah,  who  reigned..64, 800  " 

A  total  of  ten  kings,  reigning 432,000  years 

After  the  flood  the  kings  of  Chaldsea  are 
divided  in  the  scheme  of  Berosus  among  nine 
dynasties.  At  the  close  of  the  first  of  these 
dynasties  we  pass  from  the  fabulous  to  the 
historical  era,  though  in  some  subsequent  parts 
it  must  be  allowed  that  conjecture  rather  than 
knowledge  has  filled  the  tables  of  numbers 
and  dates.  The  scheme  of  Berosus,  therefore, 
as  completed  by  modern  scholars  for  the  epoch 
after  Xisuthrus,  is  as  follows:^ 


I.  Chaldsean 

II.  Median 

III.  ?       

IV.  Chaldsean 

V.  Arabian 

VI.       ?       

VII.  Chaldsean  (Pul). 

VIII.       ?       

IX.  Babylonian 


NCUBEK    OP 
KINGS. 

KEIGNING. 

? 

? 

8 

406  years* 

11 

48     " 

49 

458     " 

9* 

245     " 

45 

526     " 

1 

28     " 

13 

122     " 

6 

87     " 

?  to  B.C.  2458^ 
2458  *  to  2052 
2052  to  2004 
2004  to  1546 
1546  to  1301 
1301  to  775 
775  to  747 
747  to  625 
625    to    538 


^The  three  numbers  marked  with  an  asterisk 
are  a  variation  from  the  computations  of  Rawlin- 
son,  who  makes  the  First  Dynasty  close  and  the 
Second  begin  with  the  year  B.  C.  2286  instead  of 
2458  as  given  above.  The  author  has  been  in- 
duced to  adopt  the  variation  by  a  discussion  in 
Duncker's  History  of  Antiquity,  Vol.  I.,  page  247. 

^  The  monumental  inscriptions  have  recently 
shown  that  there  were  as  many  as  fifteen  kings 
belonging  to  this  dynasty. 


CHALD^A.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


lib 


This  scheme  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  au- 
thentic except  in  particulars — mostly  unim- 
portant— which  are  marked  as  questionable. 
If  we  allow  but  a  century  to  be  occupied  with 
the  First  Dynasty  we  are  carried  back  to  the 
year  2550  B.  C.  as  the  approximate  date  for 
the  beginning  of  Chaldsean  history. 

To  Berosus  we  are  indebted  for  what  is 
known  as  the  Chaldsean  or  Babylonian  account 
of  the  flood.  The  narrative  is  full  of  interest 
as  tending  to  show  that  all  the  nations  having 
their  geographical  center  in  Mesopotamia  pre- 
served a  common  tradition  of  a  great  flood  of 
waters,  by  Avhich  the  country  was  deluged  and* 
the  people  destroyed.  The  narrative  as  given 
by  Berosus  is  as  follows: 

"In  this  year  the  god  Bel  revealed  to 
Xisuthrus  in  a  dream  that  in  the  fifteenth 
year  and  the  month  Daesius  there  would  be  a 
great  storm  of  rain,  and  men  would  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  flood  of  waters.  He  bade  him 
bury  all  written  records,  ancient,  mediaeval, 
and  modern  in  Sippara,  the  city  of  the  sun, 
and  build  a  ship  and  embark  in  it  Avith  his 
kindred  and  nearest  friends.  He  was  also  to 
take  food  and  drink  into  the  ship,  and  carry 
into  it  all  creatures  winged  and  four-footed. 

"Xisuthrus  did  as  he  was  bidden  and  built 
a  boat  fifteen  stadia  long^  and  two  stadia  in 
breadth,  and  placed  in  it  his  wife  and  child, 
his  relatives  and  friends.  Then  the  inunda- 
tion came.  When  the  rain  ceased  Xisuthrus 
sent  out  some  birds,  but  they  returned  to  the 
ship,  as  they  could  find  nothing  to  eat  and  no 
place  of  rest.  After  a  few  days  he  sent  out 
other  birds.  They  also  returned,  but  with 
mud  on  their  feet.  Then  Xisuthrus  sent  yet 
others,  and  they  never  returned.  Xisuthrus 
knew  that  the  earth  had  appeared.  He  took 
out  a  part  of  the  roof  of  his  boat,  and  per- 
ceived that  it  had  settled  down  on  a  moun- 
tain. Then  he  went  out  with  his  wife  and 
daughter  and  the  architect  of  the  boat.  He 
worshiped  the  earth,  and  built  an  altar  and 
ofiered  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  and  then  disap- 

'That  is,  nine  thousand  feet.  This  is  the 
length  given  in  the  fragment  of  Berosus  quoted  by 
Eusebius.  The  same  extract,  as  quoted  by  Syn- 
cellus,  makes  the  length  five  stadia,  or  three  thou- 
sand feet. 


peared,  together  with  those  whom  he  had 
brought  out  of  the  boat.  When  his  compan- 
ions whom  he  had  left  in  the  boat  had  gone 
out  and  were  in  search  of  Xisuthrus,  his  voice 
called  to  them  out  of  the  air,  saying  that  the 
gods  had  carried  him  away  in  reward  for  his 
piety;  that  he  with  his  daughter  and  the 
architect  Avere  dwelling  among  the  gods.  But 
the  others  Avere  to  return  from  Armenia, 
where  they  then  were,  to  Babylon,  and,  in 
obedience  to  the  command  of  the  gods,  dig  up 
the  books  buried  at  Sippara  and  give  them  to 
mankind.  They  obeyed  those  instructions. 
They  sacrificed  to  the  gods,  and  returned  by 
laud  to  Babylon.  They  digged  up  the  sacred 
books,  erected  many  cities  and  temples,  and 
rebuilt  Babylon.  On  the  Gordysean  moun- 
tains, where  it  settled,  remains  of  the  boat  of 
Xisuthrus  were  in  existence  for  a  long  time 
afterwards." 

This  account  of  the  great  flood,  as  given 
by  Berosus,  is  heightened  in  interest  by  com- 
parison with  the  later  and  more  ornate  tradi- 
tion of  the  same  event  as  found  recorded  in 
the  inscriptions  of  Assyria.  Among  the  ruins 
of  the  palace  of  Ashur-bani-pal,  an  Assyrian 
monarch  of  the  seventh  century  B.  C,  tablets 
have  been  found  from  Avhich  the  story  of  the 
flood  has  been  deciphered  in  terms  somcAvhat 
diflferent,  and  yet  strikingly  analogous  to  the 
old  Chaldtean  tradition.  The  legend  recorded 
on  the  tablets  runs  thus:  That  the  god  Hea 
commanded  Sisit^  to  build  a  ship  of  given  di- 
mensions and  to  launch  it  on  the  deep,  for  it 
was  his  purpose  to  destroy  sinners.  Then 
Hea  said: 

"When  the  flood  comes  which  I  will  send 
thou  shalt  enter  into  the  ship,  and  into  the 
midst  of  it  thou  shalt  bring  thy  corn,  thy 
goods,  thy  gods,  thy  gold  and  silver,  thy  slaves 
male  and  female,  the  sons  of  the  army,  the 
wild  and  tame  animals;  and  all  that  thou 
hearest  thou  shalt  do.  And  Sisit  gathered  to- 
gether all  his  possessions  of  silver  and  gold, 
all  that  he  had  of  the  seeds  of  life,  and 
caused  all  of  his  slaves,  male  and   female,  to 


'The  same  as  Xisuthrus.  In  the  writings  of 
Lucian  the  name  of  the  captain  of  the  deluge  is 
given  as  Sisythes,  which  is  evidently  a  form  inter- 
mediate between  Xisuthrus  and  Sisit. 


114 


UNIVERSAL  mSTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


go  into  the  ship.  The  wild  and  tame  beasts 
of  the  field  also  he  caused  to  enter,  and  all 
the  sons  of  the  army. 

"And  Samas,  the  Sun-god,  made  a  flood,  and 
said:  'I  will  cause  rain  to  fall  heavily  from 
heaven;  go  into  the  ship  and  shut  the  door.' 
Overcome  with  fear  Sisit  entered  into  the  ship, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  day  fixed  by 
Samas  the  storm  began  to  blow  from  the  ends 
of  heaven,  and  Bin  thundered  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  and  Nebo  came  forth,  and  over 
the  mountains  and  plains  came  the  gods,  and 
Nergal  the  Destroyer  overthrew,  and  Adar 
came  forth  and  dashed  down:  the  gods  made 
ruin;  in  their  brightness  they  swept  over  the 
earth. 

"The  storm  went  over  the  nations;  the 
flood  of  Bin  reached  up  to  heaven ;  brother 
did  not  see  brother;  the  lightsome  earth  be- 
came a  desert,  and  the  flood  destroyed  all  liv- 
ing things  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Even 
the  gods  were  afraid  of  the  storm,  and  sought 
refuge  in  the  heaven  of  Anu;  like  hounds 
drawing  in  their  tails,  the  gods  seated  them- 
selves on  their  thrones,  and  Istar,  the  great 
goddess,  spake :  *  The  world  has  turned  to  sin, 
and  therefore  I  have  proclaimed  destruction. 
1  have  begotten  men,  and  now  they  fill  the 
sea  like  the  children  of  fishes.'  And  the  gods 
upon  their  seats  wept  with  her.  On  the  sev- 
enth day  the  storm  abated,  which  had  de- 
stroyed like  an  earthquake,  and  the  sea  began 
to  dry.  Sisit  perceived  the  movement  of  the 
sea.  Like  reeds  floated  the  corpses  of  the 
evil-doers  and  all  who  had  turned  to  sin. 
Then  Sisit  opened  the  window,  and  the  light 
fell  upon  his  face,  and  the  ship  was  stayed 
upon  Mount  Nizir,  and  could  not  pass  over  it. 
Then  on  the  seventh  day  Sisit  sent  forth  a 
dove,  but  she  found  no  place  of  rest,  and  re- 
turned. Then  he  sent  a  swallow,  which  also 
returned;  and  again  a  raven,  which  saw  the 
corpses  in  the  water  and  ate  them,  and  re- 
turned no  more. 

"Then  Sisit  released  the  beasts  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven,  and  poured  a  libation,  and 
built  an  altar  upon  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
aud  cut  seven  herbs,  and  the  sweet  savor  of 
the  sacrifice  caused  the  gods  to  assemble,  and 
Sisit  praved  that  Bel  might  not  come  to  the 


altar.  For  Bel  had  made  the  storm  and 
sunk  the  people  in  the  deep,  and  wished  in  his 
anger  to  destroy  the  ship,  and  allow  no  man 
to  escape.  Adar  opened  his  mouth,  and  spoke 
to  the  warrior  Bel:  'Who  would  then  be 
left?'  And  Hea  spoke  to  him:  'Captain  of 
the  gods,  instead  of  the  storm  let  lions  and 
leopards  increase,  and  diminish  mankind;  let 
famine  and  pestilence  desolate  the  land  and 
destroy  mankind.'  When  the  sentence  of  the 
gods  was  passed,  Bel  came  into  the  midst  of 
the  ship  and  took  Sisit  by  the  hand  and  con- 
ducted him  forth,  and  caused  his  wife  to  be 
brought  to  his  side,  and  purified  the  earth, 
and  made  a  covenant;  and  Sisit  and  his  wife 
and  his  people  were  carried  away  like  gods, 
and  Sisit  dwelt  in  a  distant  land  at  the  mouth 
of  the  rivers."^ 

Traditions  of  a  flood  have  been  preserved 
in  all  countries  the  formation  of  which  has 
been  such  as  to  subject  them  to  the  danger  of 
overflow.  Egypt  is,  perhaps,  the  only  excep- 
tion, and  this  is  easily  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  the  inundations  of  the  Nile  were  so 
regular  and  so  beneficial  in  their  results  as  to 
be  desired  rather  than  dreaded  by  the  people. 
Legends  similar  to  those  of  the  Chaldseans 
and  Assyrians  have  been  found  among  the 
peoples  of  Armenia,  Thessaly,  Boeotia,  India, 
and  indeed,  in  all  countries  exposed  to  de- 
structive floods.  The  story  of  the  deluge  as 
narrated  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  Genesis  is 
a  record  of  the  same  event  as  that  given 
by  Berosus  and  stamped  on  the  Assyrian  tab- 
lets, though  the  Hebrew  account  is  in  a  more 
refined  and  elevated  form. 

The  period  at  which  the  great  flood  in 
Chaldsea  occurred  is  unknown.  The  dates 
given  in  Berosus  are  mythical,  and  are  based, 
no  doubt,  on  a  method  of  computation  not 
now  understood.  So,  also,  the  First  Dynasty 
of  kings  after  the  flood  covers  one  of  those 
fabulous  epochs  in  which  tradition  runs  riot 
and  history  gropes  in  blindness. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Second  Dynasty 
there  is,  as  yet,  only  a  tinge  of  the  morning 
dawn.     Here  it  was  that  Nimrod,  the  great 


^George  Smith's  Assyrian  Discoveries,  pp.  185- 
1P5;  also,  Duncker's  History  of  Antiquity,  pp.  243- 
245. 


CHALD^A.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


115 


hunter,  who  is  represented  as  being  a  descend- 
ant of  Cush,  flourished  in  Lower  Mesopota- 
mia. His  dominion  was  at  first  along  the  sea- 
coast,  but  Avas  soon  extended  northward  as  far 
as  Babel,  which  became  one  of  his  principal 
cities.  The  capital  was  Ur  or  Hur,  situated 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Euphrates  a  short 
distance  above  the  mouth.  The  other  chief 
seats  of  his  power  were  the  cities  of  Erech, 
Accad,  and  Calneh. 

Tradition  indicates  that  Nimrod  was  a  war- 
rior, as  well  as  a  hunter  of  wild  beasts.  As 
early  as  the  time  when  the  Book  of  Genesis 
was  composed  the  name  of  Nimrod  had  passed 
into  a  proverb.  The  mixture  of  good  and  bad 
in  his  reputation  is,  no  doubt,  attributable  to 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  tyrant 
as  Avell  as  a  defender — an  op- 
pressor of  the  people  as  well 
as  a  destroyer  of  lions.  Very 
little  is  known  of  the  details 
of  his  campaigns  or  the  meth- 
ods of  his  government,  but 
his  fame  has  reached  through 
the  intervening  ages  as  that 
of  Romulus  pervades  the  his- 
tory of  ancient  Rome. 

After  death  Nimrod  was 
deified,  and  Avas  ever  regarded 
by  the  Babylonians  and  As- 
syrians as  one  of  the  gods  of 
the  nation.  His  divine  title 
was  Bel-Nimrod,  signifying 
God  of  the  Chase.  The  city  of  Calneh,  as  the  chief 
seat  of  his  worship,  was  called  by  his  name, 
and  to  this  day  the  ruins  and  mounds  which 
are  so  abundantly  scattered  over  the  district 
where  the  great  hunter  once  held  dominion, 
are,  Avithout  distinction,  designated  by  the 
name  Nlmrud} 

Except  the  first,  the  successors  of  Nimrod 
were  less   famous.     Little  is  known  of  them 


or  their  deeds.  To  this  period  belongs  the  re- 
tirement of  the  Semitic  tribes  from  the  region 
about  Babylon  and  their  concentration  in 
Upper  Mesopotamia  on  the  Tigris.  The  prim- 
itive Phoenicians,  too,  living  on  the  borders 
of  the  Persian  Gulf,  alarmed,  perhaps,  at  the 
prowess  of  Nimrod,  migrated  westward  to  Ca- 
naan, and  founded  their  ancient  kingdom  on 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  Abraham, 
with  his  kinsmen,  left  Ur,  and  journeyed  first 
up  the  Eu^jhrates  and  afterwards  to  the  Avest. 
The  power  established  by  Nimrod  was  thus 
left  dominant  from  above  Babylon  to  the  sea. 
After  no  great  interval  the  mighty  hunter 
Avas  succeeded  by  Ueukh,  who  was  Avellnigh 
as  famous  for  monumental  grandeur  as  Nim- 


UR  OF  THE  CHALDEES. 


^  Notwithstanding  the  almost  universal  tradition 
of  Nimrod  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  thus 
far  no  single  inscription  or  monumental  trace  of 
him  or  his  reign  has  been  discovered.  If  the  exist- 
ing remains  of  Chaldaea  should  be  depended  on  as 
the  sole  source  of  our  knowledge  of  early  Baby- 
lonian history,  we  should  be  compelled  to  place 
the  beginning  with  the  succeeding  reign  of  Urukh 
and  to  omit  as  mvthical  the  story  of  Nimrod. 


rod  for  Avar.  Urukh  is  the  earliest  Chaldsean 
monarch  of  Avhom  existing  remains  bear  Avit- 
ness ;  of  him  the  testimony  is  abundant.  The 
burnt  bricks  and  tablets  containing  his  name 
and  inscri2:>tions  are  of  a  more  primitive  pat- 
tern than  those  of  any  other  period.  In  the 
mounds  and  ruins  the  references  to  this  king's 
reign  are  found  in  the  loAvest  position,  and 
the  style  of  Avriting  is  more  ancient  than  any 
other  yet  discovered  in  the  country.  The 
character  of  the  buildings  also  indicates  a 
very  remote  epoch.  The  bricks  are  unequal 
in  size,  and  clay  mixed  Avith  bitumen  is  the 
substitute  for  mortar. 

The  architectural  style  of  Urukh's  struc- 
tures, though  simple,  is  massive,  in  some  in- 
stances  suggesting   if  they  do  not   rival  the 


116 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


pyramids.  The  foundations  of  his  temples 
are  vast  platforms  of  masonry,  so  broad  and 
deep  as  to  suggest  a  Avaste  of  human  labor 
similar  to  the  prodigal  expenditures  of  toil  in 
the  works  of  ancient  Egypt. 

To  the  age  of  Urukh  belong  the  ruins  of 
Warka.  On  the  site  of  this  ancient  city '  is 
the  celebrated  mound  called  by  the  natives 
the  Boivariyeh.  The  general  shape  of  the  ruin 
is  that  of  a  cone  or  pyramid,  but  the  ravages 
of  time  have  marred  the  symmetry  of  the 
structure.  Modern  investigations  have  shown 
that  this  massive  pile  was  originally  a  tower 
two  hundred  feet  square  at  the  base  and  two 
stories  in  height.  The  first  story  was  built  of 
sun-dried  bricks  of  irregular  shapes  and  sizes. 
At  intervals  of  four  or  five  feet  layers  of 
reeds  were  placed  in  the  bitumen  to  give  cohe- 
rence to  the  whole.  In  the  upper  story,  now 
fallen  away  in  ruins,  the  central  part  Avas  also 
of  sun-dried  bricks  but  faced  on  the  outside  with 
bricks  which  had  been  hardened  by  burning. 

The  present  height  of  this  ancient  Chal- 
dsean  temple  is  about  one  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  plain.  But  little  is  known 
of  the  original  proportions  or  plan  of  the 
structure.  In  the  ruin  which  remains  the 
aaassive  buttresses  are  still  easily  traced,  and 
their  dimensions  indicate  that  the  temple  in 
its  entirety  was  one  of  great  height  and  grand- 
eur. All  the  liricks  comprising  the  buttresses 
are  stamped  Avith  inscriptions  and  the  layers 
are  firmly  cemented  Avith  bitumen.  The  cubic 
contents  of  the  entire  edifice  have  been  esti- 
mated at  three  million  feet,  and  the  number 
of  bricks  employed  in  building  it  at  thirty 
million. 

On  the  burnt  bricks  of  this  ruin  the  name 
and  praises  of  Urukh  are  of  constant  occur- 
rence. Sometimes  the  simple  name  of  the 
great  monarch  is  stamped  in  the  baked  clay. 
Sometimes  the  inscription  recites  that  "  Urukh, 
king  of  Ur,  king  of  Sumir  and  Accad,  has 
built  a  temple  to  his  lady,  the  goddess  Nana." 
Again  the  legend  runs  that  "Urukh  has  built 
the  temple  and  fortress  of  Ur  in  honor  of  his 
Lord,  the  god  Sin."  Or  again  the  words  are, 
"The  mighty  Lord,  king  of  Ur,  may  his  name 
continue ! " 

'  \n  Genesis  called  Evech- 


The  temple  of  Mugheir,  or  Ur,  also  belongs 
to  the  times  of  Urukh,  and  is  a  ruin  of  equal 
note.  Like  that  of  Warka,  it  lay  until  re- 
cently buried  under  the  rubbish  of  centuries. 
Carefully  conducted  excavations  have  now 
laid  bare  that  part  of  the  edifice  Avhich  has 
been  spared  by  the  elements,  and  the  explorer 
is  able  to  trace  the  outline  of  Avhat  Avas  once 
the  temple  of  the  Moon-god  Hur.  The  four 
corners  of  the  building — instead  of  the  four 
sides,  as  has  been  common  in  nearly  all  coun- 
tries ancient  and  modern — are  set  to  the  cardi- 
nal points  of  the  compass,'  so  that  the  longer 
sides  of  the  parallelogram  constituting  the 
ground-plan  lie  to  the  north-east  and  the 
south-Avest. 

The  foundation  of  this  edifice  is  raised 
tAventy  feet  above  the  level.  The  longer  sides 
of  the  base  are  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
feet  and  the  shorter  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  feet  in  length.  The  first  story  above 
the  basement  is  about  forty  feet  in  height. 
This  story  is  protected  Avithout  by  a  Avail  ten 
feet  in  thickness  composed  of  bricks  burnt  to 
redness  in  a  kiln  and  carefully  laid  in  bitumen. 
The  second  story,  now  mostly  fallen  away, 
has  been  of  the  same  shape  and  general  char- 
acter as  the  first.  Local  tradition  has  pre- 
served a  notion  of  the  third  story,  which  is 
represented  as  being  the  shrine  of  the  god  to 
Avhom  the  temple  Avas  erected.  Some  tiles 
glazed  Avith  a  blue  enamel  and  some  copper 
nails  have  been  discovered  in  such  a  position 
as  to  leave  the  impression  that  they  Avere  a 
part  of  the  materials  employed  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  immediate  shrine  of  the  deity. 

Ruins  similar  to  those  of  Warka  and 
Mugheir  are  found  in  many  parts  of  Chal- 
dsea.  Calneh  or  Nipur  and  Larsa  have  re- 
mains only  second  in  importance  to  those 
already  described.  Ever  and  anon  the  trav- 
eler comes  upon  some  enormous  heap  of  rub- 
bish Avhich  on  investigation  proves  to  be  the 
overgrown  Avreck  of  a  fallen  temple.  In 
Calneh  tAvo  of  these  mounds  are  found  cover- 
ing the  fragments  of  buildings  erected  during 
the  reign  of  Urukh.  Both  of  these  structures 
were  temples,  the  first  dedicated  to  Beltis  and 

^  Tins  feature  of  the  Mugheir  ruin  is  said  to 
be  common  to  all  Chaldsean  temples. 


CHALD^A.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


117 


BUILDING  OF  THE  TEiMPLE  OF  WAKKA,  TIME  OF  URUKH. 


118 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  other  to  Bel-Nimrod.  In  Larsa  the  ruins 
show  that  the  sun-god,  San,  was  worshiped  as 
the  tutelary  deity  of  the  city. 

The  capital  of  Urukh's  kingdom  was  the 
city  of  Ur.  In  the  inscriptions  he  is  some- 
times designated  as  king  of  Ur — sometimes  of 
Accad.  It  was  in  Ur  that  the  building  ener- 
gies of  his  reign  were  chiefly  displayed.  In 
the  ruins  of  this  city  his  inscriptions  are  more 
abundant  than  those  of  any  other  monarch. 
In  Upper  Chaldsea  the  traces  of  Urukh  are 
less  frequent.  Babylon  was  then  a  newly 
founded  town,  and  seems  not  to  have  risen  to 
importance  until  the  epoch  following.  After 
Ur,  Warka  held  the  second  rank  among  the 
cities  of  the  empire,  Larsa  and  Calneh  being 
next  in  importance. 

After  the  death  of  Urukh  the  kingdom 
descended  to  Ilgi,  his  son,  of  whom  neither 
traditions  nor  inscriptions  have  preserved  any 
lengthy  account.  The  royal  seal  or  signet 
used  by  the  Chaldsean  and  Assyrian  kings 
was  in  the  form  of  a  small  cylinder,  having 
figures  and  characters  engraved  in  the  surface. 
This  cylinder  when  rolled  upon  wax  or  other 
plastic  substance  left  the  king's  name  and 
emblems  set  in  relief  upon  the  material  used 
in  sealing.     In  one  of  the  mounds  near  Warka 

the  signet-cylin- 
der of  Ilgi  has 
been  discovered, 
and  is  now  pre- 
served in  the 
British  Museum. 
The  legend 
which  it  bears 
has  been  trans- 
lated as  follows:  "For  saving  the  life  of  Ilgi, 
from  the  mighty  Lord,  the  king  of  Ur,  son  of 
Urukh." 

By  King  Ilgi  the  public  works  of  Ur, 
begun  by  his  father,  were  carried  forward  to 
completion,  and  to  him  also  is  ascribed  the 
repairing  of  two  of  the  principal  temples  of 
Erech.  It  is  known  from  the  inscriptions  that 
both  Urukh  and  Ilgi  were  warlike  princes, 
and  that  in  addition  to  their  fame  as  builders 
they  won  by  force  of  arms  the  distinction  of 
being  known  to  after  ages.  Such  is  the  mea- 
ger outline  of  mingled  fact  and  tradition,  by 


THE  SEAL  OF  ILGI. 


which  the  First  Dynasty  of  Chaldsean  kings 
are  preserved  in  the  annals  of  modern  times. 

Meanwhile  in  the  country  of  Elam,  lying 
east  of  Chaldsea,  a  new  power  had  risen,  as 
warlike,  perhaps,  as  the  people  of  Ur  and 
Babylon.  The  capital  of  this  kingdom  be- 
tween the  Tigris  and  the  mountains  was  the 
ancient  city  of  Susa.  Around  this  center  the 
mixed  tribes  of  Aryans  and  Turanians  had 
gathered  into  a  monarchy  at  a  time  almost  as 
remote  as  that  of  the  founding  of  an  empire 
on  the  Lower  Euphrates.  In  the  obscure 
epoch  following  the  reign  of  Ilgi,  the  Elamite 
power  became  aggressive  and  made  war  upon 
the  Chaldteans.  Under  the  leadership  of  their 
great  king,  Kudur-Nakhunta,  they  overran 
the  country  as  far  north  as  Babylon,  sacked 
the  cities,  pillaged  the  temples,  and  carried 
off*  the  images  of  the  gods.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  Dynasty  II.,  the  kings  of  which 
are  designated  by  Berosus  as  Median — though 
without  sufficient  reason.  For  it  is  evident 
that  the  name  Elamite  or  Susianian  would 
more  properly  describe  the  monarchs  of 
this  line. 

Though  the  dominion  of  Elam  over  Chal- 
dsea was  thus  established  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  Elamite  kings  resided  in  the  latter 
country.  '  They  chose  instead  their  old  capital 
Susa,  and  governed  the  Chaldseans  by  vice- 
roys appointed  over  their  principal  cities.  Thus 
did  Kudur-Nakhunta  himself,  who  established 
tributary  kings  in  the  conquered  country. 
After  him  came  the  warlike  king  Kudur- 
Lagamer,'  who  while  retaining  his  own  court 
at  Susa  ruled  in  Mesopotamia  by  three  of  his 
vassals. 

Having  settled  the  affairs  of  the  countries 
already  under  his  authority,  Kudur-Lagamer 
resolved  on  a  great  expedition,  first  into 
Assyria  and  afterwards  into  Canaan  and 
Egypt.  Raising  a  large  army  he  advanced 
up  the  Euphrates,  and  thence  westAvard  against 
the  Canaauitish  tribes,  who  under  their  kings 
gathered  in  the  valley  of  Siddim  near  the 
Dead  Sea  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  eastern 
invader.  Here  was  fought  one  of  the  first 
great  battles  recorded  in  history.  Kudur- 
Lagamer   was  victorious,   and   the    kings  of 

*  The  Clie.dor-laomer  of  Genesis. 


CHALD^A.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


119 


Canaan  were  for  a  period  of  twelve  years 
brought  into  subjection.  After  this  they  re- 
belled, and  the   Elamite   monarch  was   again 


After  this  battle,  in  which  Lot,  the  nephew 
of  Abraham,  was  taken  prisoner,  the  Elamite 
army,  burdened  with  spoils  and  captives,  began 


KUDUR-LAGAMER  STORMING  A  TOWN  IN  CANAAN. 


obliged  to  come  against  them.  A  second  great 
battle  was  fought  near  the  scene  of  the  first, 
and,  as  before,  Kudur-Lagamer  was  completely 
victorious.  The  power  of  the  confederacy 
was  apparently  broken. 


to  withdraw  towards  Chaldsea,  but  when  in 
the  vicinity  of  Damascus,  Abraham  with  a 
band  of  followers  fell  upon  them  by  night  and 
drove  them  in  a  rout  across  the  desert.  It 
was   rather   a   panic   than   a   victory,  though 


120 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Abraham's  band  by  their  bold  onset  regained 
a  large  part  of  the  booty.  The  effect  of  the 
check,  however,  was  such  as  to  discourage 
from  further  invasion  the  king  of  Chaldsea. 

Of  the  subsequent  monarchs  of  the  Elamite 
or  "Median"  dynasty  only  three  are  known 
by  name,  and  of  the  first  of  these,  called 
Sinti-Shil-Khak,  nothing  except  the  name 
has  been  preserved.  The  second,  named  Ku- 
dur-^Iabuk,  is  honored  in  the  inscriptions 
with  the  title  of  "Conqueror  of  the  West." 
He  is  represented  as  having  enlarged  and 
adorned  the  city  of  Ur.  To  him  tradition 
also  ascribes  the  distinction  of  having  restored 
the  Chaldsean  religion,  which  had  been  dispar- 


RL'INS  OF  SUSA. 


aged  during  the  preceding  reigns.  The  tem- 
ples were  repaired,  and  the  old  gods  brought 
back  with  honor  to  their  pillaged  shrines. 
The  national  pride  of  the  Chaldseans  was  still 
further  gratified  by  the  removal  of  the  king's 
court  from  Susa  to  the  old  capital  Ur,  and 
this  city  continued  to  be  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment during  the  reign  of  Arid-Sin,  the  son 
and  successor  of  Kudur-Mabuk,  and  even  to 
the  end  of  the  Second  Dynasty,  B.  C.  2052. 
The  semi-authentic  annals  of  these  earlier 
periods  of  the  Chaldsean  Empire  give  place 
in  Dynasty  III.  to  mere  conjecture.  In  the 
scheme  of  Berosus  eleven  kings  and  a  period 
of  forty-eight  years  are  assigned  to  the  inter- 
val between  the  time  of  Arid-Sin  and  the  ac- 
cession of  the  fourth   line  of  monarchs.     Of 


the  history  of  events  during  these  uncertain 
years  no  scrap  has  been  recovered  from  either 
monument  or  tradition.  It  appears  to  have 
been  a  transitional  epoch,  during  which  the 
power  of  the  Elamite  kings  and  their  vice- 
roys in  Chaldsea  weakened  and  disappeared. 
Whether  the  sovereigns  of  Susa  became  less 
ambitious  of  foreign  dominion,  or  whether  the 
Chaldseans  recovered  by  revolt  and  war  their 
former  independence,  seems  undiscoverable 
from  the  remoteness  of  the  time  and  the  con- 
fusion of  the  period. 

The  Fourth  Dynasty  was  ushered  in  by 
the  establishment  of  a  line  of  native  sover- 
eigns, who  held  the  throne  of  Chaldsea  for 

f  o  u  r  hundred 
and  fifty-eight 
years.  The  kings 
of  this  line  were 
forty-nine  in 
number.  One 
of  the  earlier 
monarchs  of  the 
dynasty      was 

ISMI-D  AGON, 

who  certainly  oc- 
cupied the  throne 
before  the  mid- 
dle of  the  nine- 
teenth century 
B.  C.  His  reign 
is  chiefly  noted 
for  the  extension 
of  Chaldsean  authority  into  the  upper  part  of 
the  Mesopotamian  valley. 

The  ascendency  of  Bal^ylon  over  the 
country  afterwards  called  Assyria  dates  from 
this  period.  Shamas-Vul,  one  of  the  king's 
sons,  who  acted  as  his  viceroy  in  the  upper 
districts  of  the  empire,  built  a  temple  at 
Kileh-Shergat.  The  inscriptions  give  other 
evidences  of  the  preponderating  influence  of 
the  Chaldsean  monarchs  towards  the  north,  and 
show  conclusively  that  the  power  of  Assyria 
had  not  yet  risen  to  importance.  For  a  con- 
siderable period  the  affairs  of  this  kingdom — 
if  kingdom  it  may  be  called — continued  to 
be  administered  by  satraps  and  governors  sen 
out  from  Babylon. 

Ismi-Dasou  was  succeeded  on  the  throne 


CHALDyEA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


121 


by  a  son,  called  Gurguna.  This  king  is 
chiefly  remembered  as  the  builder  of  the  great 
cemeteries  at  Ur,  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
ruins  in  Chaldsea.  After  Gurguna  came 
Nakam-Sin,  doubtless  his  sou,  who  was  the 
builder  of  the  great  temple  in  the  city  of 
Agana.  His  reign  is  memorable  as  the  time 
when  the  seat  of  government  was  transferred 
to  Babylon,  which  by  this  epoch  had  grown 
to  be  the  metropolis  of  Chaldsea. 

The  tendency  to  remove  the  capital  farther 
and  farther  up  the  valley  betokens  the  increase 
of  population  in  Upper  Mesopotamia  and  the 
gradual  spread  of  civilization  northward.  The 
seat  of  the  Empire,  which  in  the  times  of 
Urukh  had  been  at  Ur,  was  transferred  first 
to  Warka  and  thence  to  the  more  recent 
Babylon,  where  it  remained  until  the  rise  of 
Assyria. 

The  date  of  Naram-Sin's  reign  was  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  B.  C. 
He  was  the  first  of  a  long  line  of  sovereigns 
in  the  Fourth  Dynasty  whose  names  add  the 
word  Sin,  the  same  being  the  Chaldee  appella- 
tive of  the  Moon-god,  whose  worship  was  a 
chief  element  in  the  religion  of  the  times. 

After  Naram-Sin  came  Sin-Shada,  who 
was  the  builder  of  the  upper  terrace  in  the 
temple  of  AVarka,  now  the  ruin  of  Bowariyeh. 
Next  was  Tur-Sin,  the  greatest  monarch  of 
his  times.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  city 
Abu-Sharein,  the  ruins  of  which  bear  witness 
to  the  introduction  of  a  new  style  of  architec- 
ture, improved  in  its  structural  character  and 
richer  in  ornament  than  the  building  of  pre- 
vious times.  Here  it  is,  also,  that  the  most 
satisfactory  traces  of  the  simpler  arts  are 
found.  Stone  knives  and  chisels  and  hatchets 
are  discovered  everywhere  in  the  ruins ;  but 
implements  of  metal,  except  a  few  imperfect 
specimens  of  gold  and  bronze,  are  wanting 
during  this  period.  Iron  seems  to  have  been 
used  only  in  ornaments  for  the  person. 

Of  Rim-Sin,  the  last  monarch  of  this  line, 
not  much  is  known,  except  what  is  contained 
on  a  single  tablet  found  among  the  ruins  of 
Ur.  Immediately  preceding  his  reign  was 
that  of  the  king  Nur-Vul,  whose  name  occurs 
in  the  list  of  Berosus,  but  of  whom  no  monu- 
mental record  has  been  discovered.     It  is  evi- 


dent, indeed,  that  during  the  times  of  the  Sin 
kings  the  power  of  the  Fourth  Dynasty  de- 
clined to  such  an  extent  as  to  invite  invasion 
and  conquest.  The  reigns  of  the  later  group 
of  these  raonarchs  covered  the  period  from 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  the 
year  B.  C.  1546. 

The  name  Arabian  is  given  by  Berosus 
to  the  Fifth  Dynasty  of  Chaldsean  kings. 
But  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  great 
conqueror,  Khammu-Rabi,  by  whom  Dynasty 
IV.  was  overthrown  and  supplanted,  was  out 
of  Arabia.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  dis- 
sensions and  weakness  of  the  Chaldsean  kings 
of  the  Si7i  series  had  made  the  country  an 
easy  prey  to  an  ambitious  leader  and  his 
armies,  from  whatever  quarter  they  might 
come. 

It  is  possible  that  the  conquest  of  Khammu- 
Rabi  was  no  more  than  a  revolution  efiected 
by  a  strong-willed  chieftain  of  one  of  the  lower 
Mesopotamian  cities.  According  to  Berosus 
this  dynasty  was  composed  of  nine  kings,  but 
the  names  of  fifteen  sovereigns  of  the  line 
have  been  deciphered  from  the  inscriptions 
and  tablets;  from  which  it  appears  that  in 
several  places  the  less  important  kings — per- 
haps those  who  reigned  for  a  shorter  time 
than  a  year — were  dropped  from  the  lists. 
Nor  is  it  quite  certain  in  what  order  the  reigns 
of  the  so-called  Arabian  monarchs  occurred. 

There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  first 
of  this  line  was  the  great  Khammu-Rabi, 
whose  name  is  associated  with  many  important 
enterprises.  He  it  was  who  introduced  the 
system  of  artificial  irrigation,  by  which  large 
districts  in  the  country  about  Babylon  were 
converted  into  gardens.  The  great  canal, 
afterwards  known  as  the  river  of  Khammu- 
Rabi,  through  which  the  waters  of  the  Eu- 
phrates were  carried  into  the  waste  places  be- 
tween the  rivers,  was  constructed  during 
this  reign.  A  Avhite  stone  tablet  preserved  in 
the  Louvre,  at  Paris,  recites  that  the  canal  cut 
by  Khammu-Rabi  became  a  blessing  to  the 
Babylonians,  converting  desert  plains  into 
well-watered  fields  and  spreading  around  fer- 
tility and  abundance. 

For  himself  Khammu-Rabi  built  a  new 
palace  at  Kalwadha,  near  the  present  site  of 


122 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Baghdad.  He  also  repaired  the  great  temple 
of  the  sun  at  Senkereh/  His  reign  extended 
from  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  B. 
C.  to  about  the  year  1520.  After  his  death 
the  crown  descended  to  his  son,  Samsu-Iluna, 
of  whom  only  one  series  of  inscriptions  have 
been  discovered.  His  reign  belonged  to  the 
last  quarter  of  the  century,  after  which  the 
lists  are  broken  by  a  gap  of  about  seventy-five 
years. 

With  the  reappearance  of  the  line  in  the  per- 
son of  Kara-In-Das,  we  come  to  a  group  of  five 
kings,  between  whom  and  the  monarchs  of  the 
rising  kingdom  of  Assyria  on  the  north,  po- 
litical relations  begin  to  appear.  It  is  the 
time  when  Assyria  first  competes  Avith  Chal- 
dsea  for  supremacy  in  Mesopotamia.  The 
chronology  becomes  more  certain,  inasmuch  as 
the  records  of  the  two  monarchies,  by  counter- 
references,  can  be  used  to  check  the  errors  of 
either.  Between  the  two  kingdoms  the  rela- 
tions were  sometimes  warlike  and  sometimes 
peaceful.  Now  a  treaty  is  made,  and  now 
the  violation  x)f  a  compact  leads  to  invasion. 
In  one  instance  a  revolution  occurs,  in  which 
the  Chaldsean  king,  Kara-Khar-Das  is  over- 
thrown and  killed  by  an  insurrectionist  named 
Nazi-Bugas,  whereupon  an  Assyrian  army 
marches  down  the  valley,  destroys  Nazi-Bugas, 
and  restores  to  the  throne  the  brother  of  the 
murdered  king.  At  another  time  the  daugh- 
ter of  Asshur-Upalit,  king  of  Assyria,  is  given 
in  marriage  to  Purra-Puriyas,  monarch  of 
Chaldsea,  and  indeed  on  every  hand  are  dis- 
covered the  traces  of  the  increasing  influence 
of  the  northern  kingdom.  The  last  of  the 
five  monarchs  just  mentioned  was  Kurri- 
Galzu,  relics  of  whose  reign  are  found  chiefly 
at  Mugheir'^  and  Akkerkuf. 

The  latter  city  is  reputed  to  have  been 
founded  by  this  king,  of  whom  it  contains 
several  important  inscriptions.  The  remain- 
ing sovereigns  of  the  Fifth  Dynasty  are  Saga- 
Raktigas,  who  built  a  temple  of  the  sun  at 
Sippara,  Ammidi-Kaga,  and  six  others,  whose 
names  occur  in  a  list  of  the  kings  in  such  a 
way  as  to  classify  them  with  Khammu-Rabi. 

Such  is  the  somewhat  meager  outline  of 
the    civil    and    political     history    of    ancient 

'  The  ancient  Larsa.  *  The  ancient  Ur. 


Chaldjea,  and  of  the  broken  genealogy  of  her 
princes  down  to  the  time  when  Assyrian  influ- 
ence became  dominant  in  Lower  Mesopotamia. 
The  date  of  this  event  has  been  fixed  at  B.  C. 
1301.  In  this  year  Tiglath-Adar,  king  of 
Assyria,  invaded  Chaldaea,  captured  Babylon, 
and  reduced  the  country  to  a  dependency  of 
his  empire.  It  is  not  to  be  understood  that 
the  power  of  Chaldsea  as  a  nation  was  de- 
stroyed or  that  the  political  condition  of  the 
country  was  very  greatly  changed  from  what 
it  had  been  during  the  times  of  the  Fourth 
and  Fifth  Dynasties. 

With  the  accession  of  Dynasty  VI.,  which 
is  said  by  Berosus  to  have  embraced  forty-five 
kings,  the  Babylonian  monarchs  became  and 
continued  mere  viceroys,  tributary  to  Assyria, 
so  that,  in  one  sense,  the  civil  history  of  Chal- 
dsea may  be  said  to  have  ended  with  the  As- 
syrian conquest.  However  this  question  may 
be  considered,  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth 
century  marks  an  epoch  in  the  progress  of  the 
Lower  Empire,  and  is  generally  regarded  as 
the  end  of  the  first  monarchy  established  on 
the  banks  of  the  Euphrates. 

The  ancient  kingdom  of  Chaldsea  was,  next 
to  Egypt,  the  oldest  civil  government  of  an- 
tiquity. The  conditions  under  which  the  em- 
pire was  established  were  very  similar  to  those 
which  gave  shape  to  early  civilization  in  the 
valley  of  the  Nile.  The  great  men  of  Chal- 
dsea were,  first  of  all,  Nimrod,  who  was  the 
Romulus  of  the  kingdom.  After  him  was 
Urukh,  the  Builder,  who  gave  to  Chaldsea  her 
material  grandeur.  Nimrod  warred  against 
the  adverse  elements  of  primitive  savagery ; 
Urukh  bestowed  colossal  energies  on  monu- 
mental forms,  and  left  his  memory  to  the 
temples  of  the  gods  rather  than  to  heroic  tra- 
ditions. Kudur-Lagamer,  likewise,  may  well 
be  regarded  as  great.  He  was  a  conqueror — 
one  of  the  earliest  known  to  history — and 
though  his  conquests  beyond  the  western  des- 
ert could  hardly  be  expected  to  remain  as  an 
integral  part  of  the  Empire,  yet  the  military 
impulse  given  by  him  to  the  nation  which  he 
ruled  continued  for  centuries.  For  a  short 
period  he  controlled  the  destinies  of  a  people 
who  were  dispersed  from  the  eastern  limits  of 
Susiana  to  the  Dead  Sea  on  the  west,  a  dis- 


CHALDjEA.— SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


123 


tance  of  twelve  hundred  miles,  while  from 
north  to  south  the  breadth  of  his  dominions 
was  scarcely  less  than  five  hundred  miles. 
Though  he  and  his  succesbors  were  unable  to 
retain  control  of  this  widely  extended  terri- 
tory, he  npvertheless  demonstrated  the  possi- 
bility of  establishing  vast  empires  embracing 
many  peoples  and  languages,  and  thus  became 
the  prototype  of  those  great  oriental  conquer- 
ors whose  deeds  constitute  so  large  a  part  of 
A.ncient  History. 

The  kingdom  of  ancient  Chaldsea  is  more 
interesting  to  us  from  its  antiquity  than  from 
its  territorial  extent  or  its  material  grandeur. 
At  a  time  when  all  the  rest  of  Asia  west  of  the 
Altais  and  the  Himalayas  was  slumbering  in 
night  the  Cushite  tribes  of  the  Lower  Eu- 
phrates emerged  from  darkness,  and  substi- 
tuted for  the  coarse  manners  of  barbarism  the 
institutions  of  primitive  civilization — the  home, 
the  city,  the  state.  These  people  betook  them- 
selves to  the  quiet  pursuits  of  the  field  and  to 
the  erection  and  decoration  of  the  temples  of 
the  gods,  while  the  Semitic  and  Aryan  tribes 
on  the  north  and  west  were  still  nomads,  prey- 
ing upon  nature,  living  by  the  chase. 

From  this  ancient  seat  of  refinement  a 
knowledge  of  science  and  letters  and  art  was 
gradually   diflfused    into    Assyria,    and    after- 


wards into  Media  and  Persia.  The  method 
of  writing  employed  by  the  various  races  in- 
habiting these  countries  is  all  traceable  to  the 
primitive  type  employed  by  the  Chaldseans. 
So  that  it  may  be  fairly  said  that  Chaldsea  was 
the  mother  of  civilization  in  Western  Asia. 

Belonging  to  the  period  here  considered 
(2458-1301  B.  C),  the  names  and  fragments 
of  the  histories  of  about  thirty  kings  have 
been  checked  oflT  from  the  lists  of  Berosus 
and  verified  by  existing  monuments.  Further 
researches  in  Lower  Mesoiaotamia  will  doubt- 
less yield  still  more  satisfactory  results;  and 
with  an  amount  of  exploration  and  scholarly 
criticism  equal  to  that  which  has  been  given 
to  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  it  is  probable  that 
Chaldsean  history  can  be  as  clearly  written  as 
that  of  Egypt.  For  the  present  we  are  com- 
pelled to  content  ourselves  with  an  outline, 
rather  than  a  narrative,  of  the  famous  king- 
dom founded  by  Nimrod  and  terminated  by 
the  conquest  of  Tiglath-Adar,  of  Assyria.  In 
connection  with  the  history  of  the  latter  coun- 
try, whatever  is  known  of  the  viceroys  reign- 
ing at  Babylon,  and  of  the  progress  of  the 
country  over  which  they  ruled  down  to  the 
times  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  will  be  narrated  as 
it  is  suggested  by  the  more  important  history 
of  the  Assyrians. 


CHAPTER    IX.— SCIENCE    AND    ART. 


jOR  their  learning  the 
Chaldseans  have  been  pro- 
verbial for  three  thousand 
years.  Doubtless  the 
country  at  the  head  of 
the  Persian  Gulf  was  that 
land  of  fabulous  wisdom 
known  by  the  ancients  as  the  East.  The 
great  poets  and  historians  of  Rome  designated 
by  the  name  Chaldean  whoever  was  fam- 
ous in  a  knowledge  of  the  stars,  the  lore  of 
books,  and  the  gift  of  prophecy.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  long  before  the  language  of  the 
Hebrews  became  a  fit  vehicle  for  literary  ex- 
pression there  were  in  Lower  Mesopotamia 
N.— Vol.  1—8 


men  worthy  to  be  called  philosophers.  The 
traditions  of  antiquity  point  to  two  cities  as 
the  fountains  of  human  wisdom — Memphis  in 
Egypt,  and  Babylon  of  the  Chaldees. 

But  learning  and  philosophy  grow  up 
slowly.  They  have  their  roots  in  those  homely 
arts  by  which  human  life  is  sustained  and  in- 
vigorated. All  the  refinements  of  civilization 
rest  upon  the  two  fundamental  facts  of  agri- 
culture and  architecture.  The  first  stage  of 
the  evolution  out  of  barbarism  is  marked  by 
plowing  and  building.  Where  the  plow  is 
unknown  and  the  hammer  unheard,  the  tribes 
of  men  will  never  reach  beyond  the  develop- 
ment of  hunters  and  nomads. 


124 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  ancient  Chaldsea  the  agricultural  life 
■was  vividly  suggested  by  the  aspect  and  char- 
acter of  the  valley.  A  level  and  unobstructed 
alluvial  plain  stretched  from  river  to  river. 
What  seeds  soever  were  scattered  in  this  mel- 
low soil  sprang  into  vigorous  life.  The  prim- 
itive dwellers  in  these  flats  were  abundantly 
and  certainly  rewarded  for  their  labor.  The 
native  grains  and  fruits  were  refined  by  culti- 
vation, and  the  overplus  of  the  harvest  sug- 
gested new  wants  and  the  possibilities  of 
commerce. 

The  most  fruitful  of  the  districts  soon 
gathered  the  most  enterprising  population. 
The  growing  village  gave  token  of  progress. 
Then  came  the  town,  the  city,  the  temples  of 
the  gods.  The  earliest  buildings  of  Chaldsea 
were  cabins  constructed  by  bending  into 
arches  the  tall  stems  of  growing  plants,  inter- 
woven with  reeds,  and  covered  with  mats  of 
rushes.  Soon  the  strong  trunk  of  the  palm- 
tree  was  substituted  for  the  native  reed  in  the 
construction  of  the  frame,  and  instead  of  a 
barricade  of  matting,  a  coat  of  plastering, 
composed  of  mud  and  bitumen,  was  laid 
upon  the  wall. 

In  a  mild  and  equable  climate  such  houses 
might  well  suffice  for  the  abodes  of  men. 
Villages  and  towns  might  be  so  constructed, 
wherein  civilized  peoples  could  live  in  comfort 
and  prosperity.  But  as  society  advanced  the 
religious  impulse  and  public  spirit  cooperated 
to  demand  and  to  produce  a  higher  style  of  ar- 
chitecture. The  temples  of  the  gods  must  be 
imposing  and  ornate,  and  to  this  end  some 
material  more  enduring  than  reeds  and  trunks 
of  palms  must  be  procured.  In  this  stage  of 
their  development  men  generally  resort  to 
stone ;  but  the  Chaldseans  were  here  at  a  dis- 
advantage. What  nature  has  so  abundantly 
supplied  in  most  countries  is  entirely  wanting 
in  Lower  Mesopotamia.  In  the  whole  coun- 
try between  Samarah  and  the  sea  there  is  not 
a  single  quarry  of  stone.  The  peculiar  char- 
acter of  early  Babylonian  architecture  can  be 
traced  to  this  remarkable  feature  in  the  physical 
structure  of  the  country.  The  Arabian  quar- 
ries on  the  west  yielded  only  a  coarse  sand- 
stone ;  the  distance  was  great,  and  the  inter- 
vening plain,  for  the  most  part,  an  oozy  and 


impassable  marsh.  The  absence  of  neighbor- 
ing hills, 

"  Rock-ribbed  and  ancient  as  the  sun," 

imposed  on  the  Chaldeans  the  necessity  of 
selecting  from  the  bosom  of  nature  some  ma- 
terial less  endui'ing  than  that  which  has  given 
immortality  to  the  ruins  of  Egypt.  Except 
to  a  very  limited  extent  and  only  in  peculiar 
situations,  such  as  in  the  exposed  part  of  an 
important  wall,  is  any  stone  found  among  the 
remains  of  Babylonian  greatness. 

Clay  in  the  form  of  bricks  and  tiles,  was 
the  natural  substitute,  and  of  this  an  excellent 
article  was  abundantly  procurable. 

In  the  more  ancient  ruins  of  Chaldsea,  the 
bricks  are  of  the  sun-dried  variety;  and 
though,  in  those  parts  which  have  been  freely 
exposed  to  the  action  of  the  elements  only 
dust  and  shapeless  fragments  remain,  yet,  in 
the  inner  and  more  protected  situations  the 
bricks  are  as  well  preserved  and  firm  as  when, 
four  thousand  years  ago,  they  were  laid  in 
wall  and  buttress.  The  introduction  of  the 
kiln  so  greatly  improved  the  quality  of  bricks 
as  to  make  them  a  fair  substitute  for  stone, 
nor  does  it  appear  that  the  art  of  hardening 
clay  by  the  action  of  fire  has  been  much  im- 
proved beyond  the  primitive  methods  em- 
ployed by  the  masons  of  Chaldrea. 

The  early  builders  of  the  Mesopotamian 
towns  generally  used  both  kinds  of  bricks  in 
the  same  edifice,  constructing  the  central  parts 
and  inner  walls  of  the  sun-dried  variety  and 
facing  the  walls  without  and  parts  exposed 
with  bricks  burnt  in  a  kiln.  The  harder  and 
more  durable  material  was  thus  made  to  pro- 
tect the  perishable  from  disintegration  under 
the  action  of  the  weather.  In  cases  where 
buildings  were  constructed  wholly  of  bricks 
baked  in  the  sun,  the  walls — otherwise  weak 
and  unstable — were  strengthened  by  building 
in,  at  intervals  of  four  or  five  feet,  thick 
layers  of  reed  matting,  which  were  allowed  to 
project  beyond  the  edge  of  the  wall,  thus 
forming  an  external  protection  as  well  as  giv- 
ing coherence  to  the  mass.  The  burnt  bricks  of 
Chaldsea  were  large  in  size  and  in  shape  pecul- 
iar. The  side  surface  was  near  a  foot  square, 
and   the   thickness  about   two  and  a  fourth 


CHALD^A.— SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


125 


inclies.  Those  bricks  which  were  intended 
for  the  corners  and  angles  were  molded  in 
triangular  form  or  other  shapes  adapted  to 
the  purpose,  while  such  as  were  intended  for 
the  arches  were  given  the  shape  of  wedges. 

In  color  the  kiln-dried  bricks  were  gener- 
ally of  a  yellowish  tinge,  sometimes  a  dark 
blue,  or  more  rarely  a  pale  red.  The  sun- 
baked bricks  were  more  variable  in  size,  some 
being  as  small  as  six  inches  square  by  two 
inches  thick,  and  some  being  as  much  as  seven 
inches  in  thickness  by  sixteen  inches  in  length 
and  breadth.  The  color  of  these  is  scarcely 
darker  than  the  native  clay,  which,  owing  to 


BRICK   OF  BABYLON,  TWELVE  INCHES  SQUARE.' 

the  absence  of  iron  in  the  soil,  is  much  lighter 
than  in  most  countries. 

In  order  to  cement  their  walls  into  a  com- 
pact mass  the  Chaldseans  employed  two  kinds 
of  mortar.  The  first  was  mere  clay  or  mud 
mixed  with  chopped  straw,  the  other  bitumen. 
The  latter  was  the  better  material,  binding  to- 
gether so  firmly  the  bricks  between  which  it 
was  placed  that  even  at  the  present  day  they 
can  not  be  separated  without  a  heavy  blow. 
The  use  of  bitumen  succeeded  the  use  of  clay 
at  the  same  time  that  the  kiln-burnt  suc- 
ceeded the  sun-dried  variety  of  bricks. 

The  principal  ruins  of  ancient  Chaldsea — 
Bowariyeh  and  Mugheir — have  already  been 
described  in  connection  with  the  reign  of 
Urukh.  The  temple  of  Abu-Sharein  was  of 
the  same  general  character,  though  somewhat 

^  The  inner  inscription  contains  the  name  of 
Nebuchadnezzar. 


more  refined  in  its  proportions  and  style  than 
were  the  edifices  at  Warka  and  Ur.  It  is  one 
of  the  few  structures  of  true  Chaldsean  date 
in  which  stone  is  extensively  employed.  The 
proximity  of  a  quarry  in  the  neighboring 
Arabian  hills  is  sufiicient  to  explain  this  rare 
departure  from  the  use  of  brick ;  but  it  is  not 
so  easy  to  account  for  the  presence  of  pieces 
of  agate,  alabaster,  and  marble,  carefully  cut 
and  polished,  which  have  been  discovered  in 
abundance  scattered  about  the  base  of  the 
edifice.  Small  plates  of  gold  and  gilt-headed 
nails,  employed,  no  doubt,  in  internal  orna- 
mentation, have  likewise  been  found  in  the 
ruin. 

The  Chaldsean  temples,  though  massive 
and  imposing,  were  evidently  wanting  in 
architectural  beauty.  In  the  level  and  un- 
varying plain  in  which  they  were  situated, 
they  were,  no  doubt,  grand  and  impressive  ob- 
jects; but  the  absence  of  external  ornament 
and  of  the  thousand  effects  which  art  so 
readily  produces  in  the  construction  of  great 
buildings,  must  have  rendered  the  temples  of 
Lower  Mesopotamia,  with  their  somber  outer 
walls  and  huge  buttresses  and  unsightly  air- 
holes, devoid  of  beauty  and  attractiveness. 

In  the  inner  parts,  especially  in  the  sacred 
shrine  of  the  deity  to  whom  the  temple  was 
dedicated,  considerable  artistic  skill  was  dis- 
played in  ornamenting  the  wood-work  and  the 
images  of  the  god.  Plates  of  blue  enamel, 
nails  of  copper  and  of  gold,  and  the  bits  of 
alabaster  already  referred  to,  indicate  that  the 
inner  shrines  of  temples  were  decorated  in 
a  pleasing  and  artistic  manner;  but,  beyond 
this,  the  great  structures  of  Chaldsea  were, 
like  the  pyramids,  dependent  for  their  effect 
upon  the  mere  grandeur  and  massiveness  of 
their  aspect. 

Of  the  common  buildings  —  dwellings, 
houses,  huts — not  much  is  known.  Only  a 
few  structures  of  this  sort  have  been  pre- 
served. The  outlines  of  one  dwelling-house 
have  been  traced  in  the  excavations  made  at 
Ur.  The  foundation  was  a  brick  platform, 
raised  considerably  above  the  surface.  The 
house  itself  was  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  irregu- 
lar in  outline  and  wanting  in  symmetry  of 
proportions.     The  floors  were  of  burnt  brick 


126 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


well  laid  in  bitumen,  and  the  walls  were  plas- 
tered with  gypsum.  In  the  chambers  of  a 
house  discovered  at  Abu-Shareiu  more  elabo- 
rate decoration  is  found.  The  walls  are  orna- 
mented with  designs  in  color-frescoes  in  red, 
black,  and  white ;  figures  of  birds,  beasts,  and 
men,  carefidly  drawn  on  the  fine,  firm  plaster 
of  the  walls. 

The  compartments  of  Chaldsean  houses 
were  generally  long  and  narrow,  and  into 
these  doors  opened  directly  from  without. 
The  roofs  were  principally  of  wood,  and 
framed  so  as  to  lie  flat  from  wall  to  wall. 
Sometimes  an  arched  roof  is  found,  high  and 
regular,  well  built  of  bricks  and  pointed  with 
bitumen. 

By  what  means  the  light  was  admitted  into 
the  Chaldsean  houses  the  excavations  have 
thus  far  failed  to  show.  No  windows  have 
been  discovered  in  the  walls ;  but  this  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  only  the  lower 
part  of  the  walls,  to  the  height  of  six  or 
eight  feet,  remain  of  what  was  once  a  story  of 
considerable  elevation.  It  is  to  be  greatly  re- 
gretted that  the  building  material  employed 
by  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Chaldsea  was 
not  like  that  of  Egypt — everlasting. 

After  the  buildings,  public  and  private, 
which  have  been  preserved  on  the  banks  of 
the  Lower  Euphrates,  the  objects  of  next  im- 
portance to  the  historian  are  the  burying- 
places  of  the  dead.  The  tombs  of  Chaldsea 
are  so  plentiful  and  so  thickly  populated  as  to 
give  rise  to  the  conjecture  that  the  dead  of 
the  Assyrians  were  brought  from  the  north  to 
be  interred  in  the  sacred  land.  The  quantity 
of  human  remains  in  certain  burying-grounds 
is  thought  to  be  too  great  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  people  of  the  adjacent  district. 
Large  spaces  are  literally  filled  with  bones 
and  relics  of  the  dead.  Sometimes  the  coffius 
have  been  piled  one  upon  another  to  the 
depth  of  frovi  thirty  to  sixty  feet,  and  for  miles 
out  into  the  desert  the  very  soil  underfoot 
seems  to  be  nothing  but  the  accumulated  dust 
of  dead  races. 

In  some  of  these  localities  the  relics  are 
from  widely  separated  epochs;  but  in  other 
places  the  remains  are  homogeneous,  being 
evidently  gathered   from   a   given    period   of 


ChaldjBan  history.  The  position  and  quality 
of  the  relics,  the  nature  of  the  accompanying 
ornaments,  and  particularly  the  character  of 
the  coffins  in  which  the  remains  are  inclosed, 
are  generally  sufficient  to  determine  the  date 
at  which  the  burying-ground  was  peopled. 
None  of  the  remains  found  in  these  vast  char- 
nels  belong  to  a  time  more  recent  than  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century  B.  C,  while 
many  are  to  be  referred  to  the  earlier,  even 
the  earliest,  epochs  of  the  national  history. 

In  disposing  of  the  dead  the  Chaldseans 
employed  several  methods  of  sepulture.  In 
the  first  of  these  the  body  was  laid  prone  in  a 
brick  vault.  The  chamber  was  about  seven 
feet  in  length  by  three  and  a-half  feet  in 
breadth  and  five  feet  high.  The  floor  and 
walls  were  made  of  sun-dried  bricks  carefully 
laid  in  mud  or  bitumen,  and  the  side  walls 
were  closed  in  above  with  an  arch.  On  the 
floor  was  spread  a  matting  of  reeds,  and  on 
this  the  body  was  laid  so  as  to  rest  on  the  left 
side.  The  fingers  of  the  right  hand  were 
placed  upon  a  copper  bowl,  which  was  set  in 
the  palm  of  the  left.  A  single  brick  was 
placed  beneath  the  head  for  a  pillow.  Articles 
of  ornament  and  use  were  set  in  different 
parts  of  the  vault,  and  vessels  containing  food 
and  drink  were  placed  near  the  head  of  the 
dead.  Vaults  of  this  style  seem  to  have  been 
in  many  instances  family  tombs,  the  remains 
of  several  bodies  being  frequently  found  in 
the  same  chamber.  Besides  the  brick  vaults, 
several  kinds  of  coffins  were  used  in  earth 
burial.  The  first  of  these  was  a  burnt  clay 
box  in  the  shape  of  the  cover  of  a  dish.  In 
the  bottom  of  the  tomb  a  foundation  was  laid 
of  bricks.  This  was  covered  with  mats,  as  in 
the  brick  vaults;  on  these  mats  the  body  of 
the  dead  was  laid,  and  over  the  body  a  large 
earthenware  trough  was  turned  so  as  to  inclose 
and  cover  the  remains.  The  huge  dish  thus 
inverted  over  the  dead  was  generally  seven 
feet  long,  two  and  a-half  feet  broad  at  the 
bottom,  and  three  feet  high.  The  covers  in 
the  graves  of  children  were  only  about  one- 
half  the  size  of  those  in  the  tombs  of  adults, 
the  latter  being  the  largest  specimens  of  pot- 
tery which  have  been  discovered  in  any 
country.     In   a   few   instances   two   skeletons 


CHALD^A.— SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


127 


have  been  found  under  a  single  cover,  but  in 
most  cases  only  one  body  was  placed  under 
each  coffin.  Arranged  about  the  dead,  as  in 
the  family  vaults,  articles  of  food  and  orna- 
ment were  set,  the  disposition  of  the  body 
being  as  in  brick  chambers  already  described. 
The  dish-cover  coffins  were  buried  at  a  great 
depth,  none  of  those  discovered  at  Mugheir 
being  within  less  than  seven  or  eight  feet  of 
the  surface.^ 

Another  kind  of  coffins  employed  by  the 
Chaldseans  consisted  of  two  large  earthenware 
vessels,  shaped  like  ancient  water-jars,  set 
mouth  to  mouth  and  sealed  with  bitumen. 
Each  jar  was  about  three  feet  deep,  the  whole 
inner  space  of  six  feet  being 
sufficient  to  contain  the  body 
of  a  full-sized  adult.  Within 
the  earthen  cylinder  thus 
formed  by  setting  the  two 
jars  mouth  to  mouth  the 
dead  was  placed,  and  the 
whole  covered  with  earth. 
For  it  was  the  manner  of 
the  Chaldseans  to  arrange 
the  coffins  containing  the 
bodies  of  their  dead  in  rows 
on  the  ground  and  then 
cover  them  from  sight, 
gradually  raising  a  mound 
over  the  place  selected  for 
burial.  When  a  sufficient  depth  had  been 
attained,  another  layer  was  placed  above  the 
first,  and  then  another,  till  the  surface  of  the 
mound  was  sometimes  raised  sixty  feet  above 
the  original  level. 

The  sepulchral  mounds  were  carefully 
drained.  Long  shafts  of  clay  tiling  extended 
from  the  surface  to  the  original  ground  level, 
insuring  a  perfect  drainage.  The  shafts  were 
composed  of  a  succession  of  rings  or  joints 
about  two  feet  in  diameter,  each  joint  being 
skillfully  fitted  into  the  next  and  sealed  with 
bitumen.     At  the  top  each  shaft  contracts  to  a 


diameter  of  about  six  inches.  The  whole  tube 
is  filled  within  and  packed  without  with  a 
mass  of  broken  pottery,  the  whole  being 
as  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  of  a  perfect 
drain  as  any  modern  contrivance.  By  the 
means  here  described  the  tomb-mounds  of 
Lower  Mesopotamia  have  been  completely 
preserved  from  the  effects  of  dampness,  the 
contents  being  generally  found  as  dry  as  the 
dust  of  dust. 

Their  large  dish-cover  coffins  and  huge 
stacks  of  drainage  tiling  show  the  Chaldseans 
to  have  been  unusually  skillful  in  the  design 
and  manufacture  of  potteries.  Other  specimens 
of  their  work  are  more  elegant  and  artistic. 


^  It  is  quite  probable  that  a  part  of  this  unusual 
depth  of  burial  may  be  accounted  for  on  the  sup- 
position of  subsequent  accumulation  on  the  sur- 
face. The  ''rain  of  dust,"  continuing  for  some 
thousands  of  years,  has  no  doubt  heaped  upon  the 
Chaldsean  dead  some  additional  depth  of  earth. 


GLAZED  COFFINS,   FROM  WABKA. 

Many  jars,  vases,  and  drinking-cups,  belong- 
ing to  the  earlier  times  of  the  monarchy,  bear 
evidence  of  careful  manipulation  and  beauty 
of  finish.  Some  are  of  rude  and  primitive 
patterns,  resembling  the  aboriginal  pottery  of 
Mexico  and  Peru;  but  others  are  produced 
from  the  finest  clay,  skillfully  turned  on  the 
potter's  wheel,  and  of  designs  equaling  in 
beauty  the  second  class  of  Greek  vases.  In  a 
few  instances  the  artist  has,  with  considerable 
success,  imitated  the  forms  of  animals,  but 
this  kind  of  art  is  generally  found  on  burnt 
tablets  prepared  especially  to  contain  the  re- 
liefs. In  such  works  the  figures  most  fre- 
quently modeled  are  those  of  lions,  bulls,  and 
men,  and  the  prevailing  idea  is  that  of  a  com- 
bat— the  man  overcoming  the  lion  or  the  lion 
devouring  the  man. 

Of  the  signet-cylinders  mention  has  been 


128 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— TSE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


made  in  a  previous  chapter.  These  peculiar 
official  ornaments  were  generally  of  jasper  or 
chalcedony,  and  were  used  by  their  owners  to 
impress  their  seals  on  soft  clay  tablets  employed 
in  writing.  The  cylinders  were  about  a-half 
inch  in  diameter  by  three  inches  in  length. 
Through  the  axis  a  hole  was  bored  and  a  metal 
parallelogram — bronze  or  copper — one  side  of 
which  passed  through  the  opening,  was 
attached,  and  by  means  of  this  the  cylinder 
was  rolled  upon  the  tablet.  The  ornament 
was  suspended  to  the  Avrist  or  neck  of  the 
owner  by  a  chain  or  string  fastened  to  the 
metal  frame.  On  the  surface  of  the  signet,  as 
already  noticed,  the  design  of  the  seal  adopted 
by  the  wearer  was  cut  in  reverse,  so  that  the 
impression  was  made  in  relief.  The  engraving 
presented  in  these  ancient  relics  of  a  dead 
empire  is  frequently  of  such  elegance  and 
delicacy  as  to  excite  the  admiration,  if  not  the 
envy,  of  modern  lapidaries. 

The  tools  and  implements  employed  by  the 
Chaldseans  were  rude  and  imperfect.  In  the 
oldest  ruins  flint  knives,  hatchets,  and  ham- 
mers of  stone  abound,  while  articles  of  bronze 
are  less  plentifully  distributed.  Of  the  latter 
material  the  specimens  are  chiefly  arrow-heads, 
knives,  hatchets,  and  sickles.  The  stone  im- 
plements are  generally  indicative  of  some 
progress  in  the  use  of  materials  and  the  adap- 
tation of  means  to  ends,  but  in  many  instances 
the  tools  are  of  so  primitive  a  form,  and  so 
rudely  fashioned,  as  to  excite  surprise  that  the 
articles  produced  with  them  should  exhibit 
so  much  elegance. 

At  the  first  the  precious  metal  of  the  Chal- 
dseans was  iron,  its  use  being  limited  to  orna- 
mentation. Several  of  the  other  metals — silver, 
zinc,  platinum — were  unknown.  Articles  of 
gold  and  copper  are  plentifully  found  in  the 
mounds,  while  relics  of  tin  and  lead  are  ex- 
tremely rare.  Gold,  like  iron,  was  chiefly  em- 
ployed in  the  manufacture  of  ornaments,  and 
copper,  in  the  form  of  bronze,  furnished 
among  the  Chaldseans,  as  among  most  ancient 
peoples,  the  main  reliance  in  the  way  of  me- 
tallic instruments,  particularly  in  the  fabrica- 
tion of  weapons. 

Of  the  textile  fabrics  of  Chaldsea  not  much 
is  known.     It  could  hardly  be  expected  that 


the  perishable  product  of  looms,  whose  owners 
have  slumbered  in  dust  for  four  thousand 
years,  should  have  survived  to  excite  our  cu- 
riosity. Only  a  few  shreds  of  linen  and  some 
scraps  of  tasseled  head-dress,  occasionally  found 
in  the  tombs,  remain  as  a  token  of  the  work 
done  by  the  weavers  and  spinners  of  Lower 
MesojDotamia.  In  the  book  of  Joshua  we  are 
told  how  Achan  lost  his  life  for  coveting  a 
Babylonish  garment  which  he  had  found  along 
with  a  wedge  of  gold  among  the  spoils  of 
Jericho;  and  the  reputation  which  Babylon 
afterwards  enjoyed  as  the  chief  seat  of  the 
costliest  manufactures  of  the  world,  leaves 
little  doubt  that  her  skill  in  this  line  of  hu- 
man industry  had  been  of  a  high  order  even 
from  the  earliest  times. 

It  was  in  a  clear  apprehension  of  the  laws 
of  nature,  rather  than  in  a  useful  application 
of  knowledge  to  the  practical  aflTairs  of  life, 
that  the  Chaldseans  surpassed  most  of  the 
nations  of  antiquity.  The  featureless  plain 
of  Mesopotamia  was  in  a  great  measure  de- 
void of  vivid  terrestrial  phenomena.  Those 
aspects  of  the  natural  world,  which  in  most 
countries  are  so  complex  and  variable  as  to 
bafile  investigation  and  stimulate  the  growth 
of  myths,  were  in  Chaldsea,  as  in  Egypt,  more 
regular,  and  suggestive  of  an  orderly  sequence. 
Here  nature  seemed  calm  and  majestic.  The 
exact  point  at  which  a  star  cut  the  horizon 
could  be  noted  from  evening  to  evening. 
The  return  of  any  given  phenomenon  in  the 
stately  progress  of  the  skies  might  well  pro- 
voke attention  and  excite  expectancy  of 
another  recurrence.  The  serene  climate  and 
pellucid  Chaldsean  heavens  brought  the  people 
ever  face  to  face  with  the  stars.  That  science 
rather  than  poetry  should  be  the  favorite  di- 
version of  the  Chaldsean  sages .  was  a  natural 
result  of  their  situation  and  surroundings. 

The  observation  of  the  skies,  so  assiduously 
cultivated  on  the  Lower  Euphrates,  laid  the 
foundation  of  astronomy  and  chronology. 
Diodorus  truthfully  declares  that  the  Chal- 
dseans were  far  before  all  other  nations  in 
their  knowledge  of  the  heavens.  Here  it  was 
that  the  relation  of  the  solar  circuit  to  the 
other  cycles  of  the  system  was  discovered  and 
recorded.     It  was  seen  that  the  sun  completes 


CHALDjEA.— SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


129 


his  course  in  the  heavens  in  about  twelve 
rounds  of  the  moon,  and,  therefore,  was  the 
year  divided  into  twelve  months  of  thirty 
days  each ;  and  when  this  was  found  to  meas- 
ure the  year  inaccurately  a  system  of  inter- 
calculations  was  introduced  by  which  the  cal- 
endar year  was  made  to  correspond  with  the 
sidereal  year  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
and  a  fourth  days. 

The  progress  of  the  sun  through  the 
heavens  was  mapped  for  each  of  the  twelve 
months,  and  thus  the  twelve  signs  of  the 
Zodiac  were  established.  The  deviations  of 
the  planets  from  the  path  of  the  sun  on  either 
side  determined  the  boundaries  of  the  zodiacal 
signs,  and  each  sign  was  divided  into  thirty 
degrees  by  the  daily  progress  of  the  solar  orb. 

The  phases  of  the  moon  fixed  the  limits  of 
the  week  at  seven  days,  and  after  the  analogy 
of  the  year  each  day  was  divided  into  twelve 
parts  or  hours.  Thus  from  nature  were  de- 
duced the  elements  of  the  duodecimal  system 
of  computation.  The  hour  was  divided  into 
sixty  parts — five  times  twelve.  The  cubit 
consisted  of  twenty-four  finger-breadths — two 
times  twelve.  The  soss  was  a  cycle  of  sixty 
years;  the  'ner  was  ten  times  sixty,  and  the 
sar  was  the  square  of  sixty,  or  three  thousand 
six  hundred  years. 

For  determining  the  distance  from  point 
to  point  in  the  open  skies  the  breadth  of  the 
sun's  disc  was  taken  as  a  unit.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  equinox,  at  the  precise  moment 
when  the  upper  limb  of  the  sun  was  seen  to 
cut  the  horizon,  an  orifice  in  a  water-jar  was 
opened  and  the  fluid  allowed  to  run  until  the 
full  disc  was  risen.  The  water  discharged 
was  carefully  measured  and  was  found  to  be 
l-720th  of  the  quantity  discharged  through 
the  same  orifice  by  sunrise  on  the  following 
morning — from  which  the  inference  was  drawn 
that  the  whole  orbit  of  the  sun  is  measured 
by  seven  hundred  and  twenty  times  the 
breadth  of  his  own  disc.  This  ingenious 
method  of  observation  furnished  a  unit  both 
of  space  and  time,  the  former  being  one-half 
a  degree,  and  the  latter,  two  minutes,  or  one- 
thirtieth  of  an  hour.  The  distance  which  an 
active  foot-courier  could  walk  in  thirty  units 
of  time,  that  is,  an  hour,  was  called  a  parasang, 


and  one-thirtieth  of  a  parasang  was  a  stadium. 
The  stadium  was  divided  into  three  hundred 
and  sixty  parts  called  cubits,  and  sixty  cubits 
constituted  a  plethron.^ 

By  the  application  of  these  simple,  meas- 
ures to  the  terrestrial  and  celestial  spheres  the 
Chald^eans  obtained  very  extraordinary  re- 
sults— results  which  may  be  fairly  called  sci- 
entific. They  discovered  and  recorded  the 
fact  that  in  a  period  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-three  mouths  the  lunar  eclipses  return 
in  the  same  order.  The  establishment  of  this 
cycle  gave  the  length  of  the  synodic  and  pe- 
riodic months  with  so  much  accuracy  that 
modern  astronomers  have  found  the  calcula- 
tions true  to  within  less  than  five  seconds  of 
our  time. 

The  Babylonian  tablets  have  already  fur- 
nished a  list  of  ten  eclipses  of  the  moon  and 
three  conjunctions  of  j)lanets  which  were  re- 
corded by  observers  in  the  years  721  and  720 
B.  C.  Callisthenes,  who  accompanied  Alex- 
ander the  Great  on  his  expedition  to  Babylon, 
sent  to  Aristotle  from  that  city  a  set  of  tablets 
containing  astronomical  records  reaching  back 
to  about  the  middle  of  the  twenty-third  cen- 
tury before  our  era.  Although  these  records 
are  lost,  and  although  the  data  on  which 
they  were  calculated  must  have  been  in  some 
particulars  erroneous,  yet  they  were  no  doubt 
genuine  astronomical  tables  which — had  they 
been  preserved — would  possess  for  modern  as- 
tronomers unusual  interest  and  value.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  astronomical  science 
of  the  Chaldseans  was  tinctured  with  astrolog- 
ical superstitions,  or  that  the  baleful  effects  of 
priestcraft  had  blurred  the  natural  beauty  of 
the  skies. 

Some  knowledge  of  arithmetic  was  neces- 
sarily precedent  to  progress  in  astronomy. 
Nor  is  it  a  matter  of  conjecture  that  the 
Chaldseans  had  considerable  skill  in  the  science 
of  numbers.     Two  systems  of  notation  were 


^The  Babylonian  cubit  was  equal  to  a  fraction 
over  one  and  two-thirds  feet,  more  exactly  21 
inches,  or  525  millimeters.  Hence  the  following 
table  of  equivalents: 

1  cubit      =  21  inches. 
60  cubits    =    1  plethron  =  35  yards. 
6  plethra  =    1  stadium   =  38.2  rods. 
30  stadia     =    1  parasang  =    3.58  miles. 


130 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


employed,  the  one  duodecimal,  the  other  dec- 
imal. In  writing  the  numbers,  only  two  ele- 
mentary characters,  the  wedge  (T)  and  the 
arrow-head  (>),  were  employed.  These  char- 
acters were  combined  in  a  manner  at  once 
simple  and  comprehensive,  so  as  to  constitute 
a  complete  and  satisfactory  table  of  notation. 
The  chief  defects  of  the  system  were  the  repe- 
tition of  the  same  character  to  express  differ- 
ent numbers,  the  absence  of  the  Arabic  prin- 
ciple of  giving  a  figure  a  value  according  to 
its  rank,  and  the  want  of  a  cipher  or  zero. 
Taken  all  in  all,  the  method  was  superior  to 
that  in  use  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

The  system  of  weights  employed  by  the 
Chaldseans  was  based  upon  their  system  of 
measure.  A  cubit  of  water,  weighing  about 
sixty-six  pounds,  was  divided  into  sixty  equal 
parts,  and  each  part  called  a  log — being  about 
five-sixths  of  a  pint.  This  was  the  unit  of 
measure ;  and  the  weight  of  this  unit,  called 
a  mina,  was  the  unit  of  Aveight.  The  oldest 
specimen  of  a  weight  which  antiquarian  re- 
search has  rescued  from  the  past  is  a  duck- 
shaped  stone  belonging  to  King  Ilgi  of  Ur. 
The  simple  inscription,  "  ten  minse  of  Ilgi," 
tells  the  story  of  its  date  and  use. 

Investigation  has  shown  that  the  Chal- 
dseans,  like  most  other  nations,  had  one  sys- 
tem of  weights  for  the  common  articles  of  the 
market-place,  and  another  for  the  precious 
metals  and  gems.  Instead  of  the  imperial 
weights  employed  for  all  other  purposes,  gold 
and  silver  were  estimated  by  a  more  delicate 
system,  in  which  peculiar  circular  pieces  or 
rings  of  the  precious  metals  were  taken  as 
the  units  of  weight.  The  denominations  were 
the  talent,  the  shekel,  etc. — names  afterwards 
adopted  by  the  Hebrews  and  the  Greeks. 

The  system  of  writing  employed  by  the 
Chaldteans  is  worthy  of  special  consideration. 
Like  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt,  the  Babylo- 
nian system  was,  for  a  long  time,  the  puzzle 
of  European  scholarship.  Its  first  peculiarity 
is  that  all  the  characters  employed  are  recti- 
linear, and  the  second  is  that  the  characters 
are  nearly  all  sloping  or  wedge-like  in  form, 
from  which  the  name  cuneiform,  meaning 
wedge-shaped,  has  been  adopted  to  describe 
this  species  of  writing. 


Philosophically  considered,  such  writing 
is  of  the  same  nature  as  the  hieroglyphics 
of  the  Egyptians.  Both  systems  began  with 
the  pictorial  representation  of  objects  by 
means  of  lines.  In  the  case  of  the  hiero- 
glyphics the  development  was  rather  in  the 
use  of  curves,  while,  for  some  reason,  in  the 
system  of  the  Assyrian  and  Persian  nations, 
the  use  of  right  lines  predominated.  As  a 
result  of  these  two  tendencies  the  curve-line 
figures  of  beasts  and  birds  was  longer  retained 
in  the  writing  of  the  Egyptians  and  soonei 
lost  by  cursive  abbreviations  in  the  writing 
of  the  Chaldseans.  The  gradual  departure 
from  the  old  pictorial  type,  and  the  substitu- 
tion, first  of  an  emblematic,  and  afterwards 
of  a  phonetic  type  to  represent  the  name  of 
the  object  rather  than  the  object  itself,  and 
finally  the  use  of  this  phonetic  type  in  spell- 
ing alphabetically  the  words  of  the  language, 
were  the  same  in  both  the  hieroglyphic  and 
cuneiform  systems.  Each  passed  in  like  man- 
ner through  successive  stages  of  degeneration 
until  the  arbitrary  alphabet  triumphed  over 
the  pictorial  symbols. 

The  appearance  of  cuneiform  writing  is 
peculiarly  angular  and  jagged.  The  words 
are  produced  by  combinations  of  the  two 
simple  types,  the  arrow-head  (>)  and  the 
wedge  (Y).  In  many  instances  the  character 
is  a  monogram  rather  than  a  word  spelled 
alphabetically,  showing  that  the  process  of 
phoneticizing  the  language  was  arrested  before 
it  was  complete.  In  other  cases  the  charac- 
ters used  are  determinatives,  being  affixed  to 
certain  words  to  indicate  their  classification. 
Thus  a  given  determinative  indicates  that  the 
word  to  which  it  belongs  is  the  name  of  a 
being  in  the  class  of  gods ;  another,  that  the 
object  is  classified  with  men ;  another,  with 
countries ;  a  fourth,  with  towns,  etc.  It  is 
probable  that  the  determinatives  had,  as  a 
general  rule,  no  phonetic  influence  on  the 
words  to  which  they  belonged,  their  function 
being  merely  oflScial,  like  that  of  a  capital 
letter  in  English.  It  appears  that,  in  some 
instances,  however,  the  determinative  was- 
pronounced  instead  of  the  word  to  which  it 
was  affixed. 

The  writing  of  the  Chaldseans  is  almost  as 


CHALD^ A.— SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


131 


abundant  as  that  of  the  Egyptians.  It  is 
preserved  in  the  two  forms  of  tablets  and 
bricks.  In  all  cases  the  writing  was  impressed 
on  the  clay  while  moist  and  plastic.  The  in- 
scriptions on  the  bricks  are  all  of  a  royal 
origin,  recounting  the  story  of  the  building 
in  which  they  are  found,  the  name  of  the 
king,  his  titles,  his  glory  and  renown.  The 
tablet  inscriptions  are  more  frequently  of  a 
private  character,  referring  to  such  matters  as 
deeds,  contracts,  and  personal  records.  The 
writing  is  from  left  to  right  in  all  cases  except 
on  the  signet-cylinders,  on  which  the  inscrip- 
tions are  of  course  reversed.  Where  the  le- 
gend is  printed  on  bricks,  only  a  part  of  each 
brick — a  square  near  the  middle — is  occupied 
with  the  inscription,  which  seems,  in  most 
cases,  to  have  been  stamped  upon  the  clay, 
but  in  others  to  have  been  engraved  or  cut  in 
the  surface  with  a  tool. 

The  tablets  of  the  Chaldseans  are  plates 
of  baked  clay,  slightly  convex  on  each  side, 
resembling  a  small  pillow,  flattened  to  the 
thickness  of  two  or  three  inches.  The  shape 
is  not  always  regular,  nor  does  it  appear  that 
the  makers  cared  much  for  the  beauty  of  the 
material  which  was  to  contain  a  record  of 
their  thought.  The  sides  of  the  tablets  were 
thickly  covered  with  cuneiform  inscriptions. 
The  plates  were  then  carefully  burnt,  and  when 
this  Avas  done  a  new  layer  of  clay  was  spread 
over  the  surface  upon  which  the  inscription 
was  repeated.  The  whole  was  baked  a  second 
time,  so  that  the  inner  legend  was  securely 
incased  in  a  shell  of  imperishable  tiling.  If 
the  outer  inscription  should  be  defaced,  the 
shell  could  be  broken  away,  revealing  the 
original  Avithin.  And  this  original  could 
even  be  repeated  by  casting  new  clay  in  the 
concave  mold  of  the  outer  crust,  for  this 
would  contain  in  relief  an  exact  duplicate  of 
the  first  inscription  on  the  inner  tablet. 

On  many  of  the  plates,  in  addition  to  the 
matter  contained  in  the  regular  inscription, 
the  signet-cylinder  of  the  maker  or  contractor 
has  been  rolled  across  the  surface,  producing 
in  relief  the  legend  adopted  by  the  wearer  as 
his  motto  and  seal.  This  part  of  the  inscrip- 
tion is  found  lying  in  a  band  across  the  face 


of  the  tablet,  and  is  easily  distinguishable 
from  the  rest,  of  which  it  is  evidently  the  at- 
testation. After  the  tablet  was  completed  in 
the  manner  described,  it  was  laid  away  among 
the  archives  of  the  family,  just  as  important 
papers  are  filed  for  preservation.  Such  in- 
scriptions are  abundant  in  all  the  ruins  of 
Lower  Mesopotamia  ;  and  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  deciphering  of  these  mute  plates  of 
antiquity — a  work  as  yet  only  begun — is  des- 
tined to  cast  much  light  on  some  of  the  vexed 
problems  of  ancient  history. 

In  addition  to  what  they  printed  on  clay 
and  preserved  by  burning,  the  Chaldseans 
were  skillful  in  gem  engraving.  Their  work 
of  this  kind  Avas  sometimes  highly  artistic, 
comparing  favorably  with  that  done  by  the 
modern  lapidary.  The  signets  and  seals 
already  described  belong  to  this  kind  of 
art,  and  the  inscriptions  on  some  of  the 
cylinders  are  of  such  an  archaic  type  as  to 
prove  conclusively  that  the  art  was  success- 
fully practiced  from  the  earliest  times  of  the 
Empire.  Several  of  the  seals  belonging  to 
the  elder  Chaldsean  monarchs  have  been  de- 
ciphered and  translated  into  English.  Of 
this  description  is  the  seal  of  Urukh,  men- 
tioned in  a  former  chapter.  The  inscription 
is:  "The  signet  of  Urukh,  the  pious  chief, 
king  of  Ur,  high-priest  of  NifFer."  Reference 
has  also  been  made  to  the  seal  of  Ilgi,  on 
Avhich  the  legend  is  as  follows:  "To  the 
manifestation  of  Nergal,  king  of  Bit-Zida,  of 
Zurgulla,  for  the  saving  of  the  life  of  Ilgi, 
the  powerful  hero,  the  king  of  Ur,  son  of 
Urukh.  .  .  .  May  his  name  be  preserved." 
A  cylinder  belonging  to  one  of  the  Sin  Dy- 
nasty has  the  folloAving  inscription  :  "  Sin,  the 
powerful  chief,  the  king  of  Ur,  the  king  of 
the  four  races.  ...  his  seal."  Some  of  the 
cylinders  are  plain,  having  neither  figures  nor 
inscriptions  on  their  surfaces.  Others  have 
figures  and  emblems,  but  no  legend.  Consid- 
erable variety  is  shown  in  the  designs  pre- 
sented on  the  signets,  and  no  inconsiderable 
degree  of  artistic  skill  exhibited  in  their  exe- 
cution. Enough  remains  to  establish  the  fact 
that  the  gem-cutters  of  Chaldaea  were  profes- 
sional workmen  and  devotees  of  their  art. 


132 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD, 


CHAPTER   X.— REIvIOION. 


HE  religious  system  of 
the  Chaldseans  began  with 
a  theory  of  the  creation 
of  the  world.  This  theory, 
as  it  was  received  and 
taught  by  the  priests  of 
Babylon,  has  been  pre- 
served in  the  fragment  of  Berosus  already 
referred  to,^  and  is  as  follows : 

"  Once  all  was  darkness  and  water.  In 
this  chaos  lived  horrid  animals,  and  men  with 
two  wings,  and  others  with  four  wings  and 
two  faces,  and  others  again  with  double  organs, 
male  and  female.  Some  had  the  thighs  of 
goats,  and  horns  on  their  heads ;  others  had 
horses'  feet,  or  were  formed  behind  like  a 
horse  and  in  front  like  a  man.  There  were 
bulls  with  human  heads,  and  horses  and  men 
with  the  heads  of  dogs,  and  other  animals 
of  human  shape  with  fins  like  fishes,  and 
fishes  like  sirens,  and  dragons,  and  creeping 
things,  and  serpents,  and  wild  creatures,  the 
images  of  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  tem- 
ple of  Bel. 

"  Over  all  these  ruled  a  woman  of  the 
name  of  Omorka.  But  Bel  divided  the  dark- 
ness and  clove  the  woman  asunder,  and  of 
one  part  he  made  the  earth,  and  of  the  other 
the  sun  and  moon  and  planets;  and  he  drew 
off  the  water  and  apportioned  it  to  the  land, 
and  prepared  and  arranged  the  world.  But 
those  creatures  could  not  endure  the  light  of 
the  sun  and  became  extinct. 

"When  Bel  saw  the  land  uninhabited  and 
yet  fruitful  he  smote  off"  his  head  and  bade 
one  of  the  gods  mingle  the  blood  which  flowed 
from  his  head  with  earth,  and  form  therewith 
men  and  animals  and  wild  creatures  who  could 
sapport  the  atmosphere.  A  great  multitude 
of  men  of  various  tribes  inhabited  Chakltea, 
but  ihey  lived  without  any  order,  like  the 
animals. 

"  Then   there  appeared  to  them   from  the 
sea,  on  the  shore  of  Babylonia,  a  fearful  ani- 
*  See  ante,  p.  112. 


mal  of  the  name  of  Oan.  His  body  was  that 
of  a  fish,  but  under  the  fish's  head  another 
head  was  attached,  and  on  the  fins  were  feet 
like  those  of  a  man,  and  he  had  a  man's  voice. 
The  image  of  the  creature  is  still  preserved. 
The  animal  came  at  morning,  and  passed  the  day 
with  men.  But  he  took  no  nourishment,  and 
at  sunset  went  again  into  the  sea,  and  there 
remained  for  the  night.  This  animal  taught 
men  language  and  science,  the  harvesting  of 
seeds  and  fruits,  the  rules  for  the  boundaries 
of  land,  the  modes  of  building  cities  and 
temples,  arts,  and  writing,  and  all  that  pertains 
to  the  civilization  of  human  life." 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  genesis  of  things 
as  told  by  Berosus.  The  narrative  goes  on 
to  recount  the  genealogy  and  history  of  the 
princes  who  first  reigned  in  the  earth  after 
the  creature  Oan  taught  men  the  arts  and 
sciences.  First  came  Alorus,  whom  the  god 
himself  had  called  from  the  shepherd  life  to 
be  king  of  Chaldsea.  His  reign  lasted  for 
36,000  years.  After  that  his  son  Alaparus 
ruled  for  10,-800;  Almelon,  for  46,800;  and 
Ammenon  for  43,200.  Then  there  came  an- 
other sea-god  up  from  the  deep  whose  name 
was  Idotion.  He,  like  Oan,  instructed  the 
human  race,  and  then  retired  as  he  came.  In 
a  subsequent  reign,  also  of  fabulous  duration, 
four  additional  fish-men,  having  the  wisdom 
of  the  gods,  came  from  the  sea,  and  were  for  a 
season  the  teachers  of  mankind;  and  finally 
in  the  reign  of  Edorankhus  another  aquatic 
god,  Odakon,  of  like  fashion  with  the  preced- 
ing, came  and  explained  in  detail  the  wonders 
of  the  system  which  Oan  had  revealed  in  out- 
line. This  was  the  last  of  the  Chaldeean  ava- 
tars before  the  flood  of  Xisuthrus.' 

The  gods  of  the  Chaldseans  were  sky-gods. 
Their  home  was  in   the  open  heaven.     They 

'  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  ten  primeval 
rulers  of  the  world — Alorus,  Alaparus,  Almelon, 
Ammenon,  Amegalarus,  Daonus,  Edorankhus, 
Amempsinus,  Otiartes,  and  Xisuthrus — correspond 
in  number  at  least  to  the  ten  antediluvian  patri- 
archs mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Genesis. 


CHALD^A.— RELIGION. 


133 


were  for  the  most  part  the  deities  of  stars 
and  planets.  Twelve  were  worshiped  as  hav- 
ing divine  powers  of  the  highest  order.  The 
supreme  god  was  El.  After  him  was  named 
the  great  capital  Bab-El— the  Gate  of  El.  He 
sat  enthroned  above  the  other  deities  in  heaven. 
He  was  the  lord  of  the  sky-land.  Austere  and 
stern  he  was,  sitting  apart  from  the  other  gods 
and  without  sympathy  for  the  human  race. 

In  the  great  flood  the  anger  of  El  was 
kindled  against  all  men,  even  Sisit,  whom  he 
wished  to  destroy  with  the  rest.  His  titles 
were  "the  AVarrior,"  "  the  Prince  of  the  gods," 
"the  Lord  of  the  universe."  In  one  of  the 
Assyrian  tablets  he  is  called  "the  Lamp  of 
the  divinities,"  and  everywhere  he  was  recog- 
nized as  dwelling  in  light  and  majesty.  The 
worship  of  El,  however,  was  not  so  universal 
or  popular  as  was  that  of  the  gods  whom  the 
Chaldsean  imagination  more  intimately  asso- 
ciated Avith  human  interests  and  hopes. 

After  El  the  next  in  rank  among  the  dei- 
ties of  the  Chald^eans  was  the  god  Anu.  He 
had  his  abode  in  the  concave  dome  of  the 
heavens.  Hither  it  Avas  that  the  other  gods, 
terrified  by  the  devastation  of  the  flood,  fled 
for  security  from  the  wrath  of  El.  Anu  had 
many  titles.  In  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  he 
is  generally  honored  with  the  epithet  malik,  or 
king.  In  other  places  he  is  called  "the  old 
Anu,"  "  the  original  Chief,"  '•  the  Sire  of  gods," 
"the  Lord  of  spirits  and  demons."  On  some 
tablets  he  is  known  as  "the  King  of  the  lower 
world,"  "the  Lord  of  darkness,"  "the  Ruler 
of  the  far-ofi"  city,"  etc. 

The  chief  seat  of  Anu's  worship  was  the 
ancient  city  of  Erech.  Here  was  one  of  the 
favorite  burying  grounds  of  the  Chaldseans, 
and  over  this  Anu  was  said  to  preside  as  a 
tutelary  deity.  ^  His  association  with  this 
great  necropolis  of  Lower  Mesopotamia  gave 
to  him  something  of  the  character  of  Pluto 
among  the  nations  of  the  West.  The  worship 
of  Anu   was  very  ancient.      Urukh  himself 


^  The  name  of  the  god  Anu  ajipears  in  many 
forms.  Sometimes  it  is  Ana,  sometimes  Yan  or 
Oan,  the  name  of  the  fish-god  who  instructed  the 
Chaldseans  in  the  rudiments  of  science  and  art. 
The  name  also  appears  in  the  Hebrew  word  Anam- 
melech  and  others  of  like  formation. 


mentions  him  among  the  deities  worshiped  at 
Ur.  Shamas-Vul,  the  son  of  Ismi-Dagon, 
built  at  Shergal,  as  early  as  1830  B.  C,  a 
temple  to  the  honor  of  this  god.  The  temple 
of  Warka,  even  after  Anu  had  long  ceased 
to  be  worshiped  at  its  shrine,  still  bore  the 
name  of  Bit-Anu,  or  House  of  Anu.  Even 
Beltis,  whose  worship  was  substituted  for  that 
of  Anu  in  this  temple,  was  known  as  the 
Lady  of  Bit-Anu. 

The  god  Bel  is  generally  known  by  his 
Greek  name  Belus.  But  the  attributes  given 
him  by  the  Greek  authors  do  not  harmonize 
perfectly  with  those  ascribed  by  the  Chaldreans 
to  Bel.  By  the  latter  this  god  was  honored 
with  such  titles  as  "the  iSupreme,"  "the 
Father  of  the  gods,"  "the  Procreator,"  "the 
Lord  of  spirits,"  etc.  There  is  also  some  con- 
fusion between  the  oflSces  and  titles  of  Bel 
and  those  of  the  half  mythical  Nimrod  after 
his  deification.  It  seems  that  v/hen  the  great 
hunter  was  enrolled  among  the  gods  his  attri- 
butes and  epithets  were  merged  with  those  of 
Belus,  or  Bel,  so  that  in  later  times  there  was 
little  if  any  distinction  between  the  deified 
Nimrod  and  the  god  with  whose  nature  he 
was  blended. 

The  common  epithet  of  this  hero-god  was 
accordingly  Bel-  or  Bil-Nipru,  that  is,  Bel- 
Nimrod,  or  "the  Hunter  Lord."  The  chief 
seat  of  his  worship  was  Calneh  or  Nipur,  the 
modern  Nifler.  To  him  this  city  was  sacred. 
Here,  no  doubt,  the  great  Nimrod  reigned  in 
the  heroic  age  of  Chaldsea.  The  city  bore  'lis 
name,  and  the  great  and  splendid  temple  was 
dedicated  to  his  worship.  By  many  traditions 
he  is  associated  with  this  old  capital  of  the 
country. 

Besides  the  local  unportance  of  Bel-Nimrod 
in  Calneh,  his  reputation  as  a  powerful  deity- 
extended  to  other  cities  and  districts.  A 
large  temple  was  erected  in  his  honor  by 
Kurri-Galzu  at  Akkerkuf,  and  invocations 
found  on  Assyrian  tablets,  in  which  he  is  ad- 
dressed as  "the  Lord  of  the  world,"  prove 
that  his  fame  and  worship  had  extended  even 
to  the  capital  of  the  northern  kingdom.  To- 
e-ether  with  Anu  and  Hea  he  constituted  a 
trinity  of  Chaldee  gods  quite  distinguished  in 
power  and  attributes  from  the   almighty  El 


134 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


and    the    stellar    deities    who    will    presently 
claim  attention. 

The  third  divinity  in  the  triad  of  Chal- 
d£ea  was  Hea.  He  it  was  who  in  the  like- 
ness of  the  fish-monster  came  up  out  of  the 
sea  to  teach  the  Chaldseans  letters  and  astron- 
omy. To  them  he  made  known  the  ways  of 
life,  and  though  he  took  upon  himself  the 
form  of  a  reptile  in  which  to  make  his  revela- 
tion to  the  first  settlers  in  Lower  Mesopotamia, 
he  seems  not  to  have  suffered  by  his  abase- 
ment. By  Berosus  he  is  celebrated  as  being 
*'  the  great  Giver  of  good  gifts  to  man."  Some- 


PROCESSION   OP  BKI, 


times  he  is  called  "  the  Lord  of  the  abyss," 
and  sometimes  "Lord  of  the  sea."  Like  Po- 
seidon of  the  Greeks,  Hea  was  represented  as 
having  dominion  over  the  waters.  But  more 
particularly  was  he  w'orshiped  as  the  giver  of 
life  and  knowledge.  As  such  his  symbol  was 
the  serpent,  the  common  emblem  among  the 
oriental  nations  of  superhuman  wisdom.'    His 


^  There  are  strong  grounds  for  connecting  the 
tradition  of  Hea  in  the  form  of  a  reptile,  making 
men  wise  as  the  gods,  with  that  of  the  serpent  in 
Paradise  luring  Adam  and  Eve  with  the  promise 
of  expanded  wisdom  in  eating  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge.  Some  forms  of  the  Chaldsean 
myth  are  very  similar  to  the  story  of  Eden.  (See 
Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  Vol.  I,  p.  609.) 


connection  with  the  invention  of  letters  is 
perpetuated  in  the  arrow-head,  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  being  one  of  the  primary  characters  in 
all  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  is  also  a  symbol 
of  Hea.  The  cult  of  Hea  was  one  of  the 
most  important  and  influential  elements  in  the 
religion  of  the  Chaldseans. 

Next  came  the  gods  of  the  planets  and 
stars,  the  first  of  whom  was  the  Moon-god 
Sin.  Though  placed  by  Berosus  after  the 
god  of  the  sun,  in  the  myths  of  the  Chaldseans 
themselves  the  moon-deity  has  the  preeminence 
over  his  more  luminous  rival.  Perhaps  there 
is  in  this  fact  a  hint  that  the  early  race  of 
men  who  gathered  into  a  permanent  society 
at  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  found  pleasure  and 
profit  rather  in  the  calm  meditations  of  the 
eventide  and  the  stillness  of  the  night  than  in 
the  splendors  of  the  day.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  climate  of  Lower  Mesopotamia  was 
specially  favorable  to  the  development  of 
evening  reveries;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to 
conceive  how,  in  the  cool  of  the  twilight, 
while  the  crescent  moon  hung  her  silver  arc 
of  beauty  in  the  western  sky,  the  busy  imagi- 
nation and  reverent  heart  of  the  Chaldsean 
sage  as  he  sat  by  the  door  of  his  tent  could 
attribute  the  first  of  divine  powers  to  the  orb 
of  night. 

By  the  earlier  Chaldseans  the  Moon-god 
was  called  Hurki,  from  the  same  root  as  the 
word  Ur,  the  chief  seat  of  his  worship.  This 
name  signifies  to  ivatch,  and  the  epithet  was 
no  doubt  bestowed  in  allusion  to  the  vigils  of 
those  who  by  night  watched  their  flocks  or 
dreamed  of  the  infinite,  under  the  stars.  The 
principal  titles  of  Sin  Avere  "the  Powerful," 
"the  Lord  of  the  spirits,"  and  "the  King  of 
gods."  In  reference  to  his  heavenly  sym- 
bol, he  was  called  "the  Bright"  or  "the 
Shining."  On  the  monuments  he  sits  as  a 
venerable  bearded  figure,  and  near  his  head 
are  pictured  the  various  phases  of  the  crescent 
moon.'  On  the  signet-cylinder  of  King  Urukh 
the  Moon-god  is  so  drawn.      He  sits  with  one 

'  It  is  a  striking  peculiarity  of  the  drawings  of 
the  crescent  moon,  as  they  appear  on  the  Baby- 
lonian monuments,  that  the  semilune  is  always  set 
with  the  bow  towards  the  horizon— a  position  which 
in  the  latitude  of  Chaldsea  could  rarely  happen  in 
nature. 


CHALD^A.— RELIGION. 


135 


hand  outstretched  as  if  in  salutation,  and 
three  worshipers  standing  before  him  do  obei- 
sance. This  deity  Avas  the  special  favorite  of 
the  Chaldsean  kings.  To  him,  as  already 
noted,  the  great  Urukh  and  his  distinguished 
son  Ilgi  built  and  dedicated  the  ancient  tem- 
ple of  Ur.  His  Avorship  was  also  popular 
with  the  princes  of  Borsippa  and  Babylon. 
One  dynasty  of  Chaldfean  sovereigns  were  in 
honor  of  this  deity  designated  as  the  Sin 
kings.  During  the  long  period  of  Assyrian 
domination  the  Moon-god  held  his  place  in  the 
esteem  of  the  people,  and  as  late  as  the  times 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  his  worship  was  perpetu- 
ated with  the  greatest  ardor  and  formality. 

Next  to  Sin  among  the  deities  of  the  lumi- 
naries of  heaven  was  Samas,  god  of  the  sun.^ 
His  symbol  was  the  circle.  He  was  repre- 
sented as  illuminating  heaven  and  earth,  and 
was  celebrated  as  lord  of  the  daylight.  But 
more  generally  his  titles  were  not  directly  re- 
ferable to  the  power  and  splendor  of  the  sun. 
He  was  known  as  "the  Ruler  of  all  things," 
"the  Establisher  of  the  firmament,"  and  "the 
Vanquisher  of  the  king's  enemies."  In  war- 
like expeditions  Samas  went  forth  with  the 
army.  He  put  the  foe  to  flight.  He  tri- 
umphed over  opposition.  He  extended  the 
royal  dominion  and  upheld  the  king's  arm  in 
battle.  Just  as  the  sun  warms  and  invigorates 
universal  nature,  so  Samas  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  men  cheered  with  light  and  warmed 
with  inspiration. 

The  cities  of  Larsa  and  Sippara  were  the 
principal  seats  of  the  Sun-god's  worship.  At 
the  former  place  was  the  great  temple  reputed 
to  have  been  built  by  Urukh  and  restored 
from  time  to  time  by  the  Chaldfeau  kings 
down  to  the  times  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  In 
the  latter  city  the  worship  of  Samas  prevailed 
over  all  other  forms  of  religion,  insomuch 
that  Sippara  became  known  to  the  Greeks 
under  the  name  of  Heliopolis,  or  City  of  the 
Sun.  The  idolatry  of  Adrammelech,  the  fire- 
king,  told  of  in  the  Second  Book  of  Kings  as 
having  been  introduced  into  Samaria  from  the 


^The  name  is  variously  written:  Samas,  Sha- 
mas,  Shemsi,  Sansi,  San,  etc.  The  English  word 
sun  is  no  doubt  originally  derived  from  the  same 
root. 


East,  was  but  a  transplanted  form  of  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Chaldsean  Samas.  The  high  and 
universal  respect  in  which  this  deity  was  held 
by  the  princes  and  kings  is  indicated  in  the 
fact  that  very  few  of  the  royal  signet-cylinders 
are  without  the  symbol  of  the  sun  among 
their  emblems  of  divinity. 

High  in  rank  among  the  deities  of  Chal- 
djea,  though  perhaps  not  greatly  esteemed  in 
the  times  of  the  founding  of  the  Empire,  was 
the  storm-god  BiN.^  He  wielded  the  power 
of  the  air,  and  Avas  therefore  allied  in  his  of- 
fices to  the  classical  Zeus.  In  the  system  of  the 
Chaldseans,  however,  Bin  most  nearly  corre- 
sponds to  the  Uranus  of  Greek  mythology. 
He  Avas  the  wielder  of  the  thunder-bolt,  the 
director  of  the  storm  and  tempest.  He  it  was 
Avho  in  the  Chaldsean  account  of  the  deluge  is 
represented  as  thundering  in  the  midst  of 
heaven.  He  was  regarded  as  the  destroyer  of 
the  harvest.  His  emblem,  found  upon  the 
tablets  and  cylinders,  is  a  kind  of  flambeau 
representing  lightning.  His  character  was 
that  of  a  destructive  agent  in  nature,  and  yet 
as  the  rain-god  he  Avas  celebrated  as  the  giver 
of  fertility  and  the  master  of  the  fecundity 
of  the  earth.  The  rivers  and  canals  and 
aqueducts  were  regarded  as  under  his  watch- 
care,  and  the  public  works  by  which  civiliza- 
tion is  fostered  were  protected  by  his  favor. 

The  first  of  the  fire-spirits  of  the  planets 
was  Adar,  the  lord  of  Saturn.  To  him  were 
given  also  the  Semitic  names  of  Bar  and  Nin. 
In  character,  however,  the  god  Adar  is  more 
nearly  allied  to  the  classical  Hercules  than  to 
Uranus.  He  was  worshiped  as  the  god  of 
strength  and  courage  and  the  lord  of  the 
brave.  His  face  was  against  the  enemy  in 
battle,  and  the  heart  of  the  warrior  was 
strengthened  in  the  conflict  by  calling  on  the 
name  of  Adar.  He  was  "  the  Reducer  of  the 
disobedient,"  "the  Exterminator  of  rebels." 
Like  Bel-Nimrod  he  trampled  down  the  foe. 
Like  the  Roman  Mars  he  led  the  king's  armies 
to  victory. 

By  a  strange  mingling  of  attributes,  Adar 
is   sometimes  confounded  with  that  fish-god, 

1  This  name  is  also  variously  written.  Some- 
times it  is  Iva,  and  more  frequently  Vul ;  but  Bin 
seems  to  be  indicated  as  the  true  form. 


336 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


IMAGE  OF  THE  FISH-GOD. 


Oan,  who  taught  the  Chaldseans  the  begin- 
nings of  art  and  science.  In  this  capacity  he 
is  represented  in  the  reliefs  as  part  man  and 
part  fish,  and  underneath  is  written  such  titles 
as  "God  of  the  sea"  and 
"the  Dweller  in  the 
depths."  By  another 
change  of  epithets  he  is 
lifted  again  to  his  own 
place  in  the  skies,  and 
adored  as  ' '  the  Chief  of 
spirits  "  and  ' '  the  Favor- 
ite of  the  gods."  Further 
on,  in  the  myths  of  Assyria,  Adar,  as  the  im- 
personation of  strength  and  power,  takes  the 
character  of  the  Man -bull,  and  as  such  stands 
guard  in  the  sculptured  courts  of  palaces. 

Like  the  worship  of  Bin,  that  of  Adar 
seems  not  to  date  from  the  earliest,  but  rather 
the  later,  times  of  the  Lower  Empire.  The 
oldest  of  his  temples  were  those  of  Calah, 
which  rank  among  the  more  important  ruins 
of  Chaldsea.  The  later  temple  at  Nineveh 
had  so  great  a  reputation  for  magnificence 
that  the  fame  thereof  was  carried  to  the  West- 
ern nations  to  be  celebrated  by  Tacitus.  The 
emblem  of  Adar  is  generally  the  fish,  and  the 
popularity  of  the  deity  and  of  his  worship  is 
indicated  in  the  wide  distribution  of  his  em- 
blem among  the  inscriptions. 

The  Jove  of  the  Chaldseans  was  called 
Merodach.  His  leading  title,  somewhat  gro- 
tesque withal,  is  "  the  Old  Man  of  the  gods." 
His  worship  was  a  part  of  the  earlier  religious 
system,  and  gradually  rose  to  preponderance, 
especially  in  the  times  of  the  Assyrian  su- 
premacy. Merodach  was  the  god  of  the  judg- 
ment— the  patron  of  justice^  and  right.  In 
his  worship  there  was  a  larger  element  of 
morality  than  in  that  of  most  other  Eastern 
deities.'  In  all  those  lands  where  justice  was 
administered  by  kings  sitting  in  the  gates, 
Merodach  was  regarded  as  presiding  and 
watching  over  the  right.  In  a  philosophical 
way  he  was  known  as  "King  of  the  earth," 
"the  most  Ancient,"  and  "the  Senior  of  the 
gods."  From  the  high  character  and  spiritual 
nature  which  he  bore,  he  was  less  frequently 

'  The  Hebrew  name  of  Jupiter  is  Sedek,  mean- 
ing JusUcfi. 


represented  by  material  emblems  than  was  any 
other  of  the  great  deities  of  Chaldsea.  Nor  is 
it  certain  that  any  figure  in  Chaldsean  art 
is  now  extant  which  was  intended  to  give  the 
artistic  concept  of  this  divinity.^  In  the  in- 
scriptions of  Nebuchadnezzar  11. ,  Merodach, 
under  the  title  of  Belrabu,  is  celebrated  as 
superior  to  all  the  deities  of  heaven  and  earth. 

To  the  planet  Mars  was  assigned  the  war- 
god  Nergal,  whose  titles  are  "the  King  of 
battles"  and  "Champion  of  the  gods."  The 
principal  seats  of  his  worship  were  the  ancient 
cities  of  Kutha  and  Tarbissa.  In  the  Assyrian 
account  of  the  flood  Nergal  is  referred  to  as 
the  destroyer;  but  his  chief  fame  was  based 
on  his  power  over  the  chase  and  the  battle- 
field. In  this  his  attributes  are  mingled  with 
those  of  Bel-Nimrod,  to  whom  he  is  also 
likened  in  the  worship  given  him  as  the  an- 
cestor of  the  Assyrian  kings.  The  symbol  of 
Nergal  is  the  celebrated  Man -lion,  which 
stands  with  outspread  wings  at  the  portals  of 
the  great  temples  and  the  palace  gates  of  Susa 
and  Nineveh.  There  is  thus  established  an 
intimate  association  between  the  War-god  and 
Adar,  whose  efiigy,  the  winged  bull,  stands 
also  as  the  guardian  to  the  entrances  of  pal- 
aces and  temples. 

The  Chaldsean  Venus  was  called  Belit — a 
name  which  is  given  in  Herodotus  as  Mylitta. 
The  name  means  "the  Lady,"  but  the  more 
august  title  of  the  goddess  is  "the  Queen- 
mother  of  the  gods."  Sometimes  she  is  called 
' '  the  Lady  of  Offspring  ;  "  and  it  appears  that 
the  Babylonians  gave  her  a  preeminent  rank 
as  the  goddess  of  fertility  and  birth.  At 
Babylon  a  splendid  temple  was  built  in  her 
honor.  Within  the  court  was  a  grove,  under 
whose  cool  shade  a  fountain  of  Avater  symbol- 
ized the  divinity.  To  her  the  cooing  dove 
was  sacred,  and  the  sportive  fish,  whose  fe- 
cundity peoples  the  waters.  The  shrine  of 
the  goddess  was  in  the  grove,  near  the  fount- 
ain, and  hither  came  bands  of  pilgrims  to 
worship. 

According  to  the  custom  of  the  time  the 
maidens  of  Babylon  were  once  in  their  lives 


'  Among  the  sculptures  of  Babylon,  a  figure  of 
a  god  walking  is  supposed  to  be  an  attempt  to 
represent  Merodach. 


CHALD^A.— RELIGION. 


137 


obliged  to  offer  themselves  at  this  shrine.  At 
a  certain  season  they  came  in  companies,  and 
sat  in  long  rows  with  chaplets  of  cords  on 
their  heads,  waiting  to  be  chosen.  With  the 
rest  came  the  daughters  of  princes,  in  covered 
cars,  and  with  numerous  attendants.  Each 
maiden  was  obliged  to  remain  until  some  one 
of  the  pilgrims  cast  into  her  lap  a  coin  of 
gold.  Then  she  must  arise  and  follow  him. 
The  coin  she  afterwards  gave  to  the  treasury 
of  the  goddess,  and  was  thenceforth  freed  from 
her  obligation.'  In  all  parts  of  Lower  Meso- 
potamia the  worship  of  Mylitta  was  popular, 
and  the  richness  of  her  temples  attested  the 
faith  of  the  Chaldseans  in  her  whom  they  re- 
garded as  the  giver  of  beauty  and  the  author 
of  love. 

Opposed  to  this  goddess,  who  presided  over 
the  birth  of  all  things  tender  and  beautiful, 
was  IsTAR,  the  goddess  of  war  and  ruin.  In 
her  attributes  she  is  allied  to  the  Artemis  of 
Greek  mythology.  In  her  relation  to  Mylitta 
we  see  unmistakable  traces  of  that  Eastern 
imagination  which,  in  constructing  its  systems 
of  theology,  has  shown  so  marked  a  disposition 
to  arrange  the  deities  in  pairs — good  against 
evil,  light  against  darkness,  blessing  and  fruit 
against  death  and  ruin.  By  this  strange  op- 
position of  attributes  the  planet  Venus  was 
assigned  to  Istar  as  well  as  to  Mylitta,  so  that 
from  this  source  both  love  and  destruction 
were  said  to  emanate.  The  double  aspect  of 
Venus  as  morning  and  evening  star  had 
caught  the  attention  of  the  Chaldseans;  and 
just  as  the  Western  nations  gave  one  name — 
Phosphor  or  Lucifer — to  the  star  of  morning, 
and  another — Hesperus — to  the  star  of  even- 
ing, so  the  astrologers  of  the  Chaldsean  plains 
assigned  two  goddesses,  the  one  of  love  and 
blessing,  the  other  of  ruin  and  death,  to  the 
conspicuous  planet  of  the  morning  and  even- 
ing skies. 

In  the  myths  of  Istar  there  is  a  great  sim- 
ilarity to  the  stories  of  Proserpina  as  recited 

'  The  stoical  Herodotus,  in  continuing  the  ac- 
count of  the  choosing  of  tlie  maidens,  adds: 
"The  good-looking  and  graceful  maidens  quickly 
find  a  pilgrim ;  but  the  ugly  ones  can  not  satisfy 
the  law,  and  often  remain  in  the  temple  for  three 
or  four  years."  In  the  apocryphal  Book  of  Ba- 
ruch  the  same  ceremony  is  described. 


in  the  poems  of  the  Latin  race.  The  coming 
of  Life  in  the  spring,  and  her  disappearance 
in  winter,  is  commemorated  in  the  narra- 
tive of  Istar's  journey  to  the  nether  world. 
She  went  down  to  the  house  of  Irkolla,  which 
has  no  exit.  Istar  said :  ' '  Watchman  of  the 
waters,  open  thy  gate,  that  I  may  enter.  If 
thou  openest  not,  I  will  break  thy  gate  and 
burst  asunder  thy  bars;  I  Avill  shatter  the 
threshold  and  destroy  the  doors."  The  myth 
recites  that  the  door  was  opened  by  the  watch- 
man, and  as  Istar  passed  into  the  lower  world 
he  took  the  crown  from  her  head.  At  the 
successive  portals 
through  which  she 
passed  she  was 
stripped  of  all  her 
ornaments,  until  be- 
yond the  seventh 
gate  she  was  deliv- 
ered to  Ninkigal, 
the  spirit  of  the 
depths,  by  whom  Is- 
tar was  grievously 
afflicted. 

Meanwhile  the 
world  above  lament- 
ed the  loss  of  Istar 
until  what  time  Hea 
sent  word  to  Nin- 
kigal to  release  her. 
Then  was  she  bathed 
in  the  water  of  life ; 
the  seven  portals 
were  opened,  and  Is- 
tar came  back  to  earth :  a  myth  of  the  return 
of  spring. 

The  representative  of  the  planet  Mercury 
among  the  Chaldseans  was  the  god  Nebo. 
His  name  is  derived  from  the  word  nihhah, 
which  in  the  Semitic  dialects  signifies  to 
prophesy.  Nebo  was  the  god  of  forethought, 
and  intelligence.  He  presided  over  knowledge 
and  learning.  He  was  said  to  hear  from  afar 
off,  and  to  teach  and  instruct  mankind.  In 
his  attributes  he  resembled  Hermes  of  the 
Greeks,  though  the  character  of  Nebo  was 
more  exalted  and  less  treacherous  than  that 
of  the  somewhat  whimsical  deity  of  the  West. 
He  was  called  "the  Supporter,"  "the  Ever- 


IMAGE  OF  NEBO. 


138 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ready,"  "the  Lord  of  the  constellations." 
Notwithstanding  the  latter  high-sounding  title 
it  does  not  appear  that  Nebo  was  a  deity  of 
the  first  rank  in  greatness. 

Sometimes  the  name  of  Nebo  is  omitted 
from  lists  of  the  gods,  or  again  it  is  set  among 
the  minor  rather  than  the  major  divinities  of 
Chaldrea.  It  is  doubtful  Avhether  Nebo  was 
worshiped  from  the  earliest  times,  but  it  is 
certain  that  he  is  to  be  classified  with  the  dei- 
ties of  Lower  Mesopotamia,  rather  than  with 
those  of  Assyria.  The  chief  seat  of  his  wor- 
ship was  Borsippa,  and  it  was  to  him  that  the 

great  temple  of 
world-wide  fame, 
known  as  the  Birs- 
Nimrud,  was  ded- 
icated. At  Calah, 
on  the  Tigris,  the 
ruins  of  one  of  his 
shrines  are  found, 
and  it  is  from  this 
place  that  the 
striking  statues  of 
the  god  were  taken 
and  transferred  to 
the  British  Mu- 
seum. 

The     catalogue 
of  planetary  gods 

NANA,   THE   PHCENICIAN    ASTARTE.        QJxds       with       Ncbo. 

With  each  god,  according  to  the  system  of 
the  Chaldeans,  was  associated  a  goddess, 
who  shared  with  her  husband  the  rule  of 
his  sphere.  Hea,  the  Chaldrean  Neptune,  had 
Dav-Kina  for  his  queen,  and  her  titles  are  the 
same  as  his.  The  wife  of  Bel-Nimrod  was 
Beltis,  who  had  the  highest  fame,  being  hon- 
ored with  such  preeminent  titles  as  "the 
Great  Goddess,"  and  "  Mother  of  the  deities." 
Her  rank  in  the  pantheon  of  ChaldiBa  was 
almost  as  high  as  that  of  Juno  among  the 
Romans,  and  besides  this  exaltation  she  had 
also  many  of  the  attributes  of  Ceres  and  Di- 
ana. The  queen  of  El  was  called  An  at  A, 
but  her  personality  is  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  his,  and  her  titles  are  but  a  reflection 
from  her  husband's.  In  like  manner  was  asso- 
ciated with  Samas  in  authority  his  wife,  the 
goddess  Anunit,  who  was  worshiped  at  Larsa 


and  Sippara.  The  queen  of  Merodach  was 
Zir-Banit,  who  had  a  temple  at  Babylon,  and 
who  divides  with  Beltis  the  honor  and  rank 
of  the  Juno  of  the  Chaldseans.  With  Nergal 
was  associated  the  goddess  Nana,  who  appears 
to  have  been  the  divinity  whom  the  Phoeni- 
cians worshiped  as  Astarte;  while  to  Nebo 
was  assigned  the  goddess  Varamit,  who  was 
honored  with  the  title  of  "  the  Exalted  one" 

It  was  thus  that  in  their  aspirations  for 
communion  with  the  higher  powers,  the  yearn- 
ings of  the  ancient  Chaldseans  turned  upwards 
to  the  planets  and  stars.  The  horizon  of  the 
Babylonian  plain  was  uniform  and  boundless. 
It  was  the  heaven  above  rather  than  the  earth 
beneath,  which  exhibited  variety  and  life. 
The  Zodiac  was  ever  new  with  its  brilliant 
evolutions.  Through  the  clear  atmosphere 
the  tracks  of  the  shining  orbs  could  be  traced 
in  every  phase  and  transposition.  With  each 
dawn  of  the  morning  light,  with  each  recur- 
rence of  the  evening  twilight,  a  new  panorama 
spread  before  the  reverent  imagination  of  the 
dreamer,  and  he  saw  in  the  moving  spheres 
not  only  the  abode  but  the  manifested  glory  of 
his  gods.  Between  the  rising  and  the  setting 
of  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  stars  and  the 
movements  and  vicissitudes  of  human  life — 
the  waking  and  sleeping,  the  vigor  and  wea- 
riness of  men — there  seemed  to  be  a  constant 
relation.  The  one  appeared  to  depend  on  the 
other.  The  affairs  of  life  seemed  to  receive 
their  laws  and  conditions  from  the  skies.  The 
antecedents  of  good  and  evil  were  in  the  stars. 
Merodach  was  the  author  of  good ;  Adar,  the 
breeder  of  malevolence. 

In  the  Zodiac  the  sun  had  twelve  houses. 
His  proper  home  was  in  the  sign  of  Leo.  So 
likewise  the  planets  passed  through  twelve 
stages  in  their  journey,  and  each  sign  or 
"house"  through  which  an  orb  thus  passed 
became  a  seat  of  divine  power,  and  the  planets 
themselves  were  gods.  With  these,  thirty  of 
the  fixed  stars  were  associated  as  "counseling 
gods ;"  while  twelve  others  in  the  northern  sky 
and  twelve  in  the  south,  were  called  "the 
judges."  As  many  of  these  twenty-four  lumi- 
naries as  were  above  the  horizon  decided  the 
fortunes  of  the  living,  while  those  below  the 
limit  of  night  decided  the  fates  of  the  dead. 


CHALD^A.  —RELIGION. 


139 


Each  month  of  the  year  belonged  to  one  of 
the  twelve  major  gods,  beginning  with  Ann. 
"The  seven  days  of  the  week  were  governed 
by  the  sun,  moon,  and  five  planets;  and  the 
hours  of  the  day  were  apportioned  to  controll- 
ing luminaries. 

In  all  this  we  find  one  of  the  earliest  and 
most  striking  examples  of  the  primitive  unity 
of  religion,  poetry,  and  science.  In  the  first 
.ages  of  history  the  offices  of  the  priest,  the 
hard,  and  the  philosopher  were  hardly  to  be 
•distinguished  the  one  from  the  other.  Each 
had  his  own  subjective  concept  of  nature,  and 
-each  expressed  what  was  most  strongly  im- 
pressed upon  his  own  thought.  Doubtless  the 
man  of  antiquity,  more  than  the  man  of  mod- 
ern times,  was  alive  to  the  varying  aspects  of 
the  natural  world.  Doubtless  he  was  thus  pre- 
•disposed  to  consider  Nature,  and  to  speak  of 
her  laws,  her  origin,  her  destiny.  But  each 
thinker  responded  in  his  own  way,  and  gave 
his  own  interpretation  as  he  was  moved  by  the 
■anima  mundi.  He  uttered  a  prophecy,  chanted 
.a  poem,  or  explained  in  prose  the  nature,  the 
origin,  the  reason  of  the  world,  as  he  was 
moved  thereto  by  the  varying  moods  of  his 
jnind. 

The  primitive  priest,  as  he  gazed  on  the 
passing  panorama  of  earth  and  heaven,  caught 
at  the  idea  of  intelligent  causes  behind  the 
tangible  forms  and  processes  of  nature.  To 
him  the  important  question  seemed  to  be  who 
it  was  that  controlled  and  directed  the  move- 
ments of  the  world  and  led  onward  the  mag- 
nificent marches  of  the  skies.  In  that  part  of 
nature  which  lay  nearest  to  himself  he  per- 
■ceived  no  motion  or  agitation  which  was  not 
traceable  to  some  intelligent  agency.  From 
this  he  reasoned  by  analogy  that  the  greater 
processes  of  the  natural  world  were  in  like 
manner  produced  by  a  personal  will  and 
power — that  is,  by  a  god.  This  idea  has  al- 
ways seemed  to  men  of  one  type  of  mind  to 
be  the  most  important  thought  of  which  man- 
kind are  capable;  and  deducible  from  this 
assumption,  the  priests  of  old  reasoned  that 
the  most  important  duties  of  man  related  to  a 
knowledge  and  worship  of  the  gods,  who  were 
the  causes  of  all  things. 

The  poet  takes  another  view  of  the  same 
N.— Vol.  1—9 


problem.  It  is  to  his  senses  rather  than  to 
his  reasoning  powers  that  Nature  makes  her 
strongest  appeal.  He  feels  Avhat  he  sees.  He 
enjoys ;  he  suflTers.  Upon  his  sensitive  nature 
falls  the  shadow  of  the  cloud,  and  his  thought  at 
once  changes  to  somber  melancholy,  to  doubt, 
to  gloomy  forebodings.  The  cloud  breaks 
away,  and  his  spirit  becomes  radiant  as  the 
light.  He  gathers  the  sunbeams  in  his  arms. 
He  turns  his  face  upward  to  the  blue  pavilion, 
and  pours  forth  his  ecstatic  dream  in  a  rhap- 
sody of  the  skies.  But  he  speaks  only  of 
what  he  sees  and  feels.  His  gratified  senses 
are  the  sources  of  his  song. 

The  sage  looks  at  nature,  not  in  her  effects 
upon  his  senses  and  imagination,  not  in  re* 
spect  to  the  forces  which  lie  behind  her  visible 
forms,  but  in  the  relations  of  her  parts.  By 
him  every  phenomenon  is  attributed  to  some 
other,  and  that  to  some  other  still.  To  him 
each  fact  is  itself  the  cause  of  the  fact  which 
succeeds  it.  All  things  are  related  and  de- 
pendent, and  the  highest  knowledge  is  to  un- 
derstand the  laws  of  these  relations  and  de- 
pendencies. By  such  knowledge  man  may  be 
able  to  control  the  conditions  under  which  he 
exists,  and  to  augment  his  happiness  by  an 
alliance  with  Nature  rather  than  by  the  wor- 
ship of  the  gods. 

In  all  times  the  leading  minds  of  the  world 
have  busied  themselves  with  one  or  the  other 
of  these  interpretations  of  Nature.  In  the 
primitive  ages,  however,  when  thought  and 
feeling  and  emotion — sensibility,  will,  and 
passion — were  still  commingled  in  the  glowing 
minds  of  men,  it  generally  happened  that  the 
priest  was  in  part  a  prophet.  The  sage  was 
in  some  sense  a  philo.sopher;  and  the  seer  in 
his  higher  and  nobler  moods  broke  forth 
into  song. 

Of  such  sort  were  the  Wise  Men  of  Chaldsea. 
The  interpretation  of  nature  through  the  min- 
gled oracles  of  priest  and  bard  and  prophet 
was  the  ground-work  of  that  half-mythical  and 
half-scientific  lore  which,  at  the  first  Chaldsean, 
became  disseminated  throughout  Western  Asia. 
To  trace  the  paths  of  the  stars  through  the 
sky,  to  note  the  approximation  and  divergence 
of  the  planets,  and  to  estimate  the  influence 
of  this  ever-changing  aspect  on  the  affairs  of 


140 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


men, — such  was  the  work  of  the  priests.  To 
show  how  the  prosperity  and  reverses  of  the 
Empire  depended  upon  conjunctions  and  oppo- 
sitions in  the  skies,  was  a  duty  which  has 
made  the  name  Chaldsean  synonymous  in  all 
ages  with  seer  and  prophet.  In  the  Book  of 
Daniel  the  Chaldseans  are  spoken  of  as  the  in- 
terpreters of  stars  and  signs,  and  the  same 
reputation  is  diffused  in  the  literature  of  all 
nations.  Until  to-day,  in  the  high  light  of 
civilization,  the  idea  of  some  kind  of  domina- 
tion of  the  stars  over  the  affairs  of  human  life 
has  hardly  released  its  hold  on  the  minds  of 
men ;  and  the  language  of  the  old  Chaldsean 
ritual  of  signs'  has  still  a  familiar  sound  in 
the  ears  of  the  credulous. 


^  The  following  application  of  star-lore  to  the 
affairs  of  life  has  been  deciphered  from  a  tablet 
discovered  at  Nineveh  :  "  If  Jupiter  is  seen  in  the 
month  of  Tammuz,  there  will  be  corpses.  If  Venus 
comes  opposite  the  star  of  the  fish,  there  will  be 
devastation.  If  the  star  of  the  great  lion  is  gloomy, 
the  heart  of  the  people  will  not  rejoice.  If  the 
moon  is  seen  on  the  first  day  of  the  month,  Accad 
will  prosper." 


The  intellectual  grandeur  of  the  Chal- 
dseans ended  with  the  Assyrian  ascendency. 
The  sages  and  dreamers  of  the  South  shrank 
back  before  the  brandishing  sword  of  the 
North.  But  the  nobler  part  of  Chaldsea,  as 
of  every  nation  and  kindred,  could  not  perish. 
The  mighty  works  which  were  accomplished  by 
the  race  of  men  who  brought  Lower  Mesopo* 
tamia  into  the  civilized  condition  are  hardly 
any  longer  to  be  distinguished  from  the  dust 
of  the  plain ;  but  that  beautiful  astrological 
idolatry,  of  which  they  were  the  authors,  has 
entered  into  the  dreams  and  poems  of  all 
lands,  and  has  pierced  with  its  tender  light 
even  the  gloom  and  melancholy  of  Byron : 

"  Ye  stars !  which  are  the  poetry  of  heaven ! 

If  in  your  bright  leaves  we  would  read  the- 
fate 
Of  men  and  empires, — 't  is  to  be  forgiven 
That  in  our  aspirations  to  be  great 
Our  destinies  o'erleap  their  mortal  state, 
And  claim  a  kindred  with  you  ;  for  ye  are 

A  beauty  and  a  mystery,  and  create 
In  us  such  love  and  reverence  from  afar, 
That   fortune,    fame,  power,  life    have    named' 
themselves  a  star."        — Childe  Harold. 


( 

\v.         1- 

1A 

\%         ^ 

i         ^o 

V^ 

^%. 

y>^ 

(  ,^     W^. 

y^ 

?> 

^<^^  / 

/Of-     K 

0 

/     f 

o\  A* 

Jr 

^jr\ 

f^ 

-t 

\ 

m 

\ 

^K^ 

1 

\ 

S^  ^, 

i-^^ 

a-JL^^^-V- 

\     \ 

\ 

Z>i^'^  /ty^ 

4^ 

^\ 

/* 

^   ^ 

'      \^ 

^') 

\       "^ 

\'J 

/    ^ 

^^ 

fA- 

7 

/Mff 

-^\ 


■^Jrvlfli 


/^ 


^ 


look  l^irit. 


ASSYRIA. 


Chapter  XI.— Country  and  products. 


I F  the  general  character  of 
the  country  called  As- 
syria something  has  al- 
ready been  said.  In  the 
description  of  Chaldsea  a 
sketch  was  also  given  of 
the  more  important  re- 
gion on  the  north.  Upper  Mesopotamia  is 
strongly  discriminated  from  the  low-lying 
Babylonian  plain.  The  latter  is  an  alluvium 
which  in  the  course  of  ages  has  been  created 
by  the  action  of  the  rivers;  the  former  is  an 
upland  district,  swelling  into  plateaus,  rising 
into  hills  and  ridges.  The  natural  limits  of 
the  country  are  in  some  parts  indistinct,  and 
the  political  boundaries  of  the  Assyrian  Em- 
pire were  at  different  epochs  fluctuating  and 
uncertain. 

The  chief  seat  of  imperial  power  in  As- 
syria lay  on  the  Tigris,  between  the  thirty- 
fifth  and  thirty-seventh  parallels  of  north  lati- 
tude. This  region  may  be  regarded  as  the 
geographical  and  political  center  of  that  vast 
dominion  which  for  several  centuries  held  the 
ascendency  in  Western  Asia.  The  territory, 
however,  which  may  be  properly  included  un- 


der the  name  Assyria  had  a  much  wider 
limit  than  the  two  degrees  of  latitude  which 
included  its  vital  part. 

The  ancient  historians — Herodotus,  Pliny, 
Strabo — give  no  satisfactory  account  of  the 
boundaries  of  the  country.  The  first  consid- 
ered Chaldsea  to  be  but  a  district  of  Assyria ; 
the  second  made  Assyria  and  Mesopotamia 
identical;  while  the  third  included  Kurdistan 
on  the  east  and  Syria  on  the  west  under  the 
common  name. 

If  in  order  to  discover  the  true  limits  of 
the  country  we  turn  to  nature,  we  shall  find 
on  the  east  the  well-defined  barrier  of  the 
Zagros  mountain  range.  This  chain,  which  in 
the  upper  course  of  the  Tigris  presses  moder- 
ately close  to  the  river,  makes  a  detour  east- 
ward, including  the  ancient  provinces  of 
Adiabene  and  Chalonitis,  and  constituting  in 
that  direction  the  natural  boundary  of  the 
country.  On  the  south,  also,  the  limit  of 
Assyria  is  plainly  indicated  in  the  descent 
from  the  upland  to  the  alluvium — a  line  al- 
ready defined  as  extending  from  Is  to  Sama- 
rah.  On  the  Mesopotamian  side  of  the  Tigris 
the  determination  of  a  boundary  is  more  dif- 

(143) 


144 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ficult;  but  the  best  view,  whether  geographi- 
cal or  historical,  is  that  which  makes  the 
western  aud  south-western  boundary  of  As- 
syria to  be  the  Eujihrates.  On  the  north,  that 
branch  of  the  Armenian  mountains  known  as 
the  Mons  Masius  may  be  properly  taken  as 
the  natural  limit  of  the  country.  Within  all 
this  extensive  area,  and  even  beyond  its  bor- 
ders, unmistakable  traces  of  the  great  Assyrian 
race  are  to  be  found;  and  if  the  provinces 
and  kingdoms  conquered  by  this  people  were 
to  be  included,  the  boundaries  would  have  to 
be  greatly  extended  in  all  directions. 

The  maximum  length  of  Assyria,  measured 
diagonally  from  north-west  to  south-east,  was 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles;  the 
greatest  breadth,  three  hundred  miles.  But 
the  average  length  and  breadth  of  the  country 
were  not  nearly  so  great.  The  whole  area  of 
the  region  included  in  the  irregular  boundaries 
above  given  was  not  less  than  seventy-five 
thousand  square  miles — a  district  equal  to  the 
State  of  Nebraska,  and  not  much  below  the 
area  of  Great  Britain. 

During  the  period  of  her  ascendency,  As- 
syria surpassed  in  territorial  extent  any  of  the 
nations  with  which  she  came  in  contact.^  The 
great  breadth  of  the  Assyrian  dominions,  no 
less  than  the  fortunate  geographical  position 
of  Mesopotamia  and  the  vigor  of  the  race, 
contributed  to  the  power  and  perpetuity  of 
the  Empire. 

Assyria  is  divided  by  the  Tigris  into  an 
eastern  and  a  western  part.  The  former 
stretches  from  the  river  across  the  plains  and 
up  the  slopes  of  the  Zagros;  the  latter,  lying 
west  of  the  Tigris,  looks  to  the  Mesopotamian 
uplands  and  is  bordered  afar  by  the  Euphra- 
tes. The  eastern  region  is  amply  supplied 
with  water.  A  thousand  springs  and  rivulets 
bursting  from  the  mountain  sides  gather  and 
rush  along,  combining  as  they  near  the  Tigris 
into  rapid  streams  and  swelling  rivers.  On 
the  north,  also,  the  region  is  copiously  watered ; 

^  The  great  kingdoms  and  empires  of  antiquity 
are  dwarfed  by  territorial  comparison  with  tlie  na- 
tions of  modern  times.  But  by  the  aggregation  of 
many  populous  cities  within  a  narrow  district,  a 
degree  of  compactness  and  political  concentration 
was  obtained  which  is  hardly  surpassed  in  the 
more  diflfuse  civilizations  of  the  present. 


for  the  high  ranges  of  Armenia  send  down  to 
the  plains  a  perennial  supply.  The  central 
and  southern  region  is  less  favored.  The 
rivers  of  Mesopotamia,  on  the  side  of  the 
Tigris,  are  neither  numerous  nor  abundant  in 
water.  On  the  side  of  the  Euphrates  a  few 
important  tributaries  are  found  at  intervals, 
but  all  the  south-western  district  between  the 
thirty-sixth  parallel  and  the  northern  limit  of 
Chaldsea  is  an  arid  and  unfruitful  country, 
with  many  of  the  features  of  the  Arabian 
waste. 

Taken  all  in  all,  the  upland  region  rising 
into  hills  and  ridges  between  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Tigris  could  not  be  truthfully  de- 
scribed as  fertile  or  as  possessing  any  great  in- 
centives to  civilization.  Only  in  that  central 
part,  stretching  in  all  directions  from  the  site 
of  Nineveh,  were  the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil, 
the  salubrity  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the 
general  aspects  of  nature,  of  such  sort  as  to 
react  powerfully  upon  the  faculties  of  man. 

Eastern  Assyria,  that  is,  the  part  between 
the  Tigris  and  the  foot  of  the  Zagros,  is  a 
country  half  hilly  and  half  alluvial  in  its 
character.  Eanges  of  hills,  parallel  with  each 
other,  and  at  right  angles  with  the  mountains, 
divide  the  district  into  a  succession  of  valleys, 
broadening  into  that  of  the  Tigris,  fertile  and 
highly  favored.  .From  the  great  river  to  the 
mountain  foot  is  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
miles.  The  maximum  breadth  is  attained 
above  the  thirty-fifth  parallel,  and  from  this 
latitude  southward  East  Assyria  narrows  grad- 
ually to  a  point  at  the  junction  of  the  Gyndes 
with  the  Tigris,  a  short  distance  below  Bagh- 
dad. In  the  river-beds  the  streams  lie  low, 
filling  their  banks  only  in  the  seasons  of  rain. 
The  hills  and  ridges  are  built  of  limestone,  and 
their  upper  slopes  are  covered  with  stunted 
brushwood  and  dwarf  oaks. 

Beginning  above  the  thirty-seventh  parallel 
and  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tigris,  the  rivers 
of  Assyria  are,  first,  the  Kurnib,  a  mountain 
stream  of  rapid  flow  and  considerable  volume. 
The  next,  and  greatest,  is  the  Zab  Ala,  or 
Greater  Zab,  which  flows  with  broad  and 
steady  current  through  the  district  of  the 
most  important  Assyrian  ruins — the  region 
about   Nineveh   and    Calah — and    enters   the 


ASSYRIA.— COUNTRY  AND  PRODUCTS. 


145 


Tigris,  after  a  course  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  in  latitude  36°  N.  The  Zab  Asfal, 
or  Lesser  Zab,  drains  the  ancient  province 
of  Adiabene,  and  the  Adhem  gathers  its  wa- 
ters from  the  brooks  of  Chalonitis  and  falls 
into  the  main  river  about  the  thirty-fourth 
parallel.  Last  of  the  principal  streams  of 
Eastern  Assyria  is  the  Diyaleh,  the  classical 
Gyndes,  which  forms  the  south-western  bound- 
ary of  the  country  from  the  mountains  of 
Kurdistan  to  the  Tigris  at  Baghdad. 

On  the  Mesopotamian  bank,  that  is,  in 
Western  Assyria,  the  streams  are  neither 
many  nor  abundant.     The  tributaries  of  the 


featureless,  region,  well-nigh  as  level  and  de« 
void  of  charm  as  is  the  waste  of  Arabia. 
Nevertheless,  the  surface  of  this  district,  like- 
the  American  plains,  rises  and  falls;  and  the 
country  is  far  from  being  a  sea-level  flat  likt 
the  alluvial  region  of  Lower  Mesopotamia. 
The  streams  of  this  district  are  few,  and  sink 
into  the  niter-sprinkled  soil.  Eains  are  rare 
and  scanty,  and  the  water  which  pours  from 
occasional  springs  is  frequently  brackish  and 
unfit  for  use. 

Westward  from  the  Khabur  are  the  hills 
of  Abdul-Aziz,  an  upheaved  region  covered 
with  fragments  of  basalt,  and  presenting  here 


THE  TIGRIS  AT  NINEVEH. 


Tigris  on  this  side  are  mere  creeks,  but  a  few 
miles  in  length,  and  generally  dry  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  year.  Far  to  the  north, 
however,  in  the  district  of  Mons  Masius,  the 
streams  are  perennial,  and  the  country,  though 
half-mountainous,  is  plentifully  supplied  with 
springs  and  brooks.  Into  the  Euphrates,  from 
the  side  of  Mesopotamia,  fall  only  the  two 
rivers,  the  Belik  or  Belichus,  which  drains  the 
ancient  Padan-Aram,  and  the  Khabur,  which 
waters  a  considerable  region  between  the 
thirty-fifth  parallel  and  the  mountainous  coun- 
try of  Mygdonia. 

The  traveler,  as  he  stands  on  the  undulat- 
ing plateau  lying  south  of  Mons  Masius,  sees 
around  him  a  somewhat  elevated,  but  almost 


and  there  the  cones  of  extinct  volcanoes. 
This  part  of  Mesopotamia  is  favored  with  one 
small  lake  —  the  Khatouniyeh  —  oblong  in 
shape,  with  low  and  sedgy  banks,  abounding 
in  water-fowl  and  fish. 

Western  Assyria  is  divided  into  a  northern 
and  a  southern  slope  by  a  range  of  hills  called 
the  Sinjar.  This  elevation  stretches  midway 
across  the  country  from  the  Khabur  to  the 
Tigris  below  Nineveh,  and  constitutes  the 
principal  water-shed  of  Mesopotamia.  The 
range  is  an  upheaval  of  shaly  limestone,  fos- 
siliferous  in  character,  and  in  some  parts 
mountainous  in  magnitude.  Down  the  broken 
sides  of  this  great  ridge  many  springs  pour 
their  feeble    contribution  of    water,   but  the 


146 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


resulting  streams  are  small  and  soon  sink  into 
the  plains. 

The  slopes  of  the  Sinjar  are  sufficiently 
fertile  to  produce  fine  orchards  and  fields  of 
grain.  The  native  forests  are  of  considerable 
importance  and  extend  even  to  the  summit 
of  the  range.  The  country  west  of  Nineveh 
is  a  well-wooded  region,  and  the  slopes  of  the 
hills  descending  to  the  river  are  in  many 
places  picturesque  and  beautiful. 

To  the  south  of  the  Sinjar  range  lies  the 
flat,  unbroken  plain  which  Xenophon  declares 
to  be  "a  country  as  level  as  the  sea,  and  full 
of  wormwood;"  adding  that,  "if  any  other 
shrub  or  reed  grew  there  it  had  a  sweet, 
aromatic  smell,  but  there  wa&  not  a  tree  in 
the  whole  region."  Only  one  river  of  any 
consequence  waters  the  country  between  the 
ridges  of  Sinjar  and  the  northern  limit  of 
Chaldsea.  This  is  the  Tharthar,  which  flows 
in  a  direction  parallel  to  that  of  the  Tigris, 
and  drops  into  a  salt  lake  in  34°  30'  N. 

Such  are  the  natural  features  of  Assyria. 
It  does  not  appear  that,  to  any  considerable 
extent,  the  physical  outlines  of  the  country 
were  used  as  the  basis  of  political  divisions. 
In  the  earlier  development  of  a  consolidated 
empire,  such  as  the  Assyrian  monarchy,  little 
importance  is  attached  to  provincial  bounda- 
ries. The  Assyrians  did  not  themselves  culti- 
vate geography  as  zealously  as  did  the  West- 
ern nations ;  and  we  are  accordingly  dependent 
upon  Greek  travelers  for  most  of  what  is 
known  concerning  the  political  divisions  of 
Mesopotamia  and  the  adjacent  regions.  It  is 
from  the  geographers  Strabo,  Dionysius,  and 
Ptolemy,  that  our  information  on  this  subject 
is  chiefly  derived.  The  writers  of  the  Old 
Testament  have  also  given  us  some  valuable 
data  respecting  the  names  and  positions  of 
the  Assyrian  provinces.  The  knowledge  de- 
rived from  this  source,  combined  with  that 
which  is  gleaned  from  the  classical  geogra- 
phers, furnishes  a  fair  degree  of  certainty 
concerning  the  main  outlines  of  the  political 
districts  of  Assyria. 

The  central  province — that  which  included 
Nineveh — was  called  Aturia,  which  is  merely 
the  Persian  spelling  of  the  word  Assyria. 
This  district  lying  chiefly,  but  not  wholly,  on 


the  east  bank  of  the  Tigris,  stretches  from  the 
Greater  Zab  northward  to  above  the  thirty- 
seventh  parallel  of  latitude,  including  within 
its  limits  the  sites  of  the  great  central  cities 
of  the  Empire.  Between  the  Greater  and  the 
Lesser  Zab  lies  the  province  of  Adiabenie,  in 
which  are  the  ruins  of  Arbela.  Still  further 
south,  between  the  Lesser  Zab  and  the  Gyndes, 
are  the  two  provinces  of  Chalonitis  and 
Apolloniatis,  the  latter  lying  along  the  Tigris, 
and  the  former  extending  eastward  to  the 
mountains  of  Kurdistan.  Such  are  the  prin« 
cipal  divisions  of  Eastern  Assyria. 

In  Mesopotamia  Proper,  several  provinces 
are  mentioned  by  Strabo — Acabene,  Tingene, 
Ancobaritis — the  position  and  boundaries  of 
which  have  not  been  determined.  Far  to  the 
north,  at  the  base  of  the  Mons  Masius,  is  the 
great  district  called  by  the  Greeks  Mygdonia.^ 
It  lies  to  the  north  of  the  Sinjar  mountains, 
and  is  drained  by  the  tributaries  of  the  Kha- 
bur.  To  the  west  of  this,  in  the  upper  bend 
of  the  Euphrates,  is  the  district  called  Padan- 
Aram — an  ancient  name  occurring  in  Genesis, 
but  not  mentioned  by  Strabo  or  Ptolemy. 

The  limits  of  the  provincial  districts  of 
the  Assyrian  Empire  were,  like  the  boundaries 
of  the  Empire  itself,  somewhat  shifting  and 
unsettled.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that 
the  provinces  of  what  may  be  properly  called 
Assyria  were  as  numerous  and  extensive  as 
here  described.  In  every  part  of  these  wide 
regions,  with  the  exception  of  the  arid  plain 
about  the  intersection  of  the  thirty-fifth  degree 
of  latitude  with  the  forty-second  meridian, 
fragments  and  ruins  of  Assyrian  greatness  are 
plentifully  scattered.  The  supposition  that 
the  Empire  was  limited  to  the  east  bank  of 
the  Tigris  has  no  foundation  in  fact.  Three 
out  of  the  four  capital  cities  were  built  on  that 
side  of  the  river;  but  in  Western  Aturia,  also 
in  Adiabene  and  Apolloniatis,  in  Mygdonia 
and  on  the  lower  Khabur,  the  remains  of 
cities  and  palaces  indicate  unmistakably  the 
presence  of  imperial  power  and  grandeur. 

Assyria  was  fortified  by  nature.  Along 
the  eastern  frontier  lay  the  ramparts  of  the 

^In  the  writings  of  Ptolemy  this  province  ia 
called  Gauzanitis  — the  same  as  the  Gozan  men- 
tioned in  Second  Kings. 


ASSYRIA.— COUNTRY  AND  PRODUCTS. 


147 


."Zagros — a  succession  of  mountainous  ridges, 
rising  grandly  ten  thousand  feet  into  summits 
clad  in  snow.  As  the  Alps  to  Italy,  so  stood 
these  lofty  battlements  to  the  fruitful  lowlands 
and  plains  of  Mesopotamia.  The  few  gate- 
"ways  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  Zagros  are  almost 
impassable  even  in  summer,  and  the  warlike 
races  who  dwelt  beyond  were  quite  shut  out 
from  foray  and  incursion. 

On  the  north  the  Assyrian  plateau  was 
•equally  defended.  Here  the  mountains  of 
Armenia  form  an  insurmountable  bulwark. 
The  summits  are  perpetually  snow-capped, 
and  the  deep  gorges  are  impassable.  This 
great  range  stands  nearly  at  right-angles  to 
the  Zagros,  and  rises  abruptly  from  the  plain, 
of  which  it  is  the  natural  rampart.  Military 
operations  in  such  a  region  are  impossible,  and 
in  this  fact  are  found  the  natural  conditions 
of  that  warlike  independence  immemorially 
enjoyed  by  the  native  tribes  of  Armenia. 
Like  the  Swiss  among  the  Alps,  the  fierce 
mountaineers  who  overlooked  Assyria  from 
the  north  smiled  at  military  menace  and 
scorned  the  subjection  of  the  peoples  of  the 
plain. 

On  the  west  and  south-west  Assyria  is 
skirted  by  the  wastes  of  Syria  and  Arabia, 
beyond  the  Euphrates  westward,  and  above 
the  thirty-sixth  parallel  of  latitude,  lies  the 
Tocky  desert  of  the  Hittites,  with  its  capital 
Carchemish;  while  to  the  south  stretch  away 
the  illimitable  sands  of  Arabia.  The  obstacles 
to  invasion  from  this  direction  were  few  and 
inconsiderable,  but  the  paucity  of  the  popula- 
tion which  could  be  sustained  on  the  black- 
ened hills  of  Syria  and  the  scorched  sanddunes 
of  Arabia  was  a  barrier  quite  as  effectual  as 
the  ridges  and  snows  of  the  Zagros  and  the 
Armenian  highlands. 

The  southern  border  of  the  Empire  was  by 
■mature  the  weakest.  On  the  side  of  Chaldsea 
"the  country  lay  open  to  hostile  demonstrations ; 
nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  relations,  both 
^varlike  and  pacific,  of  the  Assyrians  and 
•Chaldseans  are  to  be  traced  in  large  measure 
to  the  feeble  demarkation  drawn  by  nature 
between  the  two  countries.  To  create  and 
3naintain  the  line  which  was  naturally  wanting 
the  peoples  of  Upper  and  Lower  Mesopota- 


mia resorted  to  dykes  and  canals;  but  these, 
even  when  grand  in  extent  and  construction, 
could  furnish  but  a  poor  substitute  for  those 
immense  and  imperishable  bulwarks  of  stone — 
the  mountains. 

The  climate  of  Assyria  was  as  varied  as 
her  physical  outline.  The  degree  of  elevation, 
the  character  of  the  soil,  the  latitude,  the 
proximity  of  mountain,  river,  or  desert — all 
contributed  to  give  variety  to  atmospheric 
phenomena,  and  variability  to  the  aspects  of 
nature.  For  convenience  of  discussion  the 
whole  of  Assyria  may  be  divided  into  four 
climatic  districts.  The  first  of  these  is  Eastern 
Assyria — the  country  beyond  the  Tigris.  The 
second  is  Northern  Mesopotamia,  being  that 
part  which  is  under  the  immediate  influence  of 
the  Armenian  mountains.  The  third  division 
is  Central  Mesopotamia,  including  the  north- 
ern and  southern  slopes  of  the  Sinjar;  and 
the  fourth  is  Southern  Assyria — being  that 
portion  which  borders  on  the  plains  of 
Chaldsea. 

The  climate  of  Eastern  Assyria  is  cool  and 
moist.  The  proximity  of  the  Zagros  with  its 
snowy  heights  reduces  the  temperature,  wakes 
the  breeze,  sends  down  the  showers  of  rain. 
Even  in  summer,  when  rains  are  more  rare, 
copious  dews  are  distilled  by  night,  refreshing 
vegetation  and  cooling  the  atmosphere.  In 
winter  and  early  spring  there  is  a  heavy  rain- 
fall, and  the  streams  run  bankful  down  to 
join  the  Tigris.  Very  rarely  does  the  terrible 
sherghi,  or  hot  wind  of  the  desert,  blow  its 
withering  breath  on  the  green  slopes  of  Adia- 
bene  and  Chalonitis.  Snow  falls,  but  scantily, 
in  December  and  January,  and  ice  of  consid- 
erable thickness  forms  on  the  ponds  and 
brooks.  Farther  to  the  south,  in  Apolloniatis, 
the  climate  grows  more  torrid,  approximating 
that  of  Chaldsea.  The  winters  but  slightly 
chill  the  traveler;  the  summers  scorch  and 
burn. 

The  climate  of  Northern  Mesopotamia  is 
rather  severe.  The  temperature  falls  to  ten 
degrees  below  zero.  Winter  lasts  for  half  the 
year.  The  elevation  of  the  country  about  the 
head-waters  of  the  Tigris  is  as  much  as  one 
thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.     The  close  proximity  of  the  snow- 


148 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


covered  mountains  on  the  north  renders  the 
atmosphere  invigorating  in  summer,  and  in 
winter  adds  rigor  to  the  climate.  Snow  pre- 
vails, falling  to  great  depth  in  the  gorges. 
The  spring  is  late  and  chill ;  the  early  summer 
brings  abundance  of  blossoms;  July  and  Au- 
gust have  excessive  heat,  the  temperature  ris- 
ing to  110°  or  even  115°  in  the  shade.  The 
whole  range  of  the  thermometer  from  winter 
to  summer  is  above  120  degrees,  being  as 
great  as  in  any  country  in  the  world. 

The  climate  of  Central  Mesopotamia  is 
milder  than  in  Mygdonia  and  the  north.  Here 
it  seldom  snows,  except  on  the  summits  of  the 
Abdul-Aziz  and  the  Sinjar.  The  winter  is  no 
more  than  four  months  in  length ;  the  spring 
is  as  charming  as  in  any  region  of  the  globe ; 
for  a  short  season  the  landscape  is  carpeted 
with  the  richest  verdure  and  adorned  with  the 
most  beautiful  and  fragrant  flowers;  but  in 
midsummer  comes  that  intense  heat  from  which 
Central  and  Southern  IMesopotamia  have  al- 
ways suffered.  From  noon  till  night  of  the 
summer  day  nor  man  nor  beast  can  well  en- 
dure the  glow  of  the  furnace.  Fortunately, 
with  nightfall  the  fiery  heat  subsides,  and  the 
nights  and  early  mornings  are  not  unpleasant. 
Anon  the  calm  of  the  day  is  broken  by  storms 
of  rain  and  thunder  and  hail,  bursting  from 
the  Sinjar.  The  tempests  are  of  almost  tropi- 
cal violence,  furiovis  with  contending  winds 
and  lurid  with  incessant  lightnings.  After 
the  storm  has  lashed  itself  to  rest,  the  earth 
and  air  are  refreshed,  and  animals  and  man 
find  a  pleasant  respite  from  the  heat.  The 
autumn  throughout  the  greater  part  of  West- 
ern Assyria  is  remarkably  fine,  suggesting  the 
halcyon  days  by  the  banks  of  an  American 
river. 

As  Southern  Assyria  narrows  and  sinks 
into  the  alluvial  plain  of  Chaldsea,  the  torrid 
element  in  the  climate  becomes  more  pro- 
nounced. A  strictly  tropical  country  can  not, 
of  course,  be  found  as  far  north  as  the  thirty- 
fourth  parallel;  but  the  districts  of  Lower 
Assyria,  too  far  inland  to  be  moderated  by  the 
ocean,  too  far  from  the  mountains  to  feel  the 
invigoration  of  their  snows,  and  near  enough 
to  the  hot  sands  of  Arabia  to  inhale  their 
fiery  vapor,  may  well  be  regarded  as  suffering 


all   the  ills  of  the  tropics — and   without  the 
tropical  charm. 

It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  in  ancient 
times  the  climate  of  these  regions  was  consid- 
erably modified  by  the  agency  of  man.  The 
waters  of  the  two  great  rivers  were  car- 
ried far  into  what  are  now  desert  districts,, 
and  were  distributed  in  channels  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  country.  By  this  means  the  soil 
was  irrigated  and  the  air  cooled.  Vegetation, 
springing  rank  along  the  banks  of  the  canals,, 
became  at  once  a  cause  and  an  eflTect  of 
growth  and  moisture.  As  far  as  the  power 
of  man  could  thus  be  extended  the  arid 
wastes  were  planted  with  trees  and  cities. 
Still,  in  the  greater  part  of  Southern  Assyria 
the  country  can  never  have  been  fertile ;  and 
the  district  between  the  river  Khabur  and  the- 
northern  confines  of  Chaldsea  has  always  been, 
what  it  was  in  the  times  of  Cyrus  and  Alex- 
ander— a  country  of  extreme  heat  and  barren 
deserts.  Xenophon  declares  that  there  was  no- 
meadow,  no  tree,  no  leaf  or  twig  of  green, 
but  only  a  herbless  waste,  parched  by  the  heat 
of  the  sun. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  country  in  the  world 
which  is  subject  to  such  great  changes  in  the 
appearance  of  the  landscape  as  in  Assyria. 
In  the  spring  the  sudden  outburst  of  verdure 
spreads  a  carpet  of  green  grass  and  brilliant 
flowers  on  every  hand  in  infinite  profusion; 
but  no  sooner  is  the  summer  ushered  in  than- 
green  gives  place  to  yellow,  freshness  to  ster- 
ility, life  to  death.  The  same  district  which 
seems  in  April  and  May  to  be  a  boundless 
prairie  of  blossoms  and  foliage  is  in  a  few 
weeks  burnt  to  a  crisp,  blackened  and  deso- 
late as  Arabia. 

In  modern  times  the  inhabitants  of  South- 
ern Assyria  are  dependent  upon  the  course  of 
nature  for  whatever  they  produce.  Irrigation 
is  but  little  practiced,  and  only  the  sudden 
gush  of  seasonable  weather  in  the  spring  pre- 
vents the  reduction  of  the  country  to  a  desert. 
While  the  pastures  are  still  green  from  the 
continuance  of  the  early  rains  the  flocks  find 
a  luxuriant  supply;  and  there  is  even  time 
before  the  beginning  of  the  drought  for  the 
production  and  harvest  of  an  abundant  crop 
of  those  cereals   which   are  adapted   to  short 


ASSYRIA.— COUNTRY  AND  PRODUCTS 


U9 


seasons.  After  that,  all  herbage  begins  to 
shrivel,  the  streams  dry  up  to  their  fountains, 
and  the  earth  becomes  as  barren  as  the  alka- 
line plains  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Notwithstanding  the  fierce  summer  heats 
and  the  long  continued  drouths  to  which 
Assyria  is  exposed  there  is  no  other  country 
better  situated  by  nature  for  the  artificial  dis- 
tribution of  water,  and  the  consequent  favor- 
able modification  of  its  climate.  For  hundreds 
of  miles  from  their  sources  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Tigris  have  so  great  a  fall  as  to  make 
practicable  and  easy  the  distribution  of  their 
wealth  through  all  the  thirsty  districts  of 
which  they  form  the  boundaries.  Nor  were 
the  ancient  Assyrians  slow  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  suggestion  of  nature  respecting  the 
watering  of  their  plains.  Besides  the  canals 
and  aqueducts,  the  ruins  of  which  are  plenti- 
fully scattered  in  Assyria  as  well  as  in  Chal- 
dsea,  mr.ch  evidence  exists  of  the  skill  of  the 
people  in  lifting  water  from  the  rivers  and 
distributing  it  for  the  use  of  man  and  the  re- 
freshing of  the  fields.'  Machinery  of  many 
kinds  was  erected  along  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris,  as  along  the  river  of  Egypt,  by  which 
the  fertilizing  fluid  was  lifted  and  borne  to 
where  it  was  required.  By  this  means  large 
districts  which  are  now,  from  the  brief  con- 
tinuance of  the  spring  showers,  reduced  to  a 
precarious  state,  with  a  minimum  of  popula- 
tion, were,  in  the  times  of  the  Empire,  the 
seat  of  abundance  and  luxury — crowded  with 
great  markets  and  populous  cities. 

The  products  of  Eastern  Assyria  are  not 
very  fully  recorded  by  the  classical  authors. 
The  olive  grew  in  Chalonitis.  Pliny  in  his 
Natural  History  speaks  disparagingly  of  the 
quality  of  the  Assyrian  dates.  Spices  and 
aromatic  plants  were  found  in  the  valleys  east 
of  the  Tigris.  Xenophon  enumerates  sesame, 
millet,  wheat,  and  barley  as  the  principal 
grain  products  of  Mesopotamia.  For  its  cit- 
ron trees  Assyria  was  famous  from  antiquity. 

^  At  one  place  in  Aturia  the  water  of  the  Tigris 
was  carried  in  a  tunnel  through  the  hills  and  then 
conducted  a  distance  of  eight  miles  in  a  direction 
opposite  to  that  of  the  tributary  streams.  The 
aqueduct  was  supplied  with  locks  and  other  con- 
trivances for  regulating  the  supply  and  flow  of 
the  current. 


They  not  only  gave  fruit  to  the  hand,  and 
fragance  to  the  sense,  but  were  also  esteemed 
as  to  leaves  and  blossoms  for  their  invaluable 
medicinal  properties.  The  tree  was  native  to 
the  country,  and  has  never  flourished  equally 
in  any  other  region.  Silk  was  also,  according 
to  Pliny,  a  natural  product  of  Assyria,  the 
worm  producing  it  being  of  a  peculiar  species 
and  unusually  large. 

It  is  rather  by  the  present  productions  of 
Mesopotamia  than  by  incidental  references 
thereto  by  ancient  travelers  and  historians 
that  we  are  enabled  to  form  a  true  idea  of 
the  vegetable  and  mineral  resources  of  the 
empire  of  Sargon  and  Sennacherib.  The  gen- 
eral climatic  conditions  remain  unchanged, 
and  the  modifying  influence  of  human  skill 
may  be  fairly  estimated.  To  begin  with  the 
fruits,  the  most  important  are,  as  they  no 
doubt  were  twenty -five  centuries  ago,  the 
orange,  the  pomegranate,  the  apricot,  the 
lemon,  the  olive,  the  fig,  the  grape,  the  apple, 
the  pear,  the  quince,  the  plum,  the  cherry, 
melons  of  many  kinds,  filberts,  pistachio-nuts, 
and  chestnuts.  The  orange  flourishes  only  in 
Southern  Mesopotamia,  and  those  semi-tropical 
parts  bordering  on  Chaldsea.  The  pomegran- 
ate grows  in  all  the  provinces  except  where 
the  chill  of  the  mountain  peaks  is  too  percep- 
tibly felt.  The  native  place  of  the  fig  is  on 
the  slopes  of  the  Sinjar  and  the  hills  of  Ab- 
dul-Aziz. Here  too  the  vineyards  flourish,  as 
also  further  south.  The  lemon  accompanies 
the  orange;  and  the  orchards  of  apples  and 
pears  are  most  productive  on  the  ridges  of 
Chalonitis  and  Aturia.  Along  the  spurs  of 
the  Zagros  the  olive  grows  wild,  while  the 
fragmentary  woods  of  the  north  are  enriched 
with  abundance  of  filberts  and  chestnuts.  In 
the  valleys  of  Eastern  Assyria  melons  flourish, 
and  the  pear  and  the  plum  produce  fairly  on 
both  banks  of  the  Tigris. 

The  edible  vegetables  of  Assyria  still  more 
abound.  Capers  and  esculent  mushrooms  are 
native  to  large  districts.  Beans  and  peas  and 
lentils  yield  abundantly  and  without  much 
labor.  Onions,  cucumbers,  and  spinach,  and 
indeed  most  of  the  garden  products  of  the 
United  States,  have  been  immemorially  culti- 
vated  in  Assyria.      One    of    the    commonest 


150 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


shrubs  of  the  country  is  that  odorous  absin- 
thium, or  wormwood,  mentioned  by  Xenophon. 
Its  native  place  is  Western  Mesopotamia  in 
the  region  south  of  the  Khabur.  Here  also 
axe  occasional  groves  of  tamarisk  near  the 
river.  The  most  beautiful  of  the  natural 
growths  of  the  sparse  woodlands  are  the  myr- 
tles and  oleanders,  which  lift  their  large  and 
brilliant  blossoms  in  great  profusion  along  the 
banks  of  the  eastern  tributaries  of  the  Tigris ; 
nor  should  mention  be  omitted  of  the  famous 
Scdix  Babylonica,  or  weeping  willow,  whose 
delicate  drooping  sprays  have  been  the  admi- 
ration of  all  peoples. 

The  list  of  Assyrian  products  would  not  be 
complete  without  a  mention  of  manna.  It  is 
chiefly  secreted  by  the  dwarf  oak,  from  the 
branches  of  which,  under  favoring  condi- 
tions, it  is  gathered  in  considerable  quantities. 
Other  trees  and  shrubs  also  yield  a  supply, 
but  less  abundantly ;  and  in  seasons  of  plen- 
tiful moisture,  especially  during  the  preva- 
lence of  foggy  weather,  the  manna  is  distilled 
on  rocks  or  even  in  the  sand.  This  variety, 
though  scant  in  quantity,  is  greatly  prized. 
In  times  of  drouth  there  is  no  secretion  at  all. 

The  seasons  of  the  manna  harvest  are 
spring  and  autumn.  At  these  times  it  is 
gathered  by  being  shaken  upon  cloths  spread 
under  the  oaks.  The  manna  preserves  its 
sweetness  only  for  a  brief  period  after  being 
collected.  If  not  eaten  in  its  natural  state  it 
soon  sours  and  becomes  ofl^ensive.  In  order 
to  prevent  decay,  and  to  give  the  product  a 
mercantile  value,  it  is  boiled  into  a  kind  of 
paste,  which  can  be  preserved  in  cans  and 
transported  like  other  articles  of  the  market. 

The  mineral  supply  of  Assyria  is  much 
more  varied  and  important  than  that  of  Chal- 
dsea.  Throughout  Mesopotamia,  as  well  as  in 
the  provinces  beyond  the  Tigris,  limestone 
and  sandstone  are  plentifully  distributed. 
The  Mons  Masius  is  built  of  basaltic  rock — 
a  substance  almost  as  firm  and  heavy  as  the 
Syenite  of  Upper  Egypt.  The  base  of  the 
Zagros  is  packed  with  several  fine  varieties 
of  marble,  and  in  Aturia  and  Adiabene, 
along  the  Tigris,  beds  of  gray  alabaster  fur- 
nish a  material  for  the  sculptor's  chisel  hardly 
surpassed  by  the  soft  marbles  of  Italy.     The 


Assyrian  clay,  though  unequal  in  quality  to 
that  of  the  Chaldaean  plain,  is  nevertheless 
well  distributed  and  of  superior  quality. 

Eastern  Assyria  had  a  wealth  of  metals. 
In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Nineveh  are 
found  rich  mines  of  iron,  copper,  and  lead. 
The  ores  crop  out  of  the  hill-sides  and  are  ex- 
posed to  view  where  they  were  worked  by  the 
ancients.  In  the  mountainous  regions  of  the 
upper  Tigris  the  same  metals  are  found.  The 
Kurdish  ranges  have  mines  of  silver,  tin, 
and  antimony  ;  nor  is  it  improbable  that  some 
of  the  gold  of  the  palaces  of  the  Assyrian 
monarchs  w^as  produced  within  the  limits  of 
the  Empire. 

Other  valuable  minerals  abounded  in  dif- 
ferent districts.  Sulphur,  alum,  and  salt 
were  articles  of  exportation.  In  the  country 
between  the  Lower  Zab  and  the  Gyndes  inex- 
haustible supplies  of  bitumen,  naphtha,  and 
petroleum  were  drawn  from  pits  and  wells. 
Further  north,  near  Nineveh,  there  were 
petroleum  springs  which  furnished  perennial 
streams  of  the  same  materials.  Salt  was 
produced  from  springs  found  in  the  same 
locality  and  also  from  a  few  salt  lakes  in 
Mesopotamia. 

The  animal  life  of  Assyria  was  as  varied  as 
the  climate.  Wild  beasts,  such  as  are  pecul- 
iar to  deserts,  as  well  as  those  whose  lairs  are 
in  the  mountains,  abounded  both  in  Mesopota- 
mia and  in  Assyria  beyond  the  Tigris.  The 
lion  roamed  over  the  wastes  of  the  south-west, 
and  was  also  seen  on  the  cliffs  of  the  Sinjar.^ 
In  similar  situations  the  leopard,  the  lynx, 
and  the  hyena  were  found ;  and  the  tiger, 
which  is  not  now  a  native  of  this  part  of 
Asia,  was  quite  certainly  among  those  crea- 
tures with  which  the  primitive  Assyrians  had 
to  contend  for  the  mastery. 

Among  the  other  animals — beasts  of  the 
hill-country  rather  than  of  of  the  plain — 
may  be  mentioned  the  bear,  the  jackal,  the 

^  Assyrian  lions  are  generally  represented  in  the 
sculptures  as  maneless.  In  some  cases  the  draw- 
ing shows  a  peculiar,  horny  claw  at  the  end  of  the 
tail,  half  hidden  in  the  tuft  of  hair — an  eccentric 
feature  not  known  to  exist  in  any  living  species. 
In  some  of  the  sculptures  the  lion  is  shown  with 
a  mane,  in  which  case  he  is  a  fair  counterpart  of 
the  lion  of  the  African  desert. 


ASSYRIA.— COUNTRY  AND  PRODUCTS. 


151 


-wild  boar,  and  the  fox.  The  wild  sheep,  the 
ibex,  and  the  gazelle  were  of  the  mountains. 
The  wolf,  the  porcupine,  the  badger,  and  the 
hare  were,  for  the  most  part,  limited  to  the 
plains  and  to  regions  of  moderate  eleva- 
tion. The  ibex  abounded  in  the  Zagros  and 
in  the  highest  ranges  of  the  Sinjar  and  Abdul- 
Aaiz.     The  deer  was  found  only  in  Eastern 


ASSYRIAN   MULE. 

From  the  Sculptures. 

Assyria,  near  the  mountains.  The  hyena,  the 
lynx,  and  the  beaver  were  not  very  common. 
The  last-named  animal — differing  somewhat 
in  form  and  instincts  from  the  American 
beaver — had  his  habitat  on  the  Khabur,  where, 
until  his  race  was  hunted  almost  to  extinction, 
he  built  his  house  and  flourished. 

According  to  Xenophon,  the  most  common 
•animal  in  the  region  south  of  the  Khabur  was 
the  wild  ass.  At  the  present  day,  however, 
the  creature  is  rare  and  has  even  been  thought 
to  be  extinct  in  its  native  country.  This  sup- 
position is  incorrect,  the  animal  still  being 
"found  in  the  district  in  which  it  was  seen  by 
the  Greek  historian.  The  Assyrian  wild  ass  is 
of  the  genus  Equus,  is  delicate  in  form  and  color, 
and  exceedingly  swift  of  foot,  insomuch  that, 
^hen  adult  and  vigorous,  it  outstrips  all 
other  animals  in  flight.  The  young  of  the 
species  are  sometimes  taken  by  the  Arabs,  but 
pine  and  die  under  domestication. 

The  Assyrian  sculptors  delighted  in  draw- 
ing animal  forms.  The  inscriptions  of  Nim- 
rod,  Khorsabad,  Koyunjik,  and  Nineveh 
abound  in  carvings  of  wild  beasts.  The 
forms  of  the  lion,  the  leopard,  the  tiger,  the 
wild  boar  and  ass,  the  mule,  the  stag,  and  the 
gazeUe  were  in  great  favor  with  artists,  and 
the  skill  with  which  these  animals  are  carved 
would,  in  many  cases,  do  credit  to  Greece. 


The  domestic  animals  of  modern  Assyria 
are  mostly  of  species  common  in  Europe  and 
America.  And  to  these  must  be  added  the 
camel.  The  horse  was  in  use  in  Mesopotamia, 
for  the  saddle  but  not  for  draught,  long  before 
his  introduction  into  Egypt.  Judging  from 
the  sculptures,  as  weU  as  from  the  existing 
breeds  of  the  country,  the  Assyrian  animal  is, 
for  speed,  symmetry,  and  power,  fully  the 
equal  of  the  modern  Arabian.  From  time 
immemorial  the  chief  wealth  of  the  native 
tribes  of  Southern  Assyria  has  consisted  in 
horses.  Anciently,  as  well  as  to-day,  travel- 
ers, princes,  and  kings  gratified  their  pride 
and  ambition  by  purchasing,  albeit  at  fabulous 
figures,  the  fleet  and  beautiful  steeds  of  the 
Mesopotamian  and  Arabian  wastes.  The  As- 
syrian horses  are  less  in  stature  than  the 
heavier  breeds  of  the  West,  but  of  exquisite 
symmetry  of  form  and  grace  of  movement. 

The  cattle  of  Assyria  are  relatively  poor  in 
quality.  Not  so,  however,  the  sheep  and 
goats.  The  former  are  of  good  size  and  well- 
wooled,  furnishing  fine,  heavy  fleeces  and  a 
superior  article  of  food.  The  goat,  as  in  most 
oriental  countries,  is  the  principal  dependence 
of  the  people  for  milk  and  cheese.  Asses  and 
mules  are  chiefly  used  for  carrying  burdens 
and  drawing  loads — a  task  to  which  the  horse 


ASSYRIAN  PARTRIDGK. 


is  never  subjected.  In  long  journeys  requir- 
ing speed,  endurance,  and  docility,  the  faith- 
ful camel  lends  his  unflagging  strength  and 
unfailing  patience.  There  are  two  species- 
camels  proper  and  dromedaries,  the  latter  be- 
ing the  more  fleet  and  sagacious.^ 

^  The  two-humped  camel  of  Bactria  is  no  longer 
found  in  Assyria,  though  the  sculptures  show  that 
he  was  known  in  the  times  of  the  Empire. 


152 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  domestic  animals  of  ancient  Assyria 
•were  nearly  the  same  as  those  of  the  present 
day.  The  monuments  show  that  the  camel 
was  more  in  use  by  the  enemy  than  by  the 
Assyrians  themselves.  The  donkey  was  not 
in  u«e.  The  dogs  were  of  a  heavy  and  fierce- 
looking  stock,  resembling  the  mastiff,  and 
quite  unlike  the  fleet  and  slender  greyhound 
of  modern  times. 

The  sculptures  and  tablets  of  ancient  As- 
syria have  made  us  acquainted  with  but  three 
of  the  birds  known  to  the  people  of  the  Em- 
pire. These  are  the  vulture,  the  ostrich,  and 
the  partridge.  No  others  have  been  identified 
with  existing  species.  The  vulture  is  exhib- 
ited in  connection  with  battle  scenes,  where  he 


are  nearly  the  same  in  character  with  those 
inhabiting  like  latitudes  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica. The  water-fowl — wild  goose,  wild  duck, 
teal,  tern,  plover,  sandpiper,  and  swan — are 
similar  to  those  of  the  United  States.  The 
crane,  the  stork,  the  pelican,  and  the  flam- 
ingo, have  the  same  appearance,  habits,  and 
haunts  which  are  peculiar  to  those  species  in 
the  Southern  States  of  the  Union.  The  most 
noted  Assyrian  birds  of  prey  are  the  eagle, 
the  hawk,  the  falcon,  and  the  owl.  The  song 
birds  are  the  nightingale  and  the  Seleucian 
thrush;  and  the  birds  of  the  desert  and  plain 
are — besides  the  ostrich — the  great  and  lesser 
bustard,  the  sand-grouse,  and  the  francolin. 
Assyrian  art  furnishes  abundant  proof  that 


ASSYRIAN  OSTRICHES. 


is  seen  devouring  the  bodies  of  the  slain. 
Sometimes  he  is  made  to  execute  poetical  jus- 
tice by  pursuing  and  tearing  the  enemies  of 
the  king.  The  ostrich  inhabited  Mesopotamia 
below  the  Khabur,  though  he  has  long  since 
abandoned  that  region  for  the  wider  freedom 
of  the  Arabian  desert.^  The  partridge  of  two 
or  three  varieties  was  found  in  great  abun- 
dance, and  was  the  delight  of  sportsmen  and 
gastronomers. 

The  birds  at  present  inhabiting  Assyria — 
which  are  no  doubt  identical  with  species  ex- 
isting in  the  country  two  thousand  years  ago — 

^Xenophon  describes  the  ostrich  as  seen  on 
the  line  of  march,  pursued  by  hunters,  fleeing 
with  long  strides  across  the  desert,  and  "  using  its 
wings  for  sails." 


the  rivers  and  ponds  were  thronged  with  fish. 
The  sculptures  are  not,  however,  of  a  sort  tc 
identify  varieties,  the  forms  being  somewhat 
rude  and  conventional.  At  the  present  day 
the  two  great  rivers  of  Assyria,  as  well  as  the 
smaller  streams  and  the  marshes,  are  crowded, 
as  they  no  doubt  have  always  been,  with  bar- 
bel and  carp,  which  here  grow  to  an  unusual 
size.  In  the  eastern  tributaries  of  the  Tigris, 
especially  in  the  mountain  brooks  of  the  Za^ 
gros,  trout  are  found,  and  in  the  deeper 
streams  pickerel  and  pike. 

Taken  all  in  all,  the  physical  environment 
of  the  ancient  Assyrians  was  not  materially 
different  from  that  of  the  central  latitudes  of 
Europe  and  America.  The  variations  from 
this  standard  were  the  presence  of  large  waste 


ASSYRIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


153 


districts,  the  absence  of  great  forests,  the  fiery 
heats  of  summer,  and  the  consequent  appear- 
ance of  semi-tropical  plants  and  animals.  In 
other  respects  the  country  in  which  the  Em- 
pire planted  by  Tiglathi-Adar  and  Shalmaneser 
rose,  flourished,  and  fell,  possessed  the  same 


general  antecedents  of  civilization,  the  same 
elements  of  power  and  development,  the 
same  incentives  to  human  ambition  and 
achievement,  as  have  played  upon  the  fac- 
ulties of  man  in  Central  Europe  and  the 
United  States. 


Chaipter  XII.— people  and  Cities. 


SSYRIA  was  peopled  by 
the  race  of  Shem.  What- 
ever controversy  has  ex- 
isted respecting  the  ethnic 
character  of  the  primitive 
Chaldseans,  concerning 
the  race  affinities  of  the 
Assyrians  there  is  none.  The  vague  conjec- 
tures, which  until  the  present  century  were 
used  as  the  foundation  of  historical  writings, 
have  given  place  to  exact  knowledge,  result- 
ing from  antiquarian  research  and  definite 
principles  of  criticism.  Ancient  traditions, 
the  discoveries  made  among  the  ruins  of  the 
country,  and  the  science  of  language,  have 
all  contributed  their  testimony  as  to  the  ori- 
gin and  kinship  of  the  people  who  built  the 
cities  on  the  Tigris.  The  stock  is  called  Se- 
mitic ;  its  branches  are  the  Aramaic,  the  He- 
Ibraic,  and  the  Arabic.  To  the  first  of  these, 
the  Aramaic — that  is,  the  race  of  Aram,  or 
the  Highlands — belonged  the  Assyrians.  The 
latter  are  thus  allied  by  close  affinity  Avith 
the  Syrians,  the  later  Babylonians,  the  Phoeni- 
cians, the  Hebrews,  and  the  Northern  Arabs. 
All  these  people  had  common  progenitors, 
who,  moving  westward  from  Susiana  or  be- 
yond, spread  out  into  Mesopotamia  and  thence 
into  Arabia  and  Syria.  The  language  which 
has  been  preserved  on  the  tablets,  cylinders, 
:and  bricks  of  the  Assyrian  ruins  is  unmistak- 
ably of  the  same  origin  with  the  Hebrew  and 
the  Phoenician ;  and  unless  it  could  be  shown — 
a  thing  never  attempted — that  the  people  of 
Upper  Mesopotamia  had  changed  their  lan- 
iguage  in  some  primitive  stage  of  their  devel- 
■opment,  the  proof  of  the  Semitic  character  of 
Tthe  race  is  .positively  established. 


If  we  pass  from  the  language  of  the  Assyri- 
ans to  the  traditions  of  various  nations,  we  find 
additional  evidence  of  the  kinship  of  Asshur 
and  Shem.  In  the  Book  of  Genesis,  the 
ancestor  of  the  Assyrians  is  classified  with  the 
progenitors  of  the  Aramaeans,  the  Hebrews, 
and  the  Northern  Arabs.     The  inhabitants  of 


NINEVITE  HERO,   SHOWING  TYPICAL  PHYSIOGNOMY. 

Kurdistan,  who  are  regarded  as  the  descend* 
ants  of  the  Assyrians,  not  only  speak  a  Se^ 
mitic  language,  but  believe  themselves  to  be 
of  the  same  race  with  the  Arabs  and  Israelites. 
The  same  tradition  was  held  by  the  people  of 
Assyria  themselves,  who  in  their  brief  histori- 
cal fragments  recognize  as  their  kinsmen  the 
Syrians,  the  later  Babylonians,  the  Phoenicians, 
and  the  Joktanian  Arabs.    Whatever  hesitancy 


154 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


there  may  be  on  the  part  of  some  historians 
and  ethnologists  to  use  the  term  "Semitic"  as 
descriptive  of  one  of  the  primitive  families  of 
mankind,  there  can  be  none  as  it  respects  the 
question  of  classifying  in  one  group  the  peo- 
ples of  ancient  Assyria,  Northern  Arabia, 
Syria,  and  Canaan. 

An  examination  of  the  physical  character- 
istics of  the  Assyrians  tends  to  establish  the 
same  conclusion.  The  art  of  these  people 
has  preserved  their  face  and  form  and  stature. 
On  examining  the  Assyrian  sculptures,  even 


ASSYRIAN  KING. 


the  uncritical  can  but  be  struck  with  the 
resemblance  of  the  form  and  features  to  those 
of  the  Hebrews.  Here  we  have  the  same 
face  which  is  seen  among  the  Jewish  captives 
of  Amenophis  III.  on  the  monuments  of 
Egypt.  The  Assyrian  physiognomy,  as  deter- 
mined by  the  sculptures  exhumed  from  the 
ruins  of  Nimrud  and  Khorsabad,  is  identical 
with  that  which  the  Israelite  has  made  familiar 
to  all  the  world.  The  forehead  is  low  and 
straight;  the  brow  prominent;  the  eyes  large 
and  oriental;  the  nose  aquihue  and  some- 
times coarse;  the  mouth  firm-set;  the  lips 
rather  thick ;  the  chin  strong  and  symmetrical. 


The  same  countenance  belongs,  with  slight  va- 
riations, to  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  and  with  no 
variation  to  the  present  inhabitants  of  Kurdis- 
tan. Such  were  also  the  features  of  thft 
Syrians  and  Phoenicians,  and  wherever  a  He- 
brew is  found,  in  any  quarter  of  the  world, 
there  the  type  is  perpetuated. 

In  person  the  ancient  Assyrians  were 
stronger  and  heavier  than  any  existing  Sem- 
ites except  the  Kurdistanese.  The  Arab  of 
to-day  is  rather  light  and  slender.  The  He- 
brew of  the  Orient  has  not  the  short,  stout 
body  peculiar  to  his  kinsmen  of  the  West. 
The  ancient  Assyrian  was  brawny  and  pow- 
erful. The  tremendous  limbs  depicted  in  the 
sculptures  of  Nimrud  suggest  to  the  beholder 
the  massive  muscles  and  incalculable  strength, 
of  gladiators.  The  weapons  which  they  han- 
dle and  the  sports  in  which  they  engage  show 
that  the  Assyrians,  more  than  any  other 
Asiatic  people  of  their  times,  were  men  of 
the  heroic  mold.  And  the  sculptors,  to  whose 
delineations  we  owe  our  knowledge  of  this, 
robust  and  vigorous  race,  seem  to  have 
taken  delight  in  doing  full  justice  to  the 
brawny  limbs  and  powerful  breasts  of  their 
countrymen. 

In  the  traits  of  mind  exhibited  by  the  As- 
syrians there  is  additional  evidence  of  their 
Semitic  origin.  Like  the  Israelites  and  the 
Arabs,  the  people  of  Assyria  were  devoted  to 
religion.  The  public  documents — statutes^ 
edicts,  and  proclamations  of  the  kings — which 
the  tablets  have  preserved  are  characterized 
by  the  same  iteration  of  religious  forms  which 
marks  all  the  literary  productions  of  the  Se- 
mitic race.  Prayers,  invocations,  solemn  ap- 
peals to  their  gods,  praise  to  the  hidden  power 
Avho  ripens  the  first  fruits  and  gives  the  vic- 
tory in  war — such  are  the  dominant  ideas  in 
the  laws  and  state  papers  of  the  Assyrian 
kings,  and  such  have  ever  been  the  prevailing- 
forms  of  expression  in  all  branches  of  this, 
family  of  men.  The  Bedouin  of  to-day  who 
dismounts  from  his  camel  and  prostrates  him- 
self on  the  gleaming  sand  of  the  desert  bear* 
not  more  certain  testimony  to  his  race  affinity 
than  did  the  inhabitants  of  Upper  Mesopota- 
mia in  their  prayers,  and  psalms,  and  procla- 
mations.   The  language  is  the  tongue  of  Israel> 


ASSYRIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


155 


though    used    in    the    praises    of    Baal    and 
Astarte. 

The  ancient  Assyrians  were  a  people  of 
extraordinary  valor.    Everywhere  man  is  seen 


bodies  mutOated,  in  proof  of  the  victorious 
vengeance  of  the  conqueror.  The  heads  of 
the  slain  are  chopped  off  with  swords  and 
enumerated  by  a  scribe,  indifferent  as  a  hunter 


ASSYRIANS  GOING  TO  BATTLE. 
Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


in  heroic  action.  He  struggles  with  the  ad- 
versary. With  the  strong  lion  he  grapples 
hand  to  hand.  Against  all  the  ferocious  crea- 
tures of  the  deserts  and  mountains  he  goes 
forth  without  trepidation.  Nothing  can  sur- 
pass the  defiant  courage  with  which  he  hazards 
his  person  in  the  conflict.  He  meets  the  Avild 
bull,  maddened  with  wounds,  and  brings  him 
bellowing  to  his  knees.  He  quails,  not  before 
any  aspect  of  man  or  beast,  but  with  firm  set 
lips  and  eyes  fixed  on  his  antagonist  bends  to 
the  struggle  and  rises  victorious. 

The  stalwart  character  and  aggressive  bear- 
ing of  the  Assyrians  were  particularly  shown 
in  war.  The  same  ferocity  which  they  mani- 
fested in  the  pursuit  and  destruction  of  beasts 
they  also  exhibited  in  hunting  men.  The 
sculptures  show  that  the  feeling  of  the  Assyr- 
ians towards  the  foe  was  one,  not  of  hostility 
only,  but  of  hatred  and  contempt.  Against 
the  enemy  the  bow  is  drawn  with  vindictive 
willingness.  The  dead  of  the  vanquished 
army  are  trampled   in    the    dust,   and    their 


counting  his  game.  Before  the  walls  of  a 
mutinous  city  the  bodies  of  the  rebels  are  im- 
paled on  stakes.  Others  of  the  dead  are 
flayed;    for  the   skins  are  an  article  of  mer- 


ASSYRIAN   WAR  CHARIOT. 


chandise;  and  anon  a  group  of  captives  ap- 
pear, led  by  cords  with  rings  inserted  in  the 
under  lips  of  the  prisoners,  after  the  manner 
of  leading  beasts.    This,  however,  is  true  only 


%5Q 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


pf  captive  men :  women  the  Assyrian  soldiers 
jtreat  with  respect  and  tenderness. 

In    personal    bearing    the   Assyrians   were 
characterized  by  pride  and  haughtiness.     The 
/nscriptions  and  tablets  are  filled  with  vain-    i 


CAPTIVES  OF  THE  ASSYRIANS. 


jglQijious  boasting.  The  other  nations  are  de- 
,scribed  as  cowards,  whose  gods  have  abandoned 
,them  for  shame.  Fools  also  are  the  aliens, 
,unwoi:thy  of  the  favor  of  either  earth  or 
^eaven.  They  are  fit  only  to  be  spurned — 
jgrouud  under  the  heel  of  Assyria,  whose  cities 
.^.re  greftt,  whose  armies  are  always  victorious, 
iwhose  gpds  are  wise  and  mighty.  No  good 
-thing  is  conceded  to  foreign  nations.  They 
.are  weajc,  effeminate;  even  their  own  deities 
.have  giv^n  them  over  to  merited  destruction. 
jLike  the  language  of  the  Greeks  and  the 
iRoinans  respecting  the  barbarians  is  this  jar- 
gon pf  Assyrian  pride  towards  the  peoples 
tbeyoud  |he  borders  of  the  Empire.  Like 
^Jewish  3,uathemas  poured  on  the  heads  of  the 
.Gentiles  ,is  this  pompous  strain  of  self-adida- 
,tion  wherewith  the  Assyrians  celebrated  them- 
.^selyes  a jifl, disparaged  the  neighboring  nations. 
The  historians  and  prophets  of  Israel  de- 
,nounce  the  Assyrians  as  a  people  of  cunning 
;^nd  cruelty.  Part  of  this  may,  no  doubt,  be 
, charged  to,  the  enmity  existing  between  the  two 
.nations;  but  it  is  clear  that  the  people  of 

Assyria  were  not  free  from  subtle  and  treach- 
.erous  practices.  Craft  and  cruelty  were,  how- 
.  ever,  as  they  are  to-day,  the  common  vices  of 
■.the  Asiatics;  and  the  frenzied  denunciations 
.of  Jewish  authors  come  with  a  bad  grace  con- 
.sidering   tliat  their    own    annals   are    stained 

with  deceit  a^d  treacliery  and  blood.     If  the 

Assyrians  were  in  the  habit  of  breaking  their 
>  treaties,  so  also  were  the  Greeks.     If  the  peo- 

,ple  (^f  Kinqv^h  , and  Babylon  were  crafty  in 


peace,  and  perfidious  in  war,  so  too  were  the 
Phoenicians  and  the  Romans.  On  the  whole, 
the  moral  standard  of  the  Assyrians,  and  their 
consequent  conduct  in  the  practical  affairs  of 
life,  were  not  different  from  that  of  other 
ancient  nations  inflamed  by  success- 
ful conquests,  and  made  arrogant  by 
the  possession  of  unlimited  power. 

In  their  luxurious  habits  the  later 
Assyrians  resembled  the  Romans.    In 
the  early  epochs  of  the  robust  and 
manly  virtues  foreign  wars  swept  into 
the  capital   city,  as  afterwards  into 
Rome,  legions  of  captives,  trains  of 
spoils  and  treasures.    The  great  mon- 
archs  of  the  Empire,  corrupted  by 
riches  and  booty,  then  began  to  set  the  example 
of  voluptuous  living.    Princes  and  priests  vied 
with  each  other  in  luxury ;  and  the  people,  who 
might  have  been  capable  of  liberty,  fell  into 
licentiousness.      The    philosophy   of   Assyria, 
teaching  that  happiness  was  at  one  with  license, 
gave  the  reign  to  individual  will,  and  enthroned 
pleasure  as  the  chief  aim  and  end  of  human 
endeavor.     And  though  the  native  vigor  of 
the  race  was  for  a  long 
time  proof  against  the 
effeminating    tenden- 
cies   of    wealth,    the 
time  came  when  the 
national    character 
yielded  to  those  vices 
which     attend    upon 
material  magnificence, 
and  sank  into  decay. 
The  art  and  learn- 
ing of  Assyria  were, 
for  the  greater  part, 
derived  from  the  older 
civilization    of   Chal- 
diea.     But  the  Assy- 
rians    were     by    no 
means     wanting     in 
original      force     and 
genius.     Whether   as 
it  respects  a  certain 
vention  or  creditable 


ASSYRIAN  PRINCESS  IN 
FULL  DRESS. 


skill  in  mechanical  in- 
achievements  in  those 
higher  arts  which  humanize  mankind,  they 
reached  a  degree  of  excellence  not  hitherto 
attained    in    Asia.       Especially    in    political 


ASSYRIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


157 


science  and  in  the  development  of  civil 
institutions  did  the  Assyrians  surpass  any- 
contemporaneous  nation.  The  administra- 
itive    skill    displayed    by    the    government  in 


ASSYRIAN  PRINCE  IN   FULL  DRESS. 

the  brighter  epochs  of  the  Empire  would  have 
done  credit  to  the  later  states  of  the  West. 
The  aptness  and  ability  of  the  Assyrians  in  or- 
ganizing, equipping,  and  training  armies  has 
been  proverbial  for  twenty  centuries,  and  their 
^erce  valor  on  the  field  of  battle  is  recorded 
wherever  their  history  has  been  mentioned. 
Only  a  knowledge  of  the  means  by  which  the 
forces  of  nature  are  subordinated  to  the  will  of 
man  was  lacking  to  give  to  the  Assyrians  the 
precedence  in  military  renown  over  all  the 
nations  of  antiquity  except  the  Romans.  The 
greatness  and  glory  of  the  people  is  fully 
conceded  by  the  bards  of  Israel,  especially  by 
Isaiah  and  Ezekiel,  whose  writings  are  filled 
with  mingled  praise  and  censure  of  that  colos- 
sal power  which,  under  the  similitude  of  a 
lion,  is  represented  as  "devouring  the  prey 
and  tearing  it  asunder  for  his  whelps." 

The  architecture  of  a  non-literary  people 
is  the  best  record  of  their  grandeur.  The 
houses  and  cities  which  men  build  are  com- 
mensurate with  their  ambition.  Great  build- 
ing springs  not  so  much  from  sense  and 
necessity  as  from  imagination  and  dreams — a 
certain  yearning  to  express  in  tangible  form 
the  outlines  of  things  seen  by  vision  and  the 
inspiration  of  genius.  Races  without  imagi- 
nation live  close  to  the  ground.  They  crawl 
N.— Vol.  I— lo 


into  hovels.  They  sleep  a  gross  and  sensuous 
sleep.  They  dream  not  of  palace  and  city. 
Without  are  tall,  green  trees,  and  white 
clouds  piled  up  mountainous,  the  arching  dome 
of  heaven,  and  the  glitter  of  the  stars;  but 
these  things  react  not  on  the  dull  senses  of  an 
unimaginative  people.  Only  in  the  spirit  of 
him  who  dreams  of  palms  and  fountains  can 
spring  the  desire,  the  will,  to  hew  the  airy 
column,  to  rear  the  splendid  edifice,  to  adorn 
his  abode  and  glorify  the  records  of  his  race 
with  palace  and  temple  and  tomb. 

In  monumental  grandeur  Assyria  stands 
next  to  Egypt.  The  great  cities  of  the  Up- 
per Tigris,  though  inferior  in  splendor  to  the 
marvels  of  the  Nile  valley,  were  the  admira- 
tion of  their  own  and  after  times.  The  exist- 
ence of  these  renowned  cities,  albeit  the  dust 
of  centuries  has  settled  on  their  ruins,  proves 
beyond  a  doubt  the  amazing  vigor  and  intel- 
lectual force  of  the  race  of  men  who  built 
them  and  gloried  in  their  splendor. 

Opposite  the  modern  village  of  Mosul,  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Tigris,  in  latitude  36° 
20'  N. ,  lie  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  the  capital  of 


THE  REGION   ABOUT  NINEVEH. 


the  Assyrian  Empire,  and  one  of  the  great  cit- 
ies of  the  ancient  world.  The  site  is  at  present 
marked  by  two  remarkable  mounds,  the  one 
called  Koyunjik  and  the  other  Nebbi-Yunus. 


158 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


These  mounds  are  distant  from  each  other  a 
little  more  than  half  a  mile,  and  between 
them  flows  the  Khosr-Su,  a  small  tributary  of 
the  Tigris.  The  mounds  are  of  vast  propor- 
tions. The  Koyunjik  covers  an  area  of  over 
a  hundred  acres,  and  rises  to  the  height  of 
ninety-five  feet  above  the  plain.  The  Nebbi- 
Yunus  has  an  area  of  forty  acres  and  a  height 
of  over  a  hundred  feet.  The  mass  of  the 
larger  mound  is  so  immense  that,  according 
to  careful  estimates,  it  would  require  the  con- 
tinuous labor  of  twenty  thousand  men  for  a 
period  of  six  years  to  raise  it  to  its  present 
proportions.  The  structure  is  ellipitical  in 
shape,  rising  in  a  gradual  slope  on  one  side 
and  abruptly  on  the  other.  This  immense 
artificial  elevation  was  crowned  in  ancient 
times  with  the  palaces  of  the  Assyrian  kings, 
and  the  ruins  of  these  magnificent  edifices 
now  lie  imbedded  in  the  surface. 

The  smaller,  Nebbi-Yunus,  is  triangular  in 
shape,  and  is  cleft  in  twain  by  a  deep  ravine 
which,  in  the  course  of  centuries,  has  been 
washed  through  its  central  part.  The  western 
half  is  known  as  Jonah's  Tomb,  and  the  east- 
ern portion  is  used  as  a  burying-ground  by  the 
Turcomans  and  Kurds  who  have  possession 
of  the  site  of  the  ancient  city.  This  mound, 
like  the  Koyunjik,  was  covered  anciently  with 
public  buildings  and  royal  palaces. 

Nineveh  had  a  river  front  of  about  three 
miles.  This  was  guarded  throughout  with  a 
wall  stretching  along  the  river  bank  from  the 
upper  to  the  lower  limits  of  the  city.  The  bed 
of  the  Tigris,  however,  owing  to  a  change  in 
the  channel,  now  lies  about  a  mile  to  the  west 
of  the  line  of  the  ancient  wall.  This  western 
rampart  embraced  in  its  course  both  of  the 
mounds  above  referred  to,  so  that  originally 
their  site  was  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  The 
northern  wall  runs  back  from  the  Tigris  to  the 
distance  of  between  one  and  two  miles.  The 
eastern  rampart  is  above  three  miles  in  length 
and  approaches  to  within  about  a  thousand 
yards  of  the  river,  which  is  reached  by  the 
shortest  of  the  four  walls  by  which  the  city 
was  originally  inclosed  and  defended.  The 
whole  circuit  of  the  walls  was  about  eight 
miles,  and  the  area  of  the  city  thus  included 
by   impregnable  defenses   was  nearly  a  thou- 


sand eight  hundred  acres.  Many  of  the  citiesj 
of  the  East  number  from  one  hundred  to  two- 
hundred  inhabitants  to  the  acre — an  estimate 
which  would  indicate  a  population  for  ancient 
Nineveh,  within  the  walls,  of  from  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  thousand  to  three  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  souls.  Outside  of  the 
defenses  the  city,  no  doubt,  extended  far  to 
the  east  and  north,  and  in  all  probability  be- 
yond the  river  to  the  west.' 

The  dimensions  of  Nineveh  have  been 
greatly  overestimated.  The  discovery  of  th& 
ruins  of  magnificent  cities  in  the  immediate^ 
neighborhood  of  the  capital  has  led  many  anti- 
quarians to  suppose  that  the  whole  district  for 
a  distance  of  many  miles  was  one  immense 
municipality.  The  space  in  which  the  remain* 
of  Khorsabad,  Koyunjik,  Nimrud,  and  Ke- 
remles — the  four  great  ruins  of  this  region — 
are  found,  is  an  oblong  square,  eighteen  miles; 
in  length  and  twelve  miles  in  breadth;  and 
there  have  not  been  wanting  eminent  scholars^ 
and  historians  who  have  maintained  that  thi& 
whole  district  was  included  in  Nineveh.  The 
area  thus  described  is  about  ten  times  that  of 
London,  and  it  seems  quite  inconceivable  that 
so  great  a  district  should  have  been  covered 
by  a  single  city.  The  researches  of  Layard 
and  others  have  shown  quite  conclusively  that 
the  four  ruins  above  referred  to  are  really  the= 
remains  of  four  distinct  cities,  and  that  only 
one  of  these — Koyunjik — is  included  within 
the  limits  of  what  was  Nineveh.  Neverthe- 
less,  so  wide  were  the  bounds  of  each,  and  so 
far  forth  stretched  the  suburbs  of  the  one 
towards  the  other,  that  ancient  travelers,  such 
as  Diodorus,  might  well  have  considered  the- 
whole  region  as  one  vast  city.  In  passing- 
from  the  one  to  the  other,  however,  there  isi 
always  found  a  considerable  space  unmarked 
by  ruins,  and  the  bricks  and  tablets  prove  that 
each  city  had  its  own  name  and  institutions^ 


'  If  we  are  to  suppose  that  the  part  of  Nineveh, 
inchided  within  the  walls  bore  about  the  same  pro- 
portion to  the  whole  as  did  Roma  Quadrata  to  the 
imperial  city,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  the  above- 
estimates  of  the  extent  and  population  of  the  cap- 
ital of  Assyria  are  greatly  below  the  truth.  In. 
most  cases  the  walled  outline  of  old  cities  included 
but  a  fraction  of  the  district  covered  with  build- 
ings and  thronged  with  human  life. 


ASSYRIA.—PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


159 


The  modern  Nimrud  is  called  Calah  in  the 
inscriptions  of  that  locality;  Khorsabad  is 
written  as  Dur-Sargina,  or  City  of  Sargon ; 
while  the  bricks  of  Keremles  show  that  the 
ancient  name  of  that  place  was  the  City  of 
God.^  It  is  only  the  ruin  of  Koyunjik  and 
the  neighboring  remains  known  as  Nebbi- 
Yunus  that  can  be  properly  identified  as  the 
capital  of  the  Assyrian  Empire. 

The  wall  which  inclosed  Nineveh  was  of 
enormous  proportions.  Xenophon  describes 
it  as  being  fifty  feet  in  thickness  and  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  high.  Diodorus  says  that 
three  chariots  could  drive  abreast  on  the  top; 
and  Layard  admits  that  the  ruins  of  the  ram- 
parts are  so  vast  as  to  justify  the  description 
given  by  the  ancient  historians.  According 
to  the  details  furnished  by  Xenophon  the  first 
fifty   feet   of  the   wall  ^-^■,  - 

was  constructed  of  hewn 
blocks  of  fossil-bearing 
limestone,  polished  to 
smoothness  on  the  out- 
side, and  finished  above 
in  a  series  of  battle- 
ments. At  this  point 
the  thickness  of  the 
wall  was  diminished, 
and  thence  carried  up 
with  sun-dried  bricks. 
At  the  top  the  structure 

was  again  broken  into  ornamental  battlements 
and  towers. 

At  irregular  intervals  the  rampart  of  the 
city  was  pierced  with  openings  for  gates.  The 
most  important  of  these  was  about  the  middle 
of  the  northern  wall.  Here  a  great  gateway, 
fifty  feet  in  height,  entered  the  city.  At  the 
outer  and  inner  openings  stood  colossal  figures 
carved  in  stone — bulls  with  the  heads  of  men. 
The  wall  above  was  surmounted  with  lofty 
towers  and  others  of  less  elevation  were  raised 


at  intervals  along  the  summit  of  the  rampart. 
The  gateway  itself  was  provided,  in  the  center 
of  the  wall,  with  vast  recesses  or  chambers  on 
either  side,  in  which  bodies  of  armed  men 
might  be  stationed  to  repel  attack.  The  en- 
trance was  guarded  by  triple  gates,  and  was 
arched  above  with  solid  masonry  ornamented 
with  reliefs.  The  floor  of  the  gateway  was 
paved  with  flags  of  limestone,  and  upon  these 
slabs  are  seen  to  the  present  day  the  marks 
made  by  the  wheels  of  the  war-cnariots  of 
Assyria  as  they  went  forth  to  conquest. 

Great  as  were  the  walls  that  surrounded 
Nineveh  the  defenses  were  still  further  in- 
creased by  a  barrier  of  water  on  all  sides. 
On  the  west,  along  the  whole  extent  of  the 
city,  lay  the  Tigris;  and  just  outside  of  the 
short  wall  on  the  south  a  natural  tributary 


SITE  OF  NINEVEH, 


^The  statement  of  the  author  of  the  Book  of 
Jonah  that  there  were  in  Nineveh  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  people  who  did  not  know 
their  right  hand  from  the  left,  is  perhaps  a  meta- 
phor intended  to  describe  the  extreme  ignorance 
or  moral  blindness  of  the  whole  population. 
Taken  literally  the  statement  would  indicate 
either  an  enormous  population  or  a  dense  igno- 
rance inconsistent  with  the  building  of  great  cities. 


made  access  from  without  impracticable. 
Around  the  remaining  two  sides,  and  close 
to  the  rampart,  a  great  moat,  filled  with  water 
from  the  Khosr-Su,  hindered  all  approach.* 
On  the  north  side  of  the  city,  and  beyond  the 
wall  and  moat,  are  the  remains  of  a  fortress; 
and  far  beyond  thb  eastern  and  southern  ram- 
parts the  lines  of  ancient  circumvallation  and 
detached  earthworks  are  discoverable.  No 
city  of  antiquity  was  protected  by  a  more  elab- 
orate and  well  devised  system  of  defenses  than 
was  the  capital  city  of  the  Assyrian  Empire. 

^  In  one  place  a  moat,  two  hundred  feet  broad 
and  of  great  depth,  is  carried  through  silicious 
conglomerate  for  a  distance  of  two  miles,  and  on 
either  side  of  the  ditch,  which  was  filled  with 
water  from  the  Khosr,  was  a  strong  and  high  wall, 
rising  on  the  outside,  even  at  the  present  day,  to 
the  height  of  a  hundred  feet  from  the  bottom  of 
the  moat. 


160 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Of  the  internal  structure  of  Nineveh  the 
ancient  historians  have  given  us  no  elaborate 
account;  nor  are  the  ruins  in  such  a  condi- 
tion as  to  indicate  with  any  considerable  pre- 
cision the  character  of  the  city.  The  lines  of 
the  principal  streets  have  not  as  yet  been 
traced.  The  sites  of  the  great  buildings  with 
which  it  is  certain  the  city  abounded  have 
only  in  a  few  instances  been  identified.  The 
warlike  kings  whose  conquering  soldiery  made 
the  earth  tremble  and  the  splendid  edifices 
wherewith  they  adorned  their  capital  have  gone 
down  to  dust  together.  No  doubt  the  elegant 
and  princely  parts  of  Nineveh  lay  along  the 
Tigris,  in  the  western  district  of  the  city. 
Here  are  the  two  chief  ruins  of  Koyunjik  and 
Nebbi-Yunus,  on  which  were  the  palaces  of 
the  kings,  and  here  has  been  exhumed  the 
larger  part  of  those  interesting  remains  by 
which  the  life,  manners,  and  language  of  the 
Assyrians  have  been  so  richly  illustrated. 

About  thirty  miles  down  the  Tigris  from 
Nineveh  are  the  ruins  of  Nirarud,  the  ancient 
Calah.  The  remains  are  found  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  river,  a  short  distance  above  the 
confluence  of  the  Greater  Zab.  Calah  Avas 
the  second  city  of  the  Empire.  The  ruins  at 
present  cover  about  a  thousand  acres,  being 
more  than  one-half  as  great  in  extent  as  those 
of  Nineveh. 

It  is  evidenced  by  the  ruins,  moreover, 
that  the  Tigris  has  carried  away  a  part  of  the 
remains,  and  the  small  tributaries  of  this  re- 
gion have  also  reduced  the  limits  of  the 
ancient  city.  Calah,  like  Nineveh,  was  sur- 
rounded with  a  great  wall,  which  was  sur- 
mounted with  towers  and  pierced  at  intervals 
with  gateways.  The  general  shape  was  rec- 
tangular, but  on  the  southern  side  the  limits 
of  the  city  have  been  so  obliterated  by  the 
and  of  time  as  to  be  no  longer  distinguish- 
able. As  in  the  case  of  Nineveh,  the  Tigris 
has,  on  the  west,  receded  from  the  rampart 
which  it  once  skirted  until  a  low-lying  plain  a 
jnile  in  width  stretches  between  the  river  and 
the  wall.  On  this  western  side  of  the  ancient 
city,  and  overlooking  the  bed  of  the  Tigris, 
was  an  elevated  plateau,  raised  artificially  to 
the  height  of  forty  feet  and  covering  an  area 
of   sixty  acres.     On    this    mound    stood    the 


royal  palaces,  and  it  is  in  this  quarter  thai 
the  antiquarian  has  made  his  most  interesting 
discoveries.  The  platform  itself  was  built  of 
successive  layers  of  sun-dried  bricks,  and  the 
edges  of  the  mound  were  protected  by  ram- 
parts of  solid  masonry.  These  were  ascended 
from  the  lower  parts  of  the  city  by  flights  of 
steps,  inclined  planes,  and  staircases  of  stone. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  the  elevation  is  covered 
with  ruins  and  relics,  the  debris  of  fallen  pal- 
aces and  temples. 

Calah  was  seen  and  described  by  Xenophon, 
who  passed  that  way  with  the  retreating 
Greeks.  He  speaks  of  it  as  a  vast  deserted 
city,  formerly  inhabited  by  the  Medes.  The 
walls  are  described  as  twenty-five  feet  in 
thickness,  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  nearly 
seven  miles  in  length.  The  foundation  of  this 
extended  rampart  was  of  limestone  to  the 
height  of  twenty  feet,  and  the  upper  portion 
of  burnt  bricks.  Xenophon  also  mentions  the 
remarkable  tower  or  pyramid  which  stands  at 
the  north-western  angle  of  the  elevation  here 
described,  rising  in  its  present  condition  above 
the  surrounding  country  to  the  height  of  a 
hundred  and  forty  feet.  It  is  the  most  strik- 
ing object  of  all  the  remains  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Nineveh.  On  this  summit  originally 
stood  what  was  perhaps  the  greatest  and  most 
splendid  of  all  the  tower-temples  of  Assyria — 
a  structure,  as  is  shown  by  the  foundation, 
about  a  hundred  and  sixty-seven  feet  square 
at  the  base,  and  rising  in  a  succession  of  di- 
minishing rectangles  to  the  height  of  fully  two 
hundred  feet. 

Ascending  the  Khosr-Su  from  Nineveh  to 
a  distance  of  nine  miles,  the  traveler  comes 
to  the  village  of  Khorsabad,  the  site  of  Dur- 
Sargina,  another  buried  city.  The  ruins 
here,  though  less  in  extent  than  those  of  the 
capital,  are  of  almost  equal  magnificence. 
Here  again  we  have  the  rectangular  rampart 
drawn  around  the  city,  with  the  four  sides 
thereof  facing  the  cardinal  points  of  the 
compass.  Here,  too,  are  the  artificial  eleva- 
tions or  flat-topped  mounds  from  which  the 
proud  palaces  of  kings  and  princes  looked 
down  upon  the  city  and  surrounding  country.^ 

'  It  appears  tliat  Khorsabad,  Nimrud,  and  one 
or  two  other  cities  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 


ASSYRIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


161 


The  wall  of  Khorsabad  is  about  two  thousand 
yards  in  extent  on  each  side,  and  is  less  mas- 
sive than  that  drawn  around  the  capital  and 
Nimrud.  About  the  middle  of  the  north-west 
side  and  occupying  a  part  of  the  line  of  the 
rampart  was  the  usual  palace-mound,  on  which 
stood  the  principal  buildings  of  the  city. 

About  fifteen  miles  due  east  from  Nineveh 
are  the  ruins  of  Keremles,  the  fourth  of  those 
cities  which  antiquarians  have  been  disposed 
to  include  within  the  limits  of  the  capital. 
If  such  a  conjecture  could  be  entertained,  it 
would  indicate  an  area  for  the  entire  city  of 
not  less  than  two  hundred  and  sixteen  square 
miles!  Certain  it  is  that  at  Keremles,  as  well 
as  at  Calah  and  Khorsabad,  the  ruins  are  in- 
dicative of  royal  residences  and  the  presence 
of  princely  modes  of  life. 

Passing  from  these  cities  immediately  asso- 
ciated with  the  capital,  the  next  in  importance 
among  the  Assyrian  ruins  are  those  of  Asshiir, 
marked  by  the  modern  village  of  Kileh-Sher- 
gat.  The  site  is  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Ti- 
gris, about  seventy  miles  below  Nineveh. 
From  this  point  southward  the  remains  begin 
to  partake  of  the  peculiarities  of  Babylonia, 
and  to  be  no  longer  distinctly  Assyrian.  Like 
the  greater  cities  to  the  north,  Asshur  was 
quadrangular.  The  lines  of  the  walls  are  still 
traceable  across  the  plain,  and  the  mounds 
within  the  ramparts  are  of  the  same  general 
character  as  those  already  described.  One  of 
the  palace-mounds  within  the  inclosure  of  the 
city  is  two  and  a-half  miles  in  circumference, 

Nineveh,  were  a  kind  of  suburban  capitals,  to 
which,  perhaps,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
the  Assyrian  kings  betook  themselves  for  a  tem- 
porary residence.  The  style  of  the  palace  ruins 
in  four  or  five  of  these  cities  is  unmistakably 
royal,  indicating  that  they  were  built  and  occu- 
pied by  kings  or  princes  of  the  highest  rank. 


and  is  raised  in  some  places  as  much  as  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  plain.  This  stupen- 
dous platform  is  covered  with  heaps  of  rub- 
bish, fragments  of  hewn  stone,  masses  of 
burnt  brick,  shattered  remains  of  unknown 
structures,  the  debris  and  dust  of  ages. 

Besides  the  extensive  ruin  of  Kileh-Sher^ 
gat,  not  many  sites  of  ancient  cities  have 
been  discovered  west  of  the  Tigris.  The  an- 
cient Nazibina  has  been  identified  with  the 
modern  Nisibin.  In  like  manner,  the  town 
of  Diarbekr,  on  the  Upper  Tigris,  is  thought 
to  mark  the  place  of  the  ancient  Amidi. 
Passing  to  the  east,  in  the  region  between  the 
Greater  and  Lesser  Zab,  the  modern  Arbil  is 
easily  identified  with  the  ancient  Arbela,  the 
scene  of  one  of  Alexander's  great  battles.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Nineveh  several  villages — Tar- 
bisa,  Selamiyeh,  and  Senn — are  thought  to 
cover  the  ground  once  occupied  by  important 
towns  and  cities.  Many  other  places,  espe- 
cially in  Mesopotamia,  are  known  only  ap- 
proximately or  not  at  all. 

The  names  of  a  multitude  of  cities,  towns, 
and  localities  have  been  preserved,  and 
their  sites  in  several  instances  determined 
with  some  degree  of  certainty.  After  the 
conquest  of  Assyria  by  the  Medes,  the  cities, 
particularly  those  west  of  the  Tigris,  fell  rap- 
idly into  decay.  The  building  activity  of  the 
nation  which  had  wrought  such  wonders  was 
suddenly  paralyzed,  and  the  splendor  of  fane 
and  palace  was  soon  hidden  in  the  smoke  of 
devastation,  or  dimmed  and  defiled  by  the 
dust  that  rolled  in  clouds  after  the  conquering 
legions  of  a  foreign  soldiery. 

Of  the  great  deeds  of  the  Assyrians,  con- 
sidered as  a  people — of  their  renown  in  war 
and  progress  in  peace — it  is  now  appropriate 
to  speak. 


162 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Chaptkr  XIII.— Chronoloqy  and  Annals. 


SSYRIA  was  colonized 
from  Chaldsea.  Accord- 
ing to  Genesis,  Asshur 
went  forth  from  the  land 
of  Shinar  and  builded 
Nineveh.  It  appears  clear 
that  at  a  certain  epoch 
the  spirit  of  colonization  prevailed  in  Lower 
Mesopotamia.  One  company  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Terah  left  Ur,  and  settled  in  Haran. 
Another  colony — progenitors  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians— departed  from  Chaldsea,  and  established 
themselves  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean. A  third  and  more  important  migration 
was  conducted  up  the  Tigris,  and  choosing 
the  region  afterwards  known  as  Adiabene, 
laid  the  foundations  of  Asshur — so  called  from 
the  tribal  name  of  the  colony.  Around  this 
city  as  a  center  and  germ  soon  grew  the  do- 
minions of  an  independent  province,  widening 
at  first  into  a  tributary  kingdom  and  after- 
wards into  a  vast  and  aggressive  empire. 

Among  the  ruins  of  Kileh-Shergat  and 
other  Assyrian  cities  are  found  unmistakable 
traces  of  the  Chaldsean  or  Babylonian  origin 
of  the  people.  The  oldest  bricks  are  stamped 
with  Babylonian  characters,  and  bear  witness 
to  the  fact  that  the  country  at  that  time  was 
under  the  rule  of  provincial  governors.  '  An 
important  tablet  also  contains  the  proof  of  the 


coexistence  of  Chaldsean  and  Assyrian  kinga 
and  of  their  relations  by  treaty.  The  names 
of  several  monarchs  of  the  most  ancient  times 
are  thus  preserved,  and  a  dim  outline  given 
of  the  royal  families,  their  intermarriages  and 
lines  of  descent.  The  elements  of  a  meager 
and  imperfect  history  of  primitive  Assyria  are 
thus  exhumed  from  the  dust. 

Data  for  establishing  a  trustworthy  chro- 
nology of  the  earlier  epochs  are  vague  and 
fragmentary.  Conjecture  and  right  reason, 
rather  than  ascertained  facts,  have  been  called 
in  to  fill  out  the  broken  outline  of  the  provin- 
cial and  kingly  periods  of  Assyrian  history. 
By  this  means  a  sketch,  not  wholly  imaginary 
but  falling  far  short  of  authenticity,  has  been 
produced  of  the  movements  of  civil  society  in 
Assyria  before  the  establishment  of  the  Em- 
pire. After  the  accession  of  Tiglathi-Adar '  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  B.  C , 
the  scheme  of  chronology  may  be  fairly  re- 
garded as  established  on  historical  foundations. 
Before  that  period  all  dates  in  Assyrian  history 
are  the  result  of  conjecture  and  hypothesis. 

Gathering  together  the  best  results  that 
have  thus  far  been  attained  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  chronological  outline,  the  following 
table  may  be  accepted  as  the  nearest  approach 
to  historic  accuracy  which  is  attainable  in  the 
present  state  of  knowledge: 


Provincial 
Period, 


Early 
Kingdom. 


Bel-Sumili-Kapi, 
Irba-Vul,    .    .    . 


Asshur-Iddin-  Akhi, 

Asshur-Bil-Nisi-Su, 

Buzur-Asshur, 
Asshur-Upalit, 
Bel-Lush,  .  . 
Pud-Il,  .  .  . 
Vul-Lush,  .  . 
Shalmaneser  T, 


Provincial  governors  sent  out 
from  Babylonia.  Names  pre 
served  on  fragments  of  tablets 
found  in  Assyria. 

/  Contemporary  with  Purna-    \ 
I     Puriyas,  King  of  Chaldsea,  j 

Successor  to  preceding, 

Successor  to  preceding, 

Son  of  preceding,    .    .    . 

Son  of  preceding,    .    •    . 

Son  of  preceding,    .    .    . 

Son  of  preceding,    .    .    . 


Before  the  middle  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  B.  C. 


About  1440  B.  C,  to  1420  B.  C, 


1420 
1400 
1380 
1360 
1340 
1320 


1400 
1380 
1360 
1340 
1320 
1300 


'  Frequently  called  Tiglathi-Mn — Nin  being  another  name  for  Adar. 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


163 


;  The  Great   , 
Empire.      ' 


Later 
Kingdom. 


COMMENTS. 


Tiglathi-Adar  (Nin), 


Bel-Kiidur-Uzur, . 
Nin-Pala-Zira,  .  . 
Asshur-Dayan  I., 
Mutaggil-Nebo,  . 
Asshur-Ris-Ilim,  . 
Tiglath-Pileser  I., 
Asshur-Bil-Kala,  . 
Shamas-Vul  I.,     . 


Asshur-Mazur, 


Asshur-Dayan  II.,  . 
Vul-Lush  II.,  .  .  . 
Tiglathi-Nin  II.,  .  . 
Asshur-Izir-Pal,  .  . 
Shalmaneser  II.,  .  . 
Shamas-Vul  II.,  .  . 
Vul-Lush  III.,  .  .  . 
Shalmaneser  III.,  . 
Asshur-Dayan  III., 
Asshur-Lush,  .  .  . 
Tiglath-Pileser  II.,  . 
Shalmaneser  IV.,     . 

Sargon,    

Sennacherib, .  .  .  . 
Esar-Haddon,  .  .  . 
Asshur-Bani-Pal, .  . 
Asshur-Emid-Ilin,   . 


Son  of  preceding, 

A  break  in  the  succession,  . 


Successor  to  preceding,  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .... 
Son  of  preceding,  .... 
Son  of  preceding,  .... 
Son  of  preceding,  .... 
Son  of  preceding,  .... 
Brother  of  preceding,  .  . 
A  break  in  the  succession, 


A  break  in  the  succession. 


Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .  •  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Successor  to  preceding. 
Successor  to  preceding. 
Successor  to  preceding. 


Successor  to  preceding. 
Successor  to  preceding. 
Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Son  of  preceding,  .  .  . 
Successor  to  preceding, 


Abou 

t  1300  B.  C. 

to  1280  B.  C. 

1230 

" 

1210 

« 

1210 
1190 
1170 

:: 

1190 
1170 
1150 

jj 

1150 

" 

1130 

u 

1130 

K 

1110 

(I 

1110 

<( 

1090 

u 

1090 

<l 

1070 

930 

<( 

911 

,, 

911 

(( 

889 

(( 

889 

(< 

883 

(( 

883 

<( 

858 

(1 

858 

(< 

823 

<( 

823 

(( 

810 

<< 

810 

(( 

781 

(< 

781 

<( 

771 

<( 

771 

U 

753 

" 

753 

(( 

745 

(( 

745 

<( 

727 

<< 

727 

(< 

722 

(< 

722 

(< 

705 

« 

705 

<( 

681 

<( 

681 

<( 

668 

<< 

668 

t( 

626 

(( 

626 

" 

625 

n 

On  the  above  scheme  it  may  be  remarked 
that  the  dates  are  certainly  established  only 
as  far  back  as  the  reign  of  Asshur-Dayan  II. , 
in  930  B.  C.  From  this  time  downwards  to 
the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  under  Asshur- 
Emid-Hin,  a  period  of  three  hundred  and  four 
years,  the  list  embraces  fifteen  monarchs, 
■which  gives  an  average  of  twenty  years  to 
•each  sovereign.  Applying  the  same  average 
to  the  seventeen  preceding  rulers,  we  find  the 
■establishment  of  the  early  kingdom  to  date 
back  to  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury B.  C.  But  it  will  readily  be  confessed 
that  the  assignment  of  twenty  years  to  each 
of  this  long  line  of  monarchs  is  no  better  than 
a  rough  approximation  to  the  truth.  So  far 
as  the  lists  themselves,  and  the  order  of  suc- 
<;ession,  and  in  general  the  relations  of  de- 
scent, are  concerned,  a  tolerable  degree  of  cer- 
tainty has  been  attained,  but  the  dates  of  all  the 
earlier  period  are  tentative  and  conjectural. 

In  the  second  place,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  no  consecutive  annals  of  the  so- 
called  Early  Kingdom  exist.  True  it  is  that 
a  great  and  aggressive  empire  like  that  of 


Tiglathi-Adar  can  not  spring  into  being  at 
once.  Previous  progress  in  civilization,  with 
special  reference  to  the  forms  and  modes  of 
administration,  must  have  been  reached  by 
stages  slow  and  painful  before  the  nation  can 
display  itself  with  regal  splendor  or  imperial 
power.  Again,  it  is  shown  by  analogy  that  a 
race  of  kings — natural  leaders  and  rulers  by 
preeminence  —  generally  precedes  the  pro- 
nounced expression  of  nationality  in  the 
history  of  peoples.  In  the  case  of  Assyria 
we  have  the  names  and  order  of  succession 
of  seven  such  rulers;  and  even  before  the 
first  of  these  a  broken  list  of  provincial  chief- 
tains or  governors  has  been  preserved.  The 
names,  if  not  the  deeds,  of  these  primitive 
heroes  of  the  Assyrian  dawn  are  as  real  as 
those  of  Nuraitor  and  Romulus. 

A  few  glimpses  of  the  historic  life  of  As- 
syria are  caught  as  far  away  as  the  times  of 
the  earlier  kings.  No  account,  indeed,  has 
been  preserved  of  the  revolt  or  peaceable 
secession  by  which  the  Assyrian  provinces 
became  independent  of  the  mother  kingdom 
of  the  South.     But  the  time  came  when  the 


164 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


growing  people  about  Asshur  were  not  longer 
dominated  by  Chaldsean  authority.  A  royal 
family  sprang  up  in  the  North  having  estab- 
lished relations  with  the  princes  of  Babylon. 

Especially  did  Asshur-Upallit,  the  third  of 
the  early  kings,  cultivate  the  friendship  and 
favor  of  the  Southern  monarchy.  He  gave  a 
daughter  in  marriage  to  Purna-Puriyas,  the 
Chald?ean,  and  the  son  of  this  union  became 
king  after  the  death  of  his  father.  A  revolt 
presently  ensued,  the  subjects  of  this  grandson 
of  Purna  rebelling  against  him  until  the  As- 
syrian king  marched  an  army  into  Lower 
Mesopotamia,  overthrew  the  usurper,  Nazi- 
Bugas,  and  put  another  son  of  Purna  on  the 
throne.  The  whole  transaction  shows  that  the 
rulers  of  Chaldisa  and  Assyria  regarded  each 
other  as  equals,  and  were  capable  of  acting 
from  the  same  large  motives  which  determine 
the  policy  of  rulers  in  times  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced civilization. 

After  Upallit  for  a  period  of  sixty  years — 
covering  the  reigns  of  Bel-Lush,  Pud-Il,  and 
VuL-LusH — nothing  except  the  names  of  the 
kings  is  known  of  the  civil  history  of  Assyria. 
The  bricks  of  Asshur  show  that  that  city  was 
still  the  capital ;  neither  Calah  nor  Nineveh 
had  yet  been  built. 

In  the  next  reign,  that  of  Shalmaneser  L, 
the  seat  of  power  was  transferred  further  north 
and  to  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Tigris.  The 
whole  region  on  both  banks  of  the  river  was 
now  dominated  by  the  Assyrians.  The  semi- 
peninsular  and  easily  defended  district  be- 
tween the  Tigris  and  the  Greater  Zab  was 
chosen  as  a  site  for  the  new  city  of  Calah  or 
Nimrud.  This  delightful  locality  became 
known  as  Aturia,  or  Assyria  Proper,  and  re- 
mained through  many  reigns  the  center  of 
influence  in  the  Empire.  From  this  city  the 
first  conquering  armies  of  Assyria  were  led 
forth  by  Shalmaneser  to  enlarge  and  strengthen 
the  borders  of  his  dominions  on  the  north. 
Successful  expeditions  made  the  king's  arms 
known  on  the  Upper  Tigris  where  towns  were 
conquered  and  colonies  planted,  and  the  royal 
power  magnified  in  the  presence  of  the  barba- 
rians. It  is  the  epoch  of  the  first  Assyrian 
wars. 

Tiglathi-Adar,  son  and  successor  of  Shal- 


maneser, is  regarded  by  common  fame  as  th& 
founder  of  the  Empire.  Herodotus  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  fact  that  the  supremacy  which  had 
hitherto  been  Babylonian  became  Assyrian. 
The  spirit  of  conquest  became  dominant  in  the 
Northern  kingdom.  After  a  successful  war  in 
Lower  Mesopotamia,  Tiglathi-Adar  subscribed 
himself  as  conqueror  of  Babylon.  He  even 
established  his  capital  in  the  subject  metrop- 
olis, and  therefrom  issued  his  edicts  during  the 
greater  part  of  his  reign.  Here,  too,  a  branch 
of  his  family  continued  in  authority  for  nearly 
a  century.  At  times  these  Assyrian  vice-re- 
gents of  Babylonia  were  in  revolt  against  the 
Ninevite  dynasty.  For  a  season  the  inde- 
pendence of  Chaldsea  is  partially  restored  or 
again  lost  as  some  more  ambitious  monarch 
of  the  Empire  would  turn  his  arms  to  the 
south.  This  condition  of  semi-dependence 
continued  for  five  or  six  centuries;  though 
there  was  a  never  a  time  after  Tiglathi's 
conquest  when  Assyria  was  not  regarded  as 
the  dominant  power  between  the  Armenian 
mountains  and  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  race 
ascendency  of  the  Empire  during  the  whole 
period  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  seventh 
century  B.  C,  is  clearly  marked  in  the  prev- 
alence of  Semitic  names  and  Assyrian  inscrip- 
tions at  Babylon  and  throughout  Chaldsea. 
Nor  does  it  appear  that  at  any  time  the  old 
Chaldsean  dynasty  was  able  to  reassert  itself 
successfully  against  the  rulers  of  Nineveh. 

After  the  death  of  Tiglathi-AoAR  the  succes- 
sion was  broken  for  a  period  of  a  half  cent- 
ury. Whether  Bel-Kubur-Uzur,  whose  name 
next  appears  on  the  tablets,  was  a  relative  of 
the  preceding  monarch  or  the  founder  of  a 
new  dynasty  has  not  been  determined.  After 
Bel-Kudur,  however,  the  succession  is  again 
unbroken  till  the  reign  of  Shamas-Vul  I.,  in 
1070  B.  C. 

The  reign  of  King  Bel-Kudur  is  chiefly 
noted  for  his  disastrous  war  with  Babylon. 
The  viceroy  of  that  city  and  province  raised 
the  standard  of  rebellion  against  his  master, 
who,  in  1210,  went  out  to  war  with  his  re- 
fractory vassal,  and  was  himself  defeated  and 
slain  in  battle.  Vul-Baladan,  the  Babylon 
prince,  now  inflamed  with  victory,  organized 
an  expedition  against  Nineveh,  and  proceed- 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


165 


ing  thither  was  met  near  Asshiir  and  annihi- 
lated by  the  army  of  Nin-Pala-Zira,  who  had 
succeeded  Bel-Kudur  on  the  throne  of  Assyria. 

Asshur-Dayan,  the  third  Assyrian  emperor, 
was  blest  with  peace.  First  of  all  he  marched 
into  Babylonia  and  restored  that  province  to 
order.  He  next  busied  himself  with  the  de- 
molition of  the  old  and  half-ruined  temple  of 
Vul  at  Asshur — a  work  so  vast  that  the  recon- 
struction of  the  edifice  was  not  undertaken 
for  the  space  of  sixty  years. 

Of  Mutaggil-Nebo,  the  fourth  from  Tig- 
lathi-Adar,  only  a  single  record  has  been  pre- 
served, and  in  that  we  are  told  that  "Asshur, 
the  great  Lord,  aided  him  according  to  the 
■wishes  of  his  heart,  and  established  him  in 
strength  in  the  government  of  Assyria."  With 
the  reign  of  Asshur-Ris-Ilem,  the  next  in 
succession,  the  military  spirit  was  revived,  and 
an  inscription  records  that  the  monarch  was  a 
powerful  king,  the  subduer  of  rebellious  coun- 
tries, and  the  conqueror  of  all  the  accursed. 
He  waged  several  foreign  wars,  carrying  his 
arms — if  one  tradition  is  to  be  credited — as 
far  west  as  the  Mediterranean.  Certain  it  is 
that  he  made  a  great  campaign  against  the 
Babylonians,  whose  viceroy  Nebuchadnezzar — 
first  sovereign  of  that  illustrious  name — had 
raised  the  standard  of  revolt  and  led  his  rebel- 
lious subjects  up  the  Diyaleh,  and  along  the 
foot-hills  of  the  Zagros  towards  the  Assyrian 
capital.  The  invasion  was  met  by  the  king's 
army  and  beaten  back,  but  Nebuchadnezzar's 
forces  again  gathered  head  and  advanced  across 
the  open  plain  until  they  were  met  by  Ris- 
Ilim's  generals  and  completely  routed.  Forty 
chariots  and  a  banner  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  victors. 

With  the  accession  of  Tiglath-Pileser  I. 
the  details  of  Assyrian  history  become  more 
abundant.  The  new  monarch  came  to  the 
throne  about  1130  B.  C.  The  story  of  his 
military  exploits  and  civil  career  is  elaborately 
recorded  on  two  cylinders,  which  are  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum.  The  record  is  made  by 
the  king  himself,  and  making  allowance  for  the 
egotism  which  has  always  characterized  royal 
autobiography,  and  the  bombast  peculiar  to 
oriental  style,  the  inscription  may  be  accepted 
as  a  true  history  of  Tiglath-Pileser's  reign. 


This  ancient  chronicle  begins  with  a 
lengthy  and  formal  invocation  to  the  gods  of 
Asshur,  by  whose  help  and  protection  the 
king's  greatness  had  been  won  and  maintained. 
Then  follows  a  detailed  account  of  the  five 
great  campaigns  which  he  had  conducted 
against  foreign  nations.  The  first  of  these 
was  directed  to  the  north  against  the  Mos- 
chians,  at  the  foot  of  the  Taurus.  For  fifty 
years  the  tribes  on  this  skirt  of  the  Empire 
had  neglected  to  pay  the  tribute  which  had 
been  imposed  on  them  by  previous  rulers. 
Now  they  were  subdued,  and  the  tribute- 
money  regularly  exacted.  Another  rebellious 
Assyrian  dependency,  called  Kasiyara  in  t^'^ 
language  of  the  inscription,  was  also  subjected 
with  a  great  slaughter  of  armies  and  overthrow 
of  towns  and  cities.  The  second  campaign 
was  waged  through  the  same  provinces,  and 
was  chiefly  directed  against  the  Kaskians  and 
Urumians — two  tribes  which  had  been  making 
depredations  on  the  Assyrian  frontier.  These 
also  were  overpowered.  The  wealth  of  the 
nation,  including  one  hundred  and  twenty 
chariots  of  war,  was  transferred  by  the  con- 
queror to  his  own  capital.  Turning  to  the 
east,  the  armies  of  Tiglath-Pileser  next  crossed 
the  Lower  Zab,  and  carried  the  banners  of 
Assyria  to  the  foot  of  the  Zagros. 

In  the  third  year  of  his  wars  the  king  led 
his  forces  westward  to  the  Euphrates,  against 
the  tribes  called  the  Nairi.  This  semi-barbar- 
ous people  had  never  been  subjected  to  As- 
syrian authority.  In  Mesopotamia  the  prog- 
ress of  the  king  was  not  seriously  resisted, 
but  west  of  the  Euphrates  the  Nai'ri  gathered 
in  great  strength,  and  fought  bravely  in  de- 
fense of  their  country.  The  discipline  of  the 
royal  armies,  however,  soon  triumphed  over 
native  valor,  and  the  scattered  tribes  were 
pursued  as  far  west  as  the  Mediterranean. 
Great  spoils  were  taken,  and  a  tribute  exacted 
amounting  to  two  hundred  cattle  and  twelve 
hundred  horses. 

The  third  campaign  led  to  a  fourth.  The 
Aramaeans,  whose  country  skirted  the  Eu- 
phrates from  Is  to  Carchemish,  attracted  the 
attention  of  Tiglath-Pileser,  and  drew  him, 
already  heated  with  conquest,  into  an  invasion. 
This  was  the  most  brilliant  and  successful  of 


166 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


his  wars.  He  swept  through  the  long,  narrow 
territory  of  the  Aramseaus  for  a  distance  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Six  cities  were 
captured,  and  the  whole  country  ravaged  to 
its  northernmost  limits.  The  Assyrian  army 
then  drew  back  to  the  capital,  bearing  vast 
quantities  of  booty. 

In  the  next  year  a  fifth  and  last  campaign 
was  conducted  in  the  country  between  the 
Oreater  Zab  and  the  Eastern  Khabour — "the 
land  of  Muzr."  Here  the  spurs  of  the  Zagros 
rendered  military  movements  difficult,  and  the 
courage  of  the  mountaineers  of  Kurdistan  was 
conspicuous  in  defense  of  their  fastnesses ;  but 
the  king's  army  assaulted  the  strongholds  and 
put  down  all  resistance.  Arin,  the  capital, 
was  taken,  and  a  tribute  was  imposed  as  the 
condition  of  peace.  The  Comari,  also,  a  neigh- 
boring nation  that  had  lent  aid  to  the  Kurds 
in  their  recent  hostilities,  were  next  punished 
for  their  part  in  the  war.  Their  army  of  twenty 
thousand  men  was  routed,  and  their  castles  and 
cities  taken  and  burnt.  At  the  close  of  the 
chronicle  of  his  exploits  the  king  sums  up  as 
the  result  of  his  great  campaigns  forty-two 
conquered  countries,  extending  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  Greater  Zab  to  the  Euphrates, 
and  beyond  to  the  west  as  far  as  the  Mediter- 
ranean. Cities,  towns,  castles,  kings  and  peo- 
ples had  been  subdued  and  reorganized  "  under 
one  government" — the  imperial  government 
of  Assyria. 

The  great  exploits  of  Tiglath-Pileser  as  a 
hunter  of  wild  beasts  are  likewise  thought 
worthy  to  be  recorded.  Wild  cattle  had  he 
pursued  with  his  arrows.  Nearly  a  thousand 
lions  had  he  destroyed  while  going  to  and  fro 
on  his  conquests.  Some  of  the  ferocious 
creatures  of  the  mountains  and  plains  he  had 
confined  in  cages  and  dragged  back,  bound 
with  thongs,  to  the  capital.  There  did  the 
royal  keepers  show  them  alive  as  the  indubit- 
able proofs  of  the  king's  prowess  and  of  the 
favor  of  Nin  and  Nergal,  who  gave  the  ad- 
vantage in  conflict,  and  guided  the  royal  arrow 
in  its  flight. 

Great  buildings  also  attested  the  enterprise 
of  the  king.  The  gods  of  Asshur-Ishtar,  Bel, 
and  n  were  honored  with  new  and  magnifi- 
cent fanes.     Mention  has  already  been  made 


of  the  demolition  by  Asshur-Dayan  of  the 
ancient  temple  of  Anu  and  Vul,  which,  after 
remaining  for  six  and  a  half  centuries  the 
wonder  of  the  capital,  had  fallen  into  ruin. 
Neither  Asshur-Dayan  himself,  nor  Nebo,  nor 
Ris-Ilim  had  been  able  to  restore  the  structure 
to  its  former  grandeur.  It  remained  for  the 
victorious  Tiglath-Pileser,  enriched  by  con- 
quest and  inflamed  with  pride,  to  rear  again 
in  pristine  splendor  the  barbaric  temple  of 
the  gods  of  his  fathers.'  The  wars  of  Tiglath- 
Pileser  were  mostly  waged  with  tribes  which 
had  just  emerged  from  barbarism.  The  half- 
civilized  peoples  whose  countries  skirted  the 
dominions  of  Assyria  on  the  west,  the  north, 
and  the  east,  were  but  poorly  able  to  cope 
with  the  well-drilled  legions  of  Pileser's  army. 
Only  in  one  direction  was  there  a  kingdom 
possessing  sufficient  political  unity  to  stand  on 
equal  terms  with  the  conquering  monarch  of 
Asshur.  On  the  south  lay  Babylon,  old  and 
well-organized,  and  of  ancient  renown  in  arms. 
In  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign,  and  even 

*  As  a  specimen  of  the  royal  style,  the  follow- 
ing somewhat  vainglorious  account  of  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  temple  of  Anu  and  Vul,  as  given  in 
Tiglath-Pileser's  inscription,  is  appended :  "  In 
the  beginning  of  my  reign,  Anu  and  Vul,  the 
great  gods,  my  lords,  guardians  of  my  steps,  gave 
me  a  command  to  repair  this  their  shrine.  So  I 
made  bricks ;  I  leveled  the  earth ;  I  took  the  di- 
mensions; I  laid  down  the  foundation  upon  a 
mass  of  strong  rock.  This  place,  throughout  its 
whole  extent,  I  paved  with  bricks  in  set  order ; 
fifty  feet  deep  I  prepared  the  ground :  and  upon 
this  substructure  I  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
temple  of  Anu  and  Vul.  From  its  foundation  to 
its  roof  I  built  it  better  than  it  was  before.  I  also 
built  two  lofty  towers  in  honor  of  their  noble  god- 
ships,  and  the  holy  place,  a  spacious  hall,  I  con- 
secrated for  the  convenience  of  their  worshipers, 
and  to  accommodate  their  votaries  who  were  nu- 
merous as  the  stars  of  heaven.  I  repaired  and 
built  and  completed  my  work.  Outside  the  tem- 
ple I  fashioned  every  thing  with  the  same  care 
as  inside.  The  mound  of  earth  on  which  it  was 
built  I  enlarged  like  the  firmament  of  the  rising 
stars,  and  I  beautified  the  entire  building.  Its 
towers  I  raised  up  to  heaven,  and  its  roofs  I  built 
entirely  of  brick.  An  inviolable  shrine  for  their 
noble  godships  I  laid  down  near  at  hand.  Anu 
and  Vul,  the  great  gods,  I  glorified  inside  the 
shrine.  I  set  them  up  in  their  honored  purity, 
and  the  hearts  of  their  noble  godships  I  de- 
lighted."—  Rawlinson's  Ancient  Monarchies,  Vol. 
II.,  pp.  69-70. 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


167 


during  his  great  campaigns,  the  relations  be- 
tween Tiglath-Pileser's  government  and  the 
viceroyalty  of  Babylon  continued  friendly ; 
but  after  his  other  wars  were  completed,  and 
he  had  for  a  while  devoted  his  energies  to 
works  of  peace,  the  king's  belligerent  disposi- 
tion  broke   out   in   an   invasion  of  Chaldsea. 

He  first  led  his  army  into  the  northern  prov- 
inces, and  for  two  years  laid  waste  the  coun- 
try. The  two  Sipparas  were  taken,  and  Kurri- 
Oalzu,  and  Opis  on  the  Tigris.  Finally  Bab- 
ylon itself  was  besieged  and  captured,  after 
which  the  royal  army  began  to  withdraw  up 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  taking  several 
cities  on  the  march,  and  meeting  but  feeble 
resistance.  No  sooner,  however,  had  the  As- 
syrian forces  departed  from  Babylon  than 
Merodach-Iddin,  the  viceroy  of  the  kingdom, 
gathered  an  array  and  began  a  vigorous  pur- 
suit. Hanging  on  Tig.ath-Pileser's  rear,  he 
gained  several  advantages,  insomuch  that  the 
Assyrian  march  was  converted  into  a  retreat. 
An  assault  was  made  on  the  king's  camp,  and 
the  gods  of  Asshur  were  captured  and  borne 
away  in  triumph  to  Babylon,  where  they  were 
kept,  to  the  shame  of  the  Ninevites,  for  more 
than  four  hundred  years.  Neither  Tiglath- 
Pileser  himself  nor  any  of  his  successors  was 
able  to  retake  the  idols  which  the  king  had 
tome  with  him  through  all  his  conquests,  and 
•which  had  thus  become  a  part  of  the  fame 
of  Assyria. 

About  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century 
B.  C,  Tiglath-Pileser  was  succeeded  on  the 
throne  by  his  son,  Asshur-Bil-Kala.  Of  this 
prince  and  his  reign  not  very  much  is  known. 
The  Babylonian  difficulties  which  had  for  sev- 
eral generations  afflicted  the  kings  of  Assyria, 
again  broke  out  in  the  reign  of  Bil-Kala. 
Shapik-Zira,  prince  of  Babylon,  following  the 
example  of  his  father,  Iddin-Akhi,  revolted, 
and  the  Assyrian  monarch  made  an  effort  to 
subdue  him,  but  with  what  success  is  uncer- 
tain. There  are  some  evidences  also  that  Bil- 
Kala  devoted  his  energies  in  part  to  the  relig- 
ious enterprises  which  had  characterized  the 
time  of  his  father.  The  temples,  however,  do 
not  bear  any  distinctive  marks  of  this  prince's 
fame  or  ambition.  He  was  succeeded  on  the 
throne  by  his  younger  brother,  Shamas-Vul, 


by  whom  a  temple  was  built  at  Nineveh. 
Besides  this  fact  nothing  is  known  of  the 
events  of  his  reign.  It  is  a  time  of  decadence 
in  the  history  of  Assyria.  For  two  centuries — 
from  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Bil-Kala  to  the 
accession  of  Tiglathi-Nin,  in  B.  C.  889 — there 
is  an  almost  total  blank  in  the  annals  of  the 
Empire.  Only  the  names  of  the  kings  (and 
but  a  few  of  these)  have  been  preserved  to  indi- 
cate the  outline  of  events  and  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  power. 

The  continued  existence  of  a  single  do- 
minion, with  its  capital  at  Asshur,  was  of 
itself  an  important  fact  in  ancient  history. 
The  families  of  the  Assyrian  kings  and  nobles 
became  well  established.  The  Assyrian  stock 
was  the  most  notable  in  Western  Asia.  The 
princesses  of  this  line  were  sought  in  marriage 
by  the  illustrious  sovereigns  of  Egypt,  and 
the  kings  of  the  surrounding  nations  nearly 
all  courted  the  favor  of  an  alliance  with  the 
House  of  Nineveh.  As  the  result  of  such 
unions  Assyrian  names  begin  to  appear  in  the 
royal  families  of  the  circumjacent  kingdoms. 
For  when  has  the  mother  forgotten  to  call  her 
child  by  the  name  of  her  father  or  brother? 

Passing  over  the  undated  reign  of  Asshuk- 
Mazur  and  the  obscure  times  of  Asshur- 
Dayan  II.  and  Vul-Lush  II.,  we  come,  with  the 
accession  of  Tiglathi-Nin  II. ,  to  another  dawn 
in  Assyrian  history.  The  reign  of  this  second 
Nin  was  brief  and  inglorious,  and  his  name 
and  place  in  the  history  of  his  country  are 
only  preserved  in  a  single  inscription.  Not 
so,  however,  with  his  son  and  successor,  the 
distinguished  Asshur-Izir-Pal,  who  came  to 
the  throne  in  B.  C.  883.  His  accession  marks 
the  beginning  of  a  great  renaissance  in  the 
art,  learning,  and  political  development  of 
Assyria.  Whether  in  warlike  vigor  or  civil 
enterprise,  this  monarch  stands  preeminent 
among  his  contemporaries.  In  the  first  six 
years  of  his  reign  he  waged  no  fewer  than  ten 
campaigns  against  the  surrounding  nations, 
carrying  his  victorious  arms  from  the  upper 
fountains  of  the  Euphrates  on  the  north-west 
to  the  spurs  of  the  Zagros,  where  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  Diyaleh  gather  their  waters,  on 
the  south-east.  The  Kurdish  tribes  and  moun- 
taineers of  Armenia;    two  races  of  Western 


168 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Mesopotamia  called  the  Serki  aud  the  Laki; 
the  rebellious  inhabitants  of  Assura;  the 
Na'iri,  previously  mentioned  as  a  subject- 
people  of  the  Upper  Tigris;  the  highlanders 
of  the  Mons  Masius  and  of  the  district  on  the 
north  of  Susiana;  the  Shuhites,  who  had 
again  revolted ;  and  especially  the  Syrians,  in- 
cluding the  people  of  Carchemish  and  west- 
ward through  the  regions  about  Antioch  and 
Aleppo  as  far  as  Tyre  and  Sidon  and  the 
other  Phoenician  cities — were  each  in  turn 
made  to  acknowledge  the  valor  and  supremacy 
of  Asshur-Izir-Pal's  armies.  In  the  progress 
of  these  extended  expeditions,  not  only  the 
military  prowess  but  also  the  ferocious  disposi- 
tion of  the  king  was  fully  developed.  At  the 
siege  of  the  rebellious  town  of  Assura  he  mani- 


fested the  wrath  of  a  barbarian.  He  captured 
the  king  and  sent  him  in  fetters  to  Nineveh. 
Those  of  the  inhabitants  who  had  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  revolt  he  either  crucified  or 
burnt  alive ;  while  those  who  had  been  less 
guilty  of  the  rebellion  were  punished  by  the 
cutting  off  of  their  ears  and  noses.  ^  These 
savage  proceedings  had  the  effect  of  inspiring 
universal  dread  of  the  displeasure  of  the  mon- 
arch who  inflicted  them. 

The  general  effect  of  Asshur-Izir-Pal's  wars 
was  greatly  to  enrich  the  Empire.  Increased 
tributes  poured   into  the    capital.     Contribu- 

^Sueh  brutal  methods  of  subjugation  were  too 
much  employed  by  the  Assyrian  generals  and 
kings.  The  case  of  Asshur-Izir-Pal  seems  to  be 
extraordinary.  He  appears  not  to  have  been 
troubled  with  compunctions,  but  to  have  gloried 
rather  in  his  savagery.  With  the  utmost  non- 
chalance he  thus  relates  the  sequel  of  the  capture 
of  Tela,  one  of  the  towns  that  resisted  his  author- 
ity:  "Their  men,  young  and  old,  I  took  prisoners. 
Of  some  I  cut  off  the  feet  and  hands;  of  others  I 
cut  off  the  noses,  ears,  and  lips;  of  the  young 
men's  ears  I  made  a  heap ;  of  the  old  men's  heads 
I  built  a  minaret!  I  exposed  their  heads  as  a 
trophy  in  front  of  their  city.  The  male  children 
and  the  female  children  I  burnt  in  the  flames!  The 
city  I  destroyed  and  consumed  and  burnt  with 
fire." 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


169 


tions  of  gold,  silver,  horses,  and  cattle  were 
levied  without  scruple  and  collected  without 
abatement  from  the  conquered  countries.  A 
great  stimulus  was  thus  given  to  the  architec- 
tural and  aesthetic  development  of  the  As- 
sj'rians.  The  later  years  of  the  reign  of 
Asshur-Izir-Pal  became  a  kind  of  Augustan 
Age,  in  which  literature  and  the  arts  flour- 
ished with  a  brilliancy  which  even  from  the 
dust  of  centuries  has  flashed  out  on  the  sur- 
prised vision  of  modern  times.  This  era 
marks  a  revolution  in  architectural  taste — a 
change  so  great  as  sti'ongly  to  distinguish  the 
remains  of  the  earlier  age  at  Asshur  from  the 
splendid  ruins  found  at  Calah  and  Nineveh. 
Whereas  the  former  are  so  rude  and  unpre- 
tending as  to  be  at  once  assigned  by  the  anti- 
quary to  the  monumental  endeavors  of  a 
primitive  people,  the  latter  are  so  grand  in 
conception  and  so  artistic  in  execution  as  to 
be  properly  classified  with  the  great  Avorks  of 
Greece  and  Egypt. 

The  favorite  city  of  Asshur-Izir-Pal  was 
Calah.  Under  his  ambitious  and  powerful 
patronage  this  soon  became  the  metropolis  of 
the  Empire.  Here  he  built  a  royal  palace 
that  far  outshone  any  structure  hitherto 
reared  within  the  limits  of  Assyria.  The  edi- 
fice was  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  length 
by  three  hundred  feet  in  breadth.  The  gen- 
eral plan  of  the  structure  was  a  series  of 
halls  and  chambers  and  a  great  central  court 
a  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long  and  a  hundred 
feet  in  width.  The  palace  proper  was  raised 
upon  a  vast  rectangular  platform  of  burnt 
bricks  cased  with  slabs  of  hewn  stone.  Fac- 
ing the  city  on  the  north  and  the  Tigris  on 
the  west  were  flights  of  steps  ascending  to  the 
grand  fayades,  while  beside  the  high  gates  by 
which  access  was  had  to  the  principal  hall,  were 
sculptured  slabs  representing  the  great  deeds 
of  the  king.  The  gateway  in  the  southern 
wall  was  guarded  on  either  hand  by  winged 
bulls  with  human  heads  carved  in  yellow 
limestone,  and  the  halls  and  chambers  within 
were  decorated  with  enameled  bricks,  sculp- 
tures, and  frescoes. 

The  splendid  example  of  the  king  as  a 
builder  and  patron  of  art  reacted  powerfully 
upon  the  princes  and  nobles  of  the  Empire. 


Calah  and  Nineveh  rose  in  grandeur.  The 
rough  stone-work  and  rudely  burnt  clays  of 
the  preceding  ages  gave  place  all  at  once  to 
elaborate  designs  in  bas-relief  and  magnificent 
architectural  ornaments.  The  influence  of  the 
capital  was  felt  even  to  the  provincial  towns, 
and  the  native  energy  of  the  Assyrian  race 
quickly  displayed  itself  in  the  higher  achieve- 
ments of  civilization.  Manufactures  spi'ang 
up  and  flourished.  Shops  for  the  making  of 
fabrics,  furnaces  for  the  burning  of  enameled 
bricks,  forges  for  the  working  of  metals,  fac- 
tories for  the  building  of  coaches  and  war- 
chariots,  studios  for  the  production  of  designs, 
the  treatment  of  colors, 
and  the  use  of  the  chisel — 
grew  up,  flourished,  and 
multiplied.  Assyrian  ar- 
tists traveled  to  Phoenicia 
and  even  to  India,  and 
introduced  on  their  return 
the  styles  and  designs  of 
both  the  East  and  the 
West.  Memorial  obelisks 
like  those  of  Egypt  were 
seen  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris.  The  taste  of  Assy- 
ria became  cultured,  cos- 
mopolitan. 

Asshur-Izir-Pal  died  in 
B.  C.  858,  leaving  a  con- 
solidated Empire  which 
extended  from  the  moun- 
tains of  Armenia  to  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  He 
was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  his  son, 
Shalmaneser  II.,  who  reigned  for  thirty-five 
years.  This  prince  had  grown  up  among 
the  Assyrian  soldiery.  As  a  boy  he  had 
accompanied  his  father  on  his  great  cam- 
paigns, and  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  conquest. 
As  a  consequence  of  this  training  his  chief 
energies  were  devoted  to  war.  No  fewer  than 
twenty-seven  campaigns  are  enumerated  in  the 
history  of  his  military  career.  By  far  the 
most  important  of  these  wars  were  those  waged 
against  Babylonia  and  Damascus.  In  the 
former  country  a  civil  conflict  had  broken  out 
between  Sum-Adin,  the  king,  and  his  rebel- 
lious younger  brother  named  Bel-Usati.     This 


ORNAMENTED  PILLAR, 

TIME  OF   ASSHUR- 

IZUR-PAL. 


170 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD, 


disturbance  gave  Shalmaneser  an  opportunity 
to  interfere,  and  in  the  eighth  year  of  his 
reign  he  led  an  army  into  Babylonia  and  over- 
threw and  slew  the  insurgent  brother;  but 
instead  of  settling  the  crown  upon  the  rightful 
claimant  he  wheeled  suddenly  about  and 
marched  into  Babylon.  Here  he  was  received 
by  the  people  as  a  deliverer,  and  easily  made 
himself  master  of  the  country.  He  then  con- 
tinued his  conquest  southward  through  Chal- 
dsea  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  afterwards  re- 
turned without  opposition  to  his  own  capital. 

In  874  B.  C.  Shalmaneser  began  his  wars 
with  Damascus.  Ben-Hadad,  king  of  that 
country,  had  become  alarmed  at  the  growing 
dominions  and  aggressive  spirit  of  the  Assyr- 
ians, and  had  determined  to  anticipate  the 
expected  invasion  of  his  territory  by  preparing 
to  repel  it.  He  accordingly  entered  into  a 
league  with  Tsakhulena,  king  of  Hamath,  and 
Ahab,  king  of  Israel.  The  kings  of  the  Hit- 
tites  and  Phoenicians  were  also  drawn  into  this 
alliance ;  and  when  Shalmaneser  marched  west- 
ward into  Syria  he  was  confronted  by  a  large 
and  ably  commanded  army.  Nevertheless  in 
a  great  battle  which  ensued  the  allied  forces 
led  by  Ben-Hadad  were  defeated.  Twenty 
thousand  of  their  number  were  killed,  and  the 
spoils  of  the  field  remained  in  the  hands  of 
the  Assyrians.  The  resistance,  however,  had 
been  so  serious,  the  battle  so  hotly  fought,  that 
Shalmaneser  withdrew  from  the  country,  and 
did  not  renew  the  war  for  a  period  of  five 
years. 

By  and  by  Shalmaneser,  having  completed 
some  other  conquests,  returned  to  his  Syrian 
war.  The  Western  confederacy  had  means 
while  fallen  to  pieces.  Hamath  had  internal 
dissensions,  and  Phoenicia  had  shut  herself  up 
in  her  fortified  towns.  Ben-Hadad,  however, 
induced  the  Hittites  to  join  him,  and  stood 
forth  to  meet  the  Assyrians  in  battle.  The 
victory,  though  indecisive,  was  again  gained 
by  Shalmaneser,  but  he  was  unable  after  the 
conflict  to  press  forward  to  complete  his  con- 
quest. After  retiring  a  second  time  to  his 
own  country,  he  gathered  a  third  array,  far 
surpassing  the  others  in  numbers  and  equip- 
ments, and  returning  against  Damascus  met 
and  defeated   the  army  of  Ben-Hadad   with 


great  slaughter.  The  war,  however,  continued, 
Ben-Hadad  was  assasinated  by  the  treacherous 
Hazael,  who  usurped  the  crown  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  army.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
mountain  range  he  posted  himself  in  the  val- 
ley of  Coelo-Syria,  where  he  was  assaulted  by 
the  Assyrians  and  utterly  routed.  Sixteen 
thousand  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  the 
spoils  of  the  battle-field,  including  eleven, 
hundred  and  twenty  chariots  of  war,  remained 
in  the  hands  of  Shalmaneser.  The  spirit  of 
resistance  was  broken.  Town  after  town  was 
taken,  and  the  Assyrian  banners  were  carried 
without  further  opposition  to  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Jehu, 
king  of  Israel,  submitted  to  the  yoke  of  As- 
syria, and  sent  an  embassy,  bearing  presents 
of  silver  and  gold,  to  the  court  of  Shalmaneser. 

After  completing  his  wars,  Shalmaneser, 
like  his  father,  turned  his  attention  to  the 
adornment  of  his  capital.  The  great  temple 
of  Nin,  the  Assyrian  Hercules,  which  had 
been  begun  by  Asshur-Izir-Pal,  was  now 
brought  to  completion.  Not  choosing  to  oc- 
cupy the  palace  which  his  father  had  built, 
the  king  selected  another  site  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  former  edifice,  and  there  reared 
for  the  gratification  of  his  pride  a  structure 
more  vast  and  splendid  than  any  hitherto- 
built  by  an  Assyrian  monarch.  The  literary 
development,  however,  which  had  been  sO' 
rapid  in  the  preceding  reigns,  was,  in  the  time 
of  Shalmaneser,  completely  checked,  and  the 
style  employed  in  the  inscrij^tions  is  even  more 
deficient  in  perspicuity  and  elegance  than  in 
the  time  of  the  king's  grandfather.  The  nar- 
rative given  by  the  rude  annalist  of  the  court 
is  fit  to  be  compared  with  only  the  coarsest 
essays  of  primitive  literature. 

A  single  monumental  record  of  Shalmane- 
ser's  reign  is  worthy  of  special  note.  Under 
the  di'bris  of  the  king's  palace  at  Calah  (Nira- 
rud)  the  historian  Layard  discovered  an  obe- 
lisk of  black  marble,  perfectly  preserved  and 
covered  on  its  four  sides  with  bas-reliefs  and 
historical  inscriptions.  The  sculptures  repre- 
sent the  monarch  as  receiving  tribute  from 
five  nations.  Ambassadors  bearing  the  pres- 
ents are  led  before  the  king,  to  whom  they 
bow,  laying  down  at  his  feet  the  treasures  of 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


171 


gold  and  silver  and  ivory  which  they  have 
brought  from  distant  regions  to  appease  the 
majesty  of  Assyria.  The  inscriptions  contain 
the  annals  of  the  Empire  during  the  reign  of 
Shalmaneser,  with  the  usual  vainglorious 
phraseology  of  the  court. 

The  last  years  of  Shalmaneser  II.  Avere 
clouded  with  disaster.  One  feature  of  his 
military  policy  had  been  distasteful  to  the 
people.  Several  of  his  campaigns  had  been 
intrusted  to  Dayan-Asshur,  the  leading  gene- 
ral of  the  army.     The  ascendency  of  this  mil- 


the  regency  upon  Shamas-Vul,  the  younger 
brother  of  the  rebel,  and  intrusted  to  him  the 
command  of  that  part  of  the  army  which  had 
maintained  its  loyalty.  With  these  forces 
Sharaas-Vul  took  the  field,  rapidly  reduced 
the  revolted  cities,  overthrew  his  brother  in 
battle,  and  restored  the  king's  authority 
throughout  the  Empire.  Soon  afterwards 
Shalmaneser  died,  and  the  loyal  son  was  re- 
warded with  the  crown,  which  he  received 
with  the  title  of  Shamus-Vul  II. 

The  reign  of  the  new  king  lasted  thirteen 


JEHU'S  EMBASSY  BEFORE  SHALMANESER. 


itary  hero  over  the  king  and  court  was  a 
source  of  displeasure  and  jealousy.  Mean- 
while, with  the  long  continuance  of  Shalmane- 
ser's  reign,  the  ambitious  Asshur-Danin-Pal, 
eldest  son  of  the  monarch,  grew  restive  with 
the  unprecedented  procrastination  of  his  father's 
death,  and  thinking  to  seize  the  fruit  before  it 
was  ripe  raised  the  standard  of  revolt.  Twenty- 
five  different  cities,  including  Asshur  (the  for- 
mer capital),  Arbela,  and  several  other  old  and 
important  centers,  ready  to  hail  the  rising  sun, 
accepted  the  revolution  as  an  accomplished 
fact,  and  proclaimed  Danin-Pal  as  king.  In 
this   emergency  the  aged  monarch  conferred 


years— from  823  to  810  B.  C.  His  public 
career  was  not  so  distinguished  as  had  been 
foreshadowed  by  the  ambitions  of  his  youth. 
His  royal  acts,  like  those  of  his  father  and 
grandfather,  are  chronicled  on  an  obelisk, 
which  has  reached  our  times  in  a  tolerable 
state  of  preservation.  From  this  we  gather 
an  outline  of  his  military  exploits  and  what 
he  achieved  in  peace.  His  campaigns  were 
directed  first  against  the  half-civilized  Na'iri, 
whom  the  memory  of  previous  chastisements 
was  not  sufficient  to  keep  in  subjection.  After- 
wards the  king's  army  was  engaged  on  the 
eastern  frontier,  where,  for  the  first  time,  the 


172 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


swords  of  Assyria  clashed  with  those  of  Media 
and  Persia — an  ominous  sound,'  foretokening 
the  day  when  the  Aryan  race,  bursting 
through  its  mountain  barriers,  should  break 
the  dominion  of  Shem  and  take  Western 
Asia  for  a  heritage.  From  his  eastern  war, 
in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  Shamas-Vul 
led  his  army  against  Babylonia.  He  entered 
the  country  near  the  mouth  of  the  Diyaleh 
and  pressed  on  towards  the  capital;  but  be- 
fore reaching  his  destination  he  was  encoun- 
tered by  Belatzu-Ikbi,  king  of  the  Baby- 
lonians, who  had  gathered  his  forces,  seized 
an  advantageous  position,  and  stood  ready  for 
the  hazard  of  battle.  The  Assyrians  gained 
the  day.  Of  the  Babylonians  eighteen  thou- 
sand were  killed  and  three  thousand  captured. 
Shamas-Vul  pressed  hard  after  the  flying 
enemy.  Near  the  city  Belatzu-Ikbi  rallied 
all  his  forces,  embracing  his  allies  on  the  south 
and  west,  and  staked  all  on  the  issue.  An 
overwhelming  defeat  followed.  The  Baby- 
lonian army  was  decimated.  The  royal  ban- 
ner of  Babylon  and  the  pavilion  of  the  king 
were  taken,  with  two  hundred  tents  and  one 
hundred  chariots  of  war.  The  power  of  the 
Babylonians  was  broken  for  several  genera- 
tions, and  the  son  of  Shamas-Vul  became 
viceroy  of  the  South.  The  obelisk  of  Shamas- 
Vul  exhibits  the  same  spiritless  style  of  writ- 
ing which  prevailed  in  the  times  of  his  father: 
a  flat  narrative  of  monotonous  facts,  inelegant 
and  dull.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  the  archi- 
tectural taste  of  the  king  and  his  nobles  was 
superior  or  even  equal  to  that  of  the  times  of 
his  grandfather.  He  was  content  to  occupy 
his  father's  palace  at  Calah,  and  to  pass 
the  days  not  given  to  military  enterprises  in 
rather  inglorious  ease.  Only  once  does  the 
chronicle  of  the  king  break  off"  to  tell  the 
story  how,  while  conducting  his  Eastern  war, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Zagros,  the  monarch  en- 
tered with  spirit  into  a  hunt  of  wild  bulls, 
lud  himself  killed  many  in  the  chase. 

The  annals  of  the  reign  of  Vul-Lush  III. , 
who  succeeded  Shamas-Vul  on  the  throne  in 
B.  C.  810,  are  meager  and  imperfect.  Enough 
is  known,  however,  to  show  that  his  kingly 
career,  extending  over  a  period  of  twenty-nine 
years,  was  crowded  with  great  events.     Like 


his  ancestors  for  several  generations,  his  chief 
energies  were  devoted  to  war.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  his  military  successes  and  his  skill 
in  administration,  the  bounds  of  the  Assyrian 
Empire  were  permanently  enlarged.  In  seven 
different  campaigns  he  carried  his  banners 
across  the  Zagros  into  Media.  Three  success- 
ful expeditions  he  made  into  Syria,  pressing 
his  way  even  to  the  city  of  Damascus,  which 
he  entered  in  triumph.  Turning  to  the  north- 
west, he  swept  through  Palestine,  reducing 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  breaking  the  power  of  the 
Philistines,  and  subjecting  Edom  to  his  au- 
thority. 

In  the  further  prosecution  of  his  wars  Vul- 
Lush  humbled  the  Nairi,  and  the  Persians 
and  the  Medes  sent  presents  in  token  of  sub- 
mission. Babylonia  remained  loyal  to  the 
king,  who  journeyed  into  that  country,  en- 
tered the  temples  of  Borsippa  and  Babylon, 
and  offered  sacrifices  to  Nebo,  Nergal,  and 
Bel.  Like  his  father,  Vul-Lush  had  but  little 
ambition  as  a  builder.  His  inscriptions  bear 
witness  that  he  restored  many  of  the  public 
edifices,  which  through  neglect  were  falling 
into  ruins.  His  own  palace  was  at  Nineveh, 
on  the  mound  called  Nebbi-Yunus;  but  this 
vast  heap,  in  which,  perhaps,  lie  buried  the 
records  of  his  reign,  has  never  been  properly 
explored. 

Two  important  relics  of  Vul-Lush  and  his 
time  have  reached  our  day.  These  are  dupli- 
cate statues  of  the  god  Nebo,  which,  though 
imperfect  as  works  of  art,  aie  of  the  highest 
interest  from  the  inscriptions  which  they  bear. 
The  dedication  on  the  pedestal  is  to  the  lord 
Vul-Lush  and  his  queen  Semeramis.  The 
place  in  time  and  the  rank  of  this  famous 
princess  are  thus  fixed  by  indubitable  evi- 
dence. The  credulous  historians  of  Greece 
and  Rome  had  assigned  Semiramis  to  an  epoch 
almost  as  remote  as  the  founding  of  Nineveh, 
and  had  given  to  her  a  character  as  wild  and 
overdrawn  as  the  dreams  of  a  mediaeval  fic- 
tion. She  was  represented  as  the  most  ex- 
traordinary personage  of  the  ancient  world, 
subduing  princes  by  her  fascinations,  and  lead- 
ing vast  armies  to  victory.  A  part  of  this 
romance  can  no  doubt  be  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  the  ancient  Assyrians  carefully 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


173 


secluded  their  women,  regarding  them  as  in- 
feriors unworthy  of  commemoration  in  chron- 
icle or  sculpture.  It  thus  came  to  pass,  that 
when  at  rare  intervale,  by  some  fortuitous  cir- 
cumstance, a  princess  was  thrown  into  the 
foreground,  Oriental  imagination  and  Western 
credulity  combined  to  invest  her  with  the 
character  of  a  goddess.  So,  when  the  real 
Semiramis,  a  princess  of  Babylon,  having 
rights  of  her  ow^n  to  the  viceroyalty  of  the 
South,  was  taken  in  marriage  by  Vul-Lush 
III.  and  brought  as  queen  to  Nineveh,  she 
was  treated  with  exceptional  regard.  The 
Assyrians  accepted  her  as  an  additional  guar- 
anty of  the  stability  of  the  Empire;  and  the 
Babylonians,  looking  from  afar,  saw  in  her 
the  possible  mother  of  a  line  of  kings  who 
should  be  their  rulers  as  well  as  monarchs  of 
the  North.  Beyond  the  exceptional  promi- 
nence thus  given  to  Semiramis,  it  does  not 
appear  that  her  personal  genius  or  achieve- 
ments would  have  greatly  distinguished  her 
above  the  other  noble  ladies  of  her  time.  The 
fabulous  stories  told  of  her  by  the  uncritical  his- 
torians from  Diodorus  to  Rollin,  when  strij)ped 
of  fiction  and  tradition,  shrink  into  a  plain 
narrative  of  a  Babylonian  princess,  married 
to  an  Assyrian  king,  retaining  her  own  rights, 
and  adding  by  personal  suj)eriority  to  the 
dignity  and  charms  of  the  j^alace-halls  of 
Nineveh. 

After  the  death  of  Vul-Lush  III.,  in  B.  C. 
781,  a  period  of  decline  ensued,  in  which,  for 
thirty-six  years,  no  great  events  are  recorded. 
The  names  of  three  kings  belonging  to  this  pe- 
riod— Shalmaneser  III. ,  Asshur-Dayan  III. , 
and  AssHUR-LusH — have,  indeed,  been  pre- 
served ;  but  their  reigns  were  brief  and  devoid 
of  interest.  It  appears  that,  after  the  great 
wars  of  the  preceding  half  century,  by  which 
the  boundaries  of  the  Assyrian  Empire  had 
been  pushed  back  and  established  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  and  the  shore  of  the  sea,  the 
energies  of  the  kings  and  people,  finding  vent 
and  development  no  longer  in  the  peril  and 
glory  of  military  campaigns,  fell  quickly  into 
decay.  The  luxury  which  follows  successful 
war  brought  effeminancy  into  the  market-place 
and  ease  into  the  palace.     The  heavy  sleep 

which  follows  indulgence  was  for  a  while  un- 

N. — Vol.  I  — 11 


broken,  even  by  the  rumor  of  barbarians  in 
arms  or  the  clamor  of  rebellious  cities. 

In  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  Second  Book 
of  Kings,  an  account  is  given  of  the  invasion 
of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  by  PuL,  king  of  As- 
syria. Menahem,  the  Israelitish  ruler,  levied 
upon  his  chief  men  and  the  people  a  tribute 
ot  a  thousand  talents  of  silver,  and  gave  it  to 
Pul  to  be  at  one  with  him  and  his  interests. 
The  narrative  seems  to  place  this  Pul  in  such 
relations  of  time  as  to  make  him  the  immedi- 
ate predecessor  of  Tiglath-Pileser  II.,  who 
came  to  the  throne  of  Assyria  in  B.  C.  745. 
The  Assyrian  Canon,  however,  gives  for  the 
eighth  century  the  following  list  of  kings : 

Shalmaneser  III., 781  B.  C.  to  771  B.  C. 

Asshur-Dayan  III.,    ....  771      "  753    " 

Asshur-Lush, 753      "  745     " 

Tiglath-Pileser  II., 745      "         727    " 

Shalmaneser  IV., 727      "  722     " 

Sargon, 722      "  705     " 

In  this  list  there  is  no  place  for  Pul.  The 
name  itself  is  not  an  Assyrian  name,  and  does 
not  anywhere  occur -in  the  annals  of  the  Em- 
pire. The  most  probable  explanation  of  this 
striking  and  patent  contradiction  in  the 
records  of  the  two  nations  is  that  the  Jewish 
writers  frequently  use  the  term  "king"  of 
subordinate  rulers.^  Pul  was,  probably,  a 
Babylonian  officer  of  high  rank,  perhaps  the 
viceroy  himself,  who,  in  the  disturbed  and 
obscure  epoch  following  the  death  of  Vul- 
Lush  III.,  became  sufficiently  independent  of 
the  Niuevite  dynasty  to  make  war  and  levy 
tribute  on  his  own  account.  A  campaign 
thus  issuing  from  Babylon  against  Israel  could 
easily  be  mistaken  for  an  Assyrian  invasion, 
and  the  leader  of  such  an  expedition  would  be 
more  than  usually  susceptible  to  the  influ- 
ences of  a  bribe,  such  as  Menahem  gave  him, 
* '  that  his  hand  might  be  with  him  to  confirm 
the  kingdom  in  his  [own]  hand." 


^Thus  we  have  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  the  strik- 
ing account  of  the  overthrow  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus, 
in  which  Belshazzar,  the  lieutenant  of  Nabona- 
dius,  is  constantly  referred  to  as  king.  Belshazzar, 
or  Bel-Shar-Uzur,  as  the  name  is  written  in  the 
Babylonian  inscriptions,  never  held  a  higher  rank 
than  satrap  of  Babylonia,  and  can  only  in  an  ac- 
commodated sense  of  the  word  be  called  "  King 
of  the  Chaldseans." 


174 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


After  an  obscure  interval  of  thirty-six 
years  the  Empire,  under  Tiglath-Pileser  II. , 
again  emerges  from  darkness.  Just  previous 
to  this  event,  in  the  time  of  the  temporary 
eclipse  of  Assyrian  greatness,  occurred  the 
episode  of  Jonah,  who  came  into  the  capital 
and  began  crying  in  the  streets,  "  Yet  forty 
days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be  overthrown." 
The  alarm  of  the  king — perhaps  Asshur- 
Lush — led  to  a  reform  in  the  morals  of  the 
city,  and  the  threatened  judgment,  for  which 
the  prophet  sat  waiting  in  his  booth  of  woven 
boughs  without  the  gates,  passed  by.  The 
relation  of  blood,  if  any,  of  Tiglath-Pileser  II. 
to  the  preceding  kings  of  Assyria  is  unknown. 
There  are  evidences  that  the  line  of  succession 
was  broken,  and  that  Tiglath-Pileser  was  a 
logical  necessity  of  his  times  rather  than  the 
legitimate  heir  to  the  Empire.  Certain  it  is 
that  he  came  to  the  throne  in  the  character 
of  a  reformer.  The  previous  era  of  weakness 
had  encouraged  lawlessness  and  insurrection 
in  the  provinces.  The  frontiers  were  broken 
in  by  the  audacity  of  barbarian  chieftains. 
To  reestablish  his  borders  and  restore  the  spirit 
of  the  Empii'e  were  the  first  care  of  the  king. 

At  this  time  Nabouassar,  the  ruler  of  Baby- 
lon, encouraged  by  the  long  lapse  of  Assyrian 
authority,  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  a  rival, 
and  the  petty  princes  who  held  sway  in  the 
southern  parts  of  Chaldsea  had  ceased  to  pay 
tribute  to  either  the  Northern  or  the  Southern 
court.  It  was  against  this  race  of  kinglets 
that  the  reorganized  Assyrian  army,  led  by 
Tiglath-Pileser,  was  first  conducted.  The 
king's  campaign  in  Lower  Mesopotamia  was 
immediately  and  completely  successful.  The 
towns  of  Sippara  and  Kurri-Galzu  wei-e  taken, 
and  whole  country  bordering  on  the  Gulf 
brought  quickly  into  subjection.  Nabonassar 
was  forced  to  renew  his  allegiance,  and  Tig- 
lath-Pileser was  publicly  proclaimed  as  king 
of  Babylon.  In  the  temples  of  that  city,  as 
well  as  on  other  famous  shrines  of  the  land,  the 
monarch  of  Assyria  offered  sacrifices  to  the 
gods  of  the  South,  and  then  returned  victo- 
rious to  his  owu  capital. 

Still  more  important  were  the  wars  of 
Tiglath-Pileser  in  Syria.  During  the  deca- 
dence of  the  three  preceding  reigns,  the  kings 


of  Damascus,  Samaria,  and  Tyre,  like  the 
Babylonian  rulers,  had  broken  faith  with  the 
House  of  Nineveh  and  assumed  their  inde- 
pendence. In  743  B.  C.  Tiglath-Pileser  set 
out  to  subdue  them.  Rezin,  king  of  Damas- 
cus, was  first  made  to  feel  the  angry  stroke 
of  the  power  which  he  had  provoked  to  war. 
In  Samaria,  Menahem,  who  was  still  ruler  of 
Israel,  was  brought  into  subjection;  and  the 
kings  of  Tyre,  of  Hamath,  and  of  the  Arabian 
tribes  on  the  borders  of  Egypt,  were  quelled 
by  siege  or  battle.  Azariah,  who  led  forth 
the  army  of  Judah  against  the  Assyrian,  was 
defeated,  and  the  whole  land  was  traversed 
by  the  invader  as  far  as  the  sea  of  the  West. 
The  campaign  lasted  for  five  years,  and  was 
never  seriously  impeded ;  and  yet,  as  soon  as 
the  army  of  Tiglath-Pileser  was  withdrawn 
into  Assyria  the  insurrectionary  movement 
began  again  in  all  the  Syrian  nations. 

The  leaders  of  these  Western  rebellions 
were  Rezin,  king  of  Damascus,  and  Pekah, 
king  of  Israel.  Instigated  by  their  example, 
the  Hittites  and  the  people  of  Hamath  were 
induced  to  take  up  arms.  Ahaz,  king  of  Ju- 
dah, refused  to  become  a  partner  to  the  league; 
and  when  the  rulers  of  Israel  and  Damascus 
undertook  to  compel  him  to  join  the  alliance, 
by  declaring  war  against  him,  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  setting  up  a  partisan  of  their  own 
as  king  of  Jerusalem,  Ahaz  sent  an  embassy 
to  the  court  of  Tiglath-Pileser,  offering  to  be- 
come his  vassal  if  he  would  send  aid  against 
Rezin  and  Pekah.  The  Assyrian  monarch  at 
once  complied,  and  in  733  B.  C.  marched  for 
the  third  time  into  Syria.  Rezin  was  beaten 
in  battle  and  driven  into  Damascus,  which 
after  a  two  years'  siege  was  taken  by  the  As- 
syrians. The  rebel  king  was  captured  and 
slain,  and  all  resistance  ended. 

Pileser  next  wheeled  his  army  into  Sama- 
ria, attacking  first  the  provinces  beyond  the 
Jordan.  Reuben  and  Gad  and  the  half-tribe 
of  Manasseh  were  overrun,  and  the  people  led 
into  captivity.  Beyond  the  Euphrates,  along 
the  Khabour  and  other  rivers  of  Upper  Mes- 
opotamia, the  vanquished  Israelites  were  scat- 
tered in  colonies  and  towns,  where  further 
rebellions  would  be  impossible.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  a  few  of  the  towns  west  of  the  Jor- 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


175 


dan  shared  the  same  fate,  and  the  shadow  of 
Assyria  already  fell  athwart  the  whole  of 
Palestine. 

The  Assyrian  monarch  next  invaded  and 
subdued  Philistia.  The  tribes  of  Ishmaelites 
who  peopled  the  peninsula  of  Sinai  were  next 
smitten  and  scattered.  Their  native  queen, 
Khabiba,  was  deposed,  and  in  her  place  an 
Assyrian  governor  was  appointed  who  could 
be  trusted  to  do  his  master's  will.  Returning 
from  these  conquests  to  Damascus  the  king  sum- 
moned the  rulers  of  the  neighboring  states 
and  chiefs  of  the  tribes  to  send  in  their  sub- 
mission and  pay  the  tribute  which  he  had  im- 
posed upon  them.  To  this  call  the  kings, 
great  and  small,  of  nearly  all  the  Syrian  na- 
tions responded.  Ahaz,  king  of  Judah ;  Mi- 
tenna,  of  Tyre;  Pekah,  of  Samaria;  Khanun, 
of  Gaza;  Mitinti,  of  Ascalon ;  and  the  chiefs 
of  the  Idumseans,  the  Moabites,  and  the  Am- 
monites,— sent  in  the  tokens  of  their  submission 
and  paid  the  tribute  exacted  by  the  Assyrian. 

Tiglath-Pileser  again  crossed  the  Euphrates. 
For  a  few  years  affairs  remained  quiet  in  the 
West.  Meanwhile,  however,  Hoshea,  an  Isra- 
elitish  chieftain,  made  a  conspiracy  against 
Pekah,  the  king,  and  killed  him.  The  dis- 
turbed condition  of  affairs  in  Samaria  which 
followed  this  insurrection,  together  with  a  re- 
volt in  Tyre,  headed  by  Mitenna,  made  it 
jnce  more  necessary  for  Tiglath-Pileser  to 
march  into  Syria.  Hoshea  quickly  submitted, 
and  agreed  to  hold  his  kingdom  as  tributary 
to  the  great  king.  The  rebellion  in  Tyre  was 
also  easily  quelled,  and  Tiglath-Pileser,  after  a 
bloodless  campaign,  returned  to  his  capital  of 
Cahah,  where,  for  the  remainder  of  the  eight- 
een years  of  his  reign,  he  devoted  himself  to 
the  work  of  improving  and  adorning  the  city. 
The  great  palace  of  Shalmaneser  II.  was  re- 
stored to  its  pristine  grandeur,  and  a  new  edi- 
fice of  the  king's  own,  little  inferior  in  beauty 
and  magnificence  to  the  great  works  of  the 
classical  age  of  Assyrian  architecture,  was 
raised  on  the  mound  of  Nimrud. 

In  727  B.  C.  Tiglath-Pileser  II.  died  and 
was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  Shalmaneser 
IV.  The  attention  of  this  monarch  was  al- 
most immediately  drawn  to  the  kingdom  of 
Israel.     Hoshea,  the  king,  had  ever  since  his 


accession  to  power  been  hot  and  cold  in  his 
allegiance.  With  a  change  of  rulers  in  As' 
Syria  he  began  to  make  demonstrations  of  in- 
dependence, but  a  threatened  invasion  by 
Shalmaneser    brought    him    into    submission. 

Meanwhile,  however,  a  condition  of  affairs 
had  supervened  in  Egypt,  which  fanned  into 
new  heat  the  slumbering  disloyalty  of  the 
Israelitish  king.  The  monarchy  of  Lower 
Egyi)t  had  gone  to  decay.  The  spirit  of  the 
old  Pharaohs  was  extinguished,  and  the  coun- 
try lay  open  to  the  designs  of  the  first  ambi- 
tious comer.  Shabak,  the  Ethiopian,  saw  his 
opportunity,  and  leading  an  already  victorious 
army  down  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  quickly 
subverted  the  kingdom.  Bocchoris,  the  Saite 
Pharaoh,  was  taken  and  burnt  to  death.  All 
remains  of  opposition  were  stamped  out  by 
the  ambitious  Ethiopian,  whose  fame  soon 
spread  throughout  Syria  and  the  East.  In 
him  Hoshea  of  Israel  found  a  natural  confed- 
erate, and  having  secured  his  cooperation, 
hastened  to  break  his  own  jiledges  of  allegiance 
to  Assyria.  Shalmaneser  quickly  scented  the 
revolt,  and  came  Avith  impetuosity  upon  his 
perfidious  subject.  Ploshea  was  defeated  in 
battle,  captured,  and  cast  into  prison.  In  the 
further  prosecution  of  his  campaign  the  As- 
syrian king  laid  siege  to  Samaria.  The  city 
was  bravely  defended  by  the  garrison,  aided 
by  Egyptians,  but  after  a  two  years'  environ- 
ment was  taken  by  storm. 

During  the  progress  of  this  siege  the  city 
of  Tyre,  encouraged  by  the  obstinate  resist- 
ance of  the  Israelitish  capital,  threw  off  the 
Assyrian  yoke.  Shalmaneser  proceeded  thither 
with  his  army,  and  having  gathered  from  the 
Phoenician  sea-ports,  which  had  remained  loyal 
to  his  authority,  a  considerable  fleet  he  sur- 
rounded the  revolted  city  by  land  and  water. 
The  skillful  sailors  of  Tyre,  however,  were 
more  than  a  match  for  their  assailants,  and 
Slialmaneser,  after  a  vigorous  and  protracted 
effort  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  siege.  In 
withdrawing  from  the  coast  he  contented  him- 
self with  cutting  off  the  water  supply  of  the 
Tyrians  by  destroying  the  aqueducts  in  the 
rear  of  the  city.  For  five  years  the  people  of 
Tyre  saved  themselves  from  perishing  of  thirst 
by  gathering  the  rainfall  into  cisterns. 


176 


VNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Meanwhile,  in  B.  C.  722,  a  revolution  oc- 
curred in  Assyria  by  which  Shalmaneser  was 
ejected  from  the  throne.  His  long  absence  in 
the  Syrian  war  had  given  both  cause  and  oc- 
casion for  rebellion  against  his  authority  at 
home.  Now  it  was  that  an  obscure  popular 
leader  named  Sargon,  or  Saru-Kina,  appeared 
in  Nineveh,  and  putting  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  revolutionary  party,  was  proclaimed 
king.  After  a  space — Shalmaneser  not  return- 
ing— the  usurpation  was  accepted  by  the  Nin- 
evites,  and  the  revolution  became  an  accom- 
plished fact. 

Sargon  at  once  began  to  make  good  his 
usurped  title  by  military  achievement.  Dur- 
ing the  fifteen  years  of  his  reign  he  was  con- 
stantly engaged  in  war.  His  first  campaign 
was  directed  against  Susiana,  whose  king, 
Humbauigas,  had  conspired  with  the  now 
aged  Merodach-Baladan,  of  Babylon,  to  de- 
clare independence  of  Assyria.  These  kings 
were  defeated  by  Sargon,  but  before  his  suc- 
cess was  complete  he  was  called  into  Syria  to 
determine  the  conditions  on  which  the  surren- 
der of  Samaria  should  be  accepted.  The  city 
was  deprived  of  its  independence ;  an  Assyrian 
governor  was  appointed  and  27,280  of  the  in- 
habitants were  carried  into  captivity  beyond 
the  Euphrates.  The  rest  were  left  undisturbed 
on  condition  of  the  prompt  payment  of  the 
annual  tribute. 

Scarcely  had  the  affairs  of  Israel  been  set- 
tled until  Sargon  was  called  upon  to  sup- 
press another  Syrian  revolt.  This  time  the 
leader  of  the  insurrection  was  Yahu-Bid,  king 
of  Hamath.  This  usurping  ruler  had  per- 
suaded the  cities  of  the  whole  circumjacent 
region  to  join  him  in  a  league  to  resist  the 
authority  of  the  Assyrian  monarch.  An  allied 
army  was  brought  into  the  field  and  was  met 
by  Sargon  at  Karkar.  Here  a  decisive  l^attle 
was  fought.  The  allies  were  defeated.  Yahu- 
Bid  was  captured  and  his  head  cut  off*.  The 
other  leaders  in  the  rebellion  were  likewise 
taken  and  put  to  death.  Gaza,  one  of  the 
dependencies  of  Egypt  was  next  attacked,  and 
the  whole  region  to  the  Red  Sea  and  Mediter- 
ranean subjected  to  the  king's  authority. 

The  invasion  of  Gaza  brought  into  conflict 
for  the  first  time  the  two  great  powers  of  Asia 


and  Africa — Assyria  and  Egypt.  Shabak,  the 
Ethiopian  sovereign  of  Egypt,  led  out  his 
army  in  defense  of  his  province.  Khanun, 
the  king  of  Gaza,  rallied  what  forces  he  could 
gather  and  joined  his  master  to  beat  back  the 
invading  army.  Sargon  came  on  to  the  city 
of  Rhaphia,  and  here  was  fought  the  great 
battle  which  decided  for  a  while  the  mastery 
of  the  world.  Assyrian  valor  and  discipline 
prevailed.  The  Egyptian  army  was  routed. 
Khanun,  of  Gaza,  was  captured  and  sent  to 
Nineveh,  and  Shabak  was  obliged  to  save  him- 
self by  flight.  Sargon  did  not,  hoAvever,  for 
the  present  press  his  conquest  further,  but 
recrossing  the  Euphrates  ^pent  several  years 
in  quelling  the  half-civilized  races  that  on  the 
north  and  north-east  of  Assyria  found  refuge 
in  the  mountains,  while  ever  and  anon  they 
broke  out  in  predatory  wars  upon  the  rich  and 
populous  districts  of  their  southern  neighbors. 

Before  his  northern  campaigns  were  ended 
news  came  to  Sargon  that  the  Arab  tribes  of 
the  Sinaitic  peninsula  were  occupying  their 
time  by  making  inroads  into  his  tributary  and 
now  defenseless  kingdom  of  Israel.  Setting 
out  into  Syria,  the  king  soon  brought  an 
army  against  the  marauders,  whom  he  de- 
feated, scattering  some  into  the  deserts  of 
Arabia,  and  colonizing  others  in  the  waste 
places  of  Samaria.  The  presence  of  the  great 
monarch  in  the  West  alarmed  the  kings  of 
the  neighboring  nations,  and  they  all,  includ- 
ing the  Pharaoh  of  Egypt,  made  a  hasty  sub- 
mission, accompanied  with  tributes. 

The  next  military  expedition  of  Sargon 
was  in  B.  C.  711.  After  the  battle  of  Raphia, 
Ashdod,  a  city  of  Philistia,  became  a  tributary 
of  Assyria.  The  native  prince  of  the  city 
was  Azuri,  who  presently  revolted,  and  was 
thereupon  deposed  by  the  king.  One  Akhi- 
mit  was  appointed  in  his  stead,  but  him  the 
people  rejected  and  chose  a  prince  called  Ya- 
man  to  be  their  ruler.  He  too  was  a  conspir- 
ator who  soon  seduced  the  cities  of  Philistia, 
and  even  Egypt,  to  join  him  in  revolt.  This 
led  to  a  siege  of  Ashdod  by  the  army  of  Sar- 
gon, who  captured  the  city,  seized  the  fam- 
ily of  Yaman,  sent  them  prisoners  across  the 
Euphrates,  and  chased  the  prince  himself  into 
Egypt.      Shabak,   alarmed    at    the    prospect, 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


177 


quickly  made  his  peace  by  surrendering  the 
fugitive,  and  sending  humble  apologies  to  the 
king.  Over  Ashdod  an  Assyrian  governor 
was  appointed,  and  the  Western  dependencies 
of  Sargon  were  again  reduced  to  quietude. 

Meanwhile  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
South  had  become  such  as  to  demand  the 
king's  attention.  Merodach-Baladan,  ruler  of 
Babylon,  had  flattered  himself,  after  the  with- 
drawal of  Sargon's  army  in  the  first  year  of 
that  monarch's  reign,  that  no  further  danger 
of  Assyrian  domination  was  to  be  feared. 
This  hope  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
twelve  years  of  independence  which  Babylonia 
had  enjoyed  while  Sargon  was  absent  in  his 
Western  and  Northern  Avars.  The  king  of 
Babylon  had  further  fortified  his  desires  by 
uniting  in  league  with  himself  the  king  of 
Susiana,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  Arameeans,  who 
occupied  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  above 
the  capital.  Notwithstanding  these  prepara- 
tions, when  the  army  of  Sargon  marched 
southward,  the  courage  of  the  Babylonian 
king  oozed  away;  his  allies  mostly  deserted 
him,  and  he  himself  sought  refuge  in  the  for- 
tified town  of  Beth-Yakin.  Hither  he  was 
followed  by  the  Assyrian  army.  A  battle  was 
fought;  the  Babylonians  were  routed,  the 
king  was  taken,  and  the  city  burned.  Susiana 
was  also  quickly  overrun,  and  the  territory 
partly  filled  with  colonies  transported  from 
the  north  of  Assyria.  It  was  the  last  serious 
insurrection  in  Babylonia  previous  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  Assyrian  Empire.  Henceforth 
the  power  and  authority  of  the  House  of  Nin- 
eveh were  established  along  the  shores  of  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  Chaldjea  became  an  integral 
part  of  the  dominant  kingdom. 

For  two  years  Sargon  held  his  court  in 
Babylon,  and  while  here  received  the  extraor- 
dinary honor  of  embassies  from  distant  islands 
of  the  seas.  Upir,  the  king  of  Khareg,  in 
the  Persian  Gulf,  sent  messengers  to  propitiate 
the  great  king;  and  far  off  Cyprus,  "in  the 
Sea  of  the  Setting  Sun,"  came  by  envoys  from 
her  seven  kings  to  make  offerings  to  him  who 
had  grown  "as  the  goodly  cedar,  spreading 
his  branches  over  the  nations." 

In  general  the  northern  expeditions  of  Sar- 
gon were  much   less   successful   than   in   the 


South  and  West.  The  hardy  mountaineers  of 
Armenia,  finding  ever  a  ready  refuge  in  the 
fastnesses  of  the  hills,  and  inured  by  exposure 
and  perilous  conflicts  with  savage  beasts,  were 
a  better  match  for  the  trained  soldiery  of  As- 
syria than  were  the  half-nomadic  races  of 
Syria  and  the  effete  battalions  of  Egypt.  On 
the  south-east  Sargon's  success  was  so  distinct 
in  his  occasional  conflicts  with  the  Medes  that 
a  good  part  of  their  country  was  reduced  to 
the  condition  of  an  Assyrian  province.  In 
order  to  retain  his  foothold  the  king  established 
several  fortified  posts  in  the  region  which  he 
had  overrun,  and  imposed  on  the  conquered 
districts  a  tribute  to  be  paid  in  horses  of  the 
fine  breeds  native  to  Media. 

The  last  war  of  Sargon — waged  in  the  last 
year  of  his  reign — was  against  the  province 
of  Illib,  bordering  on  Susiana.  In  a  dispute 
for  the  chieftainship  of  that  country  one  of 
the  claimants  sent  for  aid  to  Nakhunta,  king 
of  Elam,  and  by  him  was  promised  assistance. 
The  other  claimant  thereupon  solicited  help 
of  Sargon,  who  gladly  accepted  this  opportu- 
nity of  interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  Elam- 
iteS)  and  sending  thither  an  army  under  his 
generals,  defeated  Nakhunta,  and  established 
the  partisans  of  Assyria  in  power.  But  in  the 
next  year  the  king  of  Elam  was  successful, 
regained  what  he  had  lost,  and  even  carried  the 
war  into  the  Assyrian  territories. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  Sargon  that  the 
plan  of  keeping  conquered  countries  in  sub- 
jection by  deportation  of  the  people  became 
a  part  of  Eastern  policy.  The  tribes  of  the 
northern  regions,  which  were  subdued  by 
Sargon,  were  partly  carried  away  and  settled 
in  Hamath  and  Damascus.  Home  colonies 
were  occasionally  organized  and  sent  into  dis- 
tricts which  had  been  subdued  by  the  Assyr- 
ian arms.  The  races  of  the  Zagros  who  be- 
came subject  to  the  great  king  were  trans- 
ferred in  vast  numbers  to  the  towns  on  the 
Tigris,  and  many  of  the  people  of  the  more 
trustworthy  Assyrian  provinces  were  sent  to 
districts  which,  like  Samaria,  were  ever  on  the 
alert  for  some  opportunity  of  revolt.  It  was 
the  general  policy  of  dispersing  malcontents 
that  led  to  the  wholesale  transportation  of  the 
Israelitish  population  into  Mygdonia  and  other 


.178 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


regions  beyond  the  Euphrates.  By  this  means 
Sargon  labored  assiduously,  and  not  without 
success,    to  diffuse   the   evil   elements   of  his 


Pmpire,  and  to  render  homogeneous  the  di- 
verse populations  over  which  he  was  called 
to  rule. 

As  a  builder  Sargon   compared    favorably 


with  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Assyrian 
kings.  At  Khorsabad  he  built  for  himself  a 
palace  which  scarcely  paled  before  the  most 
splendid  structures 
of  the  Empire. 
Rather  by  the  pro- 
fusion of  its  orna- 
mentation than  by 
its  size  did  the  ar- 
chitecture of  the 
epoch  of  Sargon  sur- 
pass the  work  of  pre- 
vious builders.  For 
his  palace  Sargon 
selected  a  site  quite 
apart  from  other 
structures.  The  high 
platform  was  ap- 
proached by  flights 
of  broad  steps. 
Around  the  exterior 
of  the  building  ex- 
tended two  series  of 
elaborate  sculptures, 
and  above  these  the 
surface  was  covered 
with  enameled 
bricks,  arranged  in 
beautiful  patterns, 
ja.bout  this  magnifi- 
cent palace  as  a  cen- 
ter was  built  the 
"City  of  Sargon,"' 
in  form  a  square, 
laid  off  with  geom- 
etric regularity,  one 
and  a  sixth  miles  on 
either  side,  capable 
of  accommodating 
eighty  thousand  in- 
habitants. This  city, 
strangely  enough, 
was  built  remote 
from  the  Tigris,  back 
at  the  foot-hills  of 
the  Zagros,  where, 
with  mountain  scenery  in  the  background, 
cool    air    for    the    brow,   and    the    water   of 

'  The  town  of  Khorsabad  occupies,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  the  site  of  tlie  ancient  city  Dur-Saryiiux. 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


179 


pure  springs  to  quench  his  thirst,  the  king, 
no  doubt,  dreamed  to  spend  the  evening 
Df  his  life.  His  former  residence  had  been 
at  Calah,  where  many  improvements  and 
repairs  attested  his  public  spirit.  Like- 
wise at  Nineveh,  and  elsewhere  throughout 
the  Empire,  are  found  the  traces  of  his  enter- 
prise and  genius.  His  reign  of  seventeen 
years  was  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  suc- 
cessful for  many  generations,  and  was  a  fitting 
dawn  for  the  rising  day  that  was  to  follow. 

Sennacherib,  son  and  successor  of  Sargon, 
is  generally  reputed  the  most  illustrious  of 
the  Assyrian  kings.  He  is  likewise,  on  ac- 
count of  the  frequent  mention  of  his  name 
and  deeds  in  the  writings  of  the  Jews,  the 
best  known  of  all  the  Eastern  monarchs. 
He  began  his  reign  in  B.  C  705,  and  held 
the  throne  for  a  period  of  twenty-four  years. 
In  the  later  times  of  the  Assyrian  monarchy, 
as  in  most  old  empires,  the  demise  of  the  king 
was  frequently  attended  with  outbreaks  and 
insurrections;  for  the  malcontents  were  ever 
persuading  themselves  that  the  new  king 
Jv^ould  prove  a  weakling,  unable  to  maintain 
the  prerogatives  of  his  fathers.  On  the  ac- 
cession of  Sennacherib  a  movement  of  this 
sort  occurred  in  several  of  the  provinces. 
Merodach-Baladan,  the  exiled  king  of  Baby- 
lon, returned  to  the  capital,  murdered  the 
viceroy  Hagisa,  and  resumed  the  throne  from 
which  he  had  been  driven  in  the  first  year  of 
the  rrign  of  Sargon.  For  nearly  two  years  Sen- 
nacherib was  so  much  engrossed  with  the  home 
afl^airs  of  the  Empire  that  he  found  no  time 
to  punish  the  Babylonian  revolutionists.  In 
B.  C.  703,  however,  he  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  army  and  proceeded  against  the 
combined  forces  of  Babylonians  and  Elamites, 
whom  Merodach-Baladan  had  induced  to  sup- 
port his  claims. 

The  Assyrians  gained  an  easy  and  complete 
victory,  and  the  usurping  king  was  glad  to 
escape  into  Susiana.  Sennacherib  pressed  on 
to  Babylon,  captured  the  city,  and  appointed 
the  Assyrian  general,  Bilipni,  as  viceroy 
of  the  South.  On  his  way  back  to  Nine- 
veh the  great  king  devasted  the  country  of 
the  Aramaeans  and  the  neighboring  nations 
on  the  Middle  Euphrates,  and  returned  to  his 


capital  laden  wuth  booty,  and  driving  a  host 
of  two  hundred  thousand  captives,  whom  he 
colonized  in  different  provinces  of  the  Empire. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  king  made  a  brief 
campaign  against  those  tribes  of  the  Zagroa 
in  whose  aflfairs  Sargon  had  found  occasion  to 
interfere.  Sennacherib  deposed  the  governor 
whom  his  father  had  appointed,  and  set  up 
in  his  stead  another  who  was  considered  more 
worthy  of  trust. 

In  the  next  year,  B.  C.  701,  the  Assyrian 
monarch  was  called  to  the  "West.  There  Lu- 
liya,  the  king  of  Sidon,  who  had  obtained 
authority  over  most  of  the  cities  of  Phoenicia, 
raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  and  made  a 
blustering  preparation  to  meet  Sennacherib  in 


WINGED  LION,   TIME  OF  SARGON. 

the  field ;  but  on  the  approach  of  the  latter 
the  Sidonian  filibuster  escaped  and  fled  to 
Cyprus.  The  hostile  cities  immediately  sub- 
mitted, and  received  in  the  place  of  Luliya 
an  Assyrian  prince.  Tubal,  as  governor. 
Only  Ascalon  and  four  dependent  towns  gave 
Sennacherib  trouble,  and  these  places  were 
soon  reduced  by  siege. 

Meanwhile,  the  city  of  Ekron,  in  Philistia, 
had  revolted,  expelled  the  Assyrian  general 
Padi,  and  solicited  the  aid  of  Egypt.  The 
Egyptian  king,  who  was  the  Ethiopian  Sha- 
bak  II. — supported  by  his  viceroys,  the  native 
princes  of  Egypt — espoused  the  cause  of  Ek- 
ron, and  for  the  second  time  the  great  powers 
of  Asia  and  Africa  were  brought  to  the  arbit- 
rament of  battle.     The  Assyrian  and  Egyp- 


180 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


tian  armies  met  at  a  place  called  Eltekeh,  a 
Levitical  city  in  the  vicinity  of  Ekron.  Here 
a  great  battle  was  fought,  and  the  banners  of 
Egypt  again  went  down  before  the  invincible 
soldiery  of  Assyria.  Many  trophies  and  vast 
spoils  fell  to  the  victors.  Resistance  ceased. 
Ekron  was  taken.  The  captive  princes  were 
killed,  and  their  bodies,  impaled  on  stakes, 
were  made  a  spectacle  outside  the  walls  of  the 
city.  Padi,  the  expelled  ruler  of  Ekron,  was 
restored  to  his  office,  and  Hezekiah,  king  of 
Judah,  was  thus  embroiled  in  the  conflict. 

For  the  king  of  the  Jews  had  been  the 
keeper  of  Padi  during  his  imprisonment. 
Thus  was  he  confederated  with  the  anti-As- 
syrian party,  and  accordingly  Sennacherib 
turned  against  him  in  wrath.  The  "  fenced 
cities"  of  Judah,  forty-six  in  number,  were 
taken  and  pillaged,  and  Hezekiah  himself 
was,  in  the  language  of  the  Assyrian  king, 
"shut  up  in  Jerusalem  like  a  bird  in  a  cage." 

When  thus  brought  into  a  strait  place,  the 
Jewish  monarch  sent  out  messengers  with 
princely  presents,  and  bought  a  peace  by  the 
payment  of  eight  hundred  talents  of  silver, 
three  hundred  talents  of  gold,  "and  divers 
treasures,  a  rich  and  immense  booty."  In 
withdrawing  from  the  country  Sennacherib, 
in  accordance  with  what  had  now  become  the 
settled  policy  of  Assyria,  carried  with  him 
into  his  own  country  out  of  the  lands  which 
he  had  subdued — chiefly  the  kingdom  of 
Judah — more  than  two  hundred  thousand 
people,  whom  he  colonized  in  various  parts 
of  the  Empire.  Hezekiah,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  means  of  paying  the  heavy  tribute  which 
was  imposed  upon  his  nation,  was  obliged  to 
despoil  the  temple  of  its  treasures,  even  to  the 
extent  of  stripping  off*  the  gold  and  silver 
with  which  the  doors  and  pillars  had  been 
overlaid  by  the  artificers  of  Solomon. 

In  the  meantime,  Bilipni,  the  Assyrian 
governor  of  Babylon,  had  proved  false  to  his 
trust.  The  aged  and  ever-vigilant  Merodach- 
Baladan  returned  into  the  country,  and  ap- 
pealing to  the  native  Chaldsean  nobles,  once 
more  fanned  the  embers  of  insurrection  into  a 
flame.  Against  these  insurgents  Sennacherib, 
almost  immediately  after  his  return  from  his 
wars  in  the  West,  proceeded  with  an  army. 


Merodach-Baladan  and  the  Chaldsean  confed- 
erates were  routed  from  the  country,  and  the 
old  revolutionist,  fleeing  from  Babylonia, 
found  refuge  on  an  island  in  the  Persian  Gulf. 

In  the  following  year  the  attention  of  the 
Assyrian  king  was  again  drawn  to  the  turbu- 
lent states  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean. 
Very  soon  after  the  previous  withdrawal  of 
Sennacherib  from  Palestine,  Hezekiah,  the 
king,  chafing  under  the  exactions  of  tribute, 
renewed  negotiations  with  Egypt,  and  after- 
wards, believing  himself  secure  in  the  pros- 
pect of  an  Egyptian  alliance,  wholly  re- 
nounced his  allegiance  to  Assyria.  Sennacherib, 
having  not  much  to  fear  from  the  petty  king 
of  Judah,  and  a  great  deal  to  fear  from  the 
immemorial  prowess  and  renown  of  Egypt, 
determined  to  direct  his  efforts  first  against 
the  Pharaoh  and  afterwards  against  the  lesser 
foe.  Therefore,  leaving  Palestine  to  the  left, 
the  Assyrian  marched  by  the  sea-coast  route 
directly  to  the  borders  of  Egypt,  where  he 
laid  siege  to  Lachish,  one  of  her  tributary 
towns. 

From  this  point  he  sent  forward  an  embassy 
to  Jerusalem,  and  straitly  demanded  repara- 
tion for  the  king's  breach  of  faith.  Hezekiah 
adopted  a  temporizing  policy,  and  the  em- 
bassy was  sent  a  second  time  with  demand  for 
submission  and  threat  of  punishment;  but  the 
Jewish  king  had  meanwhile  been  encouraged 
by  the  counsels  and  good  cheer  of  Isaiah,  the 
prophet,  who  declared  that  the  Assyrian  mon- 
arch should  not  come  nigh  Jerusalem,  but 
should  return  into  his  own  country  by  the 
way  that  he  had  come. 

In  the  mean  time  Lachish  had  been  in- 
vested and  taken  by  Sennacherib,  and  also 
Libnah,  from  which  place  he  advanced  upon 
Egypt,  and  was  confronted  near  the  town  of 
Pelusium  by  the  Egyptian  army  under  Seti, 
one  of  the  native  princes.  It  was  the  eve  of 
a  great  battle,  and  the  two  armies  lay  facing 
each  other  by  night,  when  a  pestilential  hot 
wind  burst  out  of  the  desert  and  swept  over 
the  camp  of  the  Assyrians.  Dead  men  by 
thousands,  smitten  by  this  unexpected  and 
viewless  angel  of  destruction,  strewed  the 
earth.  A  doleful  uproar  broke  out  among 
the  veteran  soldiery  of  the  East.     The  camp 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


181 


was  struck  with  a  panic,  and  a  spontaneous 
rout  ensued,  which  was  quickly  aggravated 
by  the  hosts  of  Egypt  pressing  upon  the  fly- 
ing legions  of  Assyria.  Without  further  con- 
sideration of  the  affront  of  Hezekiah,  the  great 
king  quickly  withdrew  his  army,  recrossed  the 
Euphrates,  and  returned  to  Nineveh.^ 

Notwithstanding  the  serious  reverse  which 
he  had  sustained,  Sennacherib  soon  recovered 
himself  and  continued  his  military  operations 
with  unabated  vigor.  His  fifth  great  cam- 
paign was  directed  against  the  mountaineers 
of  the  Upper  Zagros,  in  the  country  north  of 
Lake  Van.  The  whole  of  this  region,  from 
Media  to  the  borders  of  Cilicia,  was  overrun 
by  his  armies,  but  permanent  conquest  was 
impossible  in  such  a  land  inhabited  by  such  a 
people.  Besides  plundering  the  towns,  gather- 
ing such  booty  as  the  hill-country  afforded, 
and  carrying  away  captive  as  many  of  the  in- 
habitants as  fell  within  his  power,  Sennacherib 
accomplished  little  in  these  northern  wars. 

A  novel  episode  now  occurred  in  the  his- 
tory of  Assyria.  The  people  of  Beth-Yakin, 
the  native  town  of  the  chronic  rebel  Mero- 
dach-Baladan,  never  satisfied  with  the  domina- 
tion of  the  North  over  their  city,  determined 
to  expatriate  themselves  and  establish  a  colony 
in  Susiana.  They  accordingly  took  to  sea 
with  their  gods  and  goods,  and  landing  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  laid  the 
foundations  of  a  new  city.  This  depopulation 
of  one  of  his  provinces  angered  Sennacherib, 
and  he  immediately  made  prejaarations  to  re- 
claim the  fugitives  by  force.  Until  this  epoch 
the  Assyrians  had  won  no  laurels  on  the  sea. 
They   were    an    inland    people,  and  only  by 

^  "And  there  passed  not  five  and  fifty  days  be- 
fore two  of  his  [Sennacherib's]  sons  killed  him, 
and  they  fled  into  the  mountains  of  Ararath." — 
Bookof  Tobit,  I.,  21. 

"And  this  proved  to  be  the  conclusion  of  this 
Assyrian  expedition  against  the  people  of  Jerusa- 
lem. .  .  .  At  this  time  it  was  that  the  do- 
minion of  the  Assyrians  was  overthrown  by  the 
Medes." — Josephus :  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  Book 
X.,  chaps.  1,  2. 

Both  of  these  statements  are  grossly  incorrect. 
Very  far  was  Sennacherib  from  being  killed  within 
fifty-five  days  of  his  return  to  Nineveh ;  and  the 
Empire  of  the  Assyrians  was  not  overthrown  by 
the  Medes  until  B.  C.  625,  seventy-four  years  after 
the  discomfiture  of  the  great  king  at  Pelusium. 


contact  with  Phoenicia — mistress  of  the  Western 
waters — had  they  acquired  any  skill  in  the 
construction  and  management  of  ships.  So 
notorious  was  the  inaptitude  of  the  nation  for 
naval  affairs  that  the  king  of  Susa,  who  had 
received  the  refugee  Babylonians  into  his  do- 
minions, hearing  of  the  wrath  of  Assyria, 
never  dreamed  of  danger  from  a  hostile  fieet, 
but  made  strenuous  preparations  to  repel  the 
expected  invasion  by  land. 

Sennacherib,  however,  keenly  alive  to  the 
advantages  of  the  situation,  imported  into  his 
dominions  an  army  of  Phoenician  ship-builders 
and  marines,  and  hastily  constructed  on  the 
Tigris  a  fleet  of  biremes,  so  formidable  in  ap- 
pearance as  to  strike  the  Assyrians  with 
amazement.  As  soon  as  his  fleet  was  finished 
and  equipped,  Sennacherib  dropped  down  the 
Tigris  and  crossed  the  Gulf  in  the  wake  of 
his  fugitive  subjects.  Before  either  they  or 
the  Susianian  king  were  aware  of  the  apjoroach 
of  an  enemy,  the  Assyrians  invested  the 
town.  The  place  was  taken  almost  without 
opposition.  The  refugees  were  hurried  on 
board  the  fleet,  and  while  the  king  of  Susa^ 
was  still  awaiting  an  expected  invasion  of  his 
dominions  by  land,  the  Assyrians  with  their 
train  of  captives,  returned  into  Babylonia. 

Meanwhile  the  Babylonians  themselves,  be- 
lieving— and  hoping — that  the  rash  galleys  of 
Assyria  which  had  gone  out  into  the  open  sea 
would  never  return,  and  that  both  Sennacherib 
and  his  fleet  were  by  this  time  at  the  bottom, 
raised  the  standard  of  revolt  and  chose  a  cer- 
tain Susub  to  be  their  king.  The  Susianian 
monarch  also  crossed  over  with  an  army  into 
Babylonia,  so  that  Sennacherib  found  himself 
between  two  foes — an  army  of  Chaldsean  in- 
surgents on  the  one  side  and  an  army  of 
Elamites  on  the  other.  Both  were  disastrously 
defeated  by  the  Assyrian  king,  who  drove 
back  with  him  to  Nineveh  a  vast  multitude 
of  prisoners — a  heterogeneous  throng  of  Baby- 
lonians and  Elamites,  whom  the  monarch  dis- 
tributed as  he  would.  Susub  himself  was  led 
a  captive  to  be  gazed  at  by  the  Ninevites. 

The  next  two  expeditions  of  Sennacherib 
were  directed  against  Susiana.  The  frequent 
encouragement  and  positive  aid  rendered  by 
Nakhunta,  the  king  of   this  country,  to  the 


182 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ever-insurrectionary  Babylonians,  furnished 
sufficient  motive  and  excuse  for  an  Assyrian 
invasion.  Besides,  two  cities  belonging  to 
Assyria  had  been  taken  by  the  Elamites  and 
were  held  by  defiant  garrisons.  Against  these 
Sennacherib  directed  the  first  movements  of 
his  campaigns.  Both  towns  were  taken,  after 
which  the  Assyrian  army  marched  into  the  in- 
terior, capturing  and  destroying  no  fewer  than 
thirty-four  large  cities  and  a  great  number  of 
less  important  places,  devastating  the  country 
and  carrying  terror  to  both  king  and  people. 
The  former  fled  afirighted  from  his  capital  and 
sought  refuge  in  a  fortified  town  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains.  At  this  point  in  the  cam- 
paign the  home  affairs  of  the  Empire  de- 
manded the  attention  of  Sennacherib,  and  he 
returned  to  Nineveh  laden  with  spoils. 

In  the  meantime,  Susub,  the  Babylonian 
prisoner,  escaped  from  the  Assyrians,  and  re- 
turning to  Chaldiea  was  once  more  jiroclaimed 
king.  He  made  the  most  vigorous  prepara- 
tions to  defend  himself  against  the  inevitable, 
and  even  went  so  far  in  his  desperation  as  to 
break  open  the  great  temple  of  Bel  at  Baby- 
lon and  seize  the  sacred  treasures,  in  order  to 
buy  the  alliance  of  the  king  of  Susiana  in  the 
approaching  conflict.  The  aid  thus  sought 
was  promptly  given,  and  an  Elamite  army 
was  quickly  sent  into  Babylonia  to  support 
the  insurgents.  But  it  was  all  of  no  avail. 
The  veteran  army  of  Assyria  was  soon  in  the 
field;  the  allied  host  of  the  South  was  beaten 
down  in  the  hard-fought  battle  of  Chaluli 
and  scattered  to  the  winds.  Babylon  was  en- 
tered and  pillaged.  The  temples  were  ran- 
sacked, and  the  golden  gods  of  the  ancient 
ages  were  broken  in  pieces  by  a  derisive 
soldiery. 

The  last  campaign  formally  undertaken  by 
the  great  Assyrian  was  against  Cilicia.  Here 
for  the  first  time  the  armies  of  Asshur  en- 
countered the  Greeks  in  battle.  For  a  Greek 
^fleet  was  guarding  the  Cilician  coast  at  the 
time  of  the  invasion,  and  this  fleet  the  Phoeni- 
cian navy  of  Sennacherib  met  and  defeated. 
In  the  land  contest,  also,  the  Cilicians  were 
overthrown.  Then  it  was  that  the  Assyrian 
king,  in  order  to  carry  out  his  policy  of  peo- 
pling  conquered   provinces  with   the   inhabi- 


tants of  other  countries,  founded  the  city  of 
Tarsus,  after  the  model  of  Babylon.  For  just 
as  the  latter  city  was  divided  by  the  Euphratea 
flowing  through  the  midst,  so  Tarsus,  cleft  by 
the  Cydnus,  was  divided  into  twain. 

It  appears  that  several  years — near  the 
close  of  his  reign — were  occupied  by  Sen- 
nacherib in  this  Cilician  war.  Whatever 
successes  he  may  have  gained  during  these 
aggressive  movements  in  Asia  Minor  were, 
perhaps,  counterbalanced  by  losses  and  insur- 
rections on  the  south  and  east.  The  records 
of  Babylon  indicate  that  the  last  eight  years 
of  the  reign  of  Sennacherib  were  coincident 
with  an  era  of  turbulence  and  misrule  in  the 
Southern  provinces.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  king  was  in  his  decline,  and  the  vigor  with 
which  he  was  wont  to  chastise  rebellious  coun- 
tries was  no  longer  manifested  in  his  adminis- 
tration. The  Chaldseans,  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  human  race,  had  learned  that  lib- 
erties can  be  taken  with  the  aged  lion.  It  is 
clearly  indicated  that  at  the  close  of  the  great 
king's  reign  Babylon  was  once  more  in  a  state 
of  semi-independence. 

During  the  vicissitudes  of  his  military 
campaigns,  Sennacherib  found  time  to  distin- 
guish himself  and  his  epoch  by  splendid  mon- 
uments. At  the  capital  he  built  a  great  pal- 
ace, surpassing  in  beauty  and  size  any  edifice 
hitherto  erected  in  Assyria.  The  foundation, 
which  was  a  vast  platform  raised  about  ninety 
feet  above  the  plain,  covered  a  space  of  more 
than  eight  acres.  Within  the  palace  were 
three  great  quadrangular  courts.^  The  prin- 
cipal halls  were  the  one  one  hundred  and 
eighty  feet,  and  the  other  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  in  length,  the  wadth  of  each  being 
above  forty  feet.  Around  these  halls  and 
courts  galleries  and  apartments  were  arranged 
in  an  artistic  manner.  The  whole  number  of 
rooms,  besides  the  courts  and  halls,  was  about 
eighty,  of  which  forty  have  been  explored, 
and  their  dimensions  and  ornamentation  ascer- 
tained. 

In  the  matter  of  ornamentation  the  work 
ot   Sennacherib  was  distinguished   from  that 


'  The  ground-plan  shows  that  the  main  courts 
were  respectively  154x125  feet;  124x90  feet;  and 
90x90  feet,  in  dimensions. 


ASS YRIA.—CHR ONOLOG Y  AND  ANNALS. 


183 


of  his  predecessors  by  its  superior  finish  and 
the  introduction  of  backgrounds  in  the  sculp- 
tures. In  the  reliefs  which  adorn  the  halls 
and  corridors  of  the  great  king's  palace  there 
is  an  elaboration  and  profusion  of  details 
■which  remind  the  beholder  of  the  infinite 
particularity  and  realism  displayed  in  the 
temples  of  Egypt.  In  Sennacherib's  sculp- 
tures there  is  a  constant  comformity  to  the 
facts  and  a  total  absence  of  imagination,  as 
if  any  departure  from  the  real  had  been  re- 
garded by  the  sculptor  as  a  crime  against  the 
laws  of  art. 

The  great  works  of  Sennacherib's  time  were 
mostly  produced  by  slave  labor — that  is,  the 
labor  of  captives  who  were  thrown  into  the 
cities  of  the  Empire  by  the  tides  of  conquest. 
Multitudes  of  Elamites,  Jews,  Arameeans, 
Chaldeeans,  Cilicians,  and  Armenians  had 
been  added  to  the  laboring  population,  and 
these  were  organized  into  companies  and 
driven  by  task-masters  to  perform  the  chief 
part  in  rearing  the  prodigious  structures 
which  made  Assyria  famous. 

Sennacherib  may  well  be  regarded  as  a 
typical  warrior-king  of  ancient  times.  Among 
Assyrian  monarchs  he  was  perhaps  the  great- 
est. Considering  the  extent  of  his  wars  his 
success  in  the  field  was  quite  unparalleled. 
Except  the  disaster  at  Pelusium  and  the  loss 
of  Babylon  in  his  old  age,  no  single  reverse 
checked  the  victorious  progress  of  his  arms. 
He  possessed  a  degree  of  will  and  self-confi- 
dence not  easily  matched  among  the  rulers  of 
the  ancient  world ;  and  when  we  consider  the 
cares  and  burdens  which  he  must  have  borne 
in  the  civil  administration  of  so  vast  a  gov- 
ernment, and  the  versatile  and  original  talents 
displayed  in  the  architectural  and  industrial 
progress  of  the  kingdom  during  his  reign,  we 
are  struck  with  admiration  at  his  tremendous 
activities  and  force  of  character. 

After  reigning  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century  Sennacherib  was  assassinated  by  two 
of  his  sons.  The  eldest  son,  Asshur-Inadi-Su, 
who  had  been  viceroy  of  Babylon,  died  before 
his  father.  Nergal,  the  second  son,  became 
heir-apparent  to  the  throne ;  but  Adramme- 
lech  and  Sharezer,  two  other  sons,  fired  with 
jealousy  on  account  of  their  brother's  prefer- 


ment, conspired  against  their  father's  life  and 
killed  him  while  he  was  worshiping  in  the 
temple.^ 

For  the  moment  the  insurrection  was  nearly 
successful;  for  Nergal  was  driven  out  of 
the  kingdom.  But  a  reaction  soon  set  in,  and 
the  people,  shocked,  perhaps,  at  the  crime  of 
the  parricides,  turned  to  Esar-Haddon,  a  fifth 
son  of  Sennacherib,  who  was  then  in  com- 
mand of  the  army.  As  soon  as  the  prince 
could  march  on  the  capital — for  it  was  winter 
then,  and  the  army  was  far  from  Nineveh — 
he  was  recognized  as  king,  and  expelling  the 
assassins,  who  escaped  into  Armenia,  began 
his  reign  in  the  spring  of  B.  C.  681.  He 
reigned  for  thirteen  years,  and  like  the  kings, 
his  ancestors,  was  principally  engaged  in  the 
conduct  of  wars.  At  the  first  he  put  down  some 
forces  which  were  endeavoring  to  maintain 
the  claims  of  the  assassins  of  his  father.  In 
the  next  year  he  led  an  army  into  Phoenicia, 
where  Abdi-Milkut,  the  king  of  Sidon,  had 
raised  a  revolt  and  induced  some  of  the 
neighboring  rulers  to  join  him.  Esar-Had- 
don promptly  suppressed  the  rebellion,  and 
having  captured  the  city,  pursued  the  fugitive 
king  to  Cyprus,  whither  he  had  fled,  and 
making  him  prisoner,  put  him  to  death. 

An  Assyrian  governor  was  apj)ointed  over 
Sidon.  Large  numbers  of  her  people  were 
transported  beyond  the  Euphrates,  and  their 
places  were  filled  by  Assyrian  subjects  taken 
from  the  provinces.  The  next  expedition  was 
into  Armenia.  Here  the  king  captured  the 
city  of  Arza,  and  carried  away  the  inhabitants 
to  labor  upon  the  public  works  of  Nineveh. 
In  the  following  year  his  army  was  in  Cilicia, 
where  he  overthrew  a  large  force  of  insur- 
gents, and  took  and  destroyed  twenty-one 
towns,  with  deportation  of  the  people  into 
Assyria. 


^  In  the  commission  of  this  crime  we  see  the 
indubitable  symptoms  of  the  overtli^'ow  of  the 
Empire.  The  dagger  of  the  assassin  was  now  at 
work  in  the  palace.  The  sacred  character  of  the 
king  was  no  longer  proof  against  that  insane  ambi- 
tion which  could  not  patiently  abide  the  processes 
of  nature.  What  the  violence  of  foreign  war  could 
not  accomplish  in  that  it  was  weak,  that  the 
blasted  aftection  of  the  son  for  the  father  stood 
ready  to  do  by  the  atrocity  of  secret  crime^ 


184 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  the  sixth  year  of  his  reign  Esar-Had- 
don  marched  into  Chaldsea,  where,  for  about 
fourteen  years,  civil  affairs  had  been  in  a  con- 
dition bordering  on  anarchy.  One  Nebo-Zirzi- 
Sidi — son  of  the  old  revolutionist,  Merodach- 
Baladan — was  now  in  authority  at  Babylon, 
holding  the  place  of  ruler  with  little  or  no  re- 
spect to  the  wish  of  the  Empire.  A  younger 
brother  of  this  reigning  prince,  Nahid-Marduk 
by  name,  had  meanwhile  gone  to  Nineveh, 
where,  pledging  his  own  loyalty,  he  repre- 
sented to  Esar-Haddon  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  Babylonia.  The  king  gladly  espoused  the 
cause  of  Marduk,  and  overthrowing  the  power 
of  the  rebellious  prince  conferred  the  sover- 
eignty on  him  who  had  professed  loyalty. 

The  seventh  campaign  of  Esar-Haddon  was 
against  Hazael,  king  of  Edom.  The  capital 
city  of  this  ruler  was  taken,  and  the  Edomite 
gods  were  carried  along  with  a  captive  train 
to  Nineveh.  The  images,  however,  were  soon 
afterwards  sent  back  in  answer  to  the  prayer 
of  Hazael,  who  was  restored  to  authority  and 
accepted  as  a  subject  of  Assyria.  Hazael 
should  marry  an  Assyrian  princess  and  pay 
an  annual  tribute  of  sixty-five  camels.  So 
there  was  peace  in  Edom. 

The  next  expedition  of  Esar-Haddon  was 
into  a  country  beyond  the  Arabian  desert. 
At  least  such  is  the  statement  of  the  Assyrian 
Canon.  If  the  record  be  true,  the  campaign 
was  a  most  extraordinary  one,  extending  four 
hundred  and  ninety  miles  across  a  leafless, 
trackless,  waterless  waste  of  sand.  That  the 
Assyrian  king  was  able  to  subsist  a  great  army 
in  such  a  region  on  such  an  expedition  seems 
incredible.  Esar-Haddon  is  said  to  have  tri- 
umphed over  this  far-off  country  of  Bazu. 
Laile,  the  king,  escaped,  but  afterwards  went 
in  person  to  Nineveh  to  obtain  by  humility 
what  he  had  been  unable  to  secure  by  arms — 
a  favorable  peace  for  his  people. 

Shortly  after  this  rather  apocryphal  epi- 
sode, Esar-Haddon  is  found  engaged  in  a  war 
with  the  Aramaeans,  in  the  marsh-lands  of  the 
Euphrates.  The  Gambulu,  one  of  the  tribes, 
had  neglected  their  tribute,  and  the  king  went 
thither  to  punish  them;  but  the  terrified  chief 
sent  in  his  submission  and  made  haste  to  pay 
the  tribute.     Afterwards  the  Assyrian  led  his 


army  into  the  remote  confines  of  Media,  where 
a  confederation  of  tribes  was  broken  and  some 
of  the  chiefs  carried  to  Nineveh.  This  cam- 
paign completed  the  tenth  year  of  Esar-Had- 
don's  reign.  The  last  and  most  important  of 
all  his  wars  was  his  conquest  of  Egypt. 

Tirhakah  was  now  the  Pharaoh.  His  court 
was  at  Memphis.  He  belonged  to  that  Ethi- 
opian dynasty  established  by  Shabak  I.  The 
Assyrian  invasion  was  directed  first  against 
Memphis  and  afterwards  Thebes.  Both  of 
these  ancient  capitals  were  taken,  and  Tirha- 
kah was  driven  out  of  the  country  by  the  way 
that  his  ancestors  had  entered.  All  of  Egypt 
between  Thebes  and  the  Mediterranean  was 
conquered  by  the  Assyrians.  The  country 
was  divided  into  twenty  provinces,  and  over 
each  a  governor  was  set,  the  whole  being  sub- 
ject to  the  viceroy  Necho,  father  of  Psametik 
I.  After  reducing  the  country  to  an  orderly 
administration,  Esar-Haddon  returned  to  his 
capital,  where  he  inscribed  himself  on  the  en- 
tablature of  his  palace,  "King  of  the  kings 
of  Egypt  and  conqueror  of  Ethiopia." 

About  this  time  occurred  the  rebellion  of 
Manasseh,  king  of  the  Jews.  The  Assyrian 
generals  were  sent  against  him,  and  he  was 
quickly  overthrown.  Being  taken  prisoner, 
he  was  conveyed  in  chains  to  Babylon.  After 
a  while,  when  his  pride  was  broken,  he  was 
liberated  by  the  king  and  restored  to  his  do- 
minions. In  accordance  with  the  custom  of 
the  times,  the  tribute  laid  on  Judah  was  in- 
creased after  the  rebellion ;  and  to  make  as- 
surance doubly  sure,  a  great  train  of  colonists, 
gathered  from  Babylon,  Susa,  and  even  from 
Persia  and  other  foreign  regions,  was  turned 
into  Palestine,  until  the  immigrant  population 
predominated  over  the  native-born  in  Jewry. 

At  this  juncture,  669  B.  C,  Esar-Haddon 
fell  sick  and  resigned  the  crown  of  Assyria 
to  his  son,  Asshur-Bani-Pal.'  The  enfeebled 
monarch  retained  for  himself  only  the  vice- 
royalty  of  Babylon,  and  retiring  thither, 
passed  at  his  southern  capital  the  remaining 
year  of  his  life.  He  died  in  668,  and  Asshur- 
Bani-Pal  became  sole  monarch  of  the  Empire. 
His  younger  brother,  Saul-Magina,  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  viceroyalty  of  Babylon.     The 

^The  Sardanapahis  of  the  Greeks. 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


185 


reign  of  the  new  king  was  ushered  in  by  a 
war  with  Egypt.  For  as  soon  as  Tirhakah, 
the  expelled  Pharaoh,  heard  that  Esar-Haddon 
was  powerless  to  punish  him  further,  he  headed 
back  to  Egypt,  and  driving  out  Neeho  and 
his  band  of  Assyrian  kinglets,  restored  the 
old  regime  as  quickly  as  it  had  been  insti- 
tuted. Asshur-Bani-Pal  hastily  marched  into 
Egypt,  and  encountering  the  Egyptian  army 
at  Kar-Banit,  gained  a  complete  victory. 
Tirhakah  fled  at  once  from  Memphis,  and 
was  pursued  by  the  Assyrians  to  Thebes,  and 
through  Thebes  into  Ethiopia. 

Tirhakah,  when  the  Assyrian  army  had  re- 
tired from  the  country,  undertook  to  secure 
by  intrigue  what  he  was  unable  to  achieve  in 
battle.      Several    of    Asshur-Bani-Pal's    gov- 
ernors, including  the  viceroy  Necho,  were  se- 
duced from  their  allegiance  and  led  into  a 
conspiracy.      This   was    discovered,    and    the 
conspirators  were  taken  by  the  loyal  princes 
and    sent    to    Nineveh.     But    the    rebellious 
party  gradually  gained  the  ascendency,  and 
Tirhakah,  returning   to  Thebes,  was  reestab- 
lished in  the  kingdom.    Meanwhile  Necho  had 
pleaded  for  his  life  and  liberty,  and,  being 
set  free,  was  intrusted  by  the  Assyrian  king 
with  the  duty  of  restoring  order  in  Egypt. 
An  army  was  intrusted  to  his  command. 
Tirhakah   was  once   more   defeated,  and   fly- 
ing from  the  country,  perished  in  Ethiopia. 
His    step-son,    Urdamane,    succeeded    to    the 
crown,  and  soon  developed  military  talents  su- 
perior to  those  of  the  late  king.     He  carried 
on  a  campaign  in  Upper  Egypt,  took  Thebes, 
and  restored  the  Ethiopian  dynasty  to  undis- 
puted authority.     Pursuing  the  Assyrians  into 
Lower  Egypt,  he  besieged  Memphis,  captured 
the  city,  and  regained  a  complete  supremacy 
over  the  whole  country.     Asshur-Bani-Pal,  on 
hearing  the  news — for  he  was  now  in  Assyria — 
returned  with  all  haste,  entered  Egypt,  put  to 
flight  the  combined  forces  of  the  Egyptians 
and  Ethiopians,  chased  them  up  the  Nile  val- 
ley and  out  of  the  land.     He   then    sacked 
Thebes,   and   carried   away  a  train   of  spoils 
such  as  had  never  before  been  taken  from  a 
city    of    the    Pharaohs— gold,    silver,    gems, 
costly    garments,   priestly  vessels    and    robes, 
ornaments  of  ebony  garnished  with  precious 


stones,  obelisks,  domestic  animals,  slaves,  and 
hostages.     Native   Assyrian   governors  whose 
loyalty  could  not  be  doubted  were  then  ap- 
pointed in  place  of  the  deposed  princes,  and 
the  king  returned  victorious  to  his  own  capital. 
In  the  meantime  a  certain  Baal,  king  of 
Tyre,  had  thrown  off"  his  allegiauce  and  defied 
Assyria.     Returning  out  of  Egypt,   Asshur- 
Bani-Pal  attacked  the  insurgent  city,  subdued 
the   king,  and  laid   upon   the   people  a  still 
heavier  tribute.     A  different  motive  drew  the 
Assyrian  monarch  into  Cilicia ;  for  the  king 
of  this  country  had  invited  him  thither  and 
offered  him  his  daughter  in  marriage.     The 
offer  was  accepted,  and  the  Cilician  princess 
accompanied  her  lord  to  Nineveh. 

Soon  after  these    events    Asshur-Bani-Pal 
made  an  expedition  into  Asia  Minor,  crossing 
the  Taurus,  and  directing  his  campaign  against 
several  hitherto  unknown  provinces.      After 
subduing  these  and  returning  to  his  capital, 
he  was  honored  with  an  embassy  from  Gyges, 
king  of  Lydia,  who  sent  in  a  voluntary  sub- 
mission on  the  part  of  himself  and  his  country. 
Afterwards  in  a  war  which  Gyges  waged  with 
the  Cimmerians  he  was  successful,  and  sent 
some  of  their  chiefs  as  a  curious  present  to 
the  king  of  Assyria.     The  next  invasion  by 
the  monarch  was  into  the  mountainous  country- 
surrounding  Lake  Van.    Aksheri,  king  of  the 
tribes  in  this  region,  was  defeated  by  the  As- 
syrians and  put  to  death  by  his  own  subjects. 
His  son  Vohalli  quickly  made  peace  with  the 
Empire  on  the  condition  of  paying  a  heavy- 
annual  tribute. 

A  new  complication  now  arose  in  a  differ- 
ent quarter.  Some  Susiauian  tribes,  being 
hard  pressed  by  famine,  obtained  permission 
to  remove  within  the  borders  of  the  Empire. 
As  soon,  however,  as  plenty  returned,  the  im- 
migrants wearied  of  their  new  surroundings 
and  desired  to  return  into  Susiana.  This  was 
refused,  and  Urtaki,  the  king  of  the  Susian- 
ians,  thereupon  demanded  that  his  subjects  be 
liberated.  Hostile  movements  followed  on 
both  sides.  The  cause  of  Susiana  was  es- 
poused by  the  Aramseans;  but  Asshur-Bani- 
Pal  quickly  marched  into  the  country  of  his 
antagonist,  defeated  his  army,  and  took  him 
prisoner,     Urtaki  soon  died,  and  his  brother 


186 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Ummau-Aldas,  who  had  been  in  exile  on  ac- 
count of  his  friendship  for  the  Assyrians,  was 
restored  to  his  country  and  the  throne.  After 
his  death,  however,  his  sons  were  excluded 
from  the  kingdom  by  their  uncle,  who  was  of 
the  anti-Assyrian  party.  The  princes  fled  to 
Nineveh,  and  Asshur-Bani-Pal  found  it  nec- 
essary to  undertake  their  restoration. 

The  usurper  of  Susiana  made  prodigious 
efforts  to  save  himself,  drawing  several  adja- 
cent nations,  including  Babylonia,  into  an 
alliance  against  the  Assyrian  monarch.  But 
the  latter  was  again  easily  victorious.  The 
allied  army  Avas  defeated  in  battle;  the  king 
was  taken  and  put  to  death,  and  his  head 
nailed  up  over  the  gate  of  Nineveh.  The  two 
young  Susianian  princes  returned  under  the 
protection  of  Asshur-Bani-Pal,  and  to  each 
was  given  a  half  of  the  kingdom.  The  rebel 
princes  were  well-nigh  exterminated.  Some  had 
their  tongues  cut  out;  others  were  beheaded. 

But  the  spirit  of  rebellion  was  not  at  all 
extinguished.  Saiil-Mugina,  the  deposed  king 
of  Babylonia,  fomented  an  insurrection,  and 
induced  several  surrounding  states  to  join 
him;  Even  one  of  the  princes  of  Susiana, 
whom  Asshur-Bani-Pal  had  recently  restored 
to  power,  was  bribed  to  break  his  allegiance 
and  join  the  revolt.  The  other  bi'other,  how- 
ever, remained  loyal  to  the  king,  who  had  con- 
ferred the  right  to  rule,  and  so  raising  an 
army,  he  attacked  his  brother,  most  of  whose 
forces  were  absent  in  Babylonia,  and  defeated 
and  killed  him.  For  this  he  was  rewarded 
by  Asshur-Bani-Pal  with  the  undivided  sover- 
eignty of  Elam. 

But  this  merited  honor  he  did  not  long 
retain,  for  the  army  in  Babylonia  would  not 
follow  his  lead ;  and  in  the  meantime,  Inda- 
Bigas,  a  chieftain  who  ruled  the  mountaineers 
of  Luristan,  led  a  counter  revolution,  and 
placing  himself  on  the  throne  compelled  Tam- 
marit — for  that  was  the  name  of  the  Susianian 
king — to  fly  for  his  life.  Saiil-Mugina  also 
was  attacked  by  1m  brother,  acting  in  the  As- 
syrian interest,  and  thus  the  rebellion  was 
brought  to  nought.  Asshur-Bani-Pal  overran 
the  country,  captured  the  toAvns  one  by  one, 
and  extinguished  the  last  sparks  of  opposition. 
Saiil-Mugina  was  taken  and  burnt  to  death. 


Several  years  of  quiet  followed;  but  the 
elements  of  sedition  were  constantly  working 
in  Susiana.  There  was  an  Assyrian  party 
and  an  auti- Assyrian  party.  By  and  by,  the 
success  of  the  latter  was  so  marked  that  in 
B.  C.  645,  Asshur-Bani-Pal  again  entered  the 
country  and  captured  twenty-six  of  the  prin- 
cipal cities,  including  Susa.  Western  Elam 
was  thus  brought  completely  under  the  domi- 
nation of  Assyria,  while  Eastern  Elam  re- 
mained to  the  opposing  party.  Not  long, 
however,  was  even  this  status  maintained.  A 
fresh  insurrection  once  more  called  the  Assyr« 
ian  king  into  the  country,  which  he  now  en. 
tered  in  extreme  wrath.  Fighting  his  way 
victoriously  to  Susa,  the  capital,  he  took  the 
city  by  assault,  and  for  the  space  of  twenty- 
three  days  gave  it  uj)  to  the  rage  of  his  sol- 
diers. An  edict  was  issued  abolishing  Susi- 
anian independence,  and  the  whole  country 
was  formally  annexed  to  Assyria  as  one  of 
the  provinces  of  the  Empire. 

The  hard  work  given  to  the  Assyrian  army, 
for  the  space  of  twelve  years,  by  these  Elam- 
itic  wars  lent  encouragement  to  political  dis- 
content in  the  West.  Psametik  of  Egypt 
made  a  dash  for  independence.  Gyges,  king 
of  Lydia,  for  some  time  the  voluntary  subject 
of  Assyria,  hearing  of  the  Egyptian  outbreak, 
sent  aid  to  Psametik,  and  broke  with  Asshur- 
Bani-Pal.  Scarcely,  however,  had  he  done  so 
when  the  savage  Cimmerians,  whom  he  had 
recently  subdued,  burst  in  upon  his  kingdom, 
overran  the  whole  country,  defeated  the  king's 
army,  and  put  him  to  death.  Ardys,  his  suc- 
cessor, hastened  to  make  peace  with  Assyria, 
and  the  revolt  was  at  an  end. 

The  last  of  Asshur-Bani-Pal's  foreign  ex- 
peditions was  directed  against  those  Arabs  of 
the  desert  who  had  aided  the  Babylonians  in 
their  recent  rebellion.  Several  of  the  wild 
tribes  allied  themselves  to  resist  the  power 
which  they  had  provoked,  and  a  desultory 
warfare  was  waged  over  a  wide  district  of 
country.  That  part  of  the  waste  region  lying 
between  the  Persian  Gulf  and  Syria  was  over- 
run by  the  Assyrian  army.  Damascus,  Petra, 
and  the  towns  of  Moab  were  taken  by  the 
king ;  and  in  the  Damascene  mountains,  at  a 
place  called  Khukhuruna,  a  decisive  battle 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


187 


was  fouglit,  in  which  the  Arabs  were  disas- 
trously routed.  The  two  chiefs  who  had 
been  conspicuous  in  furnishing  aid  to  Baby- 
lon were  captured,  taken  to  Nineveh,  and  be- 
headed. 

During  the  latter  years  of  Asshur-Bani- 
Pal's  reign,  Assyria  suffered  a  decline  from 
which  she  never  recovered — a  decadence  attrib- 
utable in  part  to  the  internal  forces  of  disso- 
lution which  were  at  work  in  the  Empire, 
and  in  part  to  external  violence.  It  was  be- 
tween the  years  634  and  626  B.  C.  that  As- 
syria began  to  feel  the  effect  of  hostile  dem- 
onstrations from  without,  and  to  realize  in  her 
own  experience  the  difference  between  invader 
and  invaded.  The  same  treatment  which  she 
for  so  many  centuries  had  visited  upon  sur- 
rounding nations  was  now  to  be  remeasured 
to  her  in  her  OAvn  cup. 

For  in  the  mean  time  the  kingdom  of  Me- 
dia, on  the  south-east  mountain  skirt  of  the 
Empire,  had  grown  into  a  vigorous  and  war- 
like life.  The  native  forces  of  nationality  had 
here  received  a  remarkable  development,  and 
immigration  from  the  East  had  both  contributed 
to  the  population  and  made  versatile  the  genius 
of  the  Medes.  Several  times  in  their  foreign 
wars  the  kings  of  Assyria  had  struck  the  Me- 
dian soldiery,  and  not  a  few  wrongs  had  been 
done  by  the  Ninevite  dynasty  to  the  rising 
kingdom  beyond  the  south-eastern  mountain 
chain.  The  effect  of  these  acts  had  been  to 
arouse  the  animosity  of  the  Medes,  and  they 
only  waited  until  their  power  should  come,  to 
be  avenged  upon  their  great  enemy. 

In  the  year  B.  C.  634,  the  king  of  the  Medes 
felt  himself  strong  enough  to  begin  the  con- 
flict. With  a  well  equipped  army  he  invaded 
Assyria  and  offered  battle  to  Asshur-Bani-Pal 
in  his  own  dominions.  The  gauge  thus  thrown 
down  was  accepted  by  the  haughty  monarch, 
and  the  Median  king  was  utterly  routed.  His 
army  was  cut  to  pieces  and  himself  left  among 
the  slain.  The  effect  of  this  rout,  however, 
was  rather  to  enrage  than  to  terrify  the  Medes, 
whose  spirit  rose  with  the  conflict,  and  whose 
immediate  note  of  j)reparation  for  renewal  of 
the  struggle  sounded  through  the  land.  It 
was  at  this  juncture  of  affairs  that  a  new  peril, 
unseen,  undreaded  alike  by  Media  and  Assyria, 


flung  an  ominous  shadow  over  all  of  South- 
western Asia. 

For  now  it  was  that  the  barbarous  Scythi- 
ans swarming  in  the  steppes  of  the  North,  at- 
tracted by  chance  perhaps  to  the  sunny  plains 
and  fruitful  fields  of  the  Southern  nations,  began 
to  pour  through  the  mountain  passes  and  de- 
vastate the  country.  It  was  a  consuming  horde 
of  ravenous  semi-savages,  more  savage  than 
savagery,  that  settled  upon  every  green  shrub 
of  civilization,  and,  locust-like,  devoured  both 
leafage  and  fruit.  The  organization  of  the 
race  was  tribal.  One  "Head  Tribe"  had  a 
kind  of  loose  suj)remacy  of  the  rest.  The 
chief  pursuit  was  that  of  herdsmen  and  sol- 
diers. Huge  droves  of  half-wild  cattle  were 
followed  from  steppe  to  steppe  by  the  nomadic 
barbarians,  who  slaughtered  when  they  would, 
gorged  themselves  with  blood  and  flesh,  and 
grcAV  ferocious  as  the  beasts  that  raven. ^ 

It  was  this  prodigious  race  of  savages  that, 
while  the  Medes  were  preparing  for  a  second 
invasion  of  Assyria,  burst  through  the  passes 
of  the  North  and  poured  into  the  Median 
fields.  Devastation  and  ruin  followed  in  their 
wake.  Whatever  was  destructible  perished. 
The  inhabitants  either  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
fortified  towns  or  were  cut  down  wherever 
overtaken  with  the  short  swords  of  the  barba- 
rians. All  of  Upper  Media  was  trodden  un- 
der foot  of  the  Scythian  host,  on  whose  feroc- 
ity neither  the  weakness  of  woman  nor  the 
helplessness  of  age  left  any  softening  trace. 
Some  of  the  towns  were  besieged  and  starved 
into  submission,  and  in  such  cases  the  inhabi- 
tants were  given  up  to   merciless   butchery. 

^  Many  are  the  cheerful  descriptions  drawn  by 
the  Greek  historians  of  tliis  gentle  breed  of  sav- 
ages. Herodotus  and  Hippocrates  were  evidently 
struck  with  the  sterling,  though  somewhat  stal- 
wart, virtues  of  the  race.  Tliey  describe  the  Scyth- 
ians as  creatures  with  overgrown  and  beastly 
bodies;  covered  with  coarse  hair;  gross  and  fat; 
loose  jointed  ;  abdomens  protruding  like  pots  ;  un- 
washed and  filthy ;  smeared  witli  paste ;  stuffing 
tliemselves  with  cheese  and  the  sour  milk  of  mares ; 
hanging  their  slain  enemies'  scalps  to  their  bridle 
reins,  and  lapping  tlie  blood  while  hot ;  using 
liuman  skulls  for  drinking  bowls ;  and  snoring  in 
the  dirt  and  ashes  under  rude  tents  of  felt  or 
among  the  rubbish  of  their  carts.  The  Scythian 
armor,  besides  the  bow  and  arrow,  consisted  of 
shield  and  spear  and  battle-axe. 


188 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  other  places  the  supplies  were  abundant, 
and  when  the  patience  of  the  barbarians  was 
exhausted  they  passed  on  to  ravage  other 
districts. 

Although  Media  and  Iberia  were  the  first 
countries  to  feel  the  shock  of  the  Scythian  in- 
vasion, the  ravages  of  the  horde  were  by  no 
means  confined  to  these  states.  The  savage 
tide  rolled  on  into  Mesopotamia  and  Armenia, 
and  then  swept  westward  and  south-westward 
into  Syria  and  Palestine.  Assyria — especially 
the  better  portion  between  the  Zagros  and  the 
Tigris — was  completely  devastated.  The  ener- 
gies of  the  Empire  had,  no  doubt,  flagged  as 
the  vigor  and  will  of  Asshur-Bani-Pal  went 
out  in  old  age.  Assyria  had  so  long  enjoyed 
immunity  from  invasion — had  so  little  imag- 
ined it  a  possible  thing  for  any  nation  to 
enter  her  dominions — that  many  towns  and 
even  great  cities  were  built  without  special 
reference  to  defense.  Into  these  the  Scythian 
hosts  poured  without  a  check.  The  accumu- 
lated treasures  of  ages  melted  away  before 
them.  Blood  flowed  in  the  streets  where  the 
shout  of  an  enemy  had  never  before  been 
heard.  Palaces  were  sacked  and  given  to  the 
torch,  and  all  who  were  not  butchered  out- 
right were  scattered  in  terror  to  the  hills. 

Of  all  the  countries  trodden  under  foot 
by  the  barbarians,  the  rich  and  luxurious  but 
now  decrepit  Assyria  suffered  the  most  terri- 
ble disasters.  It  was  a  blow  from  which  she 
never  recovered.  On  the  west  the  eflfect  of 
the  invasion,  spi'eading  and  difflising  itself 
like  a  flood  of  waters,  was  less  seriously  felt. 
Syria  soon  recovered  herself  and  continued  as 
before.  Psametik,  of  Egyj)t,  met  the  Scyth- 
ians on  the  confines  of  his  kingdom  and  pur- 
chased exemption. 

In  the  course  of  time,  however,  the  barbarian 
deluge  subsided  and  the  dry  ground  appeared. 
According  to  Herodotus,  the  savages  held  the 
mastery  of  Western  Asia  for  twenty-eight 
years.  After  a  time  they  receded,  and  most 
of  the  nations  which  had  fallen  under  their 
sway  regained  their  freedom.  In  Media,  es- 
pecially, was  the  power  of  recuperation  mani- 
fested. The  people  were  warlike;  the  coun- 
try was  hilly;  most  of  the  towns  were  fortified. 
The  barbarian  progress — especially  in  Lower 


Media — had  thus  been  impeded ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  swarm  had  ■  in  some  measure  disap- 
peared, the  Medes  turned  upon  the  remaining 
savages  and  expelled  them.  Then,  with  great 
vigor,  the  damage  done  was  repaired ;  and 
while  Assyria,  whose  very  opulence  was 
proving  her  ruin,  still  nourished  the  glutton- 
ous brood  at  her  breast.  Media  recovered  her 
strength,  and  made  ready  to  finish  in  Mesopo- 
tamia the  work  which  the  Scythic  horde  had 
so  fearfully  begun.  Such  was  the  course  of 
events  between  the  first  and  the  second  inva- 
sion of  the  Assyrian  Empire  by  the  Medes. 

The  aged  Asshur-Bani-Pal  made  some  eflJbrts 
to  restore  and  reorganize  his  kingdom.  In 
this  work,  however,  he  was  cut  short  by  death. 
In  the  year  626  B.  C.  the  great  king  died, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Asshur-Emid- 
Ilin,  more  generally  known  by  his  Greek 
name  of  Saracus.  It  is  here,  moreover,  that 
the  confusion  of  the  Western  historians  re- 
garding the  last  years  of  the  Assyrian  Empire, 
begins.  By  them  the  character  and  deeds  of 
Saracus,  who  was  a  voluptuary,  without  spirit 
or  enterprise,  were  transferred  to  Asshur-Bani- 
Pal — Sardanapalus — from  which  it  has  hap- 
pened that  the  latter,  one  of  the  greatest  of 
the  warrior-kings  of  Assyria,  has  generally 
borne  the  reputation  of  an  eff*eminate  Oriental, 
who  went  about  his  palace  dressed  in  woman's 
apparel,  feasting  in  his  seraglio,  sleeping  the 
sleep  of  the  glutton.  The  confusion  has  ex- 
tended still  further,  making  Sardanapalus 
to  be  the  last  king  of  Assyria,  him  whom 
Cyaxares  destroyed  amid  the  ruins  of  the 
Empire.  The  Assyrian  records  have  now 
made  it  clear  that  to  the  voluptuary  Saracus 
belongs  the  discredit  of  being  extinguished 
in  the  ruins  of  his  palace  and  kingdom. 

This  prince  came  to  the  throne  in  626. 
He  began  his  brief  and  inglorious  reign  at 
Nineveh.  Preferring  Calah  as  a  capital,  he 
laid,  in  that  city,  the  foundations  of  a  palace 
which,  in  its  diminished  proportions,  was  but 
a  caricature  of  the  grand  works  of  his  father 
and  grandfather.^     But  it  was   not  reserved 


^  Esar-H  ad  don's  conquest  of  Egypt  made  him 
familiar  with  the  famous  architecture  of  that  coun- 
try. He  carried  home  with  him  from  Thebes  some 
of  her  guardian  sphinxes,  and  the  traces  of  Egyp- 


ASSYRIA.— CHRONOLOGY  AND  ANNALS. 


189 


DEATH  OF  SARACUS. 


190 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


for  Saracus  to  be  either  builder  or  king.  The 
handwriting  was  already  on  the  wall,  and  the 
fiat  was  gone  forth.  Cyaxares,  king  of  the 
Medes,  was  already  gathering  and  equipping 
an  army  for  a  renewal  of  the  war  Avhich  had 
been  so  long  interrupted  by  the  coming  of  the 
Scyths.  He  drew  into  an  alliance  with  him- 
self the  Susianians,  the  ancient  and  inveter- 
ate foes  of  Assyria,  and  in  B.  C.  627,  a  few 
months  before  the  accession  of  Saracus,  was 
ready  to  begin  the  war.  The  plan  of  the 
campaign  involved  a  double  invasion  of  the 
Empire.  The  army  of  Susiana  was  to  march 
from  the  south,  while  Cyaxares  himself,  with 
the  Medes,  was  to  enter  the  country  from 
the  east. 

To  resist  the  enemy  Saracus  made  such 
preparations  as  the  enfeebled  state  of  the 
kingdom  would  permit.  To  meet  the  double 
invasion  which  was  threatened  he  divided  his 
army,  and  appointed  the  general  Nabopolassar 
to  command  one  of  the  divisions.  To  him 
was  intrusted  the  work  of  repelling  the  Susi- 
anians, who  were  expected  to  enter  the  coun- 
try on  the  side  of  Babylonia,  while  the  king 
himself  was  to  face  Cyaxares.  From  the  be- 
ginning the  Assyrian  cause  was  beset  with 
disaster.  Nabopolassar  betrayed  his  king  and 
country.  Between  him  and  Cyaxares  nego- 
tiations were  opened,  and,  on  condition  that 
the  Median  king  would  give  his  daughter  in 
marriage  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  oldest  son 
of  Nabopolassar,  the  latter  agreed  to  go  over  to 
the  Medes  and  join  in  the  invasion  of  Assyria. 

tian  influence  are  noticeable  from  this  time  forth 
in  the  royal  buildings  of  Assyria.  Esar-Haddon's 
great  palace  at  Calah — one  of  the  most  splendid  of . 
all  the  kingly  edifices  —  bore  in  many  parts  the 
touch  of  the  Egyptian.  The  grand  doorway  leading 
to  the  inner  chamber  of  the  palace  was  guarded  by 
colossal  sphinxes  and  lions  after  the  manner  of  the 
temples  of  Egypt.  The  palace  of  Asshur-Bani- 
Pal  at  Koyunjik  was  also  touched  with  this  foreign 
influence ;  and  it  was  more  than  likely  that  that 
monarch's  taste  for  literature,  of  which  he  and  his 
scribes  were  the  greatest  lights  of  the  Empire, 
was  in  like  manner  traceable  to  an  inspiration 
caught  in  Egyptian  campaigns. 


The  defection  was  fatal.  The  spirit  of 
Saracus  and  of  those  who  still  supported  his 
cause  was  broken;  and  before  the  combined 
army  of  Medes,  Susianians,  Babylonians,  and 
disloyal  Assyrians  under  NabojDolassar,  Sar- 
acus ftll  back  to  Nineveh,  and  entered  her 
gates  to  go  out  no  more.  It  was  now  625 
B.  C,  The  city  was  at  once  invested.  The 
siege  was  pressed  with  ever-increasing  vigor, 
and  despair  settled  like  a  pall  over  the  proud 
metropolis  which  had  so  long  been  the  terror 
of  the  nations.  Saracus  was  unequal  to  the 
great  emergency  which  was  upon  him  and  his 
people.  The  last  day  of  Assyrian  greatness 
drew  into  twilight.  The  river  conspired  with 
fate  to  overthrow  the  defenses  of  the  city. 
The  tramp  of  the  Median  soldiers  was  heard 
in  the  streets.  The  inhabitants,  who  had 
never  before  beheld  a  foreign  foe  except  as 
trembling  captives,  fled  in  dismay  before  the 
fiery  Medes.  The  king  hastily  entered  his 
palace,  ordered  the  slaves  to  heap  the  sacred 
things  into  a  funeral  pyre,  and  mounting  to 
the  summit  with  his  wives  and  servants,  ap- 
plied the  torch  and  perished  in  the  flames. 
His  ashes  lay  white  upon  the  marble  floor, 
mingled  with  the  ashes  of  the  Assyrian  Em- 
j^ire.  A  new  power  had  arisen  beyond  the 
mountains  to  take  the  place  of  the  colossal 
fabric  reared  by  the  genius  of  Shalmaneser 
and  Tiglathi-Adar.  Another  race  had  come 
into  the  ascendant,  and  the  glory  and  great- 
ness of  the  Assyrians  were  shrouded  in  ever- 
lasting night.^ 

^  Lord  Byron,  in  his  tragedy  of  Sardanapalus, 
has  given  a  most  vivid  picture  of  the  closing 
scenes  of  the  Empire.  Following  Diodorus  and 
Ctesias,  the  great  poet  has  committed  the  usual 
error  of  confounding  Saracus  with  Asshur-Bani- 
Pal,  attributing  to  the  latter  the  vices  and  follies  of 
the  former ;  and  to  this  is  added  the  geographical 
absurdity  of  making  the  battlements  of  Nineveh 
to  be  washed  down  by  a  flood  in  the  Euphrates  I 
Indeed,  throughout  the  whole  drama  the  Assj^rian 
capital  is  placed  on  the  banks  of  the  Eujihrates, 
instead  of  those  of  the  Tigris.  Nevertheless,  the 
tragedy  is  an  imperishable,  though  highly  poetic, 
account  of  the  sunset  of  Assyrian  glory. 


ASSYRIA.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


191 


CHAPTER    XIV.— REIvIQION    AND    ART. 


HE  Religious  System  of 
the  Assyrians  was  well- 
nigh  identical  with  that 
of  the  Chaldseans,  from 
whom  it  was  borrowed. 
When  the  colonists  that 
founded  Asshur  went 
forth  from  the  low-lying  plains  of  the  South, 
they  carried  with  them  the  cycle  of  ideas  which 
the  fish-god,  coming  up  from  the  sea,  had 
taught  them.  In  both  countries  the  external 
forms  of  religion  Avere  alike.  The  temples, 
the  altars,  the  sacred  offices  of  Calah  and  Nin- 
eveh, were  a  transcript  of  those  of  Borsippa 
and  Babylon,  And,  subjectively  considered, 
the  religious  theories  and  beliefs  of  Assyria 
were  of  the  same  warp  and  woof  with  those 
which  had  immemorially  prevailed  on  the 
Lower  Euphrates  and  the  borders  of  the  Gulf. 
So  far  as  the  objects  of  Assyrian  worship 
were  concerned,  they  were  a  group  of  gods  of 
various  degrees  of  importance.  There  was  not 
sufficient  unity  in  the  system  to  warrant  the 
use  of  the  term  monotheistic  as  descriptive  of 
its  character.  The  deities  rose  the  one  above 
another,  but  none  so  high  as  to  be  regarded  as 
by  preeminence  the  supreme  god  of  Assyria. 
Each  had  his  own  sphere,  within  the  limits  of 
which  his  godhood  was  unquestioned  and  un- 
questionable. It  was  the  diflTerence  in  the 
elevation  of  the  sphere  by  w^hich  these  divine 
activities  were  circumscribed  that  determined 
the  rank  and  honor  of  the  respective  gods  in 
the  Ninevite  pantheon. 

To  the  general  rule  of  identity  between  the 
deities  of  Upper  and  Lower  Mesopotamia 
there  was  one  notable  exception.  Asshur,  the 
special  god  of  the  Assyrian  Empire,  was  un- 
known in  the  South.  He  was  the  tutelary 
deity  of  the  race.  To  him  both  kings  and 
people  iDoked  as  the  peculiar  guardian  of  the 
city,  the  court,  the  nation.  His  praise  was 
sounded  through  all  the  inscriptions,  and  the 
prayer  of  the  priest  always  began  with  an  ap- 
peal to  Asshur.     Thirteen  kings  of  the  line  of 


Nimrod  bore  the  name  of  this  deity — and  the 
name  was  identical  with  that  of  the  country; 
so  that  the  highest  patriotism  and  the  most 
fervid  religious  zeal  found  at  the  beginning  of 
their  quest  a  common  fountain  of  inspiration : 
to  the  one  he  was  the  hero  Asshur,  the  son  of 
Shem;  to  the  other,  the  god  Asshur,  lord  of 
the  Assyrian  race.  Asshur  was  worshiped  as 
the  King  of  the  Gods.  He  was  the  Destroyer 
of  the  Enemy  and  the  Giver  of  Victory. 
"When  the  colonists  waxed  strong  in  the  upper 
country  they  called  their  earliest  capital 
Asshur;  therefore  was  he  the  Founder  of 
Cities.  The  enemies  and  servants  of  the 
Assyrians  were  the  enemies  and  servants  of 
Asshur,  and  to  him  was  due  the  ascendency 
of  the  race  over  the  barbarians.  So  general 
and  wide-spread  was  the  adoration  of  this  deity 
that  his  worship  was  never  localized ;  nor  does 
it  appear  that  a  temple  was  ever  built  in  hi3| 
honor.  It  was  to  the  lesser  gods  that  the 
greater  fanes  were  reared. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  myth  of 
Asshur  was  based  on  the  founding  of  the  race 
by  Asshur,  the  son  of  Shem.  He,  like  RomU' 
lus,  passed  by  apotheosis  from  earthly  fame  to 
divine  honors.  In  this  can  be  seen,  also,  the 
reason  for  the  worship  of  the  Assyrian  kings. 
They  were  god-born.  They  were  the  offspring 
of  Nimrod — of  Asshur.  Like  his  ancestors, 
the  monarch  of  Assyria  was  one  of  the  im- 
mortals, whom  to  injure  or  neglect  was  to  of- 
fend against  the  most  high  powers  of  heaven 
and  earth. 

The  emblem  of  Asshur  was  .be  winged 
globe.  From  the  midst  of  the  circle  issues  a 
royal  figure,  crowned,  bearing  the  bow,  or 
extending  his  hand  in  authority.  Sometimes 
the  divine  effigy  is  seen  drawing  the  bow 
against  the  enemy,  and  sometimes  only  the 
hands  of  the  unseen  god  are  lifted  from  the 
disk.  In  a  few  cases  two  other  royal  heads, 
one  on  either  side  of  the  true  deity,  are  seen 
emerging  from  the  outspread  wings ;  but  the 
figure  of  Asshur  is  generally  singular — alone. 


192 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  divine  emblem  is  profusely  employed  in 
all  the  Assyrian  sculptures,  and  is,  indeed, 
their  distinguishing  characteristic.  Besides 
this,  however,  there  is  another — the  sacred 
tree — which,  like  the  winged  circle,  is  much 
employed  as  an  emblem  of  Asshur.  From 
between  the  horns  of  a  ram  the  trunk  mounts 
as  a  palm,  and  spreads  in  symmetrical 
>>ranches,  or  is  laden  wdth  cones  after  the 
manner  of  the  fir-tree. 

Next  after  the  almost  universal  adoration 
of  Asshur  was  the  worship  of  those  Chaldsean 
deities  wdiose  titles  and  attributes  have  al- 
ready been  given  in  a  previous  chapter.*  The 
principal  names  included  in  this  list  are  Anu- 
and-Vul,  Bel,  Sin,  Shamas,  Vul,  Nin,  and 
Nergal.  After  these  were  the  goddesses  Ish* 
tar,  Beltis,  and  Gula,  and  in  later  times,  Hea, 
Nebo,  and  Merodach.  Only  Anu-and-Vul 
were  deities  whose  worship  was  coincident 
with  the  founding  of  the  Empire.  The  rest 
were  of  more  recent  date,  having  come  into  the 
Assyrian  Pantheon  about  the  times  of  Asshur- 
Dayan  II.  The  general  theory  of  the  god- 
head of  these  deities  was  so  nearly  the  same 
in  Assyria  and  in  the  South  that  only  occa- 
sional variations  from  the  primitive  Chaldsean 
type  are  to  be  noted  in  the  religious  beliefs 
of  the  Assyrians. 

The  worship  of  Anu-and-Vul  was  intro- 
duced from  Chaldsea  into  Assyria  long  before 
the  latter  became  an  independent  kingdom. 
It  is  thought  that  Shamas-Vul,  the  son  of 
Ismi-Dagon  of  Chaldsea,  set  up  a  shrine  in 
Asshur  and  dedicated  it  to  Anu  before  As- 
syria had  grown  into  any  distinct  importance 
This  old  temple  was  for  a  long  time  a  land- 
mark, then  fell  into  decay,  was  demolished 
by  Asshur-Dayan  I.,  and  afterwards  rebuilt 
by  Tiglath-Pileser.  There  was  no  other  im- 
portant temple  of  Anu  in  all  Assyria;  the 
worship  of  this  deity  was  never  popular,  and 
hardly  practiced  beyond  the  limits  of  Asshur. 

Many  of  the  inscriptions  and  invocations 
which  enumerate  the  gods  of  Assyria  omit 
Anu  altogether,  and  the  word  is  not  employed 
as  a  part  of  any  royal  name.  Nevertheless, 
when  Anu  is  mentioned,  as  in  the  prayer  of 
Tiglath-Pileser  L,  the  name  stands  second  in 

1  See  Chapter  X,  pp.  132-140. 


the  list  of  the  divinities  invoked.  The  other 
Assyrian  mouarchs  who  seem  to  have  looked 
with  most  favor  on  Anu's  worship  were  As- 
shur-Izir-Pal  and  Sargon.  The  place  of  Anu 
among  the  gods  of  the  Empire  was  neither 
definite  nor  conspicuous. 

The  third  deity  of  the  Assyrians  was  Bel, 
the  classical  Belus.  The  principal  seat  of  his 
worship  was  at  Nineveh,  which  was  frequently 
designated  as  "  the  City  of  Belus."  The  mon- 
archs  of  the  Empire  sometimes  addressed  their 
subjects  as  "the  People  of  Belus;"  and  as 
many  as  three  of  the  earlier  sovereigns  bore 
his  name.  In  those  invocations — not  a  few — 
from  which  the  name  of  Anu  is  omitted,  that 
of  Bel  stands  next  to  Asshur;  and  there  is 
everywhere  evidence  in  the  inscriptions  of  the 
high  honor  in  w^hich  this  deity  was  held  by 
the  nation.  The  introduction  of  his  worship 
was  almost  contemporaneous  with  the  found- 
ing of  the  Early  Kingdom ;  and  Bel-Sumili- 
Kapi,  first  of  the  traditional  kings,  bore  the 
name  of  this  renowned  deity.  It  appears  that, 
among  the  later  monarchs,  Sargon  looked  with 
especial  favor  upon  the  worship  of  Bel.  One 
of  the  gates  of  Dur-Sargina  was  dedicated  by 
this  king  to  his  favorite  divinity  and  to  Bel- 
tis, his  queen.  The  emblem  of  Bel  most  used 
in  the  sculptures  was  the  horned  cap,  which, 
besides  being  a  general  emblem  of  divinity, 
was  peculiarly  appropriated  by  the  third  of 
the  Assyrian  deities.  He  w-as  held  in  great 
honor  by  the  nobles  and  princes  of  the  Em- 
pire who  rarely,  if  ever,  omitted  from  their 
prayers,  edicts,  and  inscriptions  the  distin- 
guished name  of  "  the  AVarrior  Bel." 

The  fourth  Assyrian  divinity,  already  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  Chaldsean  Pan- 
theon, was  Hea.  He  was  the  god  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  having  dominion  over  the  senses, 
the  intellect,  the  feelings.  The  concept  of 
such  a  deity  was  rather  too  spiritual  for  the 
materialistic  disposition  of  the  people,  and  the 
worship  of  Hea  was  neither  popular  nor  splen- 
did. A  few  temples  were  erected  in  his 
honor,*  and  one  of  the  principal  gates  of  Dur- 
Sargina  bore  his  name.     Sennacherib,  on  his 


'  The  riiins  of  two — one  at  Asshur  and  the 
other  at  Calah — have  been  discovered  and  partly 
explored. 


ASSYRIA.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


193 


Susianian  expedition,  stopped  on  the  sea-shore 
to  make  an  offering  of  a  golden  boat ;  for  how 
should  an  army  be  carried  across  the  untried 
deep  unless  Wisdom  should  direct  and  guide  ? 
Hea's  symbol  was  a  serpent — an  image  but 
infrequently  found  among  the  sculptures  of 
Assyria.  This,  added  to  the  fact  that  the 
name  of  Hea  was  not  employed  as  a  part  of 
royal  titles  and  but  seldom  used  in  invoca- 
tions, is  another  proof  of  the  unpopularity  of 
his  worship. 

The  Moon-god  Sin  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
planetary  deities  of  Assyria.  His  rank  and 
attributes  were  not  greatly  different  from  those 
of  his  Chaldsean  counterpart.  The  crescent 
moon,  which  was  the  emblem  of  Sin,  is  per- 
haps the  most  common  of  all  the  divine  sym- 
bols found  among  the  Assyrian  sculptures; 
and  here  again  we  see  the  predominance  of 
Southern  influences  in  the  fundamental  relig- 
ious beliefs  of  this  great  people.  Sin  was  rec- 
ognized as  the  oldest  of  the  gods,  and  when 
the  Assyrians  desired  to  express  their  thought 
of  the  beginning  of  things  they  said,  "from 
the  origin  of  the  god  Sin."  Two  great  tem- 
ples dating  from  the  reign  of  Sargon,  the  first 
to  Sin  and  Shamas  at  that  monarch's  favorite 
city,  and  the  other  to  Sin  alone  at  Calah, 
marked  the  esteem  in  which  the  Moon-god's 
worship  was  held  in  the  later  times  of  the 
Empire ;  and  when  Sargon  sought  a  name  for 
his  son,  afterwards  so  greatly  distinguished, 
he  said  Sm-Akhi-Irih  (Sennacherib),  "Sin 
multiplies  brethren." 

As  in  Chaldsea,  so  in  Assyria  the  divinity 
of  the  moon  outranked  the  Sun-god,  Shamas. 
But  the  worship  of  the  latter  Avas  exceedingly 
popular,  and  but  for  the  Chaldsean  dogma  of 
the  precedence  of  Sin,  would  perhaps  have 
stood  next  in  importance  to  that  of  Hea  and 
Bel.  There  are  instances,  indeed,  in  which  the 
name  of  Shamas  is  placed  in  invocations  next 
to  that  of  Asshur,  and  in  a  few  cases  the  em- 
blem of  the  latter  is  blazoned  in  the  center 
with  the  four-rayed  orb,  which  is  the  symbol 
of  the  former. 

With  most  of  the  monarchs  Shamas  was 
held  in  favor.  To  him  Tiglath-Pileser  ascribes 
his  right  to  be  ruler  of  the  people;  and  to 
him  Asshur-Izir-Pal   gives   the   honor   of  his 


victories.  The  great  north  gate  of  Dur-Sar- 
gina  was  dedicated  by  Sargon  to  Shamas  with 
the  high  rank  of  third  among  the  gods  of 
Assyria;  and  by  Sennacherib  and  Esar-Had- 
don  he  is  placed,  in  their  lists  of  deities,  next 
to  Asshur  himself  The  emblem  of  Shamas 
is  generally  associated  in  the  sculptures  with 
that  of  Sin,  the  sun  being  placed  to  the  left 
of  or  below  the  moon.  At  least  two  of  the 
monarchs  of  the  Empire  took  the  name  of 
Shamas  as  a  part  of  their  own. 

One  of  the  most  primitive  forms  of  As- 
syrian worship  was  that  of  the  god  VuL.  This 
deity,  like  most  of  the  others,  was  introduced 
into  Upper  Mesopotamia  by  the  immigrants 
who  peopled  the  country  in  the  times  of  the 
early  kingdom.  His  attributes  have  never 
been  clearly  discriminated  from  those  of  sev- 
eral other  divinities  with  whom  he  was  gener- 
ally joined  in  worship.  Perhaps  his  original 
Chaldsean  character  was  but  little  changed  by 
the  transfer  to  the  North,  while  his  uncertain 
rank  was  attributable  to  the  growing  prefer- 
ence of  the  Assyrians  for  more  favored  deities. 
Several  of  the  kings,  however,  bear  the  divine 
name  of  Vul,  and  his  temples  at  Asshur  and 
Calah  give  evidence  of  the  devotion  of  both 
sovereigns  and  people  to  this  ancient  god  of 
the  Chaldseans. 

In  the  old-time,  half-traditional  history  of 
the  Assyrians — fathered  and  perpetuated  by 
the  Greeks,  and  by  them  transmitted  to  the 
Western  nations — the  race  was  said  to  have 
been  founded  by  Nestus.  He  was  to  Nineveh 
what  Romulus  was  to  Rome,  The  Assyrian 
Canon  has  dispelled  most  of  the  legend  which 
Herodotus,  Ctesias,  and  Diodorus  recited  as 
early  Assyrian  history;  and  what  remains  is 
to  the  effect  that  the  god  Nm,  or  Ninip,  the 
Assyrian  Mars,  first  of  the  second  group  of 
the  deities  of  Asshur,  is  he  after  whom  the 
mighty  city  was  named.  As  such  he  was  es- 
teemed and  worshiped  by  the  great  kings  of 
the  early  line. 

Tiglath-Pileser  I.  designates  this  god  Nin 
as  his  guardian;  Asshur-Izir-Pal  builds  him 
a  splendid  temple;  Sargon  dedicates  to  him  a 
city.  The  winged  bulls — which  so  abound  in 
Assyrian  architecture  as  the  guardians  of  gate- 
ways, porches,  and  courts — are  emblems  of  the 


194 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


mighty  Nin,  who  was  the  sharpener  of  the 
weapons  of  war,  and  the  protector  of  mankind 
in  peace.  Sennacherib  and  the  great  mon- 
archs  of  the  later  line,  chief  builders  and  pro- 
moters of  Assyrian  glory,  made  the  name  of 
Nin  a  constant  repetition,  while  doorway  and 
palace-hal!  witnessed  how  the  best  of  Assyrian 
art  was  consecrated  to  his  honor.  Three  of 
the  kings  bore  the  name  of  Nin  ^  as  a  part  of 
their  royal  appellations,  and  the  principal 
temple  of  Calah — long  time  the  capital  of  the 
Empire — was  dedicated  to  his  worship. 

In  the  later  periods  of  Assyrian  history 
the  Chaldpean  or  Babylonian  Merodach  was 
given  a  place  among  the  principal  deities  of 
the  nation.  The  campaigns  of  Vul-Lush  III. 
appear  to  have  been  the  origin  of  this  modi- 
fication in  the  previous  theology.  The  intro- 
duction of  the  Southern  god  into  the  Pantheon 
of  the  North  was  regarded  with  much  favor 
by  subsequent  monarchs,  but  continuous  war, 
with  approaching  decline,  and  perhaps  some 
national  antipathy  to  innovation,  prevented 
the  erection  of  temples  to  Merodach,  and  his 
worship  was  consequently  limited  to  associated 
ceremonies  at  the  shrines  and  altars  of  other 
gods.  His  name,  which  was  much  used  by 
the  Babylonian  kings  as  an  element  of  the 
royal  title,  does  not  appear  as  an  appellative 
of  any  Assyrian  monarch,  though  it  seems 
that  Merodach  was  a  common  name  among 
the  nobility. 

According  to  the  tradition  of  the  great 
kings  of  the  Later  Empire,  their  family  Avas 
descended  through  three  hundred  and  fifty 
generations  from  the  god  Nergal,  the  Hercules 
of  Assyrian  theology.  His  symbol  was  the 
winged  lion,  and  the  multitude  of  sculptures 
in  which  this  figure  is  dominant  gives  abun- 
dant proof  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  this 
deity  was  held  by  the  dignitaries  of  the  royal 
household.  The  winged  lion  and  the  winged 
bull,  emblems  of  Nergal  and  Nin,  were  the 
principal  figures  in  most  of  the  palace  sculp- 
ture, and  the  two  gods  thus  symbolized,  being 
the  tutelary  deities  of  hunting  and  war,  were 
evidently  worshiped  with  great  enthusiasm  by 
the  kings  who  found  in  those  pursuits  their 
chief  avenues  to  amusement  and  glory.     It 

^  Nin  is,  as  already  stated,  the  same  as  Adar. 


thus  happened  that  Nin  and  Nergal,  though 
nominally  inferior  to  the  high  gods  Anu  and 
Bel,  had  really  a  stronger  hold  on  the  royal 
favor  than  did  those  deities  who  presided  over 
less  fascinating  pursuits. 

The  god  Nebo  was,  like  Merodach,  a,  Chal- 
dtean  importation.  The  wars  of  Vul-Lush 
III.  against  Babylonia  brought  back  to  Nine- 
veh, as  a  part  of  their  results,  the  theologi- 
cal notions  of  the  priests  of  Babylon.  The 
Assyrian  kings,  after  plundering  with  sacri- 
legious hands  the  temples  of  the  South,  still 
had  a  lingering  fear  of  the  deities  whose  im- 
ages they  had  pulled  down  and  carried  away. 
And  so,  with  the  usual  philosophy  of  robbers, 
they  undertook  to  worship  the  gods  and  keep 
the  goods.  It  thus  happened  that  some  of  the 
later  desjDoilers  of  the  Babylonian  temples  be- 
came the  most  assiduous  propagandists  of  the 
Babylonian  faith.  To  this  trait  of  human 
weakness  is  traceable  the  introduction  of  the 
worship  of  the  Chaldsean  Nebo  at  Calah  and 
other  great  cities  of  the  Empire. 

Such  Avere  the  gods  of  the  Assyrian  race. 
With  these  certain  goddesses  were  paired, 
in  a  manner  analogous  to  the  mysticism  of 
Egypt.  The  male  deity  was  rarely  if  ever 
worshiped  alone.  As  the  female  principle 
stands  in  nature  universally  correlated  with 
the  male,  as  the  mother  of  life,  so  in  the 
Assyi'ian  Pantheon  the  goddess  was  always 
set  over  against  her  lord.  Thus,  with  As- 
shur,  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  race,  was 
joined  Sheruha,  his  queen,  the  Mistress  of  the 
Skies.  ^  In  like  manner,  Anuta  was  the  female 
Anu,  and  Beltis  the  female  Bel.  The  queen 
of  Hea  was  called  Dav-Kina,  and  the  wife  of 
the  Moon-god  Sin  was  known  simply  by  her 
title  of  "The  Great  Lady."  The  name  of 
the  Sun-goddess,  queen  of  Shamas,  was  Gula, 
and  the  spouse  of  the  god  Vul  was  called 
Shula.  Nin's  wife  was  worshiped  together 
with  her  lord,  under  the  title  of  "  Queen  of 
the  Land ;"  and  the  consort  of  the  Babylonian 

'With  Asshur  and  his  worship  was  also  as- 
sociated the  famous  goddess  Ishtar,  the  Assyrian 
Venus.  The  mythology  is  here  a  little  obscure, 
but  it  appears  that  in  the  later  times  of  the  Em- 
pire it  was  Ishtar  rather  than  Sheruha  who  was 
regarded  as  the  true  queen  and  consort  of  the 
great  and  powerful  Asshur. 


ASSYRIA.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


195 


Merodach  was  named  Zir-Banit.  Nergal 
had  for  his  wife  the  goddess  Laz,  and  the 
spouse  of  Nebo  was  known  by  the  name  of 
Waemita. 

Of  these  female  divinities  some  were  in  great 
favor;  others  were  less  esteemed.  Generally, 
they  were  adored  in  the  same  temples  with 
their  lords.  Sometimes,  however,  special 
shrines  were  consecrated,  and  in  a  few  in- 
stances temples  reared,  to  the  favorite  god- 
desses of  Assyria.  Such  was  the  magnificent 
edifice  which  Asshur-Bani-Pal  dedicated  to 
Beltis  at  Nineveh ;  and  such  were  the  splendid 
temples  of  Gula  at  Asshur  and  Calah.  It 
was  for  the  worship  of  Ishtar  that  Tiglath- 
Pileser  I.  repaired  and  rededicated  the  great 
fane  at  Asshur,  the  primitive  capital;  and  to 
her  also  was  reared  one  of  the  most  splendid 
temples  in  Nineveh. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  deities  of  the  As- 
syrians were  divided  into  four  groups,  the 
first  embracing  only  Asshur  and  his  queen; 
the  second  constituting  the  First  Triad — Anu, 
Bel,  and  Hea;  the  third  group  being  the  Sec- 
ond Triad,  the  planetary  gods,  Sin,  Shamas, 
and  Vul;  and  the  fourth  embracing  the  four 
minor  divinities — Nin,  Merodach,  Nergal,  and 
Nebo.  The  mythological  scheme  may  thus 
be  presented  in  tabular  form: 

DEITIES  OF  THE  ASSYRIANS  1 


GODS. 

CORRESPONDING  GODDESSES. 

CHIEF  SEAT  OF 
WORSHIP. 

Throughout 
the  Empire. 

.    r  Anu 

fe  %       Bel 

'-■?■    1  Hea 

I 

Asshur. 
Asshur  and 

Calah. 
Asshur  and 

Calah. 

Beltis  (Mylitta) 

Dav-Kina 

a.   f^i" 

P  Z  ■{  Shamas. 
gg       Vul 

Calah  and 

Bit-Sargina. 
Bit-Sargina. 
Asshur  and 

Calah. 

Gula 

Shala  

Nin 

"  The  Queen  of  the  Land." 
Zir-Banit 

Calah  and 

Nineveh. 

Tarbisi. 
Calah. 

Merodach 

Nerval 

Laz 

Nebo 

Warmita 

Besides  the  deities  who  held  dominion  over 
man  and  nature,  the  Assyrians  recognized  the 
existence  of  spirits  less  exalted  and  powerful. 
As  some  of  the  powers  of  nature  seemed  to 
be  exerted  for  the  benefit  of  the  human  race, 

^  Rawlinson's  Ancient  Monarchies,  Vol.  II.,  p.  27. 


an4  some  for  its  destruction,  so  the  spirits 
were  classified  into  benevolent  and  malicious. 
There  Avere  good  genii  and  evil.  The  Good 
Genius  was  generally  figured  as  a  winged  man 
with  benignant  visage.  Such  a  figure  is  seen 
in  the  sculptures  accompanying  the  king  as 
he  goes  to  offer  sacrifice  at  the  altar.  The 
winged  visitant  wears  on  his  head  the  horned 
cap,  emblem  of  divinity,  and  bears  in  his 
right  hand  the  pomegranate,  or  the  cone  of 
the  pine-tree,  symbols  of  fecundity  and  abun- 
dance. In  his  left  hand  the  Good  Genius  car- 
ries the  sacred  basket,  in  which  are  stored  the 
benefits  and  blessings  which  the  immortals  be- 
stow on  men — a  divine  cornucopia  filled  with 
the  benevolence  of  the  gods.  Sometimes  the 
Good  Genius  has  the  head  and  visage  of  a  fal- 
con, after  the  manner  of  the  hawk-headed 
Horus  or  Thoth  of  the  Egyptians. 

The  Evil  Genius  is  sometimes  savage, 
sometimes  grotesque.  Anon  he  is  sculptured 
as  a  man  with  the  head  of  a  lion  and  the  ears 
of  an  ass.  Sometimes  he  is  a  monster,  half 
lion  and  half  eagle.  In  this  form  he  is  assailed 
by  Vul,  who  smites  him  with  the  thunderbolt. 
Again  he  is  a  dragon  of  parts  prodigious,  as 
he  might  have  been  seen  by  Milton  or  drawn 
by  Dore.  Sometimes  he  wields  daggers  and 
clubs,  standing  in  ferocious  aspect  against  an^ 
other  figure  like  himself,  or  hovering  in  venge- 
ful attitude  over  the  winged  lion  of  Nergal, 
whom  he  seeks  to  dismay  or  destroy. 

The  Assyrians  may  be  properly  defined  as 
idolaters.  The  images  of  the  gods  were  to 
the  popular  apprehension  the  gods  them- 
selves ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  even  the  kings 
and  priests  had  other  than  the  coarsest  and 
most  material  conception  of  the  gods  whom 
they  worshiped.  The  idols  were  evidently  re- 
garded in  the  light  of  deities,  rather  than  im- 
perfect and  rude  attempts  to  represent  the 
immortal  powers.  The  language  of  the  in- 
scriptions indicates  that  according  to  the  belief 
of  the  Assyrian  monarchs  a  people  were  help- 
less when  their  gods  were  captured,  and  the 
gods  were  taken  when  the  idols  were  removed 
from  their  shrines.  No  doubt  this  coarse  ma- 
terialism was  in  some  degree  the  result  of 
theological  degeneration ;  for  it  is  evident 
from  the  high  and  solemn  language  of  th© 


196 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Assyrian  ritual  that  the  original  concepts  on 
which  the  system  was  based,  were  neither  gross 
nor  debasing.  Still  it  must  be  confessed  that 
among  the  later  Assyrians  the  idol  had  in 
a  great  measure  become  the  god  and  the  god 
the  idol. 

The  images  which  were  used  to  represent 
the  deities  of  Asshur  were  of  clay,  or  stone, 
or  metal.  The  clay  idols  were  the  idols  of 
the  common  people.  In  the  temples  and  pal- 
aces the  effigies  of  the  gods  were  of  stone  or 
metal.  Some  were  of  colossal  proportions  and 
were  executed  with  an  approach  to  artistic 
skill.  There  was,  however,  a  certain  conven- 
tional and  inexpressive  type  after  which  the 
images  were  carved,  far  inferior  to  what  the 
artist  was  able  to  produce  when  freed  from 
traditional  restraints.  The  images  are  gener- 
ally rude  and  heavy,  and  have  little  claim  to 
be  described  as  beautiful  or  artistic.  The 
stone  idols  are,  of  course,  greatly  superior  in 
design  and  workmanship  to  the  coarse  statu- 
ettes which  represented  to  the  masses  the 
powers  which  govern  the  world;  while  the 
still  more  costly  and  carefully  executed  idols 
of  silver  and  gold  which  ostentatious  monarchs 
set  up  in  their  palaces  and  temples,  were  of 
even  greater  merit. 

The  religious  beliefs  of  the  Assyrians  had 
but  little  practical  effect  upon  the  conduct  and 
discipline  of  their  lives.  A  certain  coarse  sort 
of  honor  regulated  in  some  measure  the  inter- 
course of  the  people,  but  it  was  perhaps  as 
much  the  outgrowth  of  natural  conditions  as 
of  any  sentiment  of  religious  obligation.  To 
the  Assyrian  king  the  deity  whom  he  wor- 
shiped was  a  being  more  powerful  than  him- 
self, but  of  like  passions  and  prejudices,  quick 
to  be  offended,  ready  to  aid  in  battle,  capable 
of  hatred  and  revenge.  The  religious  imagi- 
nation of  the  race  flew  on  heavy  wing  and 
hovered  low  about  material  forms  and  forces, 
and  the  inner  life  of  the  people  was  character- 
ized by  neither  the  subtile  mysticism  of  the 
Egyptians  nor  the  fiery  zeal  of  Israel. 

The  two  principal  features  of  the  Assyrian 
ceremonial  were  the  sacrifice  and  the  invoca- 
tion. The  sacrificial  part  of  their  religion 
was  attended  to  by  the  kings  and  priests  with 
considerable  pomp  and  formality.      The  bas- 


reliefs  of  Nineveh  give  a  tolerably  succinct 
representation  of  the  ceremony  by  which  the 
favor  of  the  gods  was  sought  by  the  shedding 
of  the  blood  of  beasts.  The  bull  was  the  fa- 
vorite sacrificial  animal.  He  is  led  by  the 
king  and  a  retinue  of  priests  to  the  porch  of 
the  temple,  where  sits  the  effigy  of  the  deity 
on  a  throne,  wearing  the  horned  cap,  and 
stretching  out  his  hand  towards  the  procession. 
The  king  carries  a  cup,  from  which  he  pours 
a  libation;  so  also  one  of  the  priests,  while 
the  rest  attend  the  animal.  A  fire  burns  on 
an  altar  near  at  hand,  and  here  a  part — per- 
haps some  sacred  organ  —  is  consumed  as  a 
savor  to  the  deity.  The  rest  of  the  sacrifice 
goes  to  the  priests  and  the  people. 

The  Assyrian  prayers  were  highly  conven- 
tional and  bombastic.  The  chief  fragments 
of  religious  literature  exist  in  the  form  of 
prayers  and  supplications.  All  the  titles  and 
attributes  of  the  god  are  recited  by  the  wor- 
shiper, who  categorically  enumerates  what 
things  he  and  his  ancestors  to  remote  genera- 
tions have  done  to  merit  the  divine  approval 
and  patronage.  Ml  the  appellatives  of  the 
deity  are  repeated  as  carefully  as  the  titles  of 
a  modern  nobleman  in  diplomatic  correspond- 
ence. The  inscriptions  containing  these  sup- 
plications are  a  kind  of  state  papers  negotiated 
between  the  Assyrian  priests  and  their  gods. 

The  people  had  no  great  part  in  the  higher 
ceremonies  of  religion.  The  king  was  not 
only  the  embodiment  of  the  state,  but  also  the 
head  of  the  sacerdotal  order.  Through  him 
and  the  priesthood  the  common  throng  were 
permitted  to  approach  the  deities  and  share 
their  beneficence. 

The  favor  of  the  Assyrian  gods  was  also 
sought  by  offerings  and  gifts.  Things  taken 
in  war  were  frequently  consecrated  in  the 
temples.  Young  kids  and  antelopes  were 
brought  and  given  to  the  priests.  Precious 
stones  and  gems,  and  rare  metals  from  foreign 
lands,  were  placed  before  the  statuettes  of  fa- 
vorite gods  until  their  shrines  were  resplendent 
with  glittering  treasures.  The  walls  and  por- 
tals of  the  temples  were  frequently  blazoned 
with  silver  and  gold,  contributed  by  rich  no- 
bles and  conquerors  returning  from  successful 
wars. 


ASSYRIA.— RELIGION  AND  ART. 


197 


Likewise,  at  intervals  the  Assyrians 
feasted  in  honor  of  their  gods,  and  rarely,  in 
times  of  public  calamity,  endured  the  rigors 
and  pangs  of  fasting  in  order  to  recover  the 
forfeited  favor  of  the  powers  on  high.  In 
such  instances  the  humiliation  was  conducted 
with  all  the  robust  vigor  of  the  race.  There 
was  neither  eating  nor  drinking  until  the  fast 
was  ended.  Ashes  were  sprinkled  on  the 
head,  and  sackcloth  was  put  on  both  man  and 
beast.  The  domestic  animals  were  forced  into 
the  same  abstinence  and  discipline  as  man. 
All  business  was  suspended,  all  enterprise 
hushed,  until  Asshur  had  respect  to  his  people. 

Though  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  occasional 
sincerity  of  the  religious  sentiment  among 
the  Assyrians,  yet  the  theological  system 
adopted  by  the  race  was  less  potent  in  shaping 
the  destiny  of  the  nation  than  in  most  of  the 
ancient  monarchies.  In  Egypt  and  Greece  it 
is  proper  to  say  that  the  worship  of  the  gods 
occupied  a  first  place  in  the  social  and  moral 
philosophy  of  the  people.  In  Assyria  the 
same  could  not  be  truthfully  averred.  The 
Assyrian  temples  were  always  inferior  to  the 
palaces  in  beauty  and  magnificence.  The 
courts  and  halls  in  which  the  royal  monarch 
displayed  his  splendid  robes  ^  far  outshone  the 
sacred  places  in  which  the  effigies  of  the  im- 
mortals were  set  up  in  sUence.  The  glories  of 
the  imperial  regime  quite  surpassed  all  efl^orts  of 
the  priestly  order  to  dazzle  the  senses  and  lead 
the  imagination  captive.  The  religious  system 
of  the  Assyrians  was  a  matter  of  convenience 
and  use  rather  than  a  sentiment  of  fervid  zeal 
and  enthusiasm,  such  as  inspired  most  of  the 
ancient  peoples. 

Passing  from  the  system  of  faith  held  by 
the  Ninevites  to  the  merely  intellectual  achieve- 
ments— the  arts,  the  science,  the  literature — 
of  the  people  of  Asshur,  we  find  again  that 
the  physical  and  material  vigor  of  the  race 
outran  its  progress  and  development  in  mind. 
The  elements  of  Assyrian  learning  came  orig- 

'The  royal  and  sacerdotal  garments  worn  by 
Assyrian  princes  and  priests  were  of  the  most 
costly  and  elaborate  patterns :  embroidered  to  the 
last  degree  of  art;  covered  with  figures  and  em- 
blems— suns  and  circles  and  pine-cones,  eagles 
and  lions  and  sacred  trees,  pomegranates  and 
dragons  and  winged  bulls. 


inally  from  Chaldsea,  and  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  stream  ran  higher  than  its  source. 
As  in  the  case  of  Rome  borrowing  from 
Greece  the  fundamentals  of  her  art  and  learn- 
ing, so  was  it  with  Nineveh  attempting  to  trans- 
plant the  genius  of  Babylon  to  the  banks  of  the 
Upper  Tigris.  Not  only  were  the  rudiments 
of  science  which  were  possessed  by  the  As- 
syrians brought  from  the  older  civilization  of 
Lower  Mesopotamia,  but  the  language,  also, 
in  which  these  rudiments  were  imbedded  was 
the  old  Hamitic  dialect  of  the  South — a 
tongue  unknown  except  to  priests  and 
scholars.  In  this  dead  language  were  com- 
posed the  dry,  flat  annals  of  the  Early  King- 
dom and  of  the  beginnings — even  the  larger 
part — of  the  Empire.  Not  until  the  times  of 
Asshur-Bani-Pal  were  translations  made  out 
of  the  Chaldee  classic,  and  works  composed  in 
the  vernacular.  It  is  rather  to  art  and  manu- 
factures than  to  literature  and  science  that  we 
must  look  for  the  civil  greatness  of  Assyria. 

In  the  matter  of  writing  the  Assyrians 
achieved  considerable  success.  The  letters  em- 
ployed were  nearly  the  same  which  have  been 
already  described  as  the  written  characters  of 
Chaldee.     The  rectilineal   symbols,    however, 

such  as  III ,  are  no  longer  employed  by  the 

Assyrians,  only  the  wedge-shaped  letters  being 
used.  Of  these  there  are  several  styles,  such 
as  the  elongated  ■  ,  the  contracted  •-,  the 
broad  form  T,  and  the  arrow-head  <.  These 
are  combined  and  modified  in  various  ways  to 
the  number  of  about  three  hundred,  and  these 
three  hundred  cuneiform  signs  are  the  primary 
elements  of  Assyrian  writing.  The  alphabet, 
however,  has,  besides  diphthongs  and  conso- 
nantal combinations,  but  nineteen  simple  let- 
ters, from  which  it  is  seen  at  once  that  the 
written  symbols  employed  represented  not  ele- 
mentary sounds  but  syllables;  as  pa,  pi,  pu, 
ap,  ip,  up.  Besides  the  letters  proper,  certain 
other  characters  were  employed  as  determina- 
tives to  indicate  the  classification  of  the  thing 
expressed  by  the  following  word.  Thus  the 
wedge  sign  placed  vertically  before  a  word  in- 
dicated that  that  word  was  the  name  of  a  man, 
while  the  sign  »V  indicated  that  the  follow- 
ing word  was  the  name  of  a  god. 

The   material   on   which  Assyrian   writing 


198 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


was  executed  was  either  the  clay  tablet  or  the 
slab  of  stone.  The  former  was  most  used  for 
the  common  purposes  of  life ;  the  latter,  for 
formal  and  important  inscriptions.  The  royal 
writings  and  historical  records  are,  however, 
frequently  found  on  clay  tablets,  and  the  fact 
that  many  of  these  exist  unto  the  present  day 


i 

iff 

M 

^  T— « 


-^2 


4 

s  tttI 


s  T 

4 


Arkisu  Nabu-Kudur-Utsur  ni  bi  se  su  is  sa  a  a  na  za-an 
ki-bir  ti  sa  Assur  a  na  ka  sa  di  it  li  ka. 

ASSYRIAN  WRITING. 

and  furnish  our  chief  source  of  Assyrian  his- 
tory shows  their  excellence  and  durability. 
The  tablet  was  generally  in  the  form  of  an 
octagonal  cylinder,  or  more  properly  prism, 
of  fine  and  thin  terra-cotta,  on  the  exterior 
faces  of  which  the  inscriptions  were  impressed 
in  columns,  each  side  constituting  a  column, 
reading  from  above  down.  This  writing  is 
exceedingly  fine,  sometimes  requiring  a  mag- 
nifying glass  for  its  decipherment.     The  lines 


are  five  or  six  to  the  inch,  being  as  close  as 
the  type  in  this  column.  The  prisms,  many 
of  which  are  in  excellent  preservation,  are 
from  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet  in  height; 
and  each  contains,  when  perfect,  about  as 
much  matter  as  twelve  pages  of  the  present  vol- 
ume ! 

These  octagonal  tablets  were  disposed 
about  the  courts  and  halls  of  palaces  in  such 
situations  as  to  be  easily  read.  The  rooms 
and  niches  in  which  they  were  set  up  consti- 
tuted the  Assyrian  library ;  and  here  the 
prince  of  the  house,  the  occasional  scholar, 
the  sage  of  Asshur,  stood  or  sat,  reading 
the  annals  of  the  Empire,  the  edicts  of  his 
sovereign,  or  the  recitative  of  some  priest  in- 
voking the  gods  in  prayer. 

The  writing  on  the  stone  slabs  was  of  the 
same  character  with  that  of  the  tablets.  The 
slabs,  however,  were  frequently  of  great  size. 
They  were  dressed  and  cut  to  proper  dimen- 
sions and  built  into  the  doorways  and  walls 
of  palaces  and  temples.  A  single  slab  was 
sometimes  of  such  proportions  as  to  hold 
the  contents  of  a  small  volume.  Wherever 
there  was  a  dressed  surface  of  stone,  unoccu- 
pied with  such  ornamentation  as  prohibited 
the  addition  of  inscriptions,  the  Assyrians, 
like  the  Egyptians,  were  fond  of  covering  it 
with  the  writing  of  the  country.  Hundreds, 
perhaps  thousands,  of  important  and  striking 
bas-reliefs  were  thus  covered  in  their  whole 
extent  with  these  inscriptions  sculptured  across 
their  surfaces.^  It  thus  came  to  pass  that 
the  entablatures  and  halls  and  courts  of  the 
Assyrian  palaces  and  temples  were  made  to 
repeat  in  imperishable  records  the  story  of 
Assyrian  greatness. 

In  all  the  arts  of  Assyria  there  was  mani- 
fested a  striking  preference  for  the  practical 
over  the  theoretical,  for  the  real  over  the  ideal. 
Only  in  rare  instances — as  when  the  artist 
carves  fighting  dragons  or  grotesque  monsters 
with  drawn  knives — did  the  Assyrian  sculp- 

1  A  very  important  and  interesting  example  of 
this  kind  of  art  is  set  up  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Mercantile  Library  of  St.  Ivouis.  The  slab  is  per- 
haps twelve  feet  high  and  eight  or  ten  feet  wide. 
It  contains  a  colossal  bas-relief  of  one  of  the  Nine- 
vite  kings— a  majestic  figure — and  is  literally  cov- 
ered with  a  cuneiform  inscription. 


ASSYRIA.-RELIGION  AND  ART. 


199 


tors  attempt  to  portray  the  forms  of  things 
unreal.  In  architecture  this  tendency  was 
constantly  exhibited,  and  the  pictorial  repre- 


ARROW-HEAD  TABLETS  AND  INSCRIPTIONS. 

sentations,  whether  in  stone  or  in  color,  showed 
a  realism  indicative  of  little  imagination  in 
either  artist  or  people.  There  is  little  disposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  Assyrian  sculptors 
to  idealize  the  subjects  which  they 
treat,  or  to  rise  above  the  actualities 
of  nature.  In  general  conception,  in 
grace  of  outline  and  freedom  of  execu- 
tion, the  works  of  Nineveh  and  As- 
shur  fall  far  short  of  the  products  of 
Greek  art ;  but  in  boldness  and  a  cer- 
tain truthfulness  to  life  they  are  hardly 
surpassed  by  any  of  the  classic  sculp- 
tures of  the  ancient  world. 

In    manufactures   and    the   arts   of 
trade   the  Assyrians  were   preeminent 
above  all  peoples  of  their  time.     The 
native  genius  of  the  race  had  an  apti- 
tude for  the  practical  activities  of  the 
shop  and  mart ;    and  besides  what  the 
natural  skill  of  Assyria  was   able  to 
produce   for  the   necessities   and  com- 
fort of  the  people,  foreign  training  and 
skill    contributed    to    encourage    and 
multiply    the     manufactures     of    the 
kingdom.    Into  Nineveh  were  swept  by 
every    war,    in    accordance    with    the 
policy  of  the  kings,  multitudes  of  mechanics 
and  artisans,  who  brought  thither  and  planted 
on  the  Tigris  the  best  genius  of  the  surround- 


ing nations.     The  factories  of  Assyria  teemed 

with  a  multifarious  industry  deftly  conducted 

by  the  varying  skill  of  foreign  workmen,  just 

as  the  immigrant  Dutch  weavers  made 

prosperous  the  times  of  Elizabeth. 

Vases,  jars,   dishes,   and    bottles    of 
glass ;   bronzes ;   ornaments  of  ivory  and 
pearl;     engraved    gems    and    brooches; 
rings  and  bells;    musical  instruments — 
cornets,   flutes,  harps;   and  implements 
of  the  house  and  field, — such  were  the 
products  of  the  shops  of  Nineveh.  What 
arms  soever  the  ancient  soldier  bore  in 
beating  down  the  enemy,  in  besieging 
his  town,  in  leading  him  captive  from 
the  battle,  or  in  warding  off  his  thrusts 
and  blows,  were  produced  in  inexhaust- 
ible stores.     The  armories  of  that  ever 
warlike     people    rang     with    incessant 
clangor  in  the  fabrication  of  the  weap- 
onry and  harness  of  the  stalwart  soldiery  of 
Asshur.      The  mechanical   powers  were  well 
understood  and  readily  applied,  in  their  sim- 


ASSYRIAN  CARICATURE.      DRAGONS  FIGHTING. 

pier  forms,  to  the  production  of  implements 
and  fabrics.  Huge  aqueducts  and  tunnels 
were  constructed.     The  arch  was  employed  in 


200 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


building.  Glass  was  blown  and  spread  into 
transparent  sheets.  Gems  were  engraved  with 
a  skill  unsurpassed  in  Paris.  Woodwork  was 
inlaid  with  pearl,  and 
garments  and  robes 
were  woven  and  orna- 
mented with  an  exqui- 
site richness  and  beauty 
that  might  well  excite 
the  covetous  pride  of 
the  most  voluptuous 
Shah  or  Czarina  of 
modern  times. 

The  glory  of  Assyria 
was  the  glory  of  arms 
and  of  material  gran- 
deur. The  sheen  of  her 
greatness  was  a  barbaric  splendor — the  prod- 
uct of  the  genius  of  a  primitive  and  powerful 
race  expanding  under  the  fiery  impulses  of 


ASSYRIAN  SOLDIERS 
FIGHTING. 


war,   enriched  by  the   luxuries  of  conquest, 
made  haughty  by  domination. 

The  Tigris  still  washes  these  ancient  ruins. 
The  setting  sun  still  falls  with  his  long  train 
of  splendid  twilight  across  the  Mesopotamian 
hills,  sinking  to  rest  as  gloriously  as  when 
Asshur-Bani-Pal  beheld  him  for  the  last  time 
from  the  western  windows  of  his  palace;  but 
the  great  people  who  for  seven  hundred  years 
pressed  beneath  the  conqueror's  foot  the  neck 
of  a  hundred  enemies,  has  passed  forever  into 
oblivion.  Where  Sennacherib  and  Sargon 
drove  their  triumphant  chariots  through  the 
roar  of  tumultuous  thoroughfares,  amidst  the 
shouts  of  a  victorious  soldiery,  some  half-savage 
Kurds,  sitting  on  the  broken  stones  of  Khors- 
abad  or  Nimrud,  watch  a  distant  flock,  and  at 
the  fall  of  night  the  jackal  sets  up  a  howl  as 
he  issues  from  his  den  in  the  basement  of  a 
ruined  palace. 


SUING  FOR  PEACE. 


look  'H''"''^'^* 


IMEDIA. 


CHAPTER    XV.— COUNTRY    AND    PRODUCTS- 


HE    country    of   Media, 
now  included  in  the  north- 
ern portion  of  the  Persian 
Empire,  was  the  scene  of 
the  first  upland  kingdom 
of  Western  Asia.     Here 
it  ^^as  demonstrated  that 
civilization  can  flourish  beyond  the  alluvium 
of  the   river  bottoms.     The   country  consists 
of  a  plateau  on  the  thither  side  of  the  Zagros 
mountains,  sloping  to  the  south  and  east.     On 
the  north,  from  Ararat  almost  to  the  Caspian, 
the  river  Aras^  is  the  boundary;  and  on  the 
north-east  the  Elburz  chain,  rising,  not  like 
the  Zagros,  in  parallel  ridges  with  intervening 
valleys,  but  in  a  single  lofty  range  around  the 
Lower   Caspian,  with   spurs    breaking  off  at 
right-angles,    constitutes    the    natural    limit. 
Eastward  lies  the   land  of  the  Afghans,  be- 
tween which   and   Media  there  is  no  natural 
demarkation,    and    on    the    south    the    coun- 
try descends    to    the   arid   plains   pecialiar  to 
the  desert  parts  of  Persia.     The  general  ele- 
ration  of  this  important  district  is  more  than 
three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
In  shape  Media  is  a  parallelogram,  lying 
1  The  classical  Araxes. 


with  its  greater  axis  from  north-west  to  south- 
east. The  length  of  this  greater  dimension  is  six 
hundred  miles,  and  the  average  breadth  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  This  gives  the 
not  inconsiderable  area  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  square  miles— a  country  consid- 
erably larger  than  Chaldsea  and  Assyria  to- 
gether. The  whole  peninsula  of  Italy  is  only 
two-thirds,  and  the  British  Islands  no  more 
than  four-fifths,  as  large  as  Media  Proper  with 
the  limits  here  defined. 

The  political  boundaries  of  ancient  Media 
are  difficult  to  determine.  The  authorities 
disagree ;  nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  at  some 
periods  the  limits  of  the  kingdom  were  much 
greater  than  at  others.  The  historian  can 
look  only  to  those  physical  barriers  to  which 
political  power  would  naturally  extend  and 
beyond  which  it  could  not  pass.  These  barriers 
on  at  least  three  sides  of  Media  may  be  deter- 
mined with  approximate  accuracy. 

On  the  west  the  center  of  the  Zagros  may 
be  accepted  as  the  Median  boundary  in  that 
direction.  On  the  north  the  boundary  would 
be  the  mountain  chain  which  shuts  in  Lake 
Urumiyeh,  and  further  east  the  river  Aras. 
On  the  east  the  natural  limit  was  that  branch 

(201) 


202 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  the  Elburz  in  which  lies  the  pass  called  the 
Caspian  Gates,  and  further  south  the  great 
salt  deserts  of  Khorasan.  On  the  south  there 
is  no  natural  demarkation,  but  from  many 
considerations  a  line  nearly  coincident  with 
the  thirty-second  parallel  of  latitude  may  be 
regarded  as  a  fair  approximation  to  the  old 
boundary  between  Media  and  Persia. 

The  upper  part  of  Media  is  specially  moun- 
tainous. The  ancient  district  of  Atropatene, 
the  modern  Azerbijan,  in  the  north-western 
portion  of  the  country,  is  almost  Alpine  in  its 
elevations.  The  Elburz,  also,  though  narrow 
at  the  base,  is  by  no  means  an  unaspiring 
range.  Out  of  this  arises  at  a  distance  of  forty 
miles  from  Teheran  the  snow-capped  Dema- 
vend,  the  most  sightly  mountain  peak  in  all 
Asia  west  of  the  Himalayas.  The  Zagros, 
already  many  times  mentioned  in  the  history 
of  Assyria,  consists  of  six  or  seven  parallel 
elevations  with  depressions  between,  the  whole 
running  in  a  broad  mountainous  belt  between 
the  valley  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Median  plain. 

As  the  traveler  traverses  Media  from  the 
north-west  augle  to  the  south,  he  beholds  a 
gradual  descent  of  the  mountains  into  hills, 
these  in  turn  sinking  into  rocky  plains,  and 
finally  vanishing  in  the  desert.  Except  on 
the  south,  the  boundaries  of  Media  are  rocky 
elevations,  highest  on  the  north  and  north- 
east, while  the  central  portion  of  the  country 
thus  inclosed  is  a  rough  and  arid  plain.  The 
mountainous  skirts  of  the  land  are  full  of  ra- 
vines and  gorges,  from  the  sides  of  which  in 
many  places  summits  shoot  up  with  precipi- 
tous sides  of  gray  rock.  The  general  aspect 
falls  coldly  on  the  vision,  and  the  natural  in- 
accessibility of  the  region  suggests  a  predatory 
people,  fond  of  hunting  and  war. 

The  rivers  of  Media  are  of  minor  impor- 
tance. The  streams  which  take  their  rise 
from  the  Elburz  are  short  and  narrow.  Those 
of  the  eastern  slope  hurry  down  the  hill-sides 
and  plunge  into  the  Caspian ;  while  those  on 
the  western  declivity  are  feeble  in  their  waters 
and  are  soon  lost  in  the  desert  plains  of  the 
south.  Those  rivers  rising  from  the  Zagros  on 
the  west  and  entering  the  Tigris  have  already 
been  described.  Some  of  those  whose  fountains 
are  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  same  mountains 


have  a  considerable  volume,  and  flowing  in 
an  easterly  direction  gather  into  rivers  of  im- 
portance. The  KiziL-UzEN  makes  its  way,  in 
a  course  of  four  hundred  and  ninety  miles,  to 
the  Caspian.  The  Zenderund  waters  a  con* 
siderable  district  in  the  north-central  portion 
of  Media,  and  the  Bendamir,  flowing  by  Perse- 
polis,  falls  into  Lake  Bakhtigan.^  These  three 
rivers  are  the  dominant  physical  facts  in  the 
best  portion  of  the  country ;  and  this  district, 
neither  unproductive  in  fruits  nor  cheerless  in 
aspect,  was  the  heart  of  the  land  in  the  times 
of  Median  supremacy. 

In  some  limited  parts  the  land  was  beauti- 
ful. In  the  north-west  angle,  on  the  skirts 
of  Lake  Urumiyeh,  some  verdant  and  pic- 
turesque scenery  greets  the  eye  of  the  trav- 
eler. Many  of  the  valleys  of  the  Zagros  are 
rich  in  both  beauty  and  fertility.  The  banks 
of  the  Zenderund,  especially  in  the  upper 
part  of  its  course,  are  bordered  with  green 
pastures  and  occasional  evidences  of  luxuri- 
ance. For  the  rest,  the  general  aspect  of 
Media  is  that  of  an  arid  and  stei'ile  upland — 
rocky,  alkaline,  poor  in  trees  and  rain  and 
running  streams,  tending  to  a  desert.  The 
color  of  the  landscape,  except  for  two  months 
in  spring,  is  brown.  The  herbage  is  dry 
and  juiceless,  having  its  roots  in  a  soil  of  clay 
and  gravel.  The  grass  is  coarse  and  the 
bushes  stunted  in  growth.  The  eye  turns 
wearily  around  the  horizon,  and  is  not  satis- 
fied. Even  in  Atropatene,  one  of  the  best 
districts  of  Northern  Media,  large  sterile  tracts 
are  found  at  intervals,  and  gray  downs  spread 
out,  treeless  and  desolate,  on  either  hand. 

From  time  immemorial  Media  has  suffered 
not  only  from  her  scant  supply  of  water,  but 
from  the  sunken  position  of  the  little  which 
nature  has  bestowed.  The  river  beds  are  so 
low  and  the  valleys  through  which  they  course 
so  greatly  depressed  below  the  level  that  the 
artificial  distribution  of  moisture  is  impracti- 
cable. The  vast  systems  of  irrigation  which 
were  so  easy  and  natural  in  the  low  countries, 


^  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  of  all  the  greater 
rivers  of  Media  not  a  single  one  reaches  the 
ocean.  The  Aras  and  the  Kizil-Uzen  make  their 
way  to  the  Caspian.  All  the  rest  waste  their 
waters  on  the  arid  south. 


MEDIA.— COUNTRY  AND  PRODUCTS. 


203 


with  their  lazy  rivers  coursing  along  beds  but 
little  lower  than  the  general  level,  were  not 
to  be  thought  of  in  the  Median  gorges  and 
hills.  Civilization  was  proportionally  retarded, 
and  the  pursuits  of  the  nomad  and  warrior 
were  favored  at  the  expense  of  husbandry. 
Of  all  the  Median  rivers  only  the  Zenderund 
was  of  a  character  to  have  its  waters  artifi- 
cially distributed.  All  of  the  other  streams  lay 
in  the  bottom  of  sunken  channels,  and  plunged 
along  with  a  turbulence  terrifying  to  the  peas- 
ant and  fatal  to  bridges. 

Of  other  bodies  of  waters  the  most  important 
is  Lake  Urumiyeh.  It  lies  four  thousand 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  is  a  shallow  sheet  spread  out  under  a 
blue  sky.  The  length  from  north-west  to  south- 
east is  eighty  miles,  and  the  average  breadth 
is  about  twenty-five  miles.  It  is  a  brackish, 
Ashless  body  of  water,  a  sort  of  Dead  Sea  of 
the  mountains,  nearly  divided  by  a  peninsula 
projecting  from  the  eastern  shore  and  dotted 
with  a  few  inconsiderable  islands.  The  waters, 
though  incapable  of  supporting  life,  are  azure 
in  their  hue,  not  unlike  the  lake  tints  of 
Northern  Italy,  and  the  natives  call  the  ceru- 
lean sheet  the  Blue  Sea — in  their  language, 
the  Kapotan  Zoiv. 

For  purposes  of  civil  administration  ancient 
Media  Avas  divided  into  eleven  districts.  These 
subdivisions  were,  however,  embraced  in  two 
larger  parts  known  as  Great  Media  and  Atro- 
PATENE.  The  principal  minor  provinces  were 
Rhagiana,  Ardelan,  and  Nissea  —  the  latter 
being  the  district  famous  from  times  imme- 
morial for  its  fine  breed  of  horses.  The  other 
provinces  mentioned  by  Ptolemy  were  Margi- 
ana,  Choromithrene,  Elymais,  Sigriana,  Dari- 
tis,  and  Syro-Media.  These  districts  seem  not 
to  have  been  divided  from  each  other  by  nat- 
ural barriers,  and  it  is  possible — even  prob- 
able— that  in  the  times  of  the  Empire  only 
the  two  great  divisions  of  Atropatene  and 
Media  the  Great  were  recognized,  the  former 
being  the  old  home  of  the  Medes,  and  the 
latter  a  country  added  by  conquest  and  colo- 
nization. 

The  capital  city  of  Great  INIedia  was  Ecba- 
TANA,'  situated  somewhat  to  the  east  of  the 

*In  Greek,  Agbatana;  in  Persian,  Hagmaian. 


Zagros  range,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Orontes, 
now  known  as  Mount  Erwend.  The  city  was 
doubtless  on  the  site  of  the  modern  Susa — a 
beautiful  situation,  verdant  in  spring  and 
summer,  well  watered  with  mountain  streams, 
and  sloping  gently  to  the  west.  According  to 
Diodorus  Siculus,  the  ancient  city  had  a  cir- 
cumference of  fifty  stadia,  which  would  give 
an  area  of  fifty  square  miles.  No  doubt,  how- 
ever, the  historian  in  giving  these  extravagant 
dimensions  recited  what  he  had  heard  from 
the  story-tellers  of  his  times,  rather  than  what 
he  himself  had  seen  and  measured.  Three  or 
four  square  miles  would  perhaps  be  a  nearer 
approximation  to  the  real  extent  of  Ecbatana, 
nor  is  this  an  inconsiderable  area  for  an  an- 
cient city. 

In  the  case  of  the  Median  capital  it  is  to 
be  regretted  that  antiquarian  research  has  as 
yet  supplied  but  little  information  concerning 
the  size  and  character  of  the  city.  The  site 
is  covered  by  the  modern  Susa,  and  no  doubt 
from  age  to  age  the  ancient  remains  have 
been  rebuilt  and  built  upon  until,  as  in  Venice 
and  Rome,  the  old  outline  is  destroyed  and 
the  old  plan  effaced.  No  expedition  of  a 
scientific  character  has  ever  been  sent  to  ex- 
hume and  explore  the  ancient  city,  nor  is  it 
certain  that  any  account  capable  of  verifica- 
tion can  ever  be  produced  of  the  old  capital 
of  the  fiery  Medes. 

The  authority  of  Polybius  may,  however, 
be  cited  respecting  some  of  the  principal  fea- 
tures of  Ecbatana.  By  him  the  dimensions 
of  the  ground-plan  of  the  palace  of  Cyaxares 
are  given  in  definite  measurements.  The  cir- 
cumference of  the  building  is  said  to  have 
been  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty 
yards  in  extent.  Albeit,  this  is  the  measure- 
ment of  the  mound  or  raised  platform  on 
which  the  palace  was  reared,  rather  than  the 
dimensions  of  the  actual  foundation  of  the 
building.  The  palace  itseli  seems  to  have 
been  something  in  the  same  style  as  the  later 
royal  buildings  in  Susa  and  Persepolis,  and 
not  wholly  unlike  the  temples  of  Greece. 
There  were  without  two  rows  of  columns,  the 
first  supporting  the  main  structure,  and  the 
second  constituting  the  principal  feature  of 
the  peristyle  or  external  colonnade.     The  col- 


204 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


umns  were  of  cypress  or  cedar,  and  were 
adorned  with  precious  metals.  Supported  by 
the  capitals,  and  crossing  each  other  at  right 
angles  overhead,  were  beams  of  the  same  rich 
woods  similarly  garnished.  The  roof  was  com- 
posed of  silver  tiles,  which  lay  flashing  in  the 
sunlight.  All  the  conspicuous  parts  of  the 
palace  without  and  within  were  made  to 
glitter  with  sheets  of  silver  and  gold  laid  upon 
the  surface.  In  later  times  stone  pillars  and 
columns  took  the  place  of  the  colonnade  of 
wood,  and  the  somewhat  oriental  style  of  or- 
namentation gave  place  to  the  severer  tastes 
of  the  West. 

Near  to  the  palace  stood  the  arx  or  citadel. 
It  was  the  treasury  of  the  city  and  state — a 
place  of  great  natural  strength  and  well  de- 
fended by  the  skill  of  man.  The  public 
archives  of  the  kingdom  were  here  deposited 
for  safe  keeping,  and  as  the  tides  of  war  swept 
by,  the  Medes  looked  to  this  stronghold  as  the 
Greeks  to  the  Acropolis,  and  the  Romans  to 
the  Capitoline  hill.  What  manner  of  build- 
ings and  fortifications  constituted  the  defenses 
of  the  place  only  conjecture  can  testify.  Some 
ruins  of  later  date  are  all  that  mark  the  site 
once  covered  with  the  bulwarks  of  the  capital 
city  of  the  Medes. 

Besides  the  citadel  it  does  not  appear  that 
Ecbatana  had  any  considerable  defenses.  To 
the  city  tradition  assigns  no  walls.  Those 
races  which  are  able  to  protect  themselves  with 
walls,  are  better  able  to  do  so  without  them. 
When  London  must  be  defended  with  a  ram- 
part the  Fijis  will  indeed  be  ready  to  take 
possession  of  St.  Paul's.  Among  the  ancient 
nations  the  Medes  and  Persians,  as  a  general 
rule,  trusted  not  to  walled  towns,  but  rather 
to  the  valor  and  prowess  of  their  soldiery. 

Until  recently  much  confusion  has  existed 
in  respect  to  the  size  and  character  of  Ecba- 
tana. Most  of  this  has  arisen  from  the  fact 
that  the  capital  town  of  Northern  Media  was 
also  called  by  the  same  name.  The  latter  was 
situated  in  the  province  of  Azerbijan,  and  was 
built  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  rising  like  a 
sugar-loaf  above  the  surrounding  country. 
This  conical  elevation  sloped  down  to  the 
plain  on  all  sides,  and  was  encircled  with  a 
seven-fold   rampart.     On    the    center    of   the 


summit  was  placed  the  citadel,  with  the  treas- 
ure-house and  palace  of  the  king.  The  con- 
centric walls  were  painted  of  different  colors, 
the  outer  one  being  white,  the  next  black,  the 
third  scarlet,  the  fourth  blue,  the  fifth  orange, 
the  sixth  silver,  and  the  seventh  golden — so 
that  viewed  from  the  surrounding  plain  the 
concentric  battlements  of  dififerent  hues,  rising 
one  above  the  other  and  the  whole  crowned 
in  the  center  with  the  imposing  citadel,  pre- 
sented a  scene  at  once  picturesque  and  grand. 

The  Northern  Ecbatana  was  situated  in 
the  valley  of  the  Saruk,  a  tributary  of  the 
Jaghetu.  The  conical  hill  seems  to  have  been 
formed,  as  are  some  of  those  in  the  Yellow- 
stone National  Park,  by  the  overflow  of  a 
mineral  lake,  the  deposit  of  whose  waters, 
rising  in  incrustations,  accumulated  from  year 
to  year,  lifting  the  small  lake  to  the  summit. 
A  mountain  of  this  sort,  covered  with  ruins 
and  surrounded  on  the  sloping  sides,  is  found 
in  the  locality  described,  and  seems  to  answer 
well  the  position  assigned  to  the  old  capital 
of  Northern  Media. 

The  third  city  of  the  Median  Empire  was 
Rhaga,  situated  near  the  Caspian  Gates.  It 
was  one  of  the  oldest  settlements  of  the  Aryan 
race,  and  is  mentioned  in  the  Zend-Avesta. 
It  is  also  referred  to  in  the  apocryphal  books 
of  Tobit  and  Judith  as  the  capital  of  Media 
where  Arphaxad  reigned.  It  was  the  chief 
town  of  the  pi:ovince  of  Rhigiana,  on  the  east- 
ern border  of  the  Median  territory,  but  the 
exact  location  of  the  city  has  not  been  defi- 
nitely ascertained.  Some  ruins  at  the  modern 
village  of  Rhey  are  thought  to  mark  the  site 
of  Rhaga,  and  the  names  are  sufficiently  sim- 
ilar to  strengthen  that  supposition.  At  any 
rate  the  city  was  only  a  day's  march  from 
those  wonderful  passes^  where  the  Elburz 
chain  is  cleft  in  twain  for  the  exit  of  man 
from  the  Median  uplands  to  the  sea. 

Fourth  among  the  cities  of  Media  was 
Charax,  the  site  of  which  is  now  marked  by 

^The  so-called  "  Caspian  Gates"  are  one  of  the 
wonders  of  geography.  One  of  the  passes  is  of 
tremendous  proportions.  The  mountain  range  ia 
cleft  at  right  angles  to  the  bottom.  The  walls  of 
rock  stand  up  on  either  hand  a  thousand  feet  in 
height.  The  gateway  is  about  five  miles  long  and 
no  more  than  from  ten  to  forty  feet  in  width. 


MEDIA.— COUNTRY  A XD  PRODUCTS. 


205 


the  ruins  of  Uewanukif,  near  Rhaga  just  de- 
scribed. Not  much  is  known  of  the  cliaracter 
and  importance  of  this  town,  and  the  same 
may  be  said,  with  but  slight  qualifications,  of 
all  the  ancient  cities  of  the  Medes.  The  work 
of  scientific  discovery,  which  has  been  directed 
with  so  great  profit  to  the  banks  of  the  Eu- 
phrates and  the  Tigris,  has  been  turned  but 
little  to  the  Median  ruins ;  and  the  task  of  the 
autiquaiy,  as  it  relates  to  this  important  dis- 
trict, is  yet  to  be  performed. 

Besides  the  four  cities  above  referred  to, 
four  others  of  considerable  note,  belonging  to 
Western  Media,  may  be  mentioned.  They 
were  all  situated  on  the  slopes  of  the  Zagros 
end  were  therefore  better  known  to  the  As- 
syrians and  the  nations  of  the  West  than  were 
the  remote  cities  of  the  Median  plains.  The 
first  in  rank  and  importance  of  the  western 
towns  was  Bagistan.  It  is  situated  on  the 
direct  route  from  Babylon  to  Ecbatana,  and 
has  been  easily  identified  with  the  modern 
Behistun.  The  description  given  by  the  an- 
cients of  the  scenery  and  surroundings  of  Bag- 
istan might  almost  be  repeated  to-day  of  what 
the  traveler  sees  about  the  Persian  town  which 
marks  the  site  of  the  buried  city.  Here  is 
the  famous  Rock  of  Behistun,  where  Semirarais 
is  said  to  have  carved  her  own  effigy  and  a 
commemorative  inscription.  Here,  also,  ac- 
cording to  the  tradition,  she  established  a 
great  park  or  paradise,  which  was  refreshed 
with  a  marvelous  fountain  of  water.  Here, 
too,  upon  the  face  of  the  living  rock,  are  the 
world-famous  inscriptions  of  Darius  the  Great. 
Upon  the  scarped  surface  of  these  precipices 
nation  after  nation  —  ISIede,  Persian,  Par- 
thian— has  left  the  trace  of  its  power  and 
fame. 

Further  on  towards  Ecbatana,  at  the  foot 
of  the  southern  slope  of  the  Elwend,  was  the 
ancient  Median  town  of  Ardapan.  The  site 
has  been  identified  with  that  of  the  Persian 
village  of  Arteman.  Our  only  knowledge  of 
the  old  city  is  derived  from  the  historian  Isi- 
dore, who  declares  that  the  sunny  climate  and 
cheery  rills  of  the  place  attracted  thither  the 
sovereigns  of  Media,  anxious  to  escape  the 
boreal  rigors  of  a  more  northern  residence. 
The  royal  palace  of  Ardapan  was  a  favorite 
N. — Vol.  I — 13 


resort  of  fatigued  and  disgusted  kings  until 
the  splendid  structure  was  sacked  and  de- 
stroyed by  Tigraues,  the  Armenian. 

The  third  town  of  this  second  group  was 
CoNXOBAR.  The  massive  ruins  which  overlook 
the  modern  Kungawar  make  it  comparatively 
certain  that  the  two  sites  are  identical.  Here, 
as  well  as  at  Bagistan,  the  mythical  Semiramis 
had  her  paradise  and  temple.  That  tradition, 
however,  which  ascribes  the  temple  to  Artemis 
may  contain  a  larger  fraction  of  truth.     The 


SCULPTURED   ROCK   OF  BEHISTUN. 

uncertain  certainty  of  the  mortal  queen  gives 
place  to  the  certain  uncertainty  of  the  immor- 
tal divinity.  In  either  case,  it  is  but  the  fin- 
ger of  conjecture  which  points  out  the  founda- 
tion of  the  ancient  edifice. 

The  last  of  the  Median  towns  here  calling 
for  mention  was  Aspadan,  in  the  extreme 
southern  limit  of  the  country,  close  to  the 
confines  of  Persia.  The  modern  Persian  ca})i- 
tal,  Isfahan,  occupies  the  site,  and  the  recent 
name  is  nearly  the  same  as  the  old. 

Owing  to  the  perishable  character  of  Median 
buildings — as  compared  with  the  everlasting 
structures  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  valley — 
not  much  can  now  be  known  of  the  relative 


206 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


importance  of  the  towns  of  Media.  Wood, 
even  the  beam  of  cedar,  perishes.  The  archi- 
tecture of  the  Medes  is  eaten  up  of  time,  and 
the  little  that  Time  has  spared  War  has  de- 
voured. Kot  a  single  edifice  of  the  times  of 
the  Empire  has  remained  in  any  thing  more 
,  than  shadowy  outline  within  the  whole  coun- 
try of  ancient  Media.  As  a  consequence,  the 
opportunities  for  reconstructing  the  architec- 
ture and  the  social  life  of  which  it  was  the 
outer  garb  are  either  meager  or  altogether 
wanting. 

The  climate  of  Media  could  be  inferred 
from  the  situation  of  the  country.  The  zone, 
the  elevation,  the  trend  of  the  region,  the 
proximity  of  great  waters  and  high  moun- 
tains— these  are  the  elements  out  of  which 
climate  is  compounded.  As  ^ledia  was  greatly 
elevated,  the  country  was  dry,  arid.  The 
mountain  walls  and  southern  trend  gave  a 
higher  temperature  than  would  have  otherwise 
prevailed.  The  not  inconsiderable  extent  of 
the  country  from  north  to  south,  the  variations 
in  elevation,  and  especially  the  proximity  of 
the  desert  on  one  side,  furnished  the  condi- 
tions of  variability. 

In  general,  the  climatic  division  of  the 
region  here  considered  was  into  two  parts — 
Atropatene,  or  Northern  Media,  and  the 
Southern  Plateau,  the  latter  being  subdivided 
into  a  western  and  an  eastern  district,  differ- 
ing greatly  from  each  other  in  natural  char- 
acteristics. 

The  climate  of  Atropatene  is  one  of  ex- 
tremes. In  summer  the  temperature  rises 
almost  to  100  degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  and  in 
winter  the  cold  is  excessive.  Perhaps  no 
other  region  of  the  globe,  lying  in  the  same 
latitude,  is  subject  to  such  extreme  rigors. 
By  the  close  of  November  the  ground  is 
frozen.  Then  comes  the  snow,  may  be  to  the 
depth  of  several  feet.  Then  in  midwinter 
clear  weather  prevails,  the  sun  blazing  around 
his  shortened  circuit  by  day,  and  the  chaste 
moon  smUing  coldly,  almost  disdainfully,  on 
the  snow  glare  by  night.  All  the  while  a 
bitter  high  wind,  keen  and  merciless  as  the 
sword  of  an  Afghan,  whirls  across  the  icy 
hills,  and  he  who  faces  it  long  may  fall  down 
frozen  to  death.    This  terrible  winter  is  largely 


attributable  to  the  great  elevation  of  the  dis- 
trict, the  very  valleys  being  as  much  as  four 
thousand  or  five  thousand  feet  about  the  level 
of  the  sea. 

During  the  winter  months  out-of-door  ac- 
tivity is  mostly  suspended.  The  incontinent 
caravan,  sometimes  tempted  to  set  forth,  finds 
a  probable  grave  in  the  drift.  By  the  mid- 
dle of  March  the  ice-manacles  are  generally 
broken,  and  nature  begins  to  revive.  On  the 
hill-tops  the  snow  fights  with  the  sun  until 
May-day.  About  this  time  there  is  an  epoch 
of  rainy  weather.  The  sunshine  rouses  a  sud- 
den heat  in  the  valleys.  There  is  a  quick 
outburst  of  luxuriance.  The  slopes  flush 
green.  Ominous  clouds  pass  over.  Xow  and 
then  one  of  them  bursts  with  a  clap  of  thun- 
der. One  shower  chases  another  across  the 
fields.  Hard  after  the  dash  of  rain  comes 
perhaps  a  blast  of  haU-stones.  Calves  in  the 
pastures  are  sometimes  killed;  likewise  men. 
The  houses  are  hammered;  the  fruit-trees 
knocked  to  pieces.  Sometimes  in  the  morning 
Xature  is  robed  in  an  infinite  fog.  Then 
bright,  warm  days  follow  fast,  and  in  June  it 
is  hot,  sultry.  Altogether,  the  autumn  is  the 
most  pleasant  season.  The  weather  is  settled, 
and  life  has  something  of  equanimity. 

Passing  out  of  Atropaten^  and  journeying 
to  the  south-east  a  modification  is  soon  noticed 
in  the  climate.  The  winters  are  shorter.  The 
snow,  even  in  December  and  January,  is  scant 
and  soon  melts  away.  Ten  or  fifteen  degrees 
below  the  freezing  point  is  about  the  minimum 
temperature.  This  is  the  eastern  part  of  the 
great  plateau.  Here  are  the  important  cities 
of  Teheran  and  Isfahan.  In  spring-time  all 
nature  bursts  out  a-blooming.  The  gardens 
are  full  of  roses.  The  air  breathes  balm.  For 
a  season  every  sense  is  in  paradise.  Song-birds, 
the  very  prime  donne  of  the  thicket  and  croft, 
make  vocal  the  perfumed  breezes.  While  the 
scant  showers  of  spring  continue  there  is  noth- 
ing wanting  to  soothe  or  intoxicate.  At  a 
later  date  the  sultry  air  of  summer  begins  to 
scorch  and  blast  the  beauty  of  the  earlier 
months.  The  mercury  rises  on  some  hot  mid- 
day to  100  °  F.  Vegetation  withers.  At  in- 
tervals a  gust  of  hot  air  blows  up  from  the 
southern  desert,  and  life  flies  before  it. 


MEDIA.— COUNTRY  AND  PRODUCTS. 


207 


Fortunately,  however,  the  mountains  with 
their    snows    are    not    far    away,  and    when 
the  breeze  turns  and   falls  from  these  incor- 
ruptible heights  there  is  a  most  grateful  vicis- 
situde from  the  otherwise   intolerable  breath 
of  the  desert.     In  all  ages  the  better  class  of 
people  in  these  districts  of  Media  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  seeking  refuge  during  the  heats 
of  July  and  August  in  the  shadow  of  the  ad- 
jacent mountains,  from  whose  cool  white  brow 
the  refreshing  air  has  dropped  upon  the  fever- 
ish faces  of  the  suppliant  population.    Indeed, 
the   city  of   Hamadan    seems    to    have    been 
founded  by  those  who  were  escaping  from  the 
sultry  plains.     Here,  by  the  nearness  of  the 
mountain  and  the  plentiful  supply  of  spring 
water,   the   natural   conditions   of   a   summer 
resort  were  discovered  long  before  the  dubious 
luxuries  of  civilization  hat'   made  ennui  one 
of  the  afflictions  of  society.     The  same — or 
nearly  the  same — praise  may  be  bestowed  upon 
the  situation   of  Ecbatana,  which  was  chosen 
as  the  summer  residence  of  the  Persian  kings. 
If  it  were   not  for  the  scantiness  of  the 
rainfall  the   Median  plateau  might  be  justly 
described  as  a  delightful  climate.     In  respect 
of  moisture  much  is  wanting  to  the  comfort 
and  luxuriance  of  the  regions.     The  soil  is 
rarely  drenched  with  the  dead  drunkenness  of 
rain,  and  the  thirsty  plains  swallow   with  a 
feverish  gulp  the  occasional   libations  of  the 
clouds.    As  a  consequence  of  this  atmospheric 
drought  the  dews  of  night  are  correlatively 
scanty,  and  each  morning  sees  quickly  enacted 
the    cruel    tragedy   of   Apollo    and    Daphne. 
Albeit  the  dryness  of  the  air  is  favorable  to 
health,  and  the  dark  vapors  of  the  poisonous 
marsh  and  sunless  jungle  are  unknown  in  the 
Median  uplands,  where  the  fields  glisten   and 
the  hair  of  Nature  is  as  crisp  as  flax. 

One  of  the  most  striking  atmospheric  phe- 
nomena of  this  part  of  Media  is  the  whirlwind. 
Ever  and  anon,  in  the  hot  season,  a  sudden 
gust  from  the  heated  sands  of  the  south  strikes 
a  counter  current  of  colder  air  dropping  from 
the  mountain  slopes,  and  a  focus  is  produced, 
around  which  a  great  cloud  of  leaves,  stubble, 
and  sand  is  twisted  into  an  inverted  cone,  with 
its  base  against  the  sky.  The  monstrous  ap- 
parition goes  whirling  across  the  plains,  fling- 


ing all  lighter  substances  to  the  capricious 
demons  of  the  air;  but  the  violence  of  such 
storms  is  by  no  means  so  great  as  that  of  the 
tornadoes  and  cyclones  of  the  tropics.  In  this 
region  of  Media  also  appears  the  famous  mi- 
rage, the  wonder  of  travelers  and  puzzle  of 
philosophy.  The  strange  phenomenon  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  result  of  unequally  rarefied 
strata  of  air  thrown  into  undulations  by  the 
heated  surface  of  the  earth  and  viewed  hori- 
zontally. Spectral  images  are  thus  produced 
of  things  which  lie  in  the  distance,  perhaps 
below  the  horizon.  Mountains  appear  where 
there  are  none ;  villages  rise  in  the  waste,  and 
springs  in  the  desert.  The  scene  is  a  phantas- 
magoria. Giants  are  transformed  into  col- 
umns, and  a  clump  of  bushes  into  the  domes 
and  minarets  of  a  city.  Lakes  of  bright 
water  bordered  w^ith  the  palm  hang  motionless 
not  far  away,  then  vanish.  It  is  the  whimsi- 
cal specter  of  the  desert. 

In  the  western  portion  of  the  Median  pla- 
teau the  climate  is  greatly  modified  by  the 
proximity  of  the  Zagros.  In  the  more  moun- 
tainous part  of  this  region  the  severe  cold  of 
the  protracted  winter  is  like  that  of  Atropa- 
tene.  Adown  the  slopes  the  rigors  are  less 
relentless,  and  in  the  valleys  there  is  Avarmth 
and  verdure.  Here,  too,  w'ater  and  running 
streams  are  more  abundant  than  in  any  other 
portion  of  Media.  In  summer  the  valley  air 
is  humid,  and  in  some  parts  malaria  prevails, 
and  the  people  suffer  from  chills  and  fever. 
In  this  country  of  hills  and  glens  it  is  possible, 
as  in  California,  to  pass  in  a  few  hours'  jour- 
ney from  the  bleak  frosts  and  snows  of  the 
mountains  to  the  luxuriance,  warmth,  and 
sunshine  of  the  vales. 

The  plateau  of  Media  is  in  great  measure 
devoid  of  timber.  It  were  hard  to  say  whether 
the  generally  arid  condition  of  the  region  is  at- 
tributable to  the  absence  of  forests  or  whether 
the  failure  of  the  latter  has  been  caused  by 
the  persistent  atmospheric  drought.'     On  the 

'The  correlation  of  vegetation  and  rain  is  a 
question  for  which  civilization  must  furnish  a 
practical  solution.  The  tree  and  the  water-brook 
are  inseparable  phenomena,  but  which  is  the 
cause  of  the  other?  It  is  evident  that  vegetation 
depends  upon  humidity,  but  does  not  the  rain- 
cloud  follow  the  forest  and  shun  the  waste  ?    Is  it 


208 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


mountains  the  case  is  different.  Here  the 
forest  growth  is  abundant  and  stalwart.  The 
high  ridges  of  Atropatene  are  not  so  heavily 
wooded  as  the  Zagi'os  ranges  on  the  west. 
The  latter  are  covered  with  heavy  timber. 
The  Elburz  chain  is  clad  with  forests  of  pine, 
;wild  almond,  and  oak.  Here,  too,  the  poplar 
and  walnut  abound.  Ash  and  terebinth  groves 
are  common,  as  well  as  those  in  which  the 
oriental  plane-tree  and  the  willow  are  the 
prevalent  growth.  The  oak,  besides  its  use  as 
a  timber-tree,  yields  abundantly  the  nutgalls 
of  commerce.  The  hill-slopes  are  covered  with 
the  plant  which  yields  gum  tragacanth,  and 
many  districts  abound   in   nuts   and    berries. 

In  the  valleys  of  the  Zagros  and  the  more 
sheltered  parts  of  Northern  Media  the  or- 
chards are  as  fine  as  in  any  part  of  the  world. 
In  these  almost  every  kind  of  fruit  grows  to 
perfection.  These  regions  seem  to  be  the  na- 
tive land  of  apples,  pears,  and  peaches.  Here, 
also,  the  vine  flourishes.  The  olive,  the  al- 
mond, and  the  apricot  grow  wild.  Quinces  of 
richest  flavor,  plums,  cherries,  mulberries,  and 
nectarines  complete  the  list  of  principal  fruits 
belonging  to  the  vales  of  Zagros  and  the  more 
favored  parts  of  Atropatene. 

On  the  great  plateau,  as  already  said,  for- 
est trees  are  scattered  but  sparsely.  The  pre- 
vailing types  are  the  plane,  the  poplar,  and 
the  willow.  More  rarely  the  cedar,  the  elm, 
and  the  cypress  are  found,  chiefly  along  the 
Ibanks  of  the  infrequent  rivers.  Back  a  short 
distance  from  the  streams  the  forest  growth 
dwindles  to  bushes  and  shrubs — only  a  clump 
af  thorn  here  and  there  or  some  half-grown 
tiamarisk  breaks  the  monotony  of  the  gray  and 
dfueerless  plain.  Of  all  Media  by  far  the  most 
exuberant  district  is  that  which  lies  along  the 
Lower  Aras.  Here  there  is  a  native  luxuriance 
equal  to  that  of  any  region  in  the  w^orld.  The 
very  delta  of  the  Nile  has  scarcely  a  greater 
fecundity.  Flowers  and  fruits  grow  wild,  and 
the  grass  is  so  high  in  summer  that  a  man  on 
horseback  is  hidden  as  he  passes. 

As  to  those  products  which  flourish  only 
by  culture.  Media  resembles  other  lands  of 

not  probable  that  all  the  deserts  of  the  world  can 
be  reclaimed  by  the  simple  expedient  of  planting 
trees  ? 


the  same  latitude  and  elevation.  The  physical 
conformation  of  the  country  is  not  unfavor- 
able to  agriculture.  In  Atropatene  and  on 
the  slopes  of  the  Zagros  the  soil  is  easily  up- 
turned with  the  plow,  and  the  various  crops 
spring  up  and  ripen  without  much  attention  or 
labor.  The  leading  cereals  are  wheat,  barley, 
millet,  sesame,  corn,  and  rice.  The  tobacco 
plant  flourishes,  as  does  also  the  castor  bean, 
and  the  fields  whiten  with  cotton  as  in  the 
Southern  States  of  the  Union.  In  the  gar- 
dens are  cucumbers,  melons,  and  pumpkins. 
Nor  is  the  estate  of  man,  as  determined  by  the 
means  of  subsistence,  in  any  respect  equivocal 
or  menaced  with  peculiar  hardships. 

In  all  parts  of  the  Median  plateau  to 
which  nature  has  not  denied  a  sufficiency 
of  water,  the  same — though  less  flattering — 
agricultural  conditions  exist.  As  we  proceed 
to  the  south  and  east,  however,  and  the 
streams  dwindle  and  die,  and  the  springs 
become  few  and  poor  in  water,  cultivation 
becomes  more  difficult  and  less  fruitful  of 
results.  In  modern  times  a  system  of  canals 
and  tunnels  has  in  some  degree  triumphed 
over  the  natural  tendency  to  ban-enness ;  but 
in  the  days  of  the  Median  Empire  no  such 
artificial  compensation  of  nature's  poverty  was 
known.  The  plateau  of  Iran,  which,  in  our 
day  produces  moderately  good  crops  of  wheat, 
corn,  barley,  rice,  and  millet,  was  perhaps 
incapable  of  such  production  at  the  time  when 
Media  was  in  her  power.  Still,  at  the  present 
time,  the  yield  of  fruits  and  vegetables  is  in 
many  parts  fairly,  and  in  a  few  especially, 
good.  In  a  few  districts  the  melons  and 
grapes  are  provei'bially  fine  in  flavor.  Be- 
sides these  exceptional  products,  a  large  part 
of  the  Median  plain  is  peculiarly  adapted  to 
the  production  of  sundry  drugs  well  known 
among  the  nations.  The  principal  of  these 
are  rhubarb,  senna,  opium,  asafoetida,  mad- 
der, saffron,  and  tobacco. 

In  the  decoration  of  the  earth  few  coun- 
tries can  equal  Media.  The  flowers  are  lux- 
uriant and  abundant.  In  the  brief  spring, 
and  again  for  a  season  in  the  autumn,  the 
blossoms  are  everywhere.  In  the  summer,  as 
in  many  parts  of  the  United  States,  the  sun 
devours  every  thing.     For  a  while,  however, 


MEDIA.— COUNTRY  AND  PRODUCTS. 


209 


there  is  beauty.  The  magnificent  rose-tree, 
aometimes  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  in  height, 
covers  herself  with  a  queenly  festoon,  painted 
with  every  hue  and  fragrant  Avith  the  richest 
odors.  The  gardens  are  adorned  with  flower- 
ing shrubs,  chief  of  which  are  the  lilac  and 
the  jasmine.  In  some  districts  hollyhocks 
grow  wild,  as  do  also  tulips,  crocuses,  and 
lilies.  Primroses,  heliotropes,  and  pinks  are 
seen,  and  water-lilies  rarely  by  the  margin 
of  the  streams.  In  like  situations  many  fra- 
grant mints  are  found,  and  sages  in  the  gar- 
dens. The  chief  feature  of  all  this  region  is 
the  rapid  metamorphosis  from  the  desolation 
of  winter  to  the  verdure  and  flowers  of  spring, 
and  a  similarly  sudden  blight  of  all  this 
beauty  with  the  apparition  of  the  withering 
heats  of  summer. 

In  the  matter  of  mineral  wealth  Media  is 
by  no  means  to  be  contemned.  Her  quarries 
of  stone  are  equal  in  quality  to  those  of  As- 
syi'ia  and  much  more  widely  distributed.  In 
the  hiUs  near  Lake  Urumiyeh  is  found  the 
famous  yellow  Tabriz  marble,  Avhich  is  so  trans- 
parent as  to  be  cut  thin  and  used  instead  of  win- 
dow glass.  Other  varieties  have  different  hues, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  carbonates  de- 
posited from  the  springs  of  the  neighborhood. 
Good  grades  of  building  stone  are  found  in 
nearly  every  part  of  the  country,  and  the 
quai'ries  show  that  considerable  attention  has 
been  given,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times, 
to  getting  out  and  preparing  the  enduring 
materials  furnished  by  nature.  It  appears, 
however,  that  the  uses  to  which  stone  was  put 
by  the  Medes  were  rather  such  as  setting 
curbs  and  laying  pavements  in  baths  and  pal- 
aces than  in  architecture  proper. 

Of  the  wealth  of  Media  in  the  precious 
metals  not  much  is  known.  It  is  thought  that 
some  parts  of  the  Zagros  contain  mines  of 
gold  and  silver.  There  are  traditions  of  gold 
mines  in  other  mountainous  districts,  but 
modern  exploration  has  not  demonstrated  the 
truth  of  the  stories.  The  same  uncertainty 
prevails  in  respect  to  the  mines  of  lead  and 
antimony  which  are  said  to  exist  in  Atropa- 
tene.  It  is  certain  that  quartz  rock  abounds, 
and  this  would  lead  to  the  expectation  of  the 
precious    metals.     In    the    way  of  gems   the 


most  important  were  emei'alds  and  lapis  lazvli. 
As  to  salt  there  is  an  endless — not  to  say  in- 
finite— supply.  Vast  plains  are  covered  with 
it.  Salt  springs  are  found  in  many  places, 
and  the  whole  desert  country  towards  the 
south-east  is  more  or  less  glazed  with  saline 
incrustations.  Kock  salt,  too,  is  abundant, 
and  is  quarried  out  for  native  and  foreign 
consumption.  Niter  and  sulphur  are  found 
in  the  Elburz  mountains  and  fine  beds  of  alum 
along  the  Aji  Su. 

The  wild  animals  of  Media  are  of  the  same 
general  tyjDes  with  those  of  Assyria.  Among 
the  ferocious  beasts  the  principal  are  the  lion, 
the  tiger,  the  leopard,  and  the  bear.  In  some 
parts  the  wdld  boar  is  a  terror.  Jackals, 
wolves,  and  beavers  are  common,  as  are  also 
foxes,  rabbits,  and  porcupines.  Another  group 
embraces  the  wild  ass,  the  goat,  the  sheep,  the 
ibex,  the  stag,  and  the  antelope.  The  aurochs 
or  mountain  ox  inhabits  the  Zagros.  Among 
the  smaller  tribes  may  be  named  the  marmot, 
the  rat,  the  ferret,  and  the  mole.  Of  all  the 
districts  of  Media,  Atroj)at^ne  has  the  greatest 
number  of  animals,  and  several  of  the  species 
above  enumerated — such  as  the  tiger  and  the 
lion — are  limited  to  this  part  of  the  country. 
The  Median  wild  ass  differs  from  that  of 
Mesopotamia,  as  well  as  from  that  of  Tartary, 
in  having  no  dark  lines  across  the  shoulders. 
His  ears  are  large  and  heavy,  like  those  of  a 
donkey,  and  his  mane  is  short  and  black. 

Among  the  domestic  animals  of  Media  the 
most  important  was  the  camel.  He  was  the 
chief  reliance  of  whoever  had  burdens  to 
transport  from  place  to  place.  There  were 
three  breeds:  the  Bactrian,  with  the  double 
hump  in  his  back;  the  Arabian,  with  his 
longer  and  fleeter  limbs;  and  a  cross-breed 
possessing  the  better  points  of  the  other  two. 
After  the  camel  the  mule  was  next  in  useful- 
ness, and  was  preferred  in  the  mountainous 
districts  for  his  smaller  size  and  surer  footing. 

Most  celebrated  of  all  the  Median  domestic 
animals  were  the  Nissean  horses,  whose  praises 
were  recited  by  nearly  all  the  historians  from 
Herodotus  to  Livy.  These  steeds  were  noted 
for  their  great  size  and  peculiar  shape,  and 
were  prized  by  all  the  kings  and  princes  of 
the  East.     The  breed  is  thought  to  have  beeo 


210 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  Parthian  extraction,  and  to  be  represented 
in  Media  at  the  present  day  by  a  stock  of 
horses  called  Turkoman.  Another  breed  is 
now  found  in  the  country,  which  is  evidently 
of  Arabian  descent  and  more  recent  devel- 
opment. 

The  kine  of  Media  differed  not  much  from 
those  found  in  most  countries  belonging  to 
the  north  temperate  zone.  The  sheep  and 
the  goat  were  of  the  common  varieties,  and 
were  deduced  from  the  wild  breeds  of  the 
hills.  As  to  dogs,  the  finest  was  that  Mace- 
donian greyhound  which,  if  tradition  is  to  be 
accepted,  was  introduced  in  Assyria  and  be- 
yond by  the  armies  of  Alexander.  The  ani- 
mal is  strong  and  swift,  being  used  in  pursuit 
of  the  antelope  and  other  fleet-footed  and 
long-winded  game.  His  scent  is  fine  and  his 
instinct  unerring,  though  in  fleetuess  he  is 
reckoned  inferior  to  the  greyhound  of  England. 

The  great  bird  of  the  Median  upper  air  is 
the  eagle.  After  him  the  genus  Falco  is  rep- 
resented by  the  falcon  proper  and  several 
species  of  hawk.  Of  land  birds  the  most 
noted  are  the  stork,  the  pelican,  and  the  bus- 
tard. Of  the  edible  birds  the  chief  are  the 
quail,  the  partridge,  the  dove,  the  pigeon,  and 
the  snipe.  On  the  great  Plateau  water-fowl 
are  rai'ely  seen,  but  in  Atropatene  wild  ducks 
are  frequently  noticed  by  the  traveler.  The 
principal  song  birds  are  thrushes,  linnets, 
larks,  goldfinches,  and  nightingales,  while  the 
chattering  race  is  represented  by  the  crow,  the 
magpie,  and  the  blackbird.  In  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Isfahan  pigeons  are  reared  for  profit, 
and  the  round  towers  which  are  the  homes  of 
innumerable  flocks  are  seen  here  and  there  in 
the  landscape. 

As  already  said,  the  lakes  of  Media  are 
Ashless,  being  salt.  Not  so  the  rivers,  though 
in  these  the  finny  tribes  do  not  abound.     The 


colder  streams  of  the  Zagros  yield  some  fine 
trout.  As  for  the  rest,  the  rivers  of  the 
Plateau  have  several  varieties  of  carp,  barbel, 
and  gudgeon,  but  the  waters  are  generally  too 
brackish  to  be  a  favorite  home  of  fishes.  In 
many  Median  streams  the  unpoetic  craw-fish, 
with  his  reversed  locomotion,  is  as  much  the 
object  of  the  fisherman's  craft  as  the  more 
graceful  denizens  of  the  open  river. 

Portions  of  Media  are  as  much  plagued 
with  poisonous  reptiles  as  any  part  of  the 
globe.  In  the  grassy  flat-lands  along  the  lower 
Araxes,  snakes  of  vicious  and  deadly  species 
so  abound  that  travel  in  summer  time  is 
hardly  practicable.  Other  districts  are  like- 
wise infested  with  both  serpents  and  scorpions, 
but  the  sting  of  the  latter  is  rather  trouble- 
some than  dangerous.  Lizards  are  very  abun- 
dant and  of  every  hue.  They  are  sometimes 
more  than  two  feet  in  length,  and  are  a  terror 
to  Europeans,  though  perfectly  harmless.  Of 
the  plague-pests  of  the  air  the  most  formidable 
are  the  locusts.  When  they  come  it  is  in  a 
cloud  that  darkens  the  air.  A  single  day  of 
their  devouring  reign  is  suflScient  to  sweep 
from  a  whole  district  the  last  vestige  of  ver- 
dure. The  very  twigs  and  branches  of  plants 
and  trees  are  destroyed,  and  nothing  but  a 
mockery  of  vegetation  left  in  the  land.  The 
only  compensation  for  the  scourge  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  the  poorer  people  avenge  them- 
selves by  eating  the  eaters  of  their  orchards. 

Besides  the  ravenous  breed  of  locusts,  there 
are  one  or  two  other  varieties  of  destroying 
insects,  notably  a  kind  of  ferocious  grasshop- 
per, described  as  being  four  inches  in  length 
and  armed  behind  with  a  sword.  The  creature 
is  not,  however,  so  formidable  as  indicated 
by  his  appearance,  being  a  kind  of  diminished 
Falstaff  of  the  meadows,  with  more  noise  than 
danger  in  him. 


MEDIA.— THE  PEOPLE. 


211 


CHAPTER  XVI.— The  People. 


I  HEN  the  hosts  of  Xerxes 
moved  down  the  defile  of 
Thermopylae,  the  men  se- 
lected to  clear  the  pass  of 
the  Spartans  were  a  body 
of  Medes.  It  was  the 
first  introduction  of  that 
fierce  soldiery  to  the  people  of  the  West. 
They  were  at  that  time  in  close  alliance  with 
their  kinsmen,  the  Persians;  and  indeed  the 
two  races  have  ever  been  intimately  associated 
on  the  page  of  history.  "  Medo-Persian "  is 
the  name  by  which  the  great  dominion  estab- 
lished by  the  Achsemenian  kings  has  been  im- 
memorially  designated.  ' '  Thy  kingdom  is 
divided  and  given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians," 
was  the  interpretation  of  the  ominous  inscrip- 
tion on  the  wall  of  Belshazzar,  the  Babylonian 
viceroy,  and  in  a  thousand  paragraphs  of 
Greek  and  Roman  literature  the  two  peoples 
are  in  like  manner  mentioned  together. 

Those  readers  who  have  given  some  atten- 
tion to  the  study  of  the  races  of  mankind  will 
understand  the  ethnic  place  of  the  jNIedes 
from  the  statement  that  they  were  an  offshoot 
from  the  Iranic  branch  of  Asiatic  Aryans. 
This  classification  throws  them  first  of  all  into 
relationship  with  the  Persians,  more  remotely 
with  the  races  of  the  Indus,  and  still  more  re- 
motely with  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  and  the 
Kelts.  For  the  unscholarly  reader  the  Medes 
may  be  classified  as  belonging  to  the  Japhetic 
family  of  Adamites. 

Nearly  all  that  is  known  concerning  the 
physical  characteristics  of  the  people  of  an- 
cient Media  has  been  gathered  from  the 
sculptures  of  Persepolis,  These  carvings  rep- 
resent not  only  the  Persians,  by  whose  artists 
the  sculptures  were  executed,  but  also  the 
kindred  Medes,  Avho,  as  the  older  people,  were 
in  good  fame  at  the  Persian  capital.  Besides, 
the  Greek  historians — Herodotus  and  notably 
Xenophon  in  the  Cyroj^cedia  and  the  Anabasis — 
have  given  personal  and  character  sketches  of 
the  Medes,  so  full  and  explicit  that  their  ap- 


pearance is  almost  as  well  known  as  that  of 
the  Romans  or  Assyrians.  From  these  sources 
it  is  known  that  the  typical  Mede  was  tall  and 
graceful  and  of  great  physical  nobility.  The 
physiognomy  was  almost  equal  in  beauty  to 
the  Greek,  while  in  strength  of  body  the 
Mede  was  hardly  inferior  to  the  warrior  of 
Assyria.  The  Median  forehead  was  high  and 
straight,  and  the  nose  was  of  that  Macedonian 
type  which  continues  in  the  same  line  with 
the  forehead,  long  and  well  formed,  and  some- 
times hawk-like  and  imperious.  The  upper 
lip  was  short  and  moustached ;  the  chin  round 
and  strong  and  heavily  bearded.  The  hair 
was  abundant  to  superfluity,  and  was  drawn 
back  from  the  forehead  and. twisted  into  curls 
around  the  ears  and  neck.  From  the  care 
shown  in  its  arrangement,  the  Medes  were 
evidently  proud  of  the  plentiful  locks  which 
clustered  around  their  heads.  The  Median 
women  are  described  by  the  Greeks  as  of  great 
personal  charms.  Their  beauty  was  of  that 
queenly  style  peculiar  to  semi-heroic  ages. 

The  manner  of  life  among  the  early  Aryans, 
whether  Persian,  Hindu,  or  Greek,  was  such 
as  to  encourage  and  develop  physical  perfec- 
tion, and  to  make  the  bodies  of  men  and 
women  glow  with  those  native  charms  which 
generally  wither  under  the  heats  of  civilization. 
For  this  reason  the  ancient  Mede  was,  as  com- 
pared with  the  modern  Persian,  a  person  of 
beauty  and  dignity.  From  the  Roman  to  the 
Italian  marks  the  distance  from  freedom  to 
servitude,  from  open  nature  to  subtle  craft, 
from  courage  to  cunning,  from  the  giory  and 
audacity  of  paganism  to  the  treachery  and  ser- 
vility of  religious  thralldom.  So  has  it  been 
in  Greece,  in  Media,  in  Persia,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Indus.  So  will  it  ever  be  so  long  as 
Nature  shall  continue  to  be  regarded  as  the 
foe  instead  of  the  friend  of  man.  The  great- 
ness of  the  intellectual  achievement  of  modern 
times  is  tarnished  not  a  little  by  the  eclipse 
of  the  physical  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the 
early  races. 


212 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


lu  the  qualities  of  heroic  mauhood  the  au- 
cieut  Medes  were  rivals  of  the  Greeks.  The 
men  of  the  Median  hills  had  the  courage  of 
Athenian  soldiers,  if  not  the  stoicism  of  Spar- 
tans. Of  their  warlike  daring  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  The  poems  of  Horace  attest  the 
reputation  of  the  Medes  even  in  the  Eternal 
City,  and  the  prophet  Ezekiel  describes  the 
kingdom  of  Cyaxares  as  the  terror  of  nations. 

It  was  no  doubt  owing  to  this  warlike  consti- 
tution that  the  Medes  at  the  first  gained  the 
ascendency  over  the  surrounding  tribes  of  the 
great  plateau,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  their 
historic  renown.  They  had  the  bravery  and 
audacity,  if  not  the  artistic  possibilities  and 
intellectual  force,  of  the  Hellenes.  To  the 
present  day  these  same  qualities  are  in  some 
measure  preserved  in  the  wild  Kurds  of  the 
hills,  whose  face  and  figure  have  the  freedom 
and  symmetry  of  Sulliotes. 

Of  all  the  ancient  peoples  the  Medes  were 
perhaps  the  most  remarkable  for  their  manage- 
ment of  the  horse.  They  were  disciplined 
from,  childhood  to  ride  at  will,  and  were 
trained  to  perform  feats  on  horseback.  This 
tended  to  make  them  sinewy  about  the  chest 
and  erect  in  figure.  Their  dress  also  was  of  a 
kind  to  favor  development;  so  that  the  hered- 
itary beauty  of  the  old  Aryan  stock  found 
no  difficult  expression  in  the  person  of  the 
Mede. 

Owing  to  the  meager  architectural  remains 
left  by  the  people  of  Media,  and  the  want  of 
a  national  literature,  there  is  some  difficulty 
in  determining  from  original  sources  the  per- 
sonal appearance  and  demeanor  of  the  race, 
but  the  Persian  decorations  and  monuments 
supply  the  deficiency.  It  appears  that  the 
chief  intellectual  qualities  of  the  people  were 
a  certain  barbaric  energy  and  a  love  of  display. 
Their  pride  was  personal  rather  than  national, 
and  hence  it  found  expression  in  ostentatious 
dress  more  than  in  architecture.  Perhaps  no 
ancient  people  took  more  pleasure  in  personal 
display  than  did  the  Medes.  A  magnificent 
dress  and  stately  semi-barbaric  bearing  char- 
acterized them,  though  their  splendor  was 
rather  of  richness  than  of  artistic  eflfect.  In 
intellect  the  Medes  were  not  a  superior  people, 
and  as  a  consequence  their  civilization,  though 


not  wanting  in  force,  was  unsupported  by  the 
principles  of  perpetuity. 

A  leading  trait  of  the  Median  character 
was  cruelty.  The  reputation  of  the  race  was 
that  of  unparalleled  atrocity  in  war.  The  con- 
quests of  the  Medes  were  marked  by  the 
worst  abuses  of  half-savage  warfare.  Women, 
maidens,  old  men,  babes,  were  all  alike  the 
objects  of  the  undiscriminating  vengeance  of 
the  Median  soldiery.  The  object  in  battle 
was  rather  to  insult  and  wreak  vengeance  on 
the  foe  than  to  spoil  and  ravage.  The  old 
annals  of  the  East  abound  in  references  to 
the  outrages  and  bloodthirsty  spirit  of  the 
Medes. 

After  victory  and  conquest  had  brought 
renown  and  riches  to  the  race  the  people  grad- 
ually imbibed  the  vices  of  luxury.  Having 
gained  the  supremacy  over  Assyria,  the  soldiers 
and  courtiers  of  the  Median  monarchs  soon 
became  enamored  of  the  more  expensive  and 
elaborate  life  of  the  people  whom  they  had 
cou(|uered,  and  began  to  adopt  those  methods 
and  gratifications  which  first  intoxicate  and 
then  kill.  There  is  little  doubt  that  before 
the  time  of  Cyrus  the  Great  the  native  vigor 
of  the  Median  stock  had  been  sapped  to  such 
a  degree  that  the  Persians  found  little  diffi- 
culty in  reversing  the  political  relations  be- 
tween their  own  and  the  kingdom  of  Astyages. 
It  is  thus  that  civilization  by  relaxing  the  se- 
verity of  the  habits  of  her  foemeu  avenges 
herself  and  her  wrongs  upon  the  spoilers  of 
her  vineyards.  The  luxurious  capital  of  As- 
syria, with  her  palaces  and  banqueting-halls, 
was  thus  able  to  do  what  the  armies  of  Sara- 
cus  were  impotent  to  accomplish — break  the 
power  of  the  Medes. 

Being  peculiarly  a  warlike  race,  the  first 
aspect  of  Median  life  is  that  which  presents 
the  army  going  to  battle.  The  soldiers  wore 
broad-sleeved  tunics  and  trousers.  They  cov- 
ered their  heads  with  felt  caps  and  bore  their 
quivers  on  their  backs.  The  tunic  was  some- 
times converted  into  a  coat  of  mail  by  an 
arrangement  of  small  metallic  plates,  overlap- 
ping like  the  scales  of  a  fish.  The  most  pe- 
culiar piece  of  the  armor  was  the  shield,  which 
was  a  structure  of  wickerwork,  oblong  in  form, 
and  equaling  or  exceeding  the  height  of  the 


MEDIA.— THE  PEOPLE. 


213 


warrior.  It  was  set  on  the  ground  before  him, 
and  was  broad  enough  to  protect  two  or  three 
soldiers,  one  of  whom  discharged  arrows  from 
the  covert,  while  the  other,  armed  with  a 
spear,  sustained  the  shield  in  its  place  and 
acted  on  the  defensive.^  Such  was  the  infantry. 
But  the  more  important  branch  of  the 
service  was  the  horse.  The  cavalrymen  were 
archers.  Skilled  in  the  management  of  steeds 
and  the  use  of  the  bow,  they  adopted  the  tac- 
tics of  whirling  in  circles  round  about  the 
foe,  discharging  from  every  advantageous  po- 
sition showers  of  arrows,  and  then  dashing 
out  of  reach.  It  was  the  tactics  of  Arabs 
or  Scythians  reduced   to   method   and  made 


inserted  in  a  ring  or  socket  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  shaft.  The  lower  end  terminated  in  an 
ornamental  knob  or  ball,  made  in  the  likeness 
of  an  apple  or  pomegranate.  At  the  soldier's 
right  side  hung  the  Median  short  sword,  fas- 
tened by  a  belt  around  the  waist  and  also  se- 
cured by  a  strap  to  the  thigh. 

Of  the  Median  dress  something  has  already 
been  said.  The  principal  article  of  apparel 
was  a  long  flowing  robe,  which  seems  to  have 
been  a  pattern  original  with  the  Medes.  Thia 
garment  was  of  so  great  beauty  as  to  strike 
the  fancy  of  the  Greeks,  and  their  historians 
have  immortalized  it  in  the  classics.  Thia 
famous  robe   was  so   made   as  to   fit  closely 


RUINS  OF  PERSEPOLIS 


terrible  by  discipline.  The  other  weapons  of 
offense,  besides  the  bow,  were  the  spear,  the 
sword,  and  the  dagger.  The  bow  was  of  a 
very  peculiar  pattern — short  and  greatly 
curved.  It  was  borne  in  a  case,  which  was 
slung  either  at  the  side  or  over  the  shoulders 
of  the  soldier.  The  Median  arrow  was  short, 
not  exceeding  three  feet  in  length.  The  spear 
was  six  or  seven  feet  long,  and  had  the  head 

^  Besides  the  large  wicker  shield  here  described, 
tlie  ]\Iedes  also  employed  a  small  circular  disk, 
made  of  metal  or  wood,  and  ornamented  with 
knobs  and  circles.  It  resembled  the  bosses  or 
small  shields  carried  by  the  Boeotians,  and  de- 
pended for  its  efficiency  upon  tVie  agility  and  skill 
of  the  wearer  in  intercepting  with  it  the  flying 
arrows  of  the  foe. 


about  the  shoulders  and  chest  and  then  spread 
into  two  capacious  sleeves.  At  the  waist  it 
was  bound  with  a  girdle,  and  fell  loosely  about 
the  lower  person  to  the  ankles.  It  was  a  gar- 
ment greatly  superior  in  gracefulness  and  ele- 
gance to  the  to2:a  of  the  Romans,  to  which  it 
bore  some  general  likeness.  The  color  waa 
generally  purple,  crimson,  or  scarlet.  Some- 
times the  robe  was  striped  longitudinally  with 
bands  of  purple  and  white.  The  material 
mostly  employed  was  silk,  but  among  the 
poorer  classes  .less  costly  fibers  were  used — 
wool,  no  doubt,  for  winter  garments.  It  is 
in  this  imposing  robe  that  the  Medes  and 
Persians  are  always  figured  in  the  sculptures 
of  Persenolis. 


214 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  Median  foot-dress  was  a  sort  of  flat- 
bottomed  moccasin,  laced  or  buttoned  in  front. 
The  head  was  covered  in  war  with  a  felt  hat, 
but  in  peace  a  kind  of  light  tiara,  made  of 
stiff  cloth  and  of  a  strangely  original  design, 
was  worn  both  indoors  and  out.  The  general 
presence  of  a  Mede  in  full  dress  was  at  once 
stately  and  picturesque.  The  people  appear 
to  have  been  inordinately  fond  of  personal 
display,  and  to  have  resorted  to  many  artifices 
to  eradicate  the  defects  of  nature  and  heighten 
their  personal  beauty.  Nor  does  it  appear 
that  the  Median  women,  more  than  the  men, 
were  addicted  to  those  tricks  by  which  age 
and  ugliness  are  hidden  from  attention.  The 
eyes  were  penciled  to  magnify  their  size  and 
luster.  The  skin  was  rubbed  with  cosmetics 
a  la  viode,  and  false  hair  was  in  demand  to 
supply  the  occasional  deficiency  of  nature.  In 
short,  the  shops  of  Ecbatana  in  the  days  of  As- 
tyages  would  have  shown  to  the  cynical  ob- 
server the  same  elaborate  satire  upon  human 
nature  which  in  every  age  of  the  #orld 
Fashion  has  written  on  the  bodies  and  lives 
of  her  subjects. 

The  principal  ornaments  worn  by  the 
Medes  were  of  gold.  The  backward  condi- 
tion of  the  arts,  and  the  slender  commercial 
connection  with  other  nations  rich  in  precious 
stones,  will  account  for  the  general  absence 
of  gems  among  the  personal  decorations  of 
this  people.  Necklaces  and  collars  of  gold 
were  much  worn  by  the  nobility,  and  plain 
earrings  were  generally  a  part  of  the  adorn- 
ment of  persons  of  rank.  Gold  bracelets 
were  common  among  all  classes — nobles,  war- 
riors, and  even  peasants;  and  the  bridle-bits 
and  harness  of  the  horses  of  the  wealthy  were 
decorated  with  the  same  precious  metal. 

The  chief  feature  of  the  social  system  of 
the  Medes  was  polygamy.  The  king  main- 
tained a  seraglio  of  wives  and  concubines, 
and  the  nobles,  according  to  their  ability, 
imitated  his  example.  There  were  five  legiti- 
mate wives,  who  held  the  same  relation  in  the 
household,  and  after  these  the  rest  of  the 
retinue.  The  women  were  secluded,  but  not 
with  the  same  rigor  as  in  modern  Moham- 
medan coimtries,  and  the  usual  abuses  pecu- 
liar to  such  a  system  were  prevalent. 


The  ceremonial  of  the  Median  court  was 
characterized  by  a  pompous  formality.  The 
monarch  himself  was  rarely  seen,  and  the  ap- 
proach to  him  was  guarded  by  imposing  forms, 
which  must  be  scrupulously  observed.  Proper 
officers  stood  sentry  by  the  enti'ance  way  to 
the  kingly  presence.  He  who  would  have 
audience  must  prostrate  himself  as  if  doing 
homage  to  a  god,  and  even  then  he  must 
stand  at  a  distance,  between  files  of  eunuchs 
and  courtiers.  In  affairs  of  state,  and  indeed 
in  all  important  communications,  the  things 
said  and  done  had  to  be  presented  in  writing, 
and  all  decisions  and  decrees  were  issued  in 
like  manner.  From  time  to  time  the  officers 
of  the  court  submitted  reports  of  such 
branches  of  business  as  were  intrusted  to 
them  and  of  the  general  condition  of  the  Em- 
pire. By  these  means  the  necessity  of  going 
forth  from  his  palace  was  taken  away,  and 
the  king  for  the  most  part  passed  his  days  in 
seclusion. 

As  in  Assyria,  so  in  Media,  hunting  was 
the  national  sport.  In  this  way  the  monarch 
and  his  nobles  amused  themselves  when  the 
cares  of  state  were  less  severe.  But  in  the 
royal  chase,  as  practiced  in  Assyria  and  Me- 
dia, there  was  this  marked  difference  that,  in 
the  latter  country,  the  king  himself  seldom  or 
never  engaged  personally  in  the  pursuit  of 
wild  beasts.  In  Assyria,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  monarch  in  person  leads  the  chase,  attacks 
the  lion,  slays  the  wild  boar.  The  Median 
sovereign  witnesses  and  enjoys  the  sport  of  his 
nobles,  but  as  a  rule  does  not  engage  in  the 
contest.  He  stands  apart,  and  approves  or 
condemns  as  his  courtiers  are  skillful  or 
clumsy  in  the  contest.^ 

The  principal  beasts  thus  hunted  by  the 
Median  nobles  were  the  lion,  the  bear,  the 
leopard,  and  the  wild  boar.  The  pursuit  of 
these  was  regarded  as  perilous,  and  the  victo- 
rious hunter  returned  with  the  honors  of  war. 


'  It  is  possible  that  the  Assyrian  sculptors  rep- 
resent their  emperors  as  doing  what  they  did  only 
by  proxy ;  but  considering  the  aggressive  and  war- 
like spirit  of  the  race  of  Nimrod,  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  pictorial  representations  of  the  battles 
of  the  kings  with  lions,  bears,  and  boars  are  true 
to  the  facts,  and  that  the  royal  custom  of  the 
Medes  was  diflferent. 


MEDIA.— THE  PEOPLE. 


215 


The  less  dangerous  beasts  of  the  chase  were 
stags,  gazelles,  wild  asses,  and  wild  sheep. 
The  method  of  hunting  was  to  pursue  on 
horseback  the  prey  roused  from  the  covert, 
and  when  sufficiently  near  to  strike  it  down 
with  well-directed  arrows  or  javelins.  Some- 
times herds  of  deer  were  driven  into  inclos- 
ures  and  shot  down  at  the  pleasure  ot  the 
sportsmen ;  and  troops  of  wild  boars  were  in 
like  manner,  but  with  more  danger,  driven 
into  marsh  grounds,  where  they  were  worried 
with  dogs  and  bands  of  "beaters"  until  they 
fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  hunter's  shaft. 

The  Medes  were  great  eaters  and  drinkers. 
Their  banquets  were  characterized  by  profu- 
sion and  luxury.  Their  tables  were  laden 
with  rich  viands — meat,  game,  wine,  bread, 
sauces,  and  indeed  every  article  with  which  a 
semi-barbaric  appetite  could  be  excited  or  ap- 
peased. The  guests  ate  with  the  hand,  after 
the  oriental  fashion,  using  no  knives  or  forks. 
The  point  of  distinction  at  the  feast  was  to 
multiply  the  number  of  dishes  with  which 
each  guest  was  surrounded.  The  meals  of 
nobles  and  royal  personages  were  always  after 
the  manner  of  banquets.  Wine  was  used 
freely,  and  the  close  of  the  feast  was  fre- 
quently a  rout,  of  which  Bacchus  was  geueral- 
in-chief. 

Great  care  was  taken  to  guard  the  life  of 
the  king.  The  measures  adopted  generally 
indicated  social  depravity  and  political  treach- 
ery. That  shocking  absence  of  the  sense  of 
honor,  for  which  all  Eastern  courts  are  pro- 
verbial, was  constantly  apparent  in  the  rela- 
tions between  the  king  and  his  subjects.  They 
would  follow  him  to  battle  and  obey  his  com- 
mands, but  could  not  be  trusted.  So  the  food 
and  wine  with  which  the  monarch  was  daily 
served  must  always  be  tasted  by  the  obsequi- 
ous bearer,  lest  some  faithless  courtier  should 
have  contrived  to  destroy  the  royal  life  by 
poison;  and  ever  in  his  dreams  the  king  be- 
held behind  the  purple  curtain  of  his  couch 
the  assassin's  hand  clutching  a  dagger. 

Doubtless  this  deplorable  social  condition 
belonged  rather  to  the  later  than  to  the  ear- 
lier days  of  Median  greatness.  It  was  after 
conquest  and  lust  and  satiety  had   destroyed 


the  fierce  native  nobility  of  the  Medes  that 
they  exhibited  the  degrading  vices  peculiar  to 
effeminate  despotisms.  When  the  rich  capi- 
tals of  Assyria  opened  their  gates  the  hardy 
soldiers  of  the  trans-Zagros  fell  quickly  into 
gluttony  and  riotous  excesses.  And  so,  as  has 
happened  so  many  times  in  the  history  of 
mankind,  the  very  victory  of  the  Medes  over 
their  enemy  furnished  the  insidious  conditions 
of  their  overthrow.  It  only  remained  for 
Persia,  grown  great  by  the  practice  of  the 
stalwart  virtues,  to  turn  the  tables  upon  the 
Medes,  softened  by  luxury,  and  do  unto  them 
as  they  had  done  to  the  enervated  population 
of  Nineveh  and  Asshur. 

The  Medes  had  little  genius.  In  literary 
culture  they  achieved  no  distinction.  No 
poem  or  historical  fragment  has  been  traced 
to  a  strictly  Median  source.  Of  their  art  but 
little  is  known.  At  Hamadan,  the  site  of  the 
ancient  capital,  has  been  found  a  single  speci- 
men of  sculpture,  the  broken  fragment  of  a 
colossal  lion,  which  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  product  of  a  Median  chisel.  As  far  as 
may  be  judged  from  the  appearance  of  this 
weather-eaten  and  mutilated  torso,  it  is  of  the 
same  style  as  that  of  Assyria.  The  body  is 
about  twelve  feet  in  length,  and  the  creature 
seems  to  have  had  something  of  the  majesty 
of  a  sphinx. 

No  doubt  the  art  of  the  Medes  can  best  .be 
judged  by  that  of  Persia.  It  is  thought  by 
critics  that  the  great  sculptures  which  adorned 
the  capital  of  the  Persian  kings  were  imitated 
from  those  of  Assyria ;  and  if  this  be  true, 
then  it  is  evident  that  the  artistic  styles  dis- 
played in  the  ruins  of  Persepolis  were  brought 
thither  by  way  of  Media,  and  not  directly 
from  the  West.  The  point  in  which  origi- 
nality may  with  most  plausibility  be  claimed 
for  the  Medes  is  in  their  architecture,  which, 
though  suggestive  of  that  of  Assyria,  is  still 
sufficiently  differentiated  to  be  regarded  as  a 
distinct  form.  It  is  to  be  greatly  regretted 
that  some  ruin  of  Azerbijan  or  the  Median 
plateau  has  not  furnished  the  antiquary  and 
the  historian  with  more  tangible  and  authentic 
evidences  of  the  condition  of  art  and  science 
anions:  our  oldest  kinsmen  of  Western  Asia. 


216 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XVII.— LANQUAQE  AND  RELIQION, 


HE  language  of  the  Medes 
was  Aryan.  It  was  a 
branch  of  that  great  speech 
which  has  filled  the  world 
with  its  dialects,  of  which 
among  the  tongues  of  an- 
tiquity the  Greek,  and 
among  those  of  modern  times  the  English, 
are  the  most  illustrious  representatives.  The 
Median  language  was  closely  allied  to  the 
Persian,  being  either  the  parent  or  the  elder 
sister  of  that  tongue ;  from  which  it  happens 
that  a  fair  notion  of  the  speech  employed  by 
the  subjects  of  Cyaxares  may  be  obtained  from 
an  examination  of  the  inscriptions  of  Persep- 
olis.  It  is  as  though  one  should  study  Latin 
from  Italian  manuscripts. 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  scholars  that 
the  famous  Zendavesta,  or  bible  of  the  Zo- 
roastrians,  is  written  in  the  language  of  the 
ancient  Medes ;  but  more  careful  investigation 
has  shown  that  the  language  of  the  Zoroastrian 
scripture  is  older  than  that  of  Media,  and 
that  it  is  to  be  traced  geographically  to  Bactria 
and  Sogdiana.  So,  though  it  is  probable  that 
learned  Medes  could  have  read  the  books  of 
Zoroaster,  still  it  would  have  been  brokenly 
and  imperfectly,  as  an  English  student  would 
read  Anglo-Saxon,  or  an  Italian,  Latin. 

It  would  be  impossible  at  the  present  day 
and  in  the  present  state  of  knowledge  to  de- 
termine with  precision  the  differences  existing 
between  the  languages  of  Media  and  Persia. 
The  fragments  of  the  former  speech  which 
have  descended  to  modern  times  are  very 
meager,  and  consist  mainly  of  isolated  words 
from  which  the  Median  grammar  can  be  but 
imperfectly  reconstructed.  The  words  which 
have  been  thus  preserved  are  for  the  most 
part  nouns,  principally  proper  names,  and 
these  furnish  but  an  indifferent  clue  to  the 
real  structure  of  the  language. 

Median  names  are  almost  identical  with  the 
Persian  equivalents.  In  some  instances  the 
spelling;  is  precisely  the  same.     Thus  Arbaces, 


Artabazus,  Harpagus,  Ariobarzanes,  Tiridates, 
and  many  other  analogous  names  are  without 
distinction  in  the  two  languages.  In  other 
cases  the  variation  is  so  slight  as  to  be  of  little 
importance,  as  Artynes  for  Artanes,  Parmises 
for  Parmys,  Intaphernes  for  Intaphres,  etc. 
In  still  another  class  the  Median  words,  though 
not  similar  to  any  known  Persian  names,  are 
clearly  made  up  of  Persian  roots  and  combi- 
nations. To  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  physiognomy  of  languages  this  kind  of 
evidence  is  conclusive  proof  of  affinity  between 
the  tongues  in  which  it  exists.  Such  names 
as  Ophernes,  Sitraphernes,  Mazares,  Spitaces, 
Megabernes,  and  the  like,  are  so  clearly  Per- 
sian in  their  typical  structure  as  to  be  unmis- 
takable by  scholars,  and  yet  these  words  are 
not  known  as  the  names  of  Persians.  A  fourth 
class,  though  having  the  Persic  type,  have  no 
root-identity  with  any  known  words  in  that 
tongue,  but  are  easily  made  out  by  compari- 
sons with  Zend  and  Sanskrit.  It  is  as  though 
Norman  names,  the  equivalents  of  which  could 
not  be  found  in  French,  should  be  discovered 
in  Italian  or  Spanish — a  fact  not  at  all  incon- 
sistent with  the  laws  of  linguistic  growth  and 
decay.  Thus  it  happens  that  the  names  of 
the  principal  personages  of  Median  history — 
Deioces,  Phraortes,  Astyages,  and  Cyaxares — 
are  made  up  of  parts  not  found  in  Persian, 
but  are  easily  explained  by  Zend  and  Sanskrit 
roots.  In  like  manner  the  meaning  of  many 
Median  names  of  places  may  be  traced  in  cor- 
responding forms  found  in  the  older  branches 
of  the  Aryan  speech.  Of  this  kind  are  the 
names  of  the  principal  cities — Ecbatana,  Bag- 
istan,  Aspadan,  etc. 

Besides  the  names  of  persons  and  places 
only  a  few  Median  words  have  survived.  The 
word  for  day  was  spaka.  The  heralds  who 
carried  messages  to  and  from  the  king  were 
called  angari.  One  of  the  measures  employed 
by  the  Medes  was  known  as  the  artahe,  and 
the  Median  robe  was  called  candy s.  Two 
other  words — artades,  meaning  "  the  just,"  and 


MEDIA.— LANGUAGE  AND  RELIGION. 


217 


devas,  meaning  "the  evil" — are  of  record  as 
belonging  to  the  Median  dictionary;  and 
here,  so  far  as  present  scholarship  can  deter- 
mine, our  knowledge  of  the  vocabulary  of 
this  ancient  people  is  bounded.  Only  one 
other  fact  concerning  the  speech  of  the  Medes 
is  known,  and  that  is  the  prevalence  of  the 
terminational  particle  ok  in  nouns.  This  end- 
ing seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  guttural 
suffix,  which  was  gradually  softened  down  and 
finally  dropped  altogether  from  the  later  de- 
velopment of  the  language  in  Persia. 

That  the  Medes  possessed  the  art  of  writ- 
ing their  language  can  not  be  doubted.  In 
the  First  Book  of  Herodotus  the  story  is  told 
how  Harpagus  the  Mede  sent  to  Cyrus  a  let- 
ter concealed  in  the  body  of  a  hare.  Several 
other  references  of  like  sort  indicate  the  be- 
lief of  the  ancients  that  the  art  preservative 
of  arts  was  known  and  practiced  by  the  people 
of  Media.  Several  passages  in  the  Book  of 
Daniel  state  specifically  that  King  Darius 
wrote  and  signed  the  decrees  which  from  time 
to  time  he  issued  "unto  all  peoples,  nations, 
and  languages;"  and  in  the  tenth  chapter  of 
Esther  it  is  stated  that  there  was  kept  at  the 
Persian  court  a  book  containing  the  annals 
of  the  Median  monarchs.  But  it  is  doubtless 
true  that  the  native  writings  of  this  people 
were  limited  to  political  papers  and  royal 
messages,  and  that  no  national  literature  of 
any  importance  w^as  ever  produced.  The  peo- 
ple were  a  matter-of-fact  and  comparatively 
idealess  race,  and  outside  of  the  sacred  lore 
in  which  their  religious  system  was  expressed, 
the  world  of  letters  was  uncultivated — the 
world  of  thought  unexj)lored. 

In  one  respect,  however,  the  jNIedes  made 
a  decided  advance.  The  cumbrous  and  elab- 
orate system  of  writing  employed  by  the  peo- 
ple beyond  the  Zagros  mountains  was  greatly 
simplified  by  both  the  Medes  and  Persians. 
Instead  of  employing  three  or  four  hundred 
characters  (some  of  them  composed  of  as 
many  as  fifteen  elementary  strokes  or  wedges), 
the  ancient  Aryan  scribes  reduced  their  sys- 
tem to  a  manageable  compass,  based  on  an  al- 
phabetic analysis  of  sounds.  In  this  effort  at 
scientific  writing  they  were  comparatively 
successful. 


The  system  which  they  thus  produced 
embraced  a  list  of  twenty-three  distinct  sounds, 
expressed  by  thirty-seven  characters,  which 
Avas  a  nearer  approximation  to  accuracy  than 
has  been  attained  by  several  modern  nations. 
The  characters,  moreover,  which  were  used  in 
the  Medo-Persic  alphabet  were  much  simpler 
in  form  than  those  employed  by  the  peoples 
of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  valleys.  The  ele- 
mentary stroke  in  writing  was  the  wedge,  f. 
This  character,  except  in  the  arrow-head  vari- 
ation (<),  was  always  written  either  perpen- 
dicularly (f),  horizontally  (►),  or  inclined 
to  the  right  {\)',  and  indeed  the  latter  posi- 
tion was  only  employed  as  a  mark  of  separa- 
tion between  words.  Each  letter  was  made 
up  of  a  combination  of  simple  strokes,  the 
minimum  in  any  one  letter  being  two  wedges, 
and  the  maximum  five. 

The  Median  writing  was  executed  from 
left  to  right.  The  characters  were  produced 
between  two  parallel  lines  drawn  horizontally 
across  the  stone  tablet  or  parchment.  Fre- 
quently, at  the  right-hand  edge,  the  words 
were  divided,  and  a  part  carried  back  to  the 
beginning  of  the  next  line,  after  the  manner 
of  modern  times.  As  in  many  other  lan- 
guages, there  was  great  danger  of  mistaking 
one  character  for  another.  Several  of  the  let- 
ters so  nearly  resembled  others  as  to  be  indis- 
tinguishable in  careless  writing.  A  slight 
error  in  the  use  of  the  stylus  or  graving  tool 
was  sufficient  to  alter  or  confound  the  sense 
of  a  paragraph. 

Whether  the  INIedes  employed  a  cursive  or 
round  hand  is  not  known.  If  writing  was  a 
common  art,  much  used  by  the  people,  it 
would  appear  probable  that  a  continuous  or 
running  combination  of  the  characters  would 
have  naturally  taken  the  place  of  the  slow 
and  tedious  elaboration  of  wedges.  If,  how- 
ever, w-riting  was  limited  in  its  practice  to  the 
king's  counselors  and  scribes,  then  it  is  likelv 
that  no  departure  w'as  made  from  the  typical 
forms  of  the  graven  alphabet. 

The  materials  used  in  writing  were  stone 
and  parchment.  The  latter  substance  was 
employed  in  disseminating  the  edicts  of  the 
kings  and  for  other  similar  purposes.  For 
the  more   important   statutes   and  records  of 


218 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  Empire  the  face  of  the  imperishable  rock 
was  used,  and  the  scribe's  chisel  was  the  pen. 
The  method  of  writing  on  clay  tablets  and 
cylinders  seems  not  to  have  been  known 
among  the  early  Aryans  of  the  Median  pla- 
teau. Whatever  writing  they  did  was  lim- 
ited to  the  practical  and  necessary  affairs  of 
life;  the  voice  of  imagination  found  no  utter- 
ance, the  tongue  of  poetry  no  language. 

Such  was  the  speech  of  the  Medes.  As  in 
the  case  of  nearly  all  the  other  ancient  peo- 
ples, the  oldest  records  of  this  language  are 
embalmed  in  the  religious  system  which  was 
formulated  on  the  emergence  of  the  race  from 
barbarism.  This  system  is  presented  in  the 
Zend  A  VESTA,  though,  as  already  said,  the  lan- 
guage of  that  great  work  is  much  more  an- 
tique than  that  development  of  speech  which 
prevailed  in  the  days  of  Astyages. 

The  Zendavesta  is  in  eight  Books,  covering 
the  same  general  topics  which  are  presented 
in  the  Old  Testament — Laws,  Covenants, 
Prayers,  Songs,  etc.  In  these  we  can  see  re- 
flected with  considerable  clearness  the  hopes 
and  aspirations  of  our  ancestral  race  in  its 
earliest  communings  with  the  gods.  It  was 
the  blind  effort  of  an  unscientific  age  to  in- 
terpret the  phenomena  of  the  world  and  to 
discover  the  Cause  or  causes  of  Nature.  Per- 
haps the  oldest  part  of  this  quaint  Bactrian 
bible  is  the  Gathas,  or  "Songs,"  many  of 
which  are  no  doubt  more  primitive  than  the 
separate  existence  of  the  Medo-Persian  race. 
They  contain  the  unpremeditated  and  often 
fervid  utterances  of  awe-struck  worshipers, 
pouring  out  their  praises  and  petitions  to  the 
invisible  powers  of  the  earth  and  air  and  sky. 
Tliese  powers  were  many  rather  than  one, 
and  possessed  few — perhaps  none — of  the  at- 
tributes of  personality.  There  was  at  the  first 
only  one  class  of  divine  beings — the  AJmras, 
or  gods.  These  were  good,  and  were  wor- 
shiped as  beneficent  and  life-giving  influences. 
It  is  believed  that  that  system  of  dualism 
in  which  the  bad  powers  of  the  universe  are 
set  over  against  the  good  was  unknown  to  the 
earliest  religion  of  the  Aryan  race. 

The  Powers,  then,  or  Beings  most  wor- 
shiped by  the  ancient  Bactrians  were  Indra, 
the   Storm  ;    Mithra,  the   Sunlight ;    Armati, 


the  Earth;  Vayu,  the  Wind;  Agni,  the  Fire; 
and  Soma,  Intoxication.  These  principles  or 
forces  of  nature  were  the  common  objects  of 
adoration  before  the  earliest  tribal  separations 
of  the  Aryans — the  de'ties  alike  of  Hindus 
and  Iranians.  It  was  nature-worship,  pure 
and  simple,  in  the  garb  of  polytheism.  It 
was  not  long,  however,  before  the  perceptions 
grew  by  evolution,  and  it  was  seen  that  the 
powers  of  the  physical  world  are  harmful  as 
well  as  helpful — bad  as  well  as  good.  Upon 
the  good  principles  of  nature,  therefore,  the 
affections  of  the  worshiper  were  turned  and 
centered,  while  from  the  bad  his  gaze  was 
averted,  and  by  them  his  fears  alarmed.  Thus 
arose  the  good  spirits  and  the  evil — the  Ahu- 
ras  and  Devas,  the  beneficent  gods  and  the 
demons.  Their  worship  was  conducted  by 
three  classes  of  priests :  the  Kavi,  or  Proph- 
ets ;  the  Icaropani,  or  Sacrificers ;  and  the  ricikhs, 
or  Sages.  The  ceremonies  consisted  of  hymns 
chanted  in  praise  of  the  gods,  in  sacrifices  of 
animals  and  fruits,  and  in  libations  and  intox- 
ication. Of  the  sacrifice  a  part  was  burnt 
upon  an  altar,  the  rest  remaining  to  the 
priest;  and  in  the  ceremony  of  intoxication 
a  portion  of  the  liquor  was  poured  out  on  the 
earth  and  the  residue  drank  by  the  karopani, 
who,  when  drunken,  were  thought  to  be  in 
communion  with  the  deity. 

With  the  progress  of  religious  ideas  in 
Media,  and  the  acceptance  of  the  dualistic 
system  of  good  and  evil,  there  came  also  the 
concept  of  one  god  above  the  rest — a  supreme 
and  all-wise  Intelligence  by  whom  the  other 
deities  were  held  in  subordination.  This  great 
God  of  the  Medes  was  called  Ahura-Mazdao, 
or  Ahuramazda — the  living  Creator  of  all. 
His  attributes  were  holiness,  purity,  goodness, 
truth,  fatherhood,  and  happiness.  He  was 
the  possessor  and  giver  of  all  blessings,  both 
temporal  and  everlasting.  Earthly  honor  and 
preferment  and  spiritual  elevation  and  wisdom 
alike  flowed  from  this  immortal  Source  of 
light  and  beneficence.  Health,  as  well  as 
virtue;  wealth,  as  well  as  wisdom,  came  to 
the  good  from  the  bovmteous  hand  of  Ahura- 
Mazdiio,  and  by  withholding  he  punished  the 
evil  for  their  sin.  He  was  a  mighty  and 
spiritual  God,  of  whom  no  image  or  likeness 


MEDIA.— LANGUAGE  AND  RELIGION. 


219 


could  be  made,  and  before  whose  sight  all  vile 
and  gross  practices  were  an  abomination.  He 
had,  in  general,  the  same  high  godhood  and 
attributes  of  personality  which  are  ascribed  to 
the  Jehovah  Elohim  of  the  Pentateuch,  and 
for  this  reason  a  strong  national  and  religious 
sympathy  existed  between  the  Medo-Persic 
races  and  the  Hebrews.  Notwithstanding  the 
intolerance  of  both  peoples  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion, the  Jews  under  Persian  rule  never 
revolted,  nor  did  the  Persians  at  any  time 
persecute  their  Jewish  subjects.  Both  nations 
declared  openly  and  with  almost  equal  empha- 
sis against  the  practices  of  idolatry,  and  both 
agreed  upon  the  indivisible  unity  and  almight- 
iness  of  the  Supreme  Being. 

Associated  with  Ahura-Mazdao  were  the 
angels.  One  was  the  great  messenger  and 
bearer  of  good  news  to  men.  His  name  was 
Sraosha.  Ail  the  beneficence  contrived  above 
for  the  human  family  was  revealed  to  man 
by  this  angel  of  light  and  blessing.  He  also 
kept  the  true  faith  from  corruption,  and  after 
death  brought  home  to  celestial  abodes  the 
souls  of  the  just.  Besides  this  sublime  per- 
sonage, several  of  the  divine  attributes  were  rep- 
resented as  angels.  Such  were  Vohu-Mano, 
"the  Good  Mind,"  and  Mazda,  "the  Wise," 
and  AsHA,  "the  True,"  who  are  sometimes 
represented  as  personal,  but  generally  as  sim- 
ple characteristics  or  qualities  of  the  godhead. 

Next  after  Sraosha  among  the  angelic  hier- 
archies was  Ariviati,  the  goddess  of  the  Earth. 
She  was  the  Median  Ceres,  and  like  the  Roman 
divinity,  she  kept  alive  the  sentiment  of  piety. 
When  the  half-wild  Mede  contended  with  the 
thicket  for  the  mastery  of  the  soil,  Armati 
encouraged  him  in  his  battle  with  perverse 
Nature,  and  when  at  last  the  harvest  came  she 
was  the  giver.  The  swelling  seed,  the  grow- 
ing stalk,  the  fragrant  blossom,  the  ripening 
fruit — were  not  all  these  the  blessings  show- 
ered upon  men  by  the  angel  of  the  fecund 
Earth?  Wherever  germination  and  birth  re- 
vived the  hope  of  the  world,  there  Armati, 
the  good  genius  sent  by  Ahura-Mazdao,  was 
present  to  give  and  to  inspire  the  delights  which 
come  of  increase. 

Thus  by  degrees  from  the  older  nature- 
worship  of  the  primitive  Aryans,  the  mind  of 


the  Iranic  peoples  was  called  to  the  contem- 
plation of  Spirit  and  Duty.  It  was  an  ad- 
vance from  the  form  to  the  essence.  The 
form  was  AVind,  and  Thunder,  and  Sunlight, 
and  Fire ;  the  essence  was  Truth,  and  Purity, 
and  Wisdom,  and  Life.  Even  in  those  parts 
of  the  Median  religious  system  in  which  the 
old  symbolism  was  preserved  there  was  a  con- 
stant refinement,  tending  to  the  substitution 
of  spirit  for  mere  form.  Thus  the  Earth  was 
represented  under  the  metaphor  of  the  cow, 
and  presently  it  was  the  geiis  urva  or  soul  of 
the  cow  that  was  addressed  in  worship.  The 
earth  was  thus  conceived  of  as  pervaded  by 
a  directing  principle  of  life — a  soul — the 
"  anima  mundi"  of  the  Greek  philosophers. 

The  myth  goes  on  to  recite  how  when  man, 
under  the  inspiration  and  direction  of  Ahuro- 
Mazdao,  first  cut  the  breast  of  the  Earth  with 
a  plowshare,  the  geus  urva  cried  out  in  an- 
guish, and  besought  the  high  angels  to  save 
Armati  from  the  pain  and  shame  of  desecra- 
tion. But  the  high  angels,  knowing  the  will 
of  Ahura-Mazdao,  refused  to  interfere.  Earth 
was  left  to  suffer  her  pangs  without  allevia- 
tion, but  was  given  in  recompense  of  her  sor- 
row the  flowers  and  fruits  and  harvests. 

For  some  reason  the  worship  of  Mithra, 
the  Sunlight,  was  not  included  in  the  oldest 
songs  of  the  Zendavesta.  In  this  the  system 
of  the  Medes  was  discriminated  from  that  of 
the  Aryans  of  the  Indus  valley.  With  the 
latter  the  worship  of  the  Sun-god  was  of  the 
highest  importance  and  popularity.  With 
the  Iranians,  however,  the  introduction  of 
Mithra  into  the  pantheon  belongs  to  a  later 
date  and  a  lower  plane  of  religious  thought. 
But  not  so  of  Vayu,  the  Wind.  In  the  oldest 
hymns  of  the  Zendavesta  his  praises  are 
chanted  and  his  godhead  appeased  with  sac- 
rifices. 

The  Soma  plant  of  the  East  is  a  species  of 
Asdepias.  The  power  of  the  expressed  and 
fermented  juice  to  produce  intoxication  was 
known  from  the  earliest  times.  The  pleasing 
thrill  of  delight  which  the  drinker  experienced, 
and  the  sudden  exaltation  of  his  faculties 
under  the  influence  of  the  inebriating  cup — 
were  not  these  the  gift  of  a  god?  What 
other  power  in  all   the  earth  could  so  bring 


220 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


mau  into  communion  with  the  joyous  divin- 
ities? Thus  did  Soma  become  the  phiut  and 
drink  of  the  deities.  The  gods  in  their  revels 
and  excesses  grew  drunken.  So  said  the 
coarser  theology  of  the  people.  But  the  Zo- 
roastrian  reformers  were  scandalized  at  the 
thought,  and  declared  that  the  gods  were 
sober,  and  that  men  were  made  into  beasts  by 
the  power  of  Soma.  Thus  was  a  schism  begun 
between  the  Aryans  of  the  Median  plateau,  and 
their  older  kinsmen,  the  Brahmins,  of  India. 
For  a  while,  after  the  Zoroastriau  reform,  the 
line  was  sharply  drawn  between  the  temperate 
theology  of  the  Bactrian  prophet  and  the 
license  and  abandonment  of  the  older  system 
of  faith. 

As  already  said,  the  Zoroastriau  system  of 
divinity  recognized  the  existence  of  devas,  or 
"fiends,"  as  the  antagonists  of  the  gods.  The 
latter  were  known  by  the  general  name  of 
ahuras,  or  "deities."  It  was  the  system  of 
dualism  in  its  infancy.  Good  and  evil  were 
opposed.  Out  of  the  conflicting  forces  of 
nature  the  intellect  of  man  worked  its  way 
backwards  to  antagonistic  principles.  It  is 
interesting  to  note,  moreover,  how  in  the  the- 
ology of  the  Bactrians  and  Medes  a  spirit  of 
optimism  prevailed  over  the  pessimistic  ten- 
dency of  thought.  The  gods  and  the  angels 
and  good  spirits  were  differentiated  into  indi- 
vidual character.  They  were  arranged  in  or- 
ders and  hierarchies,  the  one  above  the  other, 
and  were  given  names.  Ahura-Mazdao  was 
at  the  head.  But  not  so  of  the  devas.  These 
were  all  grouped  together.  They  had  no  in- 
dividual names  or  characters.  They  were 
simply  unclassified  devils.  There  was  no  fiend- 
in-chief  standing  over  against  Mazdao,  like 
Lucifer  in  the  Miltonic  theology.  A  deva 
was  simply  a  deva — a  malicious  sprite  disturb- 
ing the  world  and  working  mischief  to  the 
affairs  of  men. 

Traces  of  the  counter  system  of  good  and 
evil  appear  in  the  oldest  hymns  of  the  Zenda- 
vesta.  The  primitive  Zoroastrians  recognized 
the  unceasing  conflict  between  the  powers  of 
light  and  darkness.  Truth  and  falsehood, 
purity  and  depravity,  are  set  against  each 
other.  There  were  spirits  of  light  and  spirits 
of  darkness.     Nature  had  her  storms  and  her 


sunshine.  Man  vibrated  between  smiles  and 
tears.  But  the  bards  and  sages  dwelt  upon 
the  joyful  rather  than  the  gloomy  aspect  of 
life.  The  good  gods  were  adored  more  than 
the  devas  were  feared. 

At  the  outset  much  of  the  Medo-Bactrian 
system  of  dualism  was  traceable  to  the  poetic 
language  of  the  Zoroastriau  sages.  Abstract 
conceptions  were  personified.  What  was 
purely  natural  in  the  beginning  became  ideal 
in  the  imagination  of  the  poets,  and  was  then 
rendered  concrete  by  personification.  Natural 
philosophy  became  religion  by  ascribing  the 
conflicts  of  nature  to  personal  causes.  Further 
on  in  the  history  of  the  system  the  dualistic 
belief  rose  higher,  and  in  later  times  ventured 
to  set  up  Ahriman  as  the  foe  and  rival  of 
Ahura-Mazdao.  The  world  became  a  battle- 
field between  the  antagonistic  powers  of  -the 
air.  Man  was  alternately  aided  and  beset. 
Health  and  prosperity  and  happiness — gifts  of 
the  bright  immortals — were  shadowed  by  sick- 
ness, calamity,  and  sorrow — visitations  of  the 
spirits  of  evil  and  malevolence. 

Then  did  the  priests  elaborate  their  system 
of  dual  theology  and  adorn  it  with  decora- 
tions. They  made  out  two  great  hierarchies, 
the  one  heavenly,  the  other  infernal.  The 
six  leading  attributes  of  Ahura-Mazdao  were 
personified  into  six  great  deities.  One  was 
known  as  the  "Good  Mind."  Another  was 
the  "Highest  Truth;"  a  third  was  "Wealth." 
To  the  fourth  was  given  the  name  of  the 
"White,"  or  "Holy;"  while  the  fifth  and  the 
sixth  were  called  respectively  "  Health "  and 
"Immortality."  Then  the  demon  Ahriman 
was  invented.  He  was  the  "Bad  Mind." 
With  him  were  associated  as  councilors  Indra 
and  Shiva — both  from  the  pantheon  of  the 
Brahmins.  Three  other  personified  principles 
of  evil  were  set  in  the  Council  of  the  Bad; 
and  thus  the  armies  of  the  air  were  marshaled 
to  elevate  or  debase,  to  aid  or  destroy  the 
children  of  mankind. 

The  faith  of  the  Medes  was  by  no  means 
exclusively  a  religion  of  theoretic  beliefs. 
There  was  much  of  practical  ethics  in  the 
system.  Human  duty  was  clearly  recognized, 
and  its  doctrines  inculcated  both  by  precept 
and   law.      The   great  cardinal    principles   of 


MEDIA.— LANGUAGE  AND  RELIGION. 


221 


right  living  were  as  well  defiued  as  by  any 
of  the  pagan  nations.  Truth  in  word  and 
purity  in  life  were  regarded  as  the  foundations 
of  society.  Piety  towards  the  gods  and  indus- 
try in  honest  endeavor  were  virtues  without 
which  life  was  worthless.  It  is  in  evidence 
that  the  Medes  were  capable  of  sound  thought 
on  moral  subjects.  Every  action  was  traced 
to  its  motives  and  judged  accordingly.  Hu- 
man conduct  was  weighed  according  to  the 
thought  which  produced,  the  word  which  ex- 
pressed, and  the  deed  which  embodied  it.  One 
of  the  most  beautiful  aspects  of  the  system 
was  that  which  carried  morality  into  the  ordi- 
nary pursuits  of  life.  Sraosha  expected  of 
men  that  they  should  till  the  soil.  It  was  a 
religious  duty  to  do  so.  To  destroy  weeds 
and  brambles  was  well  pleasing  in  the  sight 
of  Ahura-Mazdao.  To  cut  down  thorns  and 
to  speak  the  truth  were  acts  the  same  in  na- 
ture and  results.  All  the  people  were  re- 
quired to  devote  themselves  in  whole  or  in 
part  to  the  work  of  tillage.  Ahura-Mazduo 
expected  it.  Zoroaster  taught  it.  Piety  de- 
manded it — not  only  this,  but  a  filial  obedience 
to  the  will  of  the  True  God  and  reverence 
for  his  holy  angels. 

The  sacrifices  of  the  Medes  generally  de- 
manded the  shedding  of  blood,  but  not  the 
blood  of  men.  The  animal  most  offered  was 
the  horse.  It  was  reckoned  most  pleasing  to 
the  deities  that  this  noble  creature  should 
bleed  before  the  altar.  Oxen,  sheep,  and 
goats  were  also  oflTered  up  as  victims.  The 
sacrifice  was  made  by  the  priests.  The  flesh 
was  held  on  high  and  waved  before  the  sacred 
fire,  and  then  the  consecrated  parts  were 
eaten  at  a  solemn  feast. 

"How  happy  art  thou  who  hast  come  here 
to  us  from  mortality  to  immortality!"  Such 
were  the  words  with  which  the  archangel, 
Vohu-Mano,  welcomed  the  soul  of  the  right- 
eous Mede  into  the  abodes  of  the  blest.  For 
the  soul  of  man  was  deathless.  The  spirits 
of  the  wicked  and  the  good  alike  survived  the 
shock  of  death.  When  the  mortal  pang  was 
over  the  liberated  soul — whatever  might  be 
its  moral  status — traveled  a  long  and  narrow 
path  towards  the  unseen  world.  On  the  hither 
side  of  the  gate  of  paradise  was  there  the 
N.— Vol.  I— 14 


"Bridge  of  the  Gatherer."  Who  could  go 
over  it?  Only  the  righteous.  Them  the  angel 
Sraosha  aided  with  his  hand  and  his  counsel. 
The  bad  fell  ofl^  into  the  abyss.  Upward  to 
the  throne  of  Ahura-Mazduo  ascended  the 
souls  of  the  good.  Before  these  were  set  the 
delectable  joys  of  paradise.  But  all  the  evil 
spirits  went  down  in  outer  darkness,  to  be 
chilled  with  bitter  winds  and  to  sit  at  poison- 
ous banquets.     Such  were  heaven  and  hell. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  earlier  Zoroas- 
trians  believed  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
At  a  later  date,  however,  the  doctrine  was  in- 
troduced and  taught  by  the  Magi.  The  later 
portions  of  the  Zendavesta  show  conclusively 
that  the  belief  in  the  raising  up  of  the  dead 
was  a  recognized  dogma  at  the  date  of  that 
part  of  the  INIedian  bible  in  which  the  refer- 
ences occur.  The  doctrine  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  was  not  involved  with  the  notion 
of  the  resurrection,  but  existed  as  an  earlier 
belief  fundamental  to  the  faith  of  the  Medes. 

The  myths  of  Media  were  many  and  inter- 
esting. One  of  the  most  important  was  that 
relating  to  the  origin  and  primitive  state  of 
man.  The  early  condition  of  the  human  race 
was  one  of  happiness.  It  was  an  Age  of 
Gold.  The  people  were  ruled  by  King  Yima. 
It  was  a  land  of  sunsiiine  and  peace.  Sum- 
mer reigned;  the  vine  flourished;  blossoms 
filled  the  air.  For  a  long  time  a  contented 
and  flourishing  race  honored  their  good  king 
and  lived  without  sorrow.  By  and  by  the 
aspect  of  nature  changed.  Winter  came.  The 
beauty  of  the  world  was  destroyed  by  bitter 
frosts.  Then  King  Yima  and  his  people  re- 
moved to  another  country  more  delightful 
than  the  first.  In  this  land,  according  to  the 
Vendidad,  there  was  "neither  overbearing  nor 
mean-spiritedness,  neither  stupidity  nor  vio- 
lence, neither  poverty  nor  deceit,  neither  pu- 
niuess  nor  deformity,  neither  Imge  teeth  nor 
bodies  beyond  the  usual  measure."  Whether 
of  the  flowers  of  the  gardens,  the  fruits  of  the 
fields,  or  the  cattle  upon  the  hills,  no  other 
land  was  so  beautiful  and  good  as  this  second 
home  of  the  primitive  Aryans.  It  was  the 
golden  epoch,  which  the  patriotic  imagination 
of  the  poets  has  ever  depicted  as  the  first  and 
most  glorious  state  of  the  human  race. 


222 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  second  great  mythical  hero  of  the 
Medes  was  Thr^tona.  He  was  the  Bactriau 
Beowulf-^the  slayer  of  dragons  and  extermi- 
nator of  monsters.  By  him  was  slain  the 
great  devil  Zohak,  a  mighty  dragon,  having 
"  three  mo'iths,  three  tails,  six  eyes,  and  a 
thousand  scaly  rings,"  and  who  had  his  lair  in 
the  frozen  peaks  of  the  Elburz.  A  second 
myth  gave  an  account  of  another  dragon  more 
ambitious  and  terrible  than  Zohak.  The  name 
of  this  second  monster  was  Cnavidhaka.  He 
boasted  that  he  would  convert  the  Avhole  sky 
into  a  chariot,  and  that  he  would  harness,  to- 
gether Ahura-Mazdao  and  Ahriman  and  drive 
them  as  his  horses  through  the  heavens.  Such  a 
disgrace  to  the  hierarchies,  good  and  bad,  was 
not  to  be  tolerated  or  thought  of.  A  third 
hero  appeared  on  the  sceuei  the  inheritor  of 
the  renown  of  Yima,  called  Keresasha.  He 
slew  the  boastful  dragon  and  gave  peace  to 
earth  and  sky. 

These  traditions  of  the  ancient  Medes  give 
a  tolerably  adequate  notion  of  the  current  and 
sweep  of  their  myth-miikiug  powers  and  cre- 
ative imagination.  It  is  especially  interesting 
to  note  that  their  legends  are  of  the  same 
general  character  as  those  presented  in  the 
poems  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans — that  is, 
heroic.  Carrying  the  analogy  further,  it  is 
easily  discoverable  that  the  traditions  of  the 
Teutonic  nations  of  Northern  Europe  belong- 
to  the  same  epic  catalogue  of  stories  with 
those  of  the  Persian  plain  and  Indus  Valley. 
Keresaspa,  Achilles,  ^Eneas,  Beowulf,  Coeur 
<le  Lion — they  are  all  one  in  nature — all  men 
rising  by  heroic  exploits  to  the  rank  and  fame 
of  demigods.  And  this  is  another  proof  and 
illustration  of  the  common  origin  and  race 
affinities  of  all  the  Aryan  families  and  tribes. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  religion  of 
the  Msdes,  beginning  with  a  tolerably  distinct 
expression  of  monotheism  and  with  peculiarly 
spiritual  forms  of  worship,  degenerated  to  a 
certain  extent  into  that  dualistic  folly  which 
makes  the  world  to  be  warred  for  by  conflict- 
ing principles  of  good  and  evil.  The  latter 
system  embraced  hierarchies  of  angels,  and 
finally  personified  the  adverse  forces  of  nature 
into  demons  of  high  and  low  estate. 

iJ^  v^t  remains  to  mention  a  third  form  of 


religious  faith  ado]3ted  by  the  Iranic  nations, 
and  afterwards  made  famous  in  the  litera- 
ture of  the  West.  This  is  the  celebrated 
system  of  Magism.  As  the  Medes  in  their 
epoch  of  power  pressed  their  way  to  the  west 
and  north  they  came  into  contact  with  the 
Scythian  tribes  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan. 
In  these  mountainous  regions  was  the  seat  of 
the  Magian  system.  Here  the  fire-temples 
were  built,  of  which  not  a  few  still  stand  as 
mute  witnesses  of  one  of  the  strangest  aspects 
of  the  religious  beliefs  of  mankind.  The  faith 
of  the  Magi  can  hardly  be  classified  with  any 
other  ever  accepted  and  taught  by  men.  It 
made  the  elements  of  nature  the  direct  objects 
of  worship.  It  was  not  that  some  power  pre- 
sided over  those  elements  that  might  be  rever- 
enced and  adored,  but  the  physical  fact  was 
itself  the  thing  w^orshiped  as  divine.  The 
elements  of  nature  were  four:  fire,  water, 
earth,  and  air.  Of  these  the  first  was  the 
most  energetic  and  sublime.  The  consuming 
flame  was  the  highest  manifestation  of  the 
divine  presence.  Before  this  beautiful  phe- 
nomenon in  whose  rapturous  embrace  the  ma- 
terials of  the  world  melted  into  ashes,  the 
awed  worshiper  stood  in  silent  adoration.  So 
the  pi'iest  built  an  altar,  and  the  sacred  fire 
caught  from  heaven,  was  kindled  and  kej)t 
burning  always.  The  priest  was  the  Holy 
]\Iagus.  No  other  might  attend  the  altars  or 
conduct  the  mystic  rites.  Through  him  only 
might  the  common  worshiper  approach  the 
divine  presence  and  be  reconciled  by  prayer 
and  sacrifice.  The  sacred  emblem,  flaming  ou 
the  altar,  inspired  the  profoundest  awe  and 
reverence.  No  breath  of  any  mortal  might 
be  blown  upon  it  without  pollution.  The 
burning  of  dead  bodies  was  a  horrid  profana- 
tion. Of  the  sacrificial  offerings  only  a  frag- 
ment of  fat  was  given  to  the  flame. 

The  Water  was  also  sacred.  The  swift-flow- 
ing river  or  placid  lake  was  defiled  with  any  un- 
clean touch  of  man.  No  drop  of  blood  might 
mingle  with  the  wave,  and  the  laving  of  hu- 
man hands  left  behind  the  stains  of  sin.  In 
like  manner  the  bosom  ci  Earth  was  holy. 
To  profane  the  sacred  soil  was  solemnly  inter- 
dicted. No  corpse  might  repose  therein,  nor 
any  draff  be  thrown  upon  the  divine  ground. 


MEDIA.— LANGUAGE  AND  RELIGION. 


223 


Likewise  was  the  Air  adored  and  propitiated 
with  offerings. 

All  the  ceremonial  of  the  Magian  faith 
was  conducted  by  the  priests.  The  sons  of 
Levi  had  not  more  exclusive  jurisdiction  over 
the  altars  of  Israel  than  did  the  Magi  over 
those  on  which  were  kindled  the  sacred  fires 
of  the  East.  Nor  was  the  Magus  himself 
unlike  the  Levitical  priest.  In  person  and 
apparel  the  two  impressed  the  beholder  as  be- 
longing to  the  same  class  of  hierarchs.  Both 
were  members  of  a  caste.  Both  inherited  the 
priestly  office  from  their  fathers.  Both  exhib- 
ited a  lofty  manner  and  solemn  air  caught 
from  the  severe  and  lofty  conceptions  of  their 
respective  systems.  The  Magus  wore  a  white 
robe  and  a  stately  miter,  from  which,  on  either 
side,  depended  a  lappet,  whereby  the  sides  of 
the  face  were  concealed.  He  bore  in  his  hand 
a  bundle  of  tamarisk  twigs — the  sacred  em- 
blem of  his  sacerdotal  and  prophetical  office. 
By  him  thus  clad  and  exalted  in  the  eyes  of 
the  multitude  the  sacrifices  were  prepared  and 
offered,  and  the  libations  of  milk  and  honey 
poured  forth  before  the  fires  of  the  altar.  For 
hours  together  he  chanted  hymns  and  uttered 
mystical  incantations.  Before  him  even  the 
king  and  the  noble  stood  with  humble  tokens 
of  reverence,  while  the  common  worshiper 
looked  up  awe-struck  and  trembling. 

A  strange  practical  question  in  the  jMedian 
system  of  belief  was  the  post-mortem  disposition 
of  human  bodies.  The  dead  might  not  be 
burned,  for  by  that  method  the  sacred  fire 
would  be  defiled.  Nor  might  a  corpse  be 
buried  in  the  ground  or  consigned  to  the 
river,  for  in  that  case  the  one  or  the  other  of 
the  elements  would  be  polluted.  Likewise  to 
leave  the  body  to  be  gradually  resolved  by 
the  slow  action  of  the  atmosphere  was  a  pro- 
fanation of  the  fourth  great  object  of  worship. 
The  last,  however,  seemed  to  be  the  least  ap- 
palling profanation  of  the  sacred  elements, 
and  was  accordingly  sometimes  adopted.  But 
a  more  general  way  was  to  expose  the  dead  to 
be  devoured  by  beasts  and  birds  of  prey ;  and 
this  method  is  still  followed  by  the  Guebres 
of  Persia  and  India.  Round  towers,  called 
the  Towers  of  Silence,  and  built  according  to 
a  pattern   prescribed   in  the  Zendavesta,  are  I 


erected  at  various  points,  and  on  the  tops  of 
these  circular  towers,  doorless  and  windowless, 
are  set  a  kind  of  hoppers  constructed  of  iron 
grates.  Into  these  the  bodies  of  the  dead  are 
thrown,  and  when  the  vultures  and  crows 
have  stripped  the  skeleton  bare  and  torn 
away  the  tendons,  the  bones  drop  through 
the  grating  into  the  inclosed  space  of  the 
tower.  The  revolting  features  of  this  method, 
however,  prevented  its  universal  adoption  at 
any  period  of  Median  history.  As  a  kind  of 
compromise  between  the  humanity  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  rigor  of  the  priests  another  plan 
was  substituted,  which  consisted  in  covering 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  with  a  layer  of  wax, 
so  as  to  prevent  contact  with,  and  conse- 
quent defilement  of,  the  earth. 

The  Magi  claimed  to  have  the  gift  of  divi- 
nation and  prophecy.  The  bundle  of  tamarisk 
rods  which  they  bore  about  with  them  was 
the  symbol  and  means  of  their  prophetic  pow- 
ers. The  superstition  of  a  divining  agency  in 
the  rods  seems  to  have  been  imbibed  from  the 
Scythians,  whose  priests  used  bunches  of  wil- 
low wands  in  ascertaining  the  things  of  the 
future.^  The  soothsayer  was  a  popular  char- 
acter and  was  much  sought  after,  as  he  ever 
has  been  and  ever  will  be,  until,  in  the  slow 
evolution  of  civilization,  the  ignorant  mul- 
titudes shall  come  to  understand  that  the 
universe  is  governed  by  law. 

Practically  considered,  the  most  valuable 
part  of  the  Magian  profession  was  that  in 
which  the  priests  were  engaged  in  insecticide. 
The  bad  animals,  the  bad  reptiles,  the  bad 
bugs, — were  not  all  these  the  work  of  Ahri- 
man  ?  So  the  Magus  carried  with  him  an  in- 
strument for  the  extermination  of  all  the 
dragon's  brood  of  small  pests  in  the  earth. 
It  Avas  made  a  religious  duty  resting  upon  the 
priests  to  impale  and  destroy  what  creeping 
thing  soever  caught  his  eye.     Albeit,  by  the 


*  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  absurd  water 
witchery  of  modern  times  is  traceable  to  this  far- 
off  origin.  The  water  witch  of  to-day  is  a  lineal 
descendant  of  the  Scythian  Magus.  The  forked 
switch  of  witch-hazel  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
rod  of  tamarisk,  and  the  frontier  conjurer  traverses 
the  ground  with  the  same  serious  face  of  perfect 
self-deception  which  the  priest  of  Media  wore  a 
thousand  years  before  the  birth  of  Csesar. 


224 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


roadside,  the  river  bank,  the  mouldering  wall 
of  palace  or  town,  the  Magi  sat  all  day  long 
in  a  ceaseless  warfare  with  snakes  and  mice 
and  lizards.  Nor  frog,  nor  worm,  nor  fly 
escaped  the  vigilant  cruelty  and  inspired  ha- 
tred of  the  zealous  hierarch  of  the  fire-altars. 
Such  were  the  principles  and  practices  of 
Magism — the  fire-worship  of  the  Medo-Bactrian 
nations.  It  was  a  picturesque  rather  than  a 
powerful  type  of  religion.  To  see  the  white- 
robed  and  mitered  priests  on  the  mountain- 


top,  passing  to  and  fro  in  solemn  service 
before  the  altars  on  which  were  kindled  the 
ever-burning  fires,  to  hear  them  chanting 
weird  hymns  and  uttering  vague  and  awful 
prophecies,  might  well  incite  in  an  unscientific 
and  half-barbarous  age  emotions  of  sublimity 
and  fear — sentiments  of  awe  and  devotion. 
But  the  old  spiritual  power  of  the  Zoroastrian 
faith  could  hardly  be  compared  in  its  in- 
fluence over  life  and  conduct  with  the  more 
showy  formality  of  the  Magian  ceremoniaL 


Chapter,  xviil.— CiviIv  and  ivtiLiXARY  Annals. 


HETHER  the  Madai, 
mentioned  in  the  tenth 
chapter  of  Genesis  as  con- 
stituting a  branch  of  the 
Ja^^hetic  family,  meant 
the  race  of  the  Medes,  is 
a  question  not  easily  re- 
solved. The  supposition,  if  allowed,  would 
indicate  for  that  race  an  antiquity  much 
greater  than  can  be  deduced  from  the  Assyr- 
ian records.  In  favor  of  this  hypothesis  of 
great  antiquity  may  be  mentioned  the  fact 
that  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament  the  word 
Madai  always  signifies  the  Medes,  and  also  the 
additional  fact  that  Berosus  succinctly  declares 
that  one  of  the  earliest  Chaldeean  dynasties, 
long  before  the  rise  of  the  Assyrian  Empire, 
was  Median.  The  narrative  states  that  this 
Median  line  of  mouarchs  in  Lower  IMesopo- 
tamia  resulted  from  a  conquest  made  by  the 
warlike  race  dwelling  beyond  the  Zagros. 
This  statement,  made  by  the  native  his- 
torian of  Chaldsea,  carries  double  weight,  in 
that  it  involves  a  humiliating  subjugation  of 
his  own  people  by  foreign  armies — a  state- 
ment which,  unless  it  were  true,  would  be 
forbidden  by  patriotism.  The  references  by 
Berosus  and  the  author  of  Genesis  seem  to 
point  to  the  Medes  as  one  of  the  primitive 
races  of  mankind,  appearing  on  the  horizon 
at  a  date  as  remote  as  two  thousand  years  be- 
fore the  common  era. 

From  these  faint  gleams  of  historic  light 


no  more  can  be  said  than  that  the  Medes 
were  a  very  ancient  people.  Of  their  career 
in  peace  and  war  at  that  remote  epoch  noth- 
ing whatever  is  known.  Veiled  they  are  in 
the  same  impenetrable  obscurity  which  dark- 
ens the  beginnings  of  all  human  history. 
Negatively,  the  Zendavesta  shows  that  at  the 
date  of  the  composition  of  that  Iranic  bible 
(about  B.  C.  1000)  the  Median  race  had  not 
yet  begun  to  be  felt  in  the  affairs  of  nations. 
Not  until  a  century  and  a  half  after  this  date 
do  the  Medes  actually  emerge  into  the  clear 
day  of  national  life  and  activity.  Before  this 
time  it  can  be  said  only  with  approximate 
certainty  that  this  people  had  made  a  conquest 
in  Chaldsea  and  established  over  that  country 
a  line  of  kings. 

The  actual  annals  of  Media,  then,  begin 
with  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth  century  before 
the  Christian  era.  At  this  time  Shalmaneser 
II.  was  king  of  Assyria.  This  monarch,  ac- 
cording to  the  records  of  his  reign,  made  war 
into  the  country  beyond  the  Zagros  mount- 
ains, and  while  on  one  of  his  campaigns  came 
in  contact  with  the  Medes.  A  portion  of  the 
territory  of  this  people  was  devastated ;  but 
the  Assyrian  records  do  not  indicate  such  re- 
sistance on  the  part  of  the  Medes  as  would  be 
expected  from  a  great  or  vigorous  nation. 
The  war,  on  the  contrary,  seems  to  have  been 
such  as  a  powerful  monarch  would  wage  with 
scattered  and  badly  organized  tribes. 

After  the  death   of  Shalmaneser  and  the 


MEDIA.— CIVIL  AXD  MILITARY  ANXALS. 


225 


accession  of  his  son,  Shamas-Vul,  a  second 
Assyrian  invasion  of  Media  occurred.  The 
offense  of  the  Medes  seems  to  have  been 
merely  the  manifestation  of  a  belligerent 
spirit.  For  this  potentiality  of  war  their 
country  was  again  ravaged  until  Shamas-Vul 
and  his  array  were  satisfied,  and  returned 
through  the  mountain  passes  to  Nineveh.  It 
was  in  this  hard  school  of  destructive  incur- 
sions that  the  Medes  were  taught  their  first 
lessons  in  resistance  and  revenge. 

Assyria  was  now  in  the  heyday  of  her 
power.  To  save  themselves  and  their  country 
from  further  depredation  the  Medes  adopted 
the  expedient  of  tribute.  As  the  price  of 
peace  they  agreed  to  pay  an  annual  stipend. 
This  policy  was  adopted  in  the  reign  of  Vul- 
Lush  III.,  about  the  close  of  the  ninth  cent- 
urv  B.  C  During  the  following  one  hundred 
years  the  !Medes  became  more  compact  and 
populous.  They  lay  like  a  cloud  along  the 
eastern  horizon  of  Assyria.  Doubtless  the 
tribute  had  been  paid  only  by  those  western 
tribes  who  had  felt  more  than  once  the  venge- 
ance of  the  Ninevite  kings.  The  tribes  to  the 
east  had  remained  comparatively  free  from 
foreign  domination. 

In  the  meantime  a  growth  of  nationality 
had  fired  the  spirit  of  the  Medes,  and  the 
presence  of  that  spirit  gave  the  Assyrians 
warning  that  actual  subjugation  was  necessary 
to  the  maintenance  of  their  authority  beyond 
the  mountains.  So  Sargon  the  Great,  in  the 
year  B.  C.  710,  determined  to  subdue  the 
oountry  and  annex  it  to  his  dominions. 
Armies  were  marched  through  the  mountain 
passes.  Military  posts  were  established  and 
filled  with  soldiers.  Whole  colonies  of  Medes 
were  deported  into  Assyria,  and  their  places 
were  supplied  either  with  Assyrians  or  with 
captive  bands  of  Samaritans,  whom  the  mon- 
arch had  recently  brought  home  from  his 
Western  campaigns.  IMedia  was  reorganized 
as  a  province  of  the  Empire,  and  the  tribute 
was  systematically  enforced,  a  part  of  the  an- 
nual tax  being  a  levy  of  horses  for  the  stables 
of  the  king  and  for  the  captains  of  his  armies. 

The  date  of  this  subjugation  of  Media  by 
Sargon  corresponds  almost  exactly  with  the 
reign  of  the  half-fabulous  king  Deioces,  who. 


according  to  Herodotus,  became  monarch  of 
the  Medes  in  B.  C.  708.  The  account  long 
received  as  true  from  the  old  Greek  historian 
is  now  known  to  have  no  foundation  in  fact. 
On  the  contrary,  at  the  very  time  assigned  by 
Herodotus  for  the  successful  revolt  of  Media, 
under  the  leadership  of  Deioces,  Sargon's 
armies  were  wasting  the  country  and  destroy- 
ing its  independence;  and  for  sixty  years 
after  this  event  no  serious  insurrection  oc- 
curred on  the  part  of  the  subject  people. 

During  this  period  the  domination  of  As- 
syria was  extended  eastward  to  the  Elburz  and 
to  the  north-west  into  Azerbijan.  AVanton  ex- 
l^editions  were  made  through  the  country  both 
by  Sennacherib  and  his  son,  Esarhaddon,  and 
towns  and  cities  on  the  remotest  confines  of 
ISIedia  were  either  destroyed  or  made  tribu- 
tary. Occasionally  some  nomadic  chief,  hov- 
ering with  his  lawless  bands  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  Empire,  was  seized  and  carried  away 
as  a  curious  spectacle  for  the  gaze  of  the 
Ninevites.  Such  examples  acted  in  terrorem, 
and  the  peace  of  the  borders  ceased  to  be 
disturbed. 

About  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century 
B.  C,  we  reach  the  solid  ground  in  Median 
history.  From  the  year  875  to  660  B.  C,  is 
the  epoch  of  myth  and  fable.  Soon  after  the 
latter  date  the  great  Cyaxakes  appeared  on 
the  scene,  and  his  coming  heralded  a  com- 
plete change  in  the  condition  of  the  countries 
beyond  the  Zagros.  The  beginning  of  this 
change  was  precipitated  by  the  incursion  of 
new  Aryan  tribes  from  the  direction  of  Bac- 
tria.  The  incursionists  were  Avelcomed  by 
their  kinsmen,  the  Medes,  who  at  heart  de- 
tested the  Assyrian  power,  and  were  but  too 
glad  to  find  in  an  augmented  and  fresh  popu- 
lation both  the  occasion  and  the  material  of 
revolt. 

Cyaxares  placed  himself,  as  by  natural 
selection,  at  the  head  of  this  malcontent  host 
of  his  countrymen,  and  the  power  of  Assyria 
was  soon  overthrown  as  far  west  as  the  mount- 
ains. The  Scythian  tribes  still  infesting  this 
border  country  were  reduced  to  submission, 
and  the  able  and  fearless  Cyaxares  set  about 
the  organization  of  an  independent  kingdom. 
Making  his  head-quarters  and  capital  close  to 


226 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  Zagros  chain,  he  not  only  proved  himself 
equal  to  the  task  of  keeping  the  Assyrians  at 
bay,  but  soon  began  to  cast  longing  eyes 
through  the  mountain  jiasses  at  the  luxurious 
plains  about  Nineveh. 

The  political  condition  of  Assyria  was  at 
this  time  of  such  sort  as  to  invite  invasion. 
Asshur-Bani-Pal,  now  in  the  thirty-fourth  year 
of  his  reign,  was,  if  not  already  in  his  dotage, 
less  vigilant  than  in  his  youth.  Perhaps  there 
was  mixed  with  the  general  lethargy  a  certain 
contempt  of  danger;  for  when  had  the  big- 
muscled  soldiers  of  Assyria  had  cause  to  fear 
an  enemy?  Nevertheless,  an  enemy  was  at 
the  gate.  Cyaxares,  at  the  head  of  a  large, 
courageous,  but  poorly  disciplined  army, 
poured  through  the  mountains,  and  the  As- 
syrian king  was  suddenly  confronted  with  a 
host  that  could  no  longer  be  despised.  But 
the  aged  monarch  proved  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency. At  the  head  of  his  army  he  met  the 
Medes  in  the  province  of  Adiabene.  A  severe 
battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  old-time  j^row- 
ess  of  Assyria  triumphed  over  the  naked  cour- 
age of  the  mountain  soldiery  of  Media.  The 
army  of  Cyaxares  was  terribly  routed,  and 
fell  back  pell-mell  through  the  passes  of  the 
Zagros.  The  king's  father,  Phraortes,  who, 
before  his  son's  accession,  had  been  in  some 
sort  king  of  the  Medes,  was  slain  in  the  battle. 

The  disaster  was  to  have  been  expected. 
The  Median  army  was  a  melange  of  half-bar- 
barians. What  could  they  do  against  the  war 
chariots  of  Nineveh  ?  Nothing  but  be  mowed 
down  like  a  harvest.  Cyaxares  was  quick  to 
take  in  the  situation.  He  saw  that  his  defeat 
was  directly  chargeable  to  the  constitution  of 
his  forces.  Every  chief  had  come  at  the  head 
of  his  own  clan,  armed  according  to  the  rude 
resources  of  his  province.  Horse  and  foot 
were  mingled.  Bows  and  arrows,  and  spears, 
and  slings,  and  darts  made  a  medley  of  impo- 
tent weaponry.  The  king  would  remedy  this 
condition  of  affairs,  and  by  breaking  up  and 
reforming  these  heterogeneous  bands  of  war- 
riors, would  marshal  forth  an  army.  It  was 
not  long  till  the  vigorous  spirit  of  the  mon- 
arch had  pervaded  and  fired  both  soldiers  and 
people.  Discipline  flashed  along  the  ranks, 
and   the   sting   of  recent   defeat  kindled  the 


anger  of  revenge.  As  soon  as  his  mixed  host 
of  Medes  and  Scythians  was  brought  into 
proper  subordination,  the  king  again  set  his 
face  towards  Assyria. 

There  was  now  an  orderly  invasion.  Asshur- 
Bani-Pal  took  the  field  as  before.  The  two 
armies  met  a  short  distance  from  Nineveh. 
The  Assyrians  were  borne  down  before  the 
new  foe  from  the  mountains,  and  were  driven, 
after  a  decisive  battle,  behind  the  ramparts 
of  the  capital.  Hard  after  them  came  the 
avenging  Medes.  A  siege  was  begun,  but  be- 
fore it  had  progressed  to  the  extent  of  endan- 
gering the  city,  the  attention  of  Cyaxares  was 
suddenly  recalled  by  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of 
his  own  country. 

It  was  the  Scythians.  As  already  said  the 
southernmost  tribes  of  this  barbaric  race  had 
been  easily  subdued  by  the  Medes.  The  two 
peoples  south  of  the  Caucasus  had  to  some 
extent  mingled  together.  A  part  of  the  army 
of  Cyaxares  was  Scythic.  But  the  great  body 
of  trans-Caucasian  Scyths  had  felt  only  so 
much  of  this  Median  ascendency  as  to  excite 
resentment.  The  hostile  feelings  of  the  north 
gathered  head.  While  Cyaxares  was  still  en- 
gaged with  the  Assyrians  beyond  the  Zagros 
the  Scythic  host  poured  down  into  Azerbijan 
and  headed  for  Ecbatana.  But  Cyaxares 
hastily  returning  from  Nineveh  confronted 
them  and  prepared  for  battle.  A  savage  con- 
flict ensued,  in  which  the  reckless  audacity  of 
the  Scythians  proved  more  than  a  match  for 
the  disciplined  forces  of  the  Medes.  Cyax- 
ares was  defeated,  and  he  and  his  subjects 
were  compelled  to  seek  refuge  in  the  walled 
towns  and  to  sue  for  peace.  Madys,  the 
Scythic  leader,  dictated  terms,  which  were 
less  severe  than  might  have  been  expected 
from  a  barbaric  chieftain  victorious  in  battle. 
An  annual  stipend  was  imposed  after  the  man- 
ner of  civilized  states,  and  Cyaxares  was  al- 
lowed to  retain  his  crown,  tributary  to  his 
conqueror.  Doubtless  the  easy  terms  imposed 
by  the  triumphant  barbarians  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  their  incursion  arose  rather  from  the 
inspiration  of  the  plunder  than  the  lust  of 
conquest.  Albeit,  the  character  of  Media  as 
a  cold  and  upland  region,  with  little  accumu- 
lated wealth,  was  not  such  as  to  entice  or  long 


MEDIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


227 


retain  a  horde  of  the  hungry  and  omnivorous 
beasts  from  beyond  the  Caucasus.  The  low- 
lying  plains  of  the  south-west,  rich  in  fields 
of  pulse  and  vineyards,  were  better  calculated 
to  appease  the  unappeasable  maws  of  such 
savages. 

The  condition  was  now  that  of  foreign 
domination  and  terrorism.  The  Scythians 
after  their  manner  pitched  their  tents  here 
and  there  over  the  country.  Their  flocks  and 
herds  were  pastured  on  the  lands  of  the  sub- 
ject Medes,  who  with  mixed  feelings  of  hatred 
and  fear  found  themselves  unable  to  thwart 
or  stay  the  fierce  wills  of  the  barbaric  leeches 
that  had  fastened  on  the  veins  of  their  coun- 
try. In  such  a  situation  energy  and  industry 
were  at  a  discount.  The  more  a  district  was 
cultivated  the  more  it  was  ravaged.  The  less 
cultivated  parts  fared  better.  The  roving 
habits  of  the  oppressors  carried  them  from 
one  region  to  another.  The  walled  town  was 
about  the  only  refuge  for  the  galled  and  des- 
perate Medes,  who  were  afraid  to  offer  resist- 
ance either  by  stratagem  or  open  revolt. 

For  some  years  the  reign  of  terror  continued 
until  the  Scyths  by  dispersion  into  various 
provinces  became  less  of  a  scourge — less  im- 
minently dangerous  to  the  subject  people. 
By  and  by  the  invaders  filed  off  in  large  num- 
bers into  Assyria,  Babylonia,  and  Pa]fstiue, 
renewing  their  ravages  everywhere  to  the  very 
gates  of  Egypt.  Many  bands  remained  under 
their  chiefs  in  ISIedia,  but  the  native  subjects 
of  Cyaxares  began  to  breathe  more  easily, 
and  their  long  smothered  wrath  rose  in  pro- 
portion as  the  danger  disappeared.  In  this 
juncture  of  afl^airs  the  king  himself  deter- 
jiMued  to  set  the  example  of  revenge  and  de- 
si!  action. 

Cyaxares  made  a  feast.  Treachery  was 
mixed  in  the  cups.  The  appetite  of  the 
Scythians  became  the  means  of  their  ruin 
and  overthrow.  The  invited  chiefs  were  plied 
with  drink  until  they  lay  stupid,  whereupon 
the  hidden  bands  of  armed  Medes  broke  into 
the  banquet  hall,  and  slew  them  all  without 
mercy.  The  sound  of  the  murderous  work 
was  heard  beyond  the  palace,  and  a  popular 
fury  broke  out  against  the  savage  oppressors 
of  the  land.     The   incensed   people  took    up 


what  weapons  soever  they  could,  and  hewed 
right  and  left  in  a  war  of  extermination.  No 
records  have  been  preserved  of  the  struggle. 
It  is  known  only  that  the  Scythians  were 
completely  overwhelmed.  Those  who  escaped 
the  avenger's  hand  were  driven  through  the 
passes  of  the  Caucasus  into  their  native 
haunts.  So  complete  was  the  overthrow  that 
scarcely  a  trace  of  the  foreign  domination 
remained  in  the  country  which  the  barbarians 
had  held  and  ravaged  for  a  period  of  years. 

As  soon  as  the  Scythians  had  ceased  to  be 
a  terror,  the  Medes  renewed  their  project  of 
invading  Assyria.  That  great  Empire  had 
fallen  into  decrepitude.  Saracus,  the  reigning 
monarch,  was  an  unworthy  successor  of  those 
mighty  kings  who  for  centuries  had  dominated 
the  better  parts  of  Western  Asia.  The  out- 
skirts of  the  kingdom  lay  open  and  invited 
attack.  The  resources  at  the  command  of 
Saracus  were  as  little  adequate  to  supply  the 
means  of  resistance  as  Avas  the  king  capable 
of  hurling  back  an  invader.  As  soon  as  Cy- 
axares could  muster  and  discipline  his  forces, 
he  entered  with  renewed  energy  upon  the 
cherished  plan  of  Assyrian  subjugation. 

At  this  time  the  viceroyalty  of  Chaldsea, 
which  had  been  a  dependency  of  Assyria  for 
more  than  a  half  century,  had  recovered  in 
some  measure  the  influence  and  renown  of 
her  pristine  era.  The  Assyrian  yoke,  though 
not  especially  galling,  was  nevertheless  a — 
yoke.  No  insurrections  had  occurred;  but 
with  the  decadence  of  Assyria  the  elements 
centering  at  Babylon  were  rife  for  mischief. 
In  this  condition  of  aflairs  the  Median  inva- 
sion, led  by  Cyaxares  in  person,  was  precipi- 
tated. Before  beginning  his  campaign,  how- 
ever, the  king  of  the  Medes  took  the 
precaution  to  test  the  loyalty  of  the  Baby- 
lonian viceroy.  That  notable  was  in  no  mood 
to  be  virtuous,  and  readily  yielded  to  the 
overtures  of  the  Median  king.  It  was  ar- 
ranged that  an  army  of  revolting  Babylonians 
should  march  up  the  Tigris  simultaneously 
with  the  approach  of  Cyaxares  from  the  east. 
The  Assyrians  would  thus  be  struck  in  flank 
and  front,  and  the  capital  would  stagger  under 
the  blow. 

IMonn while   Saracus   was  informed   of  the 


228 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.  — THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


conspiracy.  His  weakness  was  spurred  by 
alarm  into  such  activity  as  his  effete  adminis- 
tration was  capable  of  exhibiting.  As  the 
best  expedient  he  divided  his  forces,  sending 
one  army  down  the  river  to  resist  the  ap- 
proaching Babylonians,  while  the  main  divi- 
sion under  his  own  command  was  directed 
eastward  to  confront  Cyaxares.  Nabopolassar, 
the  Babylonian  governor,  had  in  the  mean 
time  fallen  without  reserve  into  the  arms  of 
the  Medes.  He  had  been  astute  enough  to 
discover  at  once  the  waning  star  of  Assyria 
and  the  coming  Median  ascendency.  He  also 
saw  the  advantages  of  his  position,  and  espe- 
cially his  opportunity  to  set  a  high  price  upon 
his  defection  from  Assyria.  He  accordingly 
proposed  to  Cyaxares,  in  answer  to  the  over- 
tures of  the  latter,  that  the  conditions  of  his 
betrayal  of  his  sovereign  should  be  an  alliance 
of  fortunes  between  Media  and  Babylonia; 
that  he  himself  should  continue  ruler  of  the 
latter  country;  and  that  Cyaxares,  as  an 
earnest  of  good  faith,  should  give  his  daugh- 
ter Amyitis  to  be  the  wife  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
son  of  Nabopolassar,  and  heir  of  the  Babylo- 
nian viceroyalty.  To  these  conditions  Cyax- 
ares at  once  assented,  and  the  double  march 
on  Nineveh  began. 

The  campaign  that  followed  was  one  of 
battles  and  vicissitudes.  The  combined  army 
of  Medes  and  Babylonians  was  met  on  the 
advance,  and  twice  defeated  by  the  aroused 
hosts  of  Assyria.  Cyaxares  fell  back  into  the 
mountains,  only  to  come  again,  and  again 
suffer  defeat.  He  and  his  ally  then  retreated 
into  Babylonia,  and  were  reinforced  by  fresh 
contingents  from  Media.  A  third  advance 
was  made.  The  Assyrian  camp  Avas  surprised 
by  night  and  ruinously  routed.  The  broken 
fragments  rolled  back  into  Nineveh,  and  the 
victorious  invaders  advanced  to  the  siege. 

Once  within  the  walls,  the  Assyrians  felt 
secure,  for,  in  expectancy  of  such  a  disaster, 
the  city  had  been  garrisoned  and  supplied 
with  provisions  and  stores.  For  more  than 
two  years  the  awkward  but  dauntless  besieg- 
ers beat  around  the  invested  capital.  It  was 
naked  ferocity  attacking  a  rock.  But  by  and 
by  Nature  joined  the  conspiracy.  With  the 
rainy  season  of  the  third  year  the  Tigris  rose 


bank  full,  and  threatened  to  do  what  the 
clumsy  enginery  of  Media  seemed  impotent 
to  accomplish.  The  turbid  tide  rolled  higher, 
beat  the  city  bastions,  and  finally  swept  away 
the  walls  and  let  in  the  wolves  of  conquest. 
Saracus — such  is  the  tradition  of  the  event — 
shrank  into  his  palace,  heaped  up  the  antique 
splendors  of  his  ancestors,  mounted  the  pile 
with  his  wives  and  concubines,  and  perished 
in  the  flames. 

Such  was  the  fall  of  Nineveh  and  of  the 
great  Assyrian  Empire.  The  collapse  was 
complete.  It  only  remained  for  Cyaxares 
and  Nabopolassar  to  make  such  use  of  their 
victory  as  should  secure  the  vast  harvest  of 
conquest.  It  seems  that  both  the  Median 
monarch  and  his  ally  were  in  a  faith-keeping 
mood  in  the  presence  of  their  success.  Instead 
of  quarreling  about  the  spoils  of  war  they 
agreed  to  remain  on  terms  of  amity  and  divide 
the  world  between  them.  A  division  was  ac- 
cordingly made.  Nabopolassar  received  Bab- 
ylonia, Susiana,  Chaldsea,  and  the  whole  val- 
ley of  the  Lower  Euphrates  spreading  out 
towards  Arabia  and  Egypt  on  the  south-west. 
This  the  quondam  viceroy  and  now  king  at 
once  proceeded  to  organize  into  the  kingdom 
of  Babylonia — a  power  which  will  furnish  the 
subject-matter  of  the  following  Book. 

Cyaxares  himself  took  what  had  constituted 
the  Assyrian  Emj)ire  proper,  embracing  all 
the  northern  portion  of  Mesopotamia  and  the 
provinces  thereunto  adjacent.  This  vast  and 
important  region,  added  to  his  own  kingdom 
of  Media,  gave,  not  only  territorially,  but  also 
as  it  respects  population  and  resources,  suffi- 
cient scope  for  the  exercise  of  all  the  energies 
and  ambitions  of  the  victorious  monarch. 
Thus  out  of  the  wreck  of  Assyria  arose  two 
separate  and  independent  empires.  Media  on 
the  east,  and  Babylonia  on  the  south  and 
west.  And  contrary  to  the  natural  expect- 
ancy excited  by  such  a  beginning,  the  two 
powers,  instead  of  broils  and  war,  continued  to 
cultivate  the  friendliest  relations. 

Cyaxares  had  conquered  Nineveh,  but  had 
not  conquered  a  peace.  The  elements  of  hos- 
tility were  active  in  his  dominions.  The  Scyth- 
ians who  had  been  thrown  off  from  his  own 
kingdom  of  Media  were  aggregated  in  bands 


MEDIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


229 


iu  vuj-ious  parts,  and  were  led  to  depredations 
by  chiefs  of  greater  or  less  ability  and  ambi- 
tion. Besides,  the  northern  provinces  of  As- 
syria, long  time  restless  under  the  oppressions 
of  the  Ninevite  kings,  sought  eagerly  in  the 
downfall  of  Saracus  an  occasion  and  opportu- 
nity ot  revolt.  Doubtless  Cyaxares  himself 
had  grown  warlike,  and  was  not  displeased  at 
the  hostile  turbulence  which  promised  further 
gratification  to  his  ambition.  He  accordingly 
entered  upon  a  career  of  conquest  which  ex- 
tended, through  many  vicissitudes  of  victory 
and  defeat,  over  a  period  of  more  than  ten 
years. 

The  general  excuse  for  the  wars  which 
followed  was  that  common  foe  of  the  times — 
the  Scyths.  To  pursue  these  barbarians  into 
what  territories  soever  they  might  have  in- 
vaded was  claimed  as  a  just  measure  of  re- 
venge on  the  part  of  Cyaxares.  Albeit,  in 
many  instances  the  Median  king  was  hailed, 
even  at  the  head  of  a  consuming  army,  as  a 
deliverer  from  the  scourge  of  Asia.  But  in 
those  provinces  and  countries  in  which  the 
inhabitants  were  of  Turanian  origin,  and  there- 
fore of  nomadic  habits,  the  people  frequently 
made  common  cause  with  the  Scyths  in  the 
attempt  to  beat  back  the  more  civilized  ad- 
vance of  Cyaxares  and  the  Medes. 

The  two  countries  against  which  the  arms 
of  the  Median  king  were  first  directed  were 
Armenia  and  Cappadocia.  These  vast  districts, 
half-organized  out  of  barbarism,  were  still  in- 
habited by  native  tribes,  together  with  large 
numbers  of  invaders  precipitated  from  various 
regions.  Some  of  these  belonged  to  the  Tu- 
ranian race;  others  were  Aryans;  many  were 
Scyths — a  wavering  mass  of  savages  and 
robbers. 

The  first  of  these  two  countries  had  been  a 
nominal  dependency  of  Assyria.  The  Arme- 
nians had  borne  the  yoke  and  waited  their 
opportunity.  The  high  mountains  and  im- 
penetrable fastnesses  of  the  region  gave  a  nat- 
ural barrier  to  invasion,  but  the  will  of  Cyax- 
ares surmounted  the  ramparts  of  nature  and 
the  Armenians  were  subdued  in  a  vigorous 
campaign.  Cappadocia  lay  still  more  remote, 
but  the  Mede  paused  not  until  not  only  this 
country  but  also  the  far-off  tribes  of  Colchians, 


Iberians,  and  Moschi  were  brought  into  sub- 
jection. By  these  conquests  the  borders  of 
the  Median  Empire  were  extended  on  the 
north  to  the  Caucasus,  and  on  the  west  to 
the  river  Halys.  It  does  not  appear  that  the 
campaigns  were  bitterly  waged  or  long  con- 
tinued. The  races  with  whom  Cyaxares  con- 
tended were  accustomed  to  mastery  by  some 
military  power,  and  that  of  the  king  of  the 
Medes  was  not  moi*e  odious  than  had  been 
the  domination  of  the  Assyrians. 

More  important  by  far  was  the  next  cam- 
paign of  Cyaxares,  directed  against  the  king- 
dom of  Lydia.  To  enter  this  country  he 
must  cross  the  Halys — the  Rubicon  of  Asia 
Minor.  The  pretext  for  doing  so  was  the 
pursuit  of  the  Scythians;  but  the  Lydians 
readily  divined  the  real  motive  and  made  prep- 
arations for  resistance.  A  league  was  formed 
among  the  princes  of  Asia  Minor  to  oppose 
the  further  progress  of  the  Medes  to  the  west. 

These  formidable  preparations  rather  incited 
than  cooled  the  purpose  of  Cyaxares.  He 
summoned  the  Babylonians  to  his  aid,  and 
gathered  from  various  provinces  contingents 
of  troops  and  provisions.  With  a  great  army 
he  marched  westward,  and  began  the  invasion 
of  Lydia.  He  found  in  Alyattes,  king  of 
that  country,  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel. 
It  was  no  longer  a  campaign  against  semi- 
savages,  but  a  regular  military  combat  between 
opposing  armies.  Success  varied  from  side  to 
side.  Several  hard  battles  were  fought,  and 
in  more  than  half  of  the  conflicts  the  Lydians 
were  victorious.  In  one  instance  a  general 
and  hotly  contested  engagement  took  place 
in  the  7ught.  For  six  years  the  war  continued, 
until  at  last  superstition  ended  what  the  lust 
of  conquest  had  begun.  In  the  midst  of  a 
hard  fought  battle,  while  the  heated  combat- 
ants were  absorbed  in  the  work  of  death,  a 
mysterious  shadow  crept  over  the  face  of  Na- 
ture. The  sunlight  grew  dim  and  cold  in  the 
dust  of  battle.  A  solar  eclipse  (B.  C.  610) 
was  hanging  an  ominous  curtain  over  the 
heavens.  A  sudden  awe  fell  on  the  armies; 
then  silence;  and  then,  as  the  darkness  deep- 
ened, horror  and  quaking.  An  unscientific 
age  fears  not  man  but  the  gods. 

The  battle  was  at  an  end.     Nabopolassar 


230 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  Babylon,  on  the  part  of  the  Median  mon- 
arch, and  Syennesis,  king  of  Cilicia,  on  the 
part  of  the  Lydian  allies,  came  forward  on 
the  field  and  made  mutual  proposals  of  peace. 
The  threatening  heavens  made  the  negotia- 
tions easy.  It  was  agreed  to  end  the  war  on 
the  spot.  The  Scythians  were  forgotten.  The 
dominions  of  Alyattes  were  to  be  left  intact  by 
his  friend,  the  king  of  the  Medes.  All  things 
were  to  be  as  they  were  before,  and  some 
things  better.  For  the  two  amiable  sovereigns 
ratified  the  compact  by  marrying  Aryenis,  the 
daughter  of  the  Lydian  king,  to  the  young 
Astyages,  son  and  heir  of  Cyaxares.  And  to 
make  all  things  sure,  each  of  the  kings  punc- 
tured his  arm  and  gave  the  bleeding  wound 
to  the  lips  of  the  other.  Each  of  the  friends 
drew  the  life  of  the  other  from  the  wound. 
Alas,  for  the  deeds  of  the  past. 

It  is  proper  in  this  connection  to  give  some 
account  of  the  previous  history  of  the  coun- 
try with  which  the  Medes  were  thus  brought 
into  contact.  The  kingdom  of  Lydia  was  one 
of  the  most  ancient  of  all  Asia  Minor.  Tra- 
dition pointed  to  an  origin  at  least  seven 
hundred  years  before  the  time  of  Cyaxares. 
Three  dynasties  of  kings  had  ruled  the  nation, 
the  Atyadse,  the  Heraclidse,  and  the  Merm- 
nadoe.  Of  the  first  house  there  had  been 
four  kings;  of  the  second,  twenty -two;  of  the 
third,  four — thirty  recorded  reigns,  besides 
several  conjectural.  The  most  ancient  name 
of  the  country  was  Mseonia,  and  the  people 
were  called  Mseonians ;  but  under  Lydus,  the 
second  of  the  Atyad  kings,  the  name  was 
changed  in  his  own  honor  to  Lydia. 

The  Lydian  legends  were  full  of  great 
pretensions.  One  tradition  recited  that  both 
Belus  and  Ninus — the  mythical  founders  of 
Babylon  and  Nineveh — were  Lydian  princes 
sent  forth  to  establish  kingdoms  in  Mesopota- 
mia. Colonies  had  been  planted — so  said  the 
myths — in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world. 
Such  an  origin  was  claimed  for  the  Etruscans 
of  Italy,  and  for  other  primitive  states  of  the 
west  of  Europe.  A  Lydian  general,  named 
Ascalus,  had  led  an  army  to  the  extreme 
south-west,  and  built  the  city  of  Ascalon  in 
Syria. 

The  more  authentic   annals  of  Lydia  go 


back  to  about  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  cent- 
ury B.  C.     It  is  probable  that  the  two  dynas- 
ties, the  Heraclidse  and  the  Mermnadse,  were 
difierent    branches    of    the    same    house.     So 
much  is  indicated  by  the  feuds  between  them 
and  by  the  common  names  occurring  in  both 
lists  of  kings.     The  later  Heraclide  monarchs 
had  treated  the  princes  of  the  Mermnadse  with 
injustice,  born  of  distrust  and  jealousy ;  and 
this  wrong  grew  to  such  proportions  that  the 
Mermnads  were  obliged  to  seek  safety  in  exile. 
Their  partisans,  however,  maintained  their 
cause,  and    anon    the    banished    leaders    re- 
turned, put  the  Heraclide  king  to  death,  and 
established  their  own  chief,  named  Gyges,  on 
the  throne  of  Lydia.     This  revolution,  occur- 
ring in  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century, 
marked  the  commencement  of  a  new  era  of 
vigor  and  prosperity  of  the  kingdom.     It  was 
from  this  time  that  the  wealth  of  Lydia  became 
proverbial  throughout  the  known  world.     Gy- 
ges himself  was  one  of  the  richest  rulers  of 
his  epoch.    Magnificent  gifts  were  sent  by  him 
to  the  oracle  of  Delphi,  in  Greece.     Sardis, 
his  capital,  was  a  rich  and  luxurious  city,  and 
in  both  art  and  commerce  his  kingdom  had 
great  fame.     Nor  was  his  reputation  less  war- 
like  than   that  of  his  predecessors.     He  ad- 
vanced his  arms  to  the  ^gean,  thus  coming 
into  conflict  with  the  Greek  colonists  of  Asia 
Minor,  most  of  whom  he  subdued  and  made 
tributary  to  his  kingdom.      All  the   western 
coasts  looking  out  towards  the  Mediterranean 
felt  his  power  and  acknowledged  his  greatness. 
The  kingdom  of  Lydia  was  not  free  from 
the  common  calamity  of  the  times.    The  trans- 
Caucasian  barbarians  were  not  likely  to  over- 
look a  field  so  promising  in   plunder.     From 
this   direction    came    the    fierce    Cimmerians, 
spreading  terror  and   ruin  through  the  coun- 
try.    Gyges,  having  first  sought  and  obtained 
the  help  of  the  Assyrians,  gave  battle  to  the 
invaders,  and   inflicted  a  decisive  blow.     Of 
the  routed  Cimmerians  many  were  killed  and 
many   taken   prisoners,    of   whom   not  a  few 
were  sent  as  a  present  to  Asshur-Bani-Pal  at 
Nineveh.    In  a  second  war  with  the  same  rude 
and  turbulent  race  fortune  completely  forsook 
the  banners  of  the  king.    He  himself  was  slain 
in  a  great  battle,  and  the  people  and  soldiery 


MEDIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


231 


were  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in  the  walled 
towns.  Fascinated  by  the  fabulous  wealth  of 
Sardis,  the  barbarians  besieged  the  city,  and 
after  a  long  investment,  succeeded  in  break- 
ing in  and  reducing  every  thing  to  ruin. 
Only  the  citadel  held  out  against  the  venge- 
ance of  the  furious  men  of  the  North. 

A  period  of  prostration  followed  this  over- 
throw. The  Asiatic  Greeks  dependent  on 
Lydia  recovered  their  freedom.  The  emanci- 
pation of  the  coast  cities,  however,  was  but 
of  brief  duration,  for  in  the  next  reign  after 
that  of  Gyges  the  Lydians  had  already  suffi- 
ciently recovered  from  the  Cimmerian  ravages 
to  continue  and  maintain  their  conquests  in 
the  extreme  west  of  Asia  Minor.  The  cities 
of  Smyrna  and  Miletus  were  taken,  and  the 
territory  of  ClazomeniB  devastated  in  a  suc- 
cessful campaign  conducted  by  the  Lydian 
king. 

After  Gyges  the  most  distinguished  ruler 
of  Lydic"  was  his  great-grandson,  Alyattes. 
This  monarch  undertook  the  work  of  expell- 
ing the  Cimmerians  and  their  descendants 
from  the  kingdom.  Large  districts  were  al- 
most exclusively  inhabited  by  this  people. 
Contact  witii  j'vilization  had  somewhat  modi- 
fied their  warlike  habits,  but  they  were  still 
sufficiently  vengeful  to  be  an  object  of  terror 
as  well  as  of  aversion.  To  expel  these  in- 
truders at  once  and  forever  was  not  an  easy 
task,  but  was  less  so  than  when  in  the  time 
of  active  invasion  they  were  fresh  in  their 
native  ferocity.  Alyattes  succeeded  in  clear- 
ing not  only  his  own  kingdom,  but  all  Asia 
Minor  of  the  scourge  that  had  so  long  threat- 
ened and  lashed  the  nations  of  Western  Asia. 
Lydia,  Bithynia,  Paphlagouia,  Phrygia,  and 
Cilicia  were  all  freed  from  the  terror  Avhich 
had  oppressed  them. 

A  great  cause  of  the  prosperity  and  wealth 
of  the  Lydian  kingdom  was  the  natural  fer- 
tility of  the  country.  No  other  of  all  Asia 
Minor  had  so  rich  a  soil.  Not  only  was  this 
true  of  the  field  and  glebe  and  orchard,  but 
the  sands  also  yielded  their  treasure.  The 
bed  of  the  Pactolus,  flowing  through  the  cap- 
ital, glittered  with  gold.  In  this  fact  is 
founded  the  well  authenticated  claim  of  the 
Lydians  to  be  regarded  as  the  inventors  of 


coined  money.  They  were  a  frank  and  merry 
people,  having  great  sociability  and  not  a  little 
artistic  taste.  The  game  of  ball,  which  for 
more  than  two  thousand  years  has  been  the 
dernier  ressort  of  the  boys  of  the  world,  is 
said  by  Herodotus  to  have  been  invented  by 
the  sport-loving  Lydians.  So  also  of  dice  and 
several  other  popular  games  which  still  sur- 
vive. They  were  musicians,  having  many 
peculiar  instruments  on  which  they  produced 
sweet  and  plaintive  melodies.  In  the  active 
sports  and  in  the  discipline  of  war  they  were 
second  only  to  the  Assyrians  and  Medes.  In 
the  management  of  the  horse  they  greatly  ex- 
celled. The  cavalry  wing  was  an  important 
branch  of  the  Lydian  army,  and  long  before 
the  time  of  Alyattes  the  cavalrymen  of  the 
service  numbered  thirty  thousand. 

After  the  Battle  of  the  Eclipse,  Western 
Asia  presented  three  great  kingdoms :  Media, 
Babylonia,  Lydia — all  at  peace.  The  princes 
and  princesses  of  the  three  powers  were  inter- 
married, and  the  affinities  thus  established, 
strengthened  by  treaty  stipulations,  furnished 
strong  bonds  of  amity.  Aryenis,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Alyattes  and  sister  of  Croesus,  was 
married  to  Astyages,  the  crown  prince  of 
Media ;  and-  Amyitis,  the  sister  of  Astyages, 
was  wedded  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  heir  ap- 
parent to  the  throne  of  Babylonia.  Nor  were 
the  royal  brothers-in-law  in  such  proximity  of 
territory  as  to  be  much  vexed  with  each  oth- 
er's minor  movements  and  ambitions.  Ecba- 
tana,  Babylon,  and  Sardis  stood  vrell  apart, 
and  opportunity  was  thus  given  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  three  royal  houses  to  love  and  ad- 
mire each  other — at  a  distance. 

Thus,  after  the  crisis  of  B.  C.  610,  a  half 
century  of  peace  elapsed.  The  previous 
times  had  been  filled  with  turbulence  and 
bloodshed.  For  more  than  five  hundred 
years  there  had  not  been  such  an  epocli  of 
quiet  as  that  which  followed  the  treaty  be- 
tween Cyaxares  and  Alyattes.  All  three  of 
the  monarchies  grew  strong,  prospered,  flour- 
ished. Even  the  dependent  provinces,  not 
greatly  distressed  with  tributes,  felt  the  glow 
of  peace.  In  the  whole  of  Western  Asia 
there  was  a  marked  advance  in  the  elements 
of  civilization.     The  only  disturbance  of  these 


232 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


peaceful  tendencies  was  from  the  direction  of 
Syria  and  Egypt.  In  this  quarter  there  were 
several  hostile  movements  which  broke  the 
quiet  of  Babylonia. 

With  the  revival  of  Egyptian  affairs  un- 
der Psametik  I.,  the  old  ambition  of  the 
Pharaohs  to  dominate  the  East  returned. 
Actuated  by  this  motive,  the  king  just  men- 
tioned, extending  his  power  in  the  direction 
of  Palestine,  besieged  and  captured  the  city 
of  Ashdod,  and  thus  established  himself  in  a 
strong  fortress  beyond  the  limits  of  Africa. 
Following  up  this  advantage,  Pharaoh  Necho, 
son  and  successor  of  Psametik,  overthrew 
Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  in  the  battle  of  Me- 
giddo,  and  afterwards,  making  head  towards 
the  Euphrates,  took  Carchemish,  and  com- 
pelled the  submission  of  nearly  the  whole  of 
Syria.  The  provinces  thus  overrun,  however, 
had  fallen  to  Nabopolassar  at  the  division  of 
the  Assyrian  Empire,  and  thus  the  Babyloni- 
ans were  aroused  to  the  defense  of  their  rights. 

Nebuchadnezzar  made  haste  to  punish  the 
intrusion  into  his  kingdom.  At  the  head  of  his 
army  he  advanced  against  Necho  at  Carche- 
mish, overthrew  him  in  battle,  and  drove  him 
precipitately  out  of  the  country.  Egypt  in 
turn  was  made  to  feel  the  heel  of  invasion, 
and  the  Babylonian  borders  were  established 
to  the  very  gates  of  Pelusium.  In  all  these 
Syrian  wars  of  Nebuchadnezzar  he  was  backed 
and  assisted  by  his  brother-in-law,  Astyages, 
king  of  the  Medes. 

Meanwhile  the  aged  Cyaxares,  the  virtual 
founder  of  Median  greatness,  died.  He  was 
one  of  the  great  men  of  his  times.  States- 
manship can  hardly  be  ascribed  to  a  ruler  of 
that  era;  but  Cyaxares  had  ambition,  and 
was  able  to  govern  men.  He  could  foresee 
an  end  from  the  beginning,  and  could  adapt 
thereto  the  means  most  likely  to  secure  the 
desired  object.  King  of  a  warlike  people,  he 
showed  himself  fit  to  lead.  First  in  a  war- 
like age,  he  maintained  his  ascendency  to  the 
end  of  life.  By  his  conquests  and  abilities 
he  brought  to  his  people  the  materials  of  a 
great  kingdom ;  but  to  organize  those  materi- 
als into  institutions  befitting  a  commonwealth 
was  a  work  of  which  neither  he  was  capable 
nor  his  times  desirous.     His  success,  therefore, 


as  a  conqueror  and  a  king  lacked  the  element, 
of  stability.  The  greatness  of  his  reign  was 
the  greatness  of  inorganic  power  supported  by 
personal  will  rather  than  by  administrative 
forms  or  political  wisdom.  After  a  reign  of 
forty  years  he  passed  from  the  scene  of  his 
activities,  and  was  succeeded  by  Astyages. 

The  accession  of  this  prince  was  in  the 
year  593  B.  C.  Though  not  wanting  in  abili- 
ties, he  was  less  ambitious  than  his  father. 
It  is  more  easy  to  inherit  an  empire  than  to 
win  one;  but  inheritance  is  not  a  fact  well 
calculated  to  develop  the  highest  powers  of 
manhood  or  kingship.  Nor  was  the  court  of 
an  oriental  monarch  a  place  to  inspire  those 
generous  activities,  without  which  great  char- 
acter is  impossible. 

The  long  reign  of  Astyages  was  compara- 
tively uneventful.  The  most  important  occur- 
rence of  his  whole  career — if  we  except  the 
disaster  of  its  close — was  an  addition  of  terri- 
tory, which  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  secure 
rather  by  diplomacy  than  by  war.  On  the 
north-eastern  borders  of  Media  lay  the  coun- 
try of  the  Cadusians.  They  possessed  not  a 
little  power  and  influence.  More  than  once 
Cyaxares  had  thought  to  make  war  and  sub- 
due them ;  but  his  Western  campaigns  had 
drawn  him  away  to  larger  enterprises.  If  the 
Cadusians  were  a  temptation  to  the  Medes^ 
the  Medes  were  a  menace  to  the  Cadusians. 
At  the  time  of  the  accession  of  Astyages  they 
were  ruled  by  a  king  named  Onaphernes,  who, 
believing  his  country  to  be  in  danger,  took 
wisdom  into  his  counsel,  and  opened  negotia- 
tions with  the  Median  monarch  relative  to  an- 
nexation. This  odd  piece  of  statecraft  was 
successful;  for  Astyages  w^as  an  easy-going 
king,  who  preferred  peace  to  war,  and  was 
very  willing  to  make  terms  with  the  Cadusian 
ruler.  So  without  bloodshed  the  dominions  of 
that  barbaric  but  politic  prince  were  trans- 
ferred to  Media,  himself  remaining  as  viceroy. 

This  stroke  of  good  policy  was  perhaps  the 
greatest  achievement  of  Astyages.  His  social 
life  was  clouded,  for  he  was  sonless.  His 
Lydian  wife,  Amyitis,  had  brought  him  no 
heir.  Other  wives  were  sought;  but  no  son 
came  to  the  palace  of  Ecbatana.  At  last. 
Tigrania,  a  beautiful  princess  from  Armenia^ 


MEDIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


233 


sister  of  Tigranes,  king  of  that  country,  was 
given  to  the  Median  king;  but  no  son  came 
with  the  gift.  So  as  the  monarch  grew  old, 
it  seemed  not  improbable  that  the  thi'one 
-would  be  left  without  an  occupant — a  calamity 
to  be  greatly  dreaded  in  those  times  and  coun- 
tries, where  the  king  is  the  state.  Nor  is  it 
unlikely  that  in  the  present  instance  the  child- 
lessness of  Astyages  was  a  circumstance  of  his 
final  overthrow. 

In  civil  affairs  the  method  of  government 
adopted  by  the  Median  kings  differed  not 
greatly  from  that  of  Assyria.  The  general 
character  of  the  royal  court  was  the  same  as 
that  of  Nineveh.  The  monarch,  except  when 
called  forth  to  war,  was  net  seen  in  public. 
His  seclusion  was  guarded  by  an  elaborate 
retinue  of  court  officers — mostly  eunuchs.  In 
■dress  the  luxurious  style  of  the  Ninevite  kings 
was  adopted.  Long  robes  of  costly  texture 
adorned  the  bodies  of  the  courtiers,  and  the 
sovereign  himself  was  magnificent.  The  halls 
of  the  palace  flashed  with  many-colored  gar- 
ments, red  and  purple,  adorned  with  gold  and 
gems.  The  wrists  of  the  officers  were  clasped 
with  thick  bracelets,  and  their  necks  with 
heavy  chains. 

An  audience  with  the  king  of  Media 
■could  only  be  obtained  through  an  elaborate 
ceremony.  The  monarch  had  one  officer  called 
his  "Eye."  Another  high  worthy  had  the 
■duty  of  conducting  strangers  into  the  majestic 
presence.  A  third  bore  his  cups;  a  fourth 
was  his  herald.  After  these  were  the  guards 
of  the  palace,  the  torchbearers,  and  the  ushers 
according  to  their  several  ranks. 

As  in  Assyria,  the  chief  sport  of  the  mon- 
archs  of  Media  was  hunting;  and  to  this  end 
public  parks  were  established  near  the  capital, 
into  which  were  brought  multitudes  of  wild 
animals,  such  as  the  kingly  fancy  delighted  to 
pursue.  At  intervals  the  somewhat  restricted 
■excitements  of  the  parks  were  exchanged  for 
the  freedom  of  the  open  country,  when  the 
king  and  his  court  went  forth  to  hunt  at  will. 

One  of  the  principal  events  of  the  reign 
of  Cyaxares  had  been  the  estkblishment  of 
Magism  as  the  court  religion.  The  priests  of 
this  faith  were  held  in  the  highest  honor,  and 
they  made  themselves  constantly  necessary  to 


the  superstition  of  the  royal  household.  The 
king's  dreams  must  be  interpreted.  Omens 
and  portents  must  be  explained.  Matters  of 
state  policy  must  be  laid  before  the  supernal 
powers.  Who  but  the  Magi  should  attend  to 
these  mysterious  offices?  Astyages,  like  his 
father,  encouraged  this  priestly  caste;  gave 
them  honors ;  made  them  influential  in  his 
government.  Thus  was  developed  in  the  state 
another  antecedent  of  its  destruction.  For, 
as  will  be  presently  seen,  religious  zeal  against 
the  prevailing  customs  of  the  court  fired  the 
enemies  of  Astyages  in  the  day  of  his  over- 
throw. 

As  the  unwarlike  king  of  the  Medes  grew 
old,  destiny  prepared  for  him  and  his  kingdom 
a  common  catastrophe.  Up  to  this  time  the 
kingdom  of  Persia,  lying  to  the  south  and  east 
of  Media,  had  attracted  but  little  attention 
from  any  of  the  surrounding  nations.  What 
the  relations  of  that  country  were  to  the  Me- 
dian monarchy  under  Cyaxares  is  not  very 
clear.  Perhaps  the  Persians,  governed  by 
native  rulers,  had  held  a  sort  of  natural  de- 
pendence on  the  court  of  Ecbatana.  Being 
of  the  same  race  with  the  Medes  they  enjoyed 
some  immunity  from  invasion.  Indeed,  there 
was  less  in  the  highlands  of  Persia  to  tempt 
the  cupidity  of  a  conqueror  than  in  almost 
any  other  of  the  regions  bordering  on  the  Me- 
dian Empire.  The  habits  and  manners  of  the 
two  peoples  were  alike,  and  the  general  mo- 
tives of  war  were  for  the  most  part  wanting 
between  them.  No  doubt  there  was  a  certain 
dependency — political,  and  perhaps  tributary — 
of  the  Persian  upon  the  Median  kings,  but 
the  former  as  well  as  the  latter  were  hereditary 
monai'chs,  and  claimed  distinguished  relation- 
ships Avith  the  most  honored  royal  families  of 
Western  Asia. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when, 
during  the  reign  of  Astyages,  the  young  Per- 
sian prince  Cyrus  was  a  resident  at  the  court 
of  the  Mede.  He  was  here  to  observe,  to  be 
educated,  to  learn  refinement  of  manners,  and 
especially  to  be  indoctrinated  with  the  great 
lesson  of  subordination  to  the  powerful  mon- 
arch to  whom  he  himself,  on  his  accession  to 
the  throne  of  Persia,  was  expected  to  be  a 
loyal  subject. 


234 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


It  sometimes  happens,  however,  that  a 
young  man  of  genius  learns  more  than  is  in- 
tended by  his  masters.  He  may  come  to  ap- 
prehend that  they  are  liviug  upon  the  renown 
of  the  past,  that  their  wisdom  is  dust,  and 
their  lessons  slavery.  So  thought  Cyrus  at 
the  court  of  the  king  of  the  Medes.  A  reign 
of  vice  had  succeeded  a  reign  of  vigor.  The 
luxury  of  Assyria  had  effeminated  both  the 
king  and  his  subjects. 

The  young  prince  of  barbaric  Persia  was 
himself  fresh  from  the  hills.  He  despised  the 
kind  of  life  which  he  beheld  around  him.  He 
saw  the  great  kiug  of  the  Medes  immersed  in 
banquets,  atteuded  by  a  retinue  of  despicable 
eunuchs,  caressed  by  concubines,  and  amused 
by  dancing-girls.  Ecbatana  was  a  revel,  and 
the  king's  palace  a  debauch.  Moreover  the 
simple  religious  faith  of  Cyrus,  schooled  as  he 
had  been  in  the  doctrines  of  Zoroaster,  was 
shocked  with  what  appeared  to  him  the  hollow 
mockeries  of  Magism.  His  father's  house, 
the  Achjemenian  princes  of  Persia,  taught 
not,  tolerated  not,  the  gross  and  unspiritual 
practices  of  the  Priests  of  the  Fire.  Doubt- 
less Ahura-Mazdao  was  angry  at  the  Median 
idolatries,  and  was  only  waiting  to  destroy. 

In  these  circumstances  Cyrus,  pent  up  at 
the  court  of  Astyages,  found  abundant  food 
for  rebellious  thoughts.  He  longed  to  escape 
from  his  surroundings,  and  to  lead  an  insur- 
rection in  honor  of  his  country  and  his  relig- 
ion. His  position,  however,  was  virtually  that 
of  a  hostage,  and  he  was  jealously  watched 
and  guarded.  In  his  anxiety  he  applied  to 
Astyages  for  leave  to  return  to  Persia.  He 
alleged  that  his  father,  the  Persian  king,  was 
old  and  feeble,  and  required  to  be  cared  for 
by  his  son  and  heir.  Astyages  refused  the 
plea.  He  so  greatly  admired  and  loved  the 
youth  that  he  could  not  endure  his  absence 
from  the  palace!  Cyrus  thereupon  sought 
an  intercessor.  A  favorite  attendant  of 
the  king  pleaded  with  him  that  the  young 
mau  might  be  allowed  to  depart.  Permission 
was  at  length  obtained,  and  with  a  few  at- 
tendants the  prince  set  out  from  the  Median 
capital. 

The  mind  of  the  fearful  is  always  haunted 
with  dread  and   superstition.     After  the  de- 


parture of  Cyrus,  Astyages  sat  at  a  banquet. 
The  wine  flowed,  and  the  dancing-girls  were 
merry.  The  king  demanded  a  song.  One  of 
the  girls — or  as  some  sa}^,  a  minstrel — took  up 
a  lyre  and  chanted  this  ominous  prophecy: 

The  lion  once  had  the  wild  boar  in  his  hall, 

But  he  let  him  depart  to  his  own  ; 
He  has  broken  the  meshes  that  held  him  thrall, 

And,  behold,  how  the  boar  has  grown ! 

He  will  wax,  and  grow  great,  and  return  at  length, 

And  tlie  lion  has  need  to  defend, 
For  the  boar  will  o'ei'matc'a  him  in  courage  and 
strengt)), 

And  tear  him  in  pieces  and  rend! 

The  kiug  of  the  Medes  was  not  so  drunken 
as  to  hear  this  prophecy  with  equanimity. 
He  was  thrown  into  alarm,  and  instantly  or- 
dered a  company  of  his  guards  to  follow  Cyrus 
and  bring  him  back  to  the  palace.  The  prince 
was  overtaken  and  captured.  The  king's  or- 
ders were  made  known,  and  Cyrus  consented 
to  return.  That  night,  however,  he  made  his 
captors  a  feast,  and  while  they  were  in  the 
stupor  of  drink  he  mounted  his  horse  and  es- 
caped to  the  outposts  of  Persia.  There  he 
took  command  of  a  body  of  soldiers,  and  when 
the  guards  of  Astyages,  awaking  to  find  their 
prisoner  fled,  pursued  and  again  overtook  the 
fugitive,  it  was  only  to  find  him  at  the  head 
of  a  force  equal  to  their  own,  to  be  routed  by 
him  and  driven  back  into  Media.  Cyrus  then 
made  good  his  escape  to  his  father's  court  and 
found  protection  in  the  Persian  army. 

Astyages  was  terrified  and  enraged  at  the 
result.  He  beat  his  body  and  very  properly 
declared  himself  a  fool  for  having  yielded  to 
the  solicitations  of  his  courtier  and  permitted 
the  escape  of  Cyrus  from  his  clutches.  He 
resolved,  however,  to  recover  by  force  the  ad- 
vantage which  he  had  lost  by  carelessness. 
He  summoned  his  genei-als  and  immediately 
gave  orders  for  a  great  invasion  of  Persia. 
The  largest  Median  army  ever  mustered  was 
at  onr^e  collected.  Tradition  numbers  three 
thousand  war-chariots,  two  hunared  thousand 
horse,  and  a  million  of  infantry  as  the  terrible 
array  which  Astyages  deemed  necessary  to  re- 
cover a  young  man  whom  he  could  recently 
have  destroyed  by  a  nod.  The  Mede  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  host,  and  the  inva- 
sion of  Persia  began. 


MEDIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


235 


Cyrus  and  Cambyses,  his  father — king  of 
the  Persians — prepared  resistance.  They  had 
a  hundred  chariots  of  war,  fifty  thousand 
horsemen,  and  two  hundred  thousand  infantry. 
AVilling  with  this  comparatively  small  force 
to  anticipate  the  movement  of  his  enemy, 
Cambyses  marched  boldly  to  a  frontier  town 
of  his  dominions  and  awaited  the  onset.     The 


a  mortal  wound.  The  Persians  were  attacked 
in  front  and  rear  and  only  succeeded  in  sav- 
ing themselves  by  flight.  The  army  retreated 
in  broken  fragments  and  fell  back  on  Pasar- 
gadse,  the  capital.  After  burying  his  dead 
rival  the  king  of  the  Medes  pressed  on  to 
make  an  end  by  destroying  at  one  blow  the 
metropolis  and  the  kingdom. 


CYRUS  THE  GREAT. 
Drawn  by  W.  Cainph9.usen. 


Medes  joined  battle,  and  for  a  whole  day 
the  conflict  raged  without  decisive  results ;  but 
on  the  second  day  superior  numbers  gave  the 
advantage  to  Astyages.  Detaching  a  hun- 
dred thousand  men  he  sent  them  to  the  rear 
of  the  town,  and  while  the  Persians  were  ab- 
sorbed in  the  main  contest  the  stronghold  in 
their  rear  was  assaulted  and  taken.  In  defend- 
ing the  fortifications  Cambyses  himself  received 


The  stress  of  their  afRdrs  brought  out  the 
best  qualities  of  the  Persians.  Cyrus,  who  on 
his  father's  death  was  recognized  as  king,  dis- 
played remarkable  heroism.  Before  Astyages 
could  reach  the  capital,  the  Persian  had  re- 
organized his  army,  and  advanced  to  meet 
him.  The  country  between  the  field  of  the 
first  battle  and  Pasargadse  was  rough  and 
hilly,    and   the   Median    advance   was    conse* 


236 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


quently  retarded.  The  circumstance  gave  to 
Cyrus  an  opportunity  to  select  his  own  ground 
of  defense.  A  most  advantageous  situation 
was  accordingly  chosen.  A  narrow  defile, 
with  lofty  hills  rising  precipitously  on  either 
side,  was  found  in  the  Median  line  of  march, 
and  seized  by  the  Persians.  Ten  thousand 
picked  troops  were  placed  in  the  pass,  and 
against  these  the  Medes  flung  themselves  in 
Tain.  Astyages,  however,  adopting  his  former 
tactics,  detached  a  division  of  his  army,  and 
succeeded  in  gaining  the  heights  above  the 
defile,  and  the  Persians  were  thus  forced  to  a 
hasty  retreat.  But  in  another  range  of  hills 
nearer  to  the  capital  they  secured  a  similar, 
though  less  defensible,  position,  and  again 
awaited  the  onset. 

With  the  coming  of  Astyages  another  two 
days'  conflict  ensued,  more  terrific  and  more 
decisive  than  the  first.  The  hills  which  the 
Medes  must  ascend,  driving  the  Persians, 
were  steep,  and  the  slopes  were  covered  with 
thickets  of  wild  olive.  For  a  whole  day  the 
host  of  Astyages  beat  in  vain  against  the  ob- 
stacles. The  Persians  held  their  position  un- 
daunted, discharging  showers  of  missiles  and 
hurling  down  great  masses  of  stone  upon  the 
ranks  of  their  assailants. 

On  the  second  day  the  overpowering  num- 
bers of  the  Medes  began  to  tell  in  their  favor. 
Astyages  placed  one  division  of  his  army  be- 
hind those  files  which  were  ordered  to  the 
charge,  and  commanded  those  in  the  reserve 
lines  to  urge  forward  those  in  advance,  and  to 
kill  all  who  gave  way  before  the  Persians. 
In  this  way  it  was  contrived  that  the  terror 
behind  was  as  great  as  the  danger  before. 
To  fall  back  was  certain  death;  to  advance 
was  possible  victory.  Before  their  assailants, 
maddened  by  this  merciless  alternative,  the 
Persians  lost  ground  for  a  while,  and  were 
driven  to  the  very  summit  of  the  hills.  Here 
their  wives  and  children,  who  were  more  se- 
cure with  the  army  than  in  the  capital,  began 
to  fling  up  their  arms  and  cry  out  with  min- 
gled tears  and  reproaches  against  that  weak- 
ness which  seemed  ready  to  expose  them  to 
capture.  Stung  by  these  outcries,  and  roused 
to  the  desperation  of  valor,  the  Persians  made 
a  sudden  rally,  and  flun^  themselves  with  the 


recklessness  of  death  upon  the  advancing  foe. 
Sixty  thousand  of  the  Medes  were  borne  down 
by  this  extraordinary  onset.  The  voice  of 
woman  had  risen  above  the  roar  of  battle, 
and  the  arm  of  Persia  had  thrust  back  the  foe. 

The  victory  thus  gained  was  indecisive. 
The  Persians  were  relatively  too  weak  to  make 
the  overthrow  complete.  Astyages  succeeded 
after  some  maneuvers  in  gaining  a  position  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  capital.  He 
was  preparing  to  strike  a  final  blow  at  his 
antagonist,  when  the  latter,  anticipating  the 
movements  of  his  enemy,  fell  suddenly  on  the 
Median  camp.  It  was  the  fifth  pitched  battle 
which  had  been  fought  between  the  opposing 
armies.  Gaining  something  by  the  surprise 
and  much  more  by  the  impetuosity  of  his 
attack,  Cyrus  cut  right  and  left  into  the  heart  || 
of  the  Median  bivouac.  Panic  and  rout  en- 
sued,  and  the  fugitive  remnants  of  the  army 
of  Astyages  were  pursued  in  all  directions. 
The  victory  was  complete  and  overwhelming. 
The  chiefs  and  generals  of  Cyrus  gathered 
around  him  on  the  battle-field,  and  proclaimed 
him  Kestg  of  Media  and  Persia. 

Astyages  made  good  his  escape  and  fled 
towards  Ecbatana.  He  was  accompanied  by 
a  small  body  of  friends  who  still  adhered  to 
his  fortunes;  but  the  company  was  overtaken 
by  the  eager  and  vigilant  Cyrus,  who  routed 
the  band  and  captured  the  king.  It  was  As- 
tyages who  had  added  cruelty  to  folly  and 
wickedness  to  disaster  by  punishing  and  put- 
ting to  death  several  of  his  generals,  upon 
whom  he  laid  the  blame  of  his  overthrow. 
This  despicable  conduct,  added  to  much  pre- 
vious imbecility,  created  a  wide-spread  dis- 
affection, and  large  numbers  of  the  leading 
Medes  were  ready  to  hail  Cyrus  as  a  deliverer. 
The  fact  that  there  was  no  legitimate  heir  to 
the  Median  throne  tended  to  reconcile  the 
people  to  their  recent  disaster,  and  to  incline 
them  to  accept  a  Persian  prince  as  their  ruler. 

Thus,  in  the  year  558  B.  C,  was  the  great 
monarchy  established  by  Cyaxares  brought  to 
a  sudden  end.  The  king  was  the  state,  and 
the  king  was  a  prisoner.  Ecbatana  surren- 
dered without  a  defense.  The  dependent 
provinces  sent  in  embassies  and  tendered  their 
submission.     In  a  short  time  the  authority  of 


MEDIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


237 


Cyrus  was  as  completely  established  in  the 
north  as  in  the  south.  That  large  proportion 
of  the  Medes  who  favored  the  Zoroastrian  re- 
form were  satisfied;  for  Magism  was  over- 
thrown. The  ambitious,  who  had  fretted  un- 
der the  effeminate  government  of  Astyages, 
were  secretly  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  mauly 
vigor  in  affairs  of  state.  The  philosophic 
were  content;  for  they  saw  in  the  revolution 
only  the  transfer  of  authority  from  one  royal 
house  to  another.  The  patriotic  were  not 
offended,  for  they  remembered  that  the  princes 
of  Persia  and  Media  were  kinsmen — nobles  of 
the  same  blood  and  the  same  family.  Perhaps 
no  conquest  of  history  has  brought  less  dis- 
turbance to  the  vanquished  state  than  did  the 
overthrow  of  Media  by  the  arms  of  Cyrus. 

The  inquiry  naturally  arises  why  the  allied 
kingdoms  of  Babylonia  and  Lydia  were  not 
involved  in  the  stirring  and  critical  move- 
ments just  described.  Perhaps  the  first  an- 
swer is  to  be  found  in  the  suddenness  of  the 
circumstances  which  precipitated  the  Medo- 
Persian  war.  Scarcely  could  the  news  of  the 
passion  of  Astyages  against  Cyrus  and  the 
rapid  invasion  of  the  dominions  of  Cambyses 
have  been  borne  to  Babylon  and  Sardis,  until 
other  intelligence  would  have  followed  of  the 
annihilation  of  the  Median  army  and  the  over- 
throw of  the  monarchy.  Sovereigns  were 
more  ready  to  send  succor  to  a  king  at  the 
head  of  his  army  than  to  a  captive  in  the 
hands  of  his  enemy.  Especially  would  this 
be  true  of  the  king  of  Lydia,  whose  remote 
capital  could  hardly  be  expected  to  send  a 
contingent  to  so  great  a  distance.  As  to  Bab- 
ylonia, Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  that  country 
and  brother-in-law  of  Astyages,  was  already 
dead,  and  could  no  longer  recognize  old  obli- 
gations. Neriglissar,  who  at  the  time  occu- 
pied the  •  palace  of  Babylon,  was  himself  a 
product  of  revolution,  and  an  enemy  of  that 
house  which  had  maintained  the  alliance  with 
Media.  So  Astyages  was  left  to  his  fate,  and 
his  fate  was — Cyrus. 

We  thus  have  the  spectacle  of  a  vast  em- 
pire which  arose  suddenly,  and  was  more  sud- 
denly extinguished.  In  territorial  extent  this 
great  power  surpassed  the  combined  areas  of 

Oreat  Britain,  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal. 

N.— Vol.  1—15 


In  richness  of  soil  and  fertility  of  resources 
Media  fully  equaled  Assyria,  with  her  seven 
hundred  years  of  history.  The  mettle  of  the 
people  was  by  nature  equal  to  the  demands 
of  great  nationality,  and  no  incentive  to  the 
highest  ambition  seems  to  have  been  v/anting 
in  the  character  and  surroundings  of  the  race. 

The  causes  of  the  sudden  eclipse  of  Median 
promise  must  be  sought  on  the  side  of  polit- 
ical weakness  and  social  barbarism.  The  in- 
herent vice  of  personal,  and  therefore  irre- 
sponsible, government,  identifying  the  nation 
with  the  king,  and  wrapping  up  the- destiny 
of  the  former  in  the  personal  and  capricious 
destiny  of  the  latter,  rendered  every  thing 
precarious.  After  this  the  greatest  element 
of  weakness  was  the  want  of  political  unifica- 
tion among  the  various  kingdoms  and  prov- 
inces which  were  successively  absorbed  into 
the  Empire.  The  administration  of  the  Me- 
dian kings  seems  never  to  have  embraced  any 
rational  measures  for  the  reduction  of  their 
various  peoples  into  a  homogeneous  nation. 
The  organization  of  the  government  was  so 
crude  and  imperfect  as  to  furnish  no  guar- 
anty of  security ;  and  the  king  in  his  meth- 
ods of  exercising  and  dispensing  authority 
was  a  mixture  of  the  oriental  despot  and  the 
barbaric  chieftain.  Successful  war  is  a  neces- 
sary condition  of  the  perpetuity  of  such  a 
government.  When  that  fails,  or  when  the 
monarchy  falls  into  the  hands  of  an  imbecile, 
the  state  goes  headlong. 

To  these  causes  must  be  added  the  general 
decline  of  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  Medes  and 
their  degeneration  into  vice.  The  court  set  the 
example.  Astyages  was  by  constitution  averse 
to  that  kind  of  severe  and  adventurous  enter- 
prises upon  which  the  martial  spirit  is  fed 
and  nurtured.  Nor  did  he,  like  Caesar,  pos- 
sess the  sublime  abilities  of  peace.  He  gave 
himself  up  instead  to  the  careless  and  reckless 
indulgence  of  appetite  and  passion.  It  was 
Charles  Stuart  succeeding  Cromwell — an  age 
of  lasciviousness  following  hard  after  an  age 
of  austerity  and  the  rough,  but  solid,  virtues 
of  war. 

The  vicious  tendencies  of  the  Median  court 
were  caught  up  and  diffiised  by  the  nobles. 
To  outdrink  and  outcarouse  the  king  was  the 


238 


UMVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


highest  flattery  which  the  courtier  could  pay 
to  his  master.  And  so,  i)ercolating  through 
the  higher  ranks  of  society,  the  insidious 
streams  of  vice  and  immorality  descended  to 
the  common  people  and  poisoned  the  national 
life. 

Finally,  the  personal  character  of  Cyrus 
had  much  to  do  with  the  revolution  which 
subverted  Media  and  gave  to  his  own  country 
the  leadership  of  Western  Asia.  Fresh  from 
his  native  hills,  he  saw  in  the  court  of  the 
great  kiug  every  thing  to  be  detested,  nothing 
to   be   admired.     There    national  'immorality 


and  national  impiety  flourished.  There  disci- 
pline was  relaxed.  There  effeminacy  was 
enthroned.  There,  for  thirty-five  years,  the 
heroic  virtues  of  war  had  given  place  to  indo- 
lence, to  indulgence,  to  inglorious  riotings 
with  piping  eunuchs  and  unchaste  dancing- 
girls.  In  all  this  there  was  the  incentive  to 
ambition  and  genius  to  strike  a  blow  against 
one  who  was  too  great  not  to  be  envied  and 
too  mean  not  to  be  despised.  The  blow  was 
struck  with  a  manly  arm,  and  the  fabric  of 
Median  renoAvu  reared  by  the  valor  of  Cyax- 
ares  passed  away  like  a  vision. 


THE  YOUNG  CYRUS  ENTERING  ECBATANA. 


:>-:>      ki^    "c^>y    'k^-'c^^     "^i^^    ^t>-'     *c^    <c^    ^to^    ^^^    S^ 
4X£ . —  


m 


3Aaa,,t<>t.tQi,c'>3.A>>,      xOx    XQ^     /Xtx     .<Q\     ,:<i\    f&. 


look  Xifl^- 


BABYLONIA. 


Chapter  :kix.— The  country. 


F  the  general  character  of 
the  low-lying  plain  at  the 
head  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
much  has  already  been 
said  in  the  history  of 
Chaldfea.  It  is  only  nec- 
essary to  recapitulate  the 
leading  features  of  that  peculiar  district.  It 
consisted  of  two  parts :  that  between  the  rivers 
Tigris  and  Euphrates,  and  the  long  and  irreg- 
ular strip  of  country  bordering  the  latter  river 
on  the  right  bank,  and  bounded  westward  by 
the  Arabian  desert. 

The  area  of  the  first  division,  or  Lower 
Mesopotamia,  was  nearly  eighteen  thou- 
sand square  miles,  and  of  the  western  tract 
about  nine  thousand  square  miles — making 
the  entire  area  of  what  may  be  called  Baby- 
lonia Proper  not  far  from  twenty-seven 
thousand  square  miles.  The  whole  region 
was  an  alluvial  deposit,  the  product  of 
the  two  great  rivers  of  Western  Asia.  The 
boundary  on  the  east  was  the  Tigris;  on 
the  south,  the  Gulf  of  Persia;  on  the  west, 
the  desert;  and  on  the  north,  a  line  drawn 
from  Samarah  on  the  Tigris  to  Hit  on  the 
Euphrates.     Comparatively,  the  district  thus 


defined  was  less  than  the  kingdom  of  Port 
ugal. 

Babylonia  Proper,  however,  was  only  the 
nucleus  of  the  vast  Babylonian  Empire,  whose 
greatness  is  now  to  be  considered.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Nabopolassar,  on  his  defec- 
tion from  Saracus,  the  last  king  of  Assyria, 
received  from  his  ally,  Cyaxares,  the  vice- 
royalty  of  Babylon.  This  he  organized  into 
an  independent  kingdom — the  first  step  in  a 
career  of  conquest  which  laid  the  larger  part 
of  Western  Asia  tributary  at  the  feet  of  his 
successors.  It  is  with  the  extensive  countries 
thus  brought  under  the  sway  of  Babylon  that 
we  have  now  to  deal. 

At  the  downfall  of  Nineveh,  and  in  the 
division  of  spoils  between  Cyaxares  and  Nabo- 
polassar,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  precisely 
what  countries  fell  to  the  share  of  the  latter. 
A  few  historical  references  and  the  nature  of 
the  countries  subdued  by  the  combined  arms 
of  Media  and  Babylonia  are  the  only  indica- 
tions of  the  limits  of  the  parts  claimed  by  the 
respective  conquerors.  In  a  general  way  it 
may  be  said  that  the  western  and  south-west- 
ern parts  of  the  Assyrian  Empire  fell  to  Nabo- 
polassar,  and  the  residue  to  Cyaxares.    Besides 

(239) 


240 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


this  natural  division,  the  Babylonian  prince 
claimed  and  obtained  the  important  country 
of  Susiana,  beyond  the  Tigris.  This  province 
constituted,  then,  the  eastermost  part  of  the 
kingdom  of  Babylon,  and  is  first  to  be  consid- 
ered in  describing  the  character  of  the  coun- 
tries dominated  by  Nabopolassar  and  his 
successors. 

Susiana,  corresponding  with  the  modern 
provinces  of  Khuzistan  and  Luristan,  lay  be- 
tween the  river  Tigris  and  the  Bakhtiyari 
Mountains.  The  breadth  of  the  country  is 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  The  surface 
is,  for  the  most  part,  an  alluvium,  rising  on 
the  east  into  a  hill  country  abutting  against 
the  mountains.  The  upland  part  is  a  beauti- 
ful region,  covered  with  fine  woods  and  full 
of  springs.  Across  the  country  from  the 
mountain  spurs  and  running  to  the  westward 
are  many  rivers  of  excellent  character,  clear 
and  rapid.  The  country  in  the  western  part 
and  in  the  valleys  of  Luristan  is  fertile  in  an 
eminent  degree  ;  but  as  the  hills  rise  higher 
and  higher  on  the  east  the  land  becomes  bare 
and  rocky,  comparatively  unfit  for  the  abode 
of  either  man  or  beast.  This  mountainous 
barrier,  however,  constituted  an  excellent  east- 
ern boundary  for  the  Empire — easily  defensi- 
ble against  the  encroachments  of  enemies. 
Looking  down  from  this  rocky  rampart  a 
country  lay  spread  to  the  westward  whose 
sloping  hills  and  narrow  valleys  and  swift 
streams  of  shining  water  framed  a  landscape 
similar  to  those  presented  on  the  Median 
slopes  of  the  Zagros.  Taken  all  in  all,  the 
province  of  Susiana  was  one  of  the  most  at- 
tractive and  valuable  districts  which  Nabopo- 
lassar  inherited  from  Assyria. 

Next  in  importance  among  the  Babylonian 
provinces  may  be  mentioned  the  Valley  of 
THE  Euphrates,  aboA,*e  the  city  of  Hit.  This 
was  a  long,  serpentine  piece  of  territory  con- 
forming to  the  course  of  the  river.  On  the  west 
it  was  bounded  by  the  Arabian  Desert,  and 
on  the  east  by  the  highlands  of  Mesopotamia. 
Through  this  tract  the  Euphrates  makes  its 
way,  sunk  in  many  parts  in  a  deep  bed  and 
pressed  between  banks  of  limestone  and  gyp- 
sum. At  intervals  on  either  hand  the  hills 
rise  to  a  moderate  heiffht  and  are  covered  with 


shrubs  and  stunted  timber.  In  other  parts 
the  course  of  the  river  is  marked  by  a  narrow 
strip  of  date-palms,  willows,  and  tulips.  So 
deep  is  the  bed  of  the  stream  and  so  imper- 
vious the  banks  that  the  presence  of  the  fresh- 
water tide  is  felt  for  but  a  short  distance,  and 
by  the  same  circumstances  irrigation  is  ren- 
dered difficult  or  impossible.  The  chief  value 
of  the  valley  is  as  a  line  of  communication 
between  Babylonia  and  the  West.  By  this 
route  Abraham  and  his  household  journeyed 
from  Ur  to  Canaan,  and  ever  afterwards  the 
invasions  and  counter-invasions  between  Syria 
and  Eg}^t,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Em- 
pires founded  on  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  on 
the  other,  were  made  through  this  natural 
gateway. 

The  chief  fertility  of  this  valley  is  found 
on  the  western  or  Mesopotamian  side.  Here, 
at  intervals,  especially  in  the  upper  course 
of  the  river,  the  cultivable  land  spreads  out 
to  a  considerable  distance,  and  is  sufficiently 
fruitful  to  yield  fair  rewards  to  husbandry. 
The  forests,  too,  improve  north  of  the  Kha- 
bour,  and  the  general  features  of  the  country 
are  such  as  please  the  eye  and  suggest  civili- 
zation. In  the  times  of  Assyrian  and  Babylo- 
nian greatness  this  region  along  the  Euphrates 
was  filled  with  a  large  and  active  population. 
The  river  was  one  of  the  great  lines  of  com- 
merce, not  only  between  the  upper  country 
and  Babylon,  but  also  in  a  larger  sense  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West. 

The  third  province  of  the  Empire  was 
Mesopotamia  Proper.  Something  has  already 
been  said  of  this  region  in  the  description  of 
Assyria.  The  name  indicates^  the  boundaries. 
It  is  likely,  however,  that  that  portion  of 
Mesopotamia  in  which  the  streams  take  their 
course  to  the  Tigris  rather  than  to  the  Eu- 
phrates, was  not  included  in  the  part  allotted 
to  Nabopolassar  in  the  division  of  Assyria. 
Doubtless,  the  valley  of  the  Tigris  was  taken, 
along  with  the  trans-Tigrene  provinces,  by 
Cyaxares  as  his  portion  of  the  conquest.  But 
all  that  large  region  in  which  the  waters  of 
the  rivers — notably  the  Khabour — fall  off  to 
the  west  and  join  the  Euphrates,  went  natu- 
rally and  politically  to  Nabopolassar  and  his 
successors. 


BABYLONIA.— THE  COUNTRY. 


241 


This  Euphratine  slope  of  Mesopotamia  is 
a  country  of  much  importance.  It  extended 
on  the  north  to  the  Masian  mountains;  on  the 
east  to  the  watershed  of  the  Tigris  valley  ;  on 
the  west,  to  the  Euphrates.  In  this  district  are 
the  great  rivers,  the  Bilik  and  the  Khabour, 
with  their  numerous  tributaries.  The  banks 
of  these  streams  are  generally  rich  in  pastur- 
age, and  in  parts  the  fertility  is  exceptionally 
good.  Between  the  two  rivers  just  mentioned, 
and  iu  the  district  where  rise  the  Hills  of 
Abd-el-Aziz,  is  found  a  region  known  as  the 
Land  of  Fountains,  where  more  than  three 
hundred  springs  of  pure  water  break  out 
into  brooks  and  running  streams,  refreshing 
the  land  with  a  natural  irrigation. 

West  of  the  river  Euphrates,  and  south  of 
the  Taurus  range,  lay  the  country  known  as 
Northern  Syria.  It  was  a  land  of  small  fer- 
tility and  but  few  natural  advantages.  Like 
the  Euphrates  valley,  its  usefulness  consisted 
largely  iu  the  fact  of  its  being  a  thoroughfare 
between  the  East  and  the  West.  The  surface 
was  hilly  and  barren.  From  the  north,  begin- 
ning with  the  spurs  of  the  Amanus  and 
Taurus,  the  rocky  ranges  gradually  descended 
to  the  desert  country  about  Aleppo.  The  soil 
is  generally  unfruitful  and  the  landscape  deso- 
late. The  rainfall  is  insufficient,  and  the 
streams  few  and  poor  in  water.  The  hill- 
sides and  plains  are  covered  in  many  parts 
with  stones,  and  but  little  cultivable  land  is 
fouud.  A  meager  crop  of  grain  may  be  pro- 
duced in  the  better  districts,  but,  for  the  rest, 
the  country  has  no  agricultural  value  beyond 
the  production  of  pistachio-nuts  and  a  few 
olives  and  grapes.  It  was,  however,  across 
this  somewhat  forbidding  region  that  the  vast 
and  profitable  trade  between  the  countries  of 
the  Euphrates  and  the  opulent  cities  of  the 
distant  Mediterranean  was  carried  on.  To 
this  source  must  be  attributed  the  greater 
part  of  whatever  wealth  and  importance  the 
region  possessed  in  the  times  of  the  Empire. 

As  compared  with  the  country  just  de- 
scribed, Syria  Proper,  lying  to  the  south  and 
west,  had  many  and  great  advantages.  This 
important  province  of  the  Babylonian  Empire 
extended  on  the  west  to  the  Mediterranean, 
and   on  the   south  as  far  as  the  latitude  of 


Tyre.  Along  that  distant  coast  arise  the  two, 
mountain  chains  of  Libanus  and  Bargylus, 
forming  the  barrier  of  the  desert  and  furnish- 
ing hundreds  of  streams  of  water.  Upon  the 
slopes  grew  the  finest  timber.  In  the  valleys 
between  the  spurs  bounding  rivulets  swelled 
into  rivers,  and  picturesque  landscapes  were 
seen.  Further  inland  lies  the  parallel  range 
of  Antilibanus,  with  Hermon  on  the  southern 
and  Jebel-el-Ala  at  the  northern  terminus; 
but  in  natural  attractiveness  these  mountain 
districts  fall  below  the  magnificent  Libanus, 
with  his  cascades  and  forests  and  glens. 

Between  these  two  mountain  ranges,  ex- 
tending north  and  south  for  over  two  hundred 
miles,  is  the  famous  valley  known  as  the  Hol- 
low Syria.  Few  richer  districts  are  found 
anywhere  on  the  earth's  surface.  About  mid- 
w^ay  of  this  valley  the  two  rivers,  Orontes  and 
Litany,  one  flowing  northward  and  the  other 
southward,  take  their  rise.  Along  their  banks 
is  found  a  soil  unsurpassed  in  fertility  and  re- 
sources. Stretching  away  to  the  foothills  of 
the  mountains  is  spread  an  area  of  vegeta- 
tion the  most  luxuriant  to  be  seen  in  all 
Western  Asia. 

But  not  only  in  its  natural  advantages  is 
this  noble  valley  preeminent.  Its  historical 
importance  is  even  greater  than  the  riches 
which  nature  has  lavished  upon  it.  For  Hol- 
low Syria  is  the  gateway  between  Asia  and 
Africa.  Along  this  lowland,  flanked  on  either 
hand  with  mountains,  the  tides  of  human  am- 
bition have  surged  to  and  fro  for  several 
thousand  years.  Along  this  line  the  Egyp- 
tians carried  their  solemn  banners  in  the  days 
of  Tothmes  and  Ramses  II.  By  the  same 
route,  in  an  opposite  direction,  came  the  con- 
quering armies  of  Sargon  and  Sennacherib. 
By  this  way  marched  and  countermarched  the 
forces  of  Necho  and  Nebuchadnezzar.  Alex- 
ander, on  his  way  to  Amun  to  be  proclaimed 
the  Son  of  Jupiter,  traversed  this  valley. 
Here,  too,  marched  the  victorious  legions  of 
Pompey  the  Great;  and  here  the  Crusaders 
swept  up  and  down  in  their  struggles  to  gain 
the  Holy  Sepulcher.  Almost  every  foot  of 
this  verdant  region  has  been  covered  with  the 
tents  of  conquest  and  ground  beneath  the 
heel  of  war. 


242 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  western  slope  of  Libanus,  dropping 
down  to  the  Mediterranean,  extending  along 
the  coast  for  about  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles,  constituted  Phoenicia,  one  of  the  small- 
est, but  at  the  same  time  most  important, 
countries  included  in  the  Babylonian  Empire. 
Kext  the  sea  the  land  had  no  great  fertility, 
being  a  mere  strip  of  sand;  but  here  Avas  the 
possibility  of  commerce.  Here,  too,  rose  the 
long  line  of  date-palms,  which  gave  the  name 
of  Phcemcia — land  of  the  purple  date. 


to  the  industry  of  men  at  a  time  when  Egypt 
was  still  fresh  in  her  youth.  All  this  would 
have  passed  perhaps  but  for  the  safe  and  fre- 
quent harbors  which  indented  the  shore,  hold- 
ing at  perpetual  bay  the  storms  of  the  bois- 
terous sea.  These  quiet  havens  of  Phoenicia 
were  the  birthplace  of  the  navies  of  the 
world.  Here  man  first  learned  to  contend 
successfully  Avith  the  perils  of  the  open  ocean 
and  to  make  Neptune,  as  well  as  Mars  and 
Jove,  his  confederate  and  friend. 


PHCENICIAN  FLEET  ON  A  VOYAGE  OF  DISCOVERY. 
Drawn  by  P.  Phillppoteaux. 


In  its  widest  part  the  country  was  scarcely 
twenty  miles  in  breadth,  and  anon  the  moun- 
tain spurs  came  within  a  mile  of  the  sea.  An 
insignificant  belt  of  sand!  But  Nature  had 
chosen  it  as  the  spot  from  which  should  begin 
the  dominion  of  man  over  the  deeps.  Com- 
merce was  a  necessity  of  the  situation.  The 
forests  of  Lebanon  have  been  proverbial  in 
all  ages.  The  heavy  cedars  almost  overhung 
the  sea.  To  cut  these  giants  of  the  wood  and 
float  them  down  the  short  swift  streams  to  the 
coast  gave  a  vent  to  the  energies  and  profit 


The  fleets  of  Phoenicia  put  boldly  to  sea. 
When  History  was  still  in  the  dawn  the 
strange  crafts  of  this  hardy  maritime  people 
were  seen  creeping  around  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean.  In  the  great  days  of  Assyria 
and  Babylon  the  overland  trade  from  the  val- 
ley of  the  Euphrates  and  still  further  east 
was  brought  to  the  Phoenician  coast  to  be 
carried  to  the  distant  colonies  and  growing 
nations  of  the  West.  By  and  by  these  same 
fleets  became  important  in  discovery  and  in 
war.    The  cities  of  Phoenicia  grew  rich.    Tliey 


BABYLONIA.— THE  COUNTRY. 


243 


were  the  arbiters  of  the  deep.  Government 
flourished.  The  court  was  one  of  the  most 
splendid  in  the  East.  Tyre  and  Sidon  be- 
came first  known  and  then  famous  as  far  as 
the  knowledge  of  man 
extended  by  communica- 
tion in  the  earth;  inso- 
much that  the  insignifi- 
cant strip  of  territory  in 
which  they  were  situated 
possessed  a  greater  im- 
portance in  the  destinies 
of  the  ancient  world  than 
did  whole  kingdoms 
which  were  given  up  to 
torpor  and  inaction. 

N^ext  in  interest  and 
influence  among  the  out- 
lying provinces  of  Bab- 
ylonia was  Damascus. 
This  country  lay  east  of 
the  range  of  Antilibanus, 
and  owed  its  fertility, 
and  in  some  sense  its  ex- 
istence, to  the  two  rivers 
Awaaj  and  Barada,  by 
which  it  was  chiefly  wat- 
ered. The  moisture  thus 
diffused  in  an  otherwise 
arid  region  produces  ex- 
uberant vegetation  and  a 
stalwart  forest  growth  of 
poplar,  cypress,  and  Aval- 
nut.  AVheat  and  barley 
grow  in  the  fields;  apri- 
cots, oranges,  pomegran- 
ates, and  olives,  in  the 
orchards.  In  this  fruitful 
circle  of  more  than  thirty 
miles  in  extent  lies  the 
city  of  Damascus,  which 
for  beauty  of  situation 
and  construction  has  been 
for  centuries  the  most  at- 
tractive of  oriental  cities. 

In  its  full  extent  Palestine,  the  Holy  Land 
of  the  Hebrews,  embraced  an  area  of  about 
eleven  thousand  square  miles.  This  limit  in- 
cluded the  subordinate  divisions  of  Galilee, 
Samaria,  Bashan,  and  Gilead.    The  full  length 


of  the  country  was  one  hundred  and  forty 
miles,  the  breadth  varying  from  seventy  to 
one  hundred  miles.  The  fundamental  fact  of 
Palestine  was  the  Jordan,  which  traverses  a 


phcenician  scene  at  court. 

Drawn  by  P.  Philippoteaux. 

rocky  valley  from  the  slopes  of  Mount  Her- 
mon,  in  latitude  33°  25'  to  latitude  31°  47'  N., 
where  it  loses  its  existence  in  the  brackish 
waters  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

The  region  is  peculiar.    The  valley  is  clearly 


244 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  result  of  some  cataclysm  or  volcanic  erup- 
tion, by  which  the  surface  of  the  earth  has 
been  rent,  producing  a  wide  gorge  or  fissure, 
the  lower  or  southern  portion  of  which  is 
greatly  depressed  below  the  surface.  The  Jor- 
dan begins  his  course  at  a  considerable  eleva- 
tion above  the  sea,  and  pursues  a  somewhat 
precipitous  course  to  the  latitude  of  Merom, 
where  the  sea-level  is  attained.  From  this 
point  onwards  the  Jordan  is  lower  than  the 
Mediterranean,  and  as  the  descent  is  rapid, 
the  level  of  the  river  at  the  salt  lake  which 
engulfs  it  is  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  l)elow  that  of  the  sea. 


on  the  corresponding  slope  to  the  left  lie  the 
provinces  of  Iturjea,  Bashan,  and  Gilead.  The 
whole  land  is  hilly,  undulating,  rising  into  a 
mountainous  background.  The  southern  por- 
tion is  most  arid  and  barren,  cheerless  and 
uninviting.  The  northern  part  has  a  larger 
number  of  running  streams.  In  some  districts 
of  Samaria  there  are  plains  and  valleys  which 
invite  cultivation  and  yield  fair  rewards  to 
toil.  The  most  beautiful  part  is  Galilee,  in 
which  water-brooks,  sloping  hills,  and  green 
forests  send  back  to  the  eye  a  sense' of  rest 
and  quiet.  Of  the  level  portions  of  Palestine 
the  fairest  to  view  is  the  plain  of  Esdraeloo, 

stretcjiing  from 
the  bay  of  Acre 
to  the  valley  of 
the  Jordan  and 
jjresenting    many 


flowery 
scapes. 


land* 


TilE  DEAD  SEA,  LOOKING  SOUTH. 

On  the  two  sides  of  the  Jordan  the  land 
rises  in  rocky  ridges.  The  country  is  thus 
divided  into  two  slopes  set  over  the  one  against 
the  other.  In  width  the  fertile  part  of  the 
valley  is  from  one  to  ten  miles,  and  this  nar- 
row tract  embraces  about  all  the  fertile  land 
which  Palestine  possesses.  A  few  vales  here 
and  there,  generally  running  at  right-angles 
to  the  course  of  the  river,  have  a  deposit  of 
rich  soil,  from  which  spring  beauty  and  fra- 
grance, but  the  general  aspect  of  the  country 
is  forbidding  and  gloomy. 

On  the  highlands  rising  from  the  right  or 
west  bank  of  the  Jordan  are  found  the  small 
states  of  Judsea,  Galilee,  and  Samaria,  while 


The  last  of  the 
subordinate  divis- 
ions of  this  small 
but  famous  coun- 
try is  Philistia — 
from  which  by  a 
corruption  of  the 
spelling  the  name 
of  Palestine  is  de- 
rived.    The    dis- 
trict lies   to    the 
right      towards 
Egypt,  and  in  its 
general  aspect  is 
like  the  other  provinces,  though  on  a  lower 
level.      Towards  the  sea  Philistia  sinks   into 
a  sandy  plain,  but  the  inland  parts  are  more 
attractive  and  contain   a  good   deal   of  cul- 
tivable land,   yielding   wheat  and   barley  in 
abundance.     In  this  region  are  the  cities  of 
Gaza,   Jaffa,    and    Ashdod,   famous   alike    in 
myth  and  history:   in  myth,  for  their  names 
are   lost  in   the   shadows  of  remote  ages;   in 
history,  for  it  was  through  Philistia  that  the 
banners  of  conquest   were   borne   back  and 
forth   in   the  great  wars  between  Egypt  and 
the  powers  of  Western  Asia. 

Kext  after  Palestine,  among  the  countriet 
which  Nabopolassar  obtained  by  the  conquest 


BAB  YL  OXIA.— THE  CO  UNTE  Y. 


245 


of  Nineveh,  may  be  mentioned  the  large  and 
irregular  region  called  Idum^a,  lying  next  to 
Egypt.  It  was  the  land  of  the  Amalekites, 
the  terror  of  Jewry.  On  the  east  lay  the 
great  desert;  on  the  south,  the  mountains  of 
Sinai  and  the  northern  arm  of  the  Red  Sea; 
on  the  west,  the  borders  of  Egypt;  on  the 
north  Palestine.  The  whole  region  was — and 
is — an  undulating  rocky  plain,  with  a  surface 
of  thin  soil  or  gravel,  degenerating  into  a 
semi-desert.  In  some  parts  there  are  shrubs 
and  pasturage,  whereon  the  nomads  of  Arabia, 
beating  up  from  the  south,  sustain  their  flocks 
for  a  season.  An  occasional  grove  of  palms 
relieves  the  monotony  of  the  landscape,  yields 
its  fruit  to  the  hungry  desertman,  furnishes 
him  a  shade  for  his  noonday  rest.  Next  to 
the  seashore  the  country  is  as  an  elevated 
beach.  Further  inland,  extending  from  the 
fissure  in  which  the  Dead  Sea  lies,  is  the  long 
depression  called  the  Araba  Valley,  running 
down  towards  Egypt,  and  gradually  rising  to 
the  level  of  the  plain.  Still  further  there 
are  a  few  barren  ranges  of  unaspiring  hills, 
from  the  summit  of  which  the  African  sunset 
is  seen  full  and  red  beyond  the  sea  of  Egyjit. 
The  area  of  ancient  Idum^ea  may  be  stated 
approximately  at  one  thousand  six  hundred 
square  miles. 

The  last  of  the  Babylonian  provinces  here 
requiring  mention  was  Palmyra — the  Land 
and  City  of  Palms.  It  lay  between  the  valley 
of  the  Euphrates  and  Syria,  with  the  desert  of 
Arabia  on  the  south.  The  general  character 
of  the  country  was  similar  to  that  of  Idumsea 
and  the  region  about  Damascus.  But  here 
the  desert  is  broken  at  intervals  by  an  oasis — 
that  happy  local  paradise  of  the  burning  sand. 
The  city  of  Palmyra  itself  was  built  in  one  of 
these  oases,  among  nodding  palms,  amid  foun- 
tains and  brooks  of  life-giving  water. 

Such,  then,  is  the  general  outline  of  the 
vast  dominions  ruled  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
From  the  extreme  east,  on  the  further  bor- 
ders of  Luristan,  to  the  western  limit,  at  the 
gateway  of  Egypt,  the  Empire  measured  well- 
nigh  one  thousand  four  hundred  miles  in  ex- 
tent. The  breadth  ranged  in  different  parts 
from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  two  hundred  and 
eighty  miles,  giving  an  aggregate  area  of  nearly 


two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles 
of  territory — an  area  about  equivalent  to  the 
empire  of  Austria.  In  shape,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, the  Babylonian  dominions  were  greatly 
elongated  from  east  to  west,  and  this  fact  be- 
came one  of  the  chief  obstacles  in  the  admin- 
istration and  maintenance  of  authority.  The 
difficulty  was  heightened,  moreover,  by  the 
displacement  of  Babylon,  the  capital,  W'hich 
occupied  a  position  almost  at  one  extremity 
of  the  country,  being  nearly  a  thousand 
miles  distant  from  the  western  frontier.  All 
the  advantages  which  the  great  city  enjoyed, 
all  the  ancient  fame  which  gathered  about 
that  marvelous  capital,  could  hardly  counter- 
balance the  evils  arising  from  its  extreme 
situation. 

If  beginning  on  the  east,  we  glance  at  the 
rivers  by  which  the  Babylonian  Empire  was 
watered,  w^e  find  first  of  all  the  Oroatis,  the 
modern  Tab,  on  the  borders  of  Susiana.  Its 
headwaters  are  gathered  within  the  limits  of 
Persia;  but  in  its  principal  course  it  traversed 
the  territory  of  the  great  king.  The  whole 
length  of  the  stream  is  over  two  hundred 
miles,  and  for  a  considerable  distance  above 
the  mouth  it  is  navigable  for  boats  of  respect- 
able size.  In  its  upper  course  the  waters  are 
fresh  and  pure,  but  near  the  sea  the  influence 
of  the  tides  and  brackish  sands  convert  the 
current  into  brine. 

A  second  important  river  of  Susiana  is 
the  Jerahi.  This  stream  gathers  its  waters 
from  many  fountains  on  the  western  slopes  of 
the  Zagros.  After  accumulating  a  consider- 
able volume,  the  river  receives  the  large  trib- 
utary known  as  the  Abi  Zard,  or  Yellow  River, 
and  pursues  his  southwesterly  course  tow- 
ards the  Persian  Gulf.  Near  Dorak  the  Je- 
rahi enters  the  district  where  irrigation  is  nec- 
essary, and  from  this  point  onward  the  volume 
of  w^ater  in  the  channel  is  greatly  reduced 
by  canals  and  reservoirs,  into  which  it  was 
distributed.  Though  thus  diminished,  the 
stream  maintains  its  course  to  the  Gulf,  which 
it  enters  after  a  winding  route  of  two  hun- 
dred miles.  This  river,  after  its  junction 
with  the  Abi  Zard,  is  navigable  for  boats  of 
considerable  burden,  its  breadth  being  over  a 
hundred  yards. 


246 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Much  larger  than  either  of  the  streams  just 
described  is  the  Kuran.  Like  the  preceding, 
it  is  made  up  of  two  branches,  the  Kuran 
proper  and  the  Dizful.  The  former  stream 
takes  its  rise  in  the  Yellow  Mountains,  bor- 
dering Persia,  and  after  a  tortuous  course 
breaks  through  the  Zagros  and  turns  in  a 
south-westerly  course  to  Shuster.  Here  the 
stream  divides  into  two  channels,  to  be  re- 
united just  above  the  junction  Avith  the  Dizful. 
From  its  fountains  to  this  junction  the  Kuran 
is  two  hundred  and  ten  miles  in  length,  and 
the  Dizful,  before  the  waters  of  the  two 
streams  are  joined,  has  flowed  a  distance  of 
two  hundred  and  eighty  miles.  Below  the 
confluence  the  Kuran  is  a  majestic  river, 
equaling  or  surpassing  in  volume  either  the 
Tigris  or  the  Euphrates.  The  mouth  of  this 
great  stream  is  in  the  Shat-el-Arab,  about 
twenty  miles  below  the  city  of  Busra.  The 
whole  length  of  the  Kuran  is  about  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty  miles. 

A  longer  but  less  important  river  belonging 
to  the  same  region  is  the  Kerkah — the  Cloas- 
pes  of  the  ancients.  Its  volume  is  made  up 
from  three  principal  tributaries,  all  of  which 
flow  down  from  the  slopes  of  the  Zagros. 
After  the  union  of  the  three  branches  the 
river  takes  a  westerly  course,  passing  the  city 
of  Behistun  and  the  ruins  of  Rudbar.  At 
the  last-named  place  the  channel  finds  its  way 
out  of  the  mountainous  district,  and  after  its 
confluence  with  the  Abi-Zal  flows  into  the 
plain.  With  its  left  margin  it  washes  the 
ruins  of  Susa,  and  thence  turning  to  the 
south-west  falls,  after  a  course  of  more  than 
five  hundred  miles,  into  the  Shat-el-Arab. 
Like  the  preceding  streams  the  Kerkah  is 
navigable  for  large-sized  boats. 

Of  the  two  great  rivers,  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Tigris,  without  which  Chaldsea,  Assyria, 
Babylonia  had  never  been,  a  full  description 
has  already  been  given  in  Books  Second  and 
Third.  In  like  manner  the  course  and  char- 
acter of  most  of  the  Mesopotaraian  streams 
have  been  sufficiently  delineated.  If  we  pass 
beyond  the  Euphrates  to  the  west,  however, 
we  shall  find  a  great  number  of  important 
streams  not  hitherto  described  or  noticed. 
Beginning  at  the  north,  the  first  of  these  is 


the  Sajur,  a  tributary  of  the  Euphrates.  It 
is  a  stream  about  sixty -five  miles  in  length, 
navigable  in  its  lower  course  for  boats  of  the 
smaller  sort.  The  waters  are  gathered  from 
the  spurs  and  foot-hills  of  the  Amanus  range 
and  are  borne  along  by  the  ruin-crowned  hill, 
Tel  Khalid,  to  join  the  parent  river  in  latitude 
36°  37'  N. 

The  second  river  of  this  region  is  the 
KowciK,  called  by  the  Greeks  the  Chalis.  Its 
sources  are  in  the  hills  of  Ain-Tab,  and 
its  channel  is  first  directed  towards  the  Eu- 
phrates. Nature,  however,  has  put  barriers 
in  this  direction.  In  the  plain  near  Aleppo 
a  large  tributary  from  the  north  deflects  the 
course  of  the  stream  to  the  south,  and  so,  for 
sixty  miles,  the  river  flows  on  through  the  sandy 
plain.  At  this  point  in  its  route  it  meets  the 
hills  and  is  turned  eastwai'd  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, where  it  enters  and  is  lost  in  the  great 
brackish  marsh  called  El  Melak. 

In  that  remarkable  valley  between  the 
ranges  of  Libauus  and  Antilibanus  rises  the 
Orontes,  the  finest  river  of  Syria.  The  wa- 
ters of  this  great  stream  are  gathered  from  the 
slopes  of  the  Antilibanus.  Its  upper  fountain 
is  seven  miles  north  of  the  ruins  of  Baalbek. 
The  course  of  the  river  is  first  in  a  north- 
westerly direction,  but  after  a  sudden  turn  to 
the  north-east  the  stream  flows  along  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Antilibanus  to  Lebweh,  where  it 
is  deflected  over  to  the  plains  of  Lebanon. 
From  this  quarter  the  volume  of  water  is  in- 
creased by  many  tributaries,  and  the  river 
finds  its  way  along  the  base  of  the  Lebanon 
range.  Further  on  it  flows  through  the  Lake 
of  Hems,  and  issuing,  makes  a  detour  around 
the  extreme  of  the  mountains,  turning  towards 
the  Mediterranean.  In  this  part  it  traverses 
the  valley  of  Antioch,  and  finally  reaches  the 
sea  in  latitude  36°  5'  N.  The  whole  length 
of  the  river  is  a  little  over  two  hundred  miles. 
Its  course  is  rapid  and  impetuous ;  its  channel 
deep  and  capacious. 

The  river  Litany  has  already  been  men- 
tioned as  occupying  the  same  valley  with  the 
Orontes ;  but  the  two  streams  flow  in  opposite 
directions.  The  Orontes  is  known  as  the  River 
of  Syria;  the  Litany,  as  the  River  of  Tyre. 
The  fountains  of  the  latter  are  near  to  those 


BAB  YL  OXIA.  —  THE  CO  UNTR  Y. 


247 


of  tlie  former.  A  few  miles  north  of  Baalbek 
a  slight  watershed  turns  the  brooks  to  the 
south  and  the  valley  gathers  them  together 
into  the  Litany.  The  course  of  the  stream  is 
at  fii'st  southerly.  The  mountain  slopes  on 
either  hand  send  down  additional  rivulets, 
and  the  volume  is  widened  and  deepened. 
Near  the  southern  extreme  the  valley  be- 
tween the  Libauus  and  Antilibanus  is  con- 
tracted in  a  narrow  and  forbidding  gorge  a 
thousand  feet  in  depth,  through  which  the 
river  rushes  headlong.  After  foaming  and 
plunging  through  these  narrows,  the  agitated 
stream  issues  into  the  plain,  circles  around 
the  base  of  Lebanon,  and,  after  a  course  of 
seventy-five  miles,  finds  its  way  to  the  sea. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Antilibanus 
range  rises  the  River  of  Damascus,  called  the 
Barada.  It  has  its  principal  source  in  a  small 
lake  situated  in  latitude  33°  41'  N.  From 
this  origin  the  stream  flows  eastward,  first 
through  a  glen  between  high  cliffs  until  the 
Antilibanus  is  cleared,  and  then  from  the 
town  of  Suk  in  a  south-easterly  course  towards 
Damascus.  In  this  vicinity  the  river  begins 
to  be  divided,  both  by  artificial  and  natural 
channels,  until  its  waters  are  mostly  dispersed 
to  convert  a  desert  region  into  a  paradise. 
What  remains  of  the  stream  finally  disap- 
pears, after  a  course  of  about  forty  miles,  in 
some  marsh  lands  a  half  day's  journey  from 
the  city. 

The  river  Jordan  is  immemorially  famous. 
Its  sources  are  to  the  north  of  Lake  Merom. 
Its  uppermost  fountain  is  a  spring  called  the 
Ras-en-Neba,  near  Hasbeiya.  The  rivulet, 
proceeding  from  this  origin,  descends  the 
north-western  slope  of  Mount  Hei'raon.  Small 
brooks  from  several  directions  join  their  wa- 
ters at  Merom.  This  upper  part  of  the  Jor- 
dan valley  is  a  place  of  reeds  and  marshes, 
and  even  after  issuing  from  the  lake  the  Jor- 
dan is  for  a  considerable  distance  a  sluggish 
and  indifferent  stream.  Then,  as  the  valley 
sinks,  the  current  becomes  rapid  and  in  some 
parts  headlong.  Between  Merom  and  Tibe- 
rias the  fall  is  in  places  as  much  as  fifty  feet 
to  the  mile,  but  after  passing  the  latter  place 
the  decline  is  not  so  rapid,  and  the  stream 
sometimes  flows  with  a  placid  current.     From 


Tiberias  to  the  Dead  Sea  is  a  distance  of  sev- 
enty miles,  and  the  difference  in  level  is  about 
six  hundred  feet. 

In  this  part  of  its  course  the  Jordan  re- 
ceives two  tributaries.  The  first  of  these  is 
the  Jarmuk,  which  drains  the  district  south- 
east of  Lake  Tiberias.  In  the  rainy  season 
its  banks  are  full,  but  in  summer  the  channel 
is  almost  dry.  It  traverses  a  country  of  con- 
siderable fertility  until  it  approaches  the 
rocky  gorge  of  the  Jordan,  into  which  it  falls 
through  a  chasm  with  precipitous  walls  on 
either  hand  a  hundred  feet  in  height.  The 
other  confluent  of  the  parent  stream  is  the 
brook  Jabbok.  This  classic  stream  drains  the 
land  of  Gilead.  Like  the  Jarmuk,  the  Jab- 
bok swells  to  a  torrent  in  winter  and  shrinks 
into  a  rocky  bed  in  summer.  On  the  sides  of 
the  ravine  through  which  it  flows — sunk  deep 
in  the  earth — are  seen  overhanging  oaks. 
Here  is  a  thicket  of  cane  and  yonder  a  cluster 
of  oleanders.  Like  the  preceding  stream  the 
Jabbok  enters  the  Jordan  through  a  cleft  in 
the  rocks,  roaring  when  swollen,  and  broken 
into  foam.  The  whole  length  of  the  Jordan, 
from  the  springs  of  Ras-en-Neba  to  the  Dead 
Sea,  is,  in  a  direct  line,  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles,  or  twice  that  distance  if  the  wanderings 
of  the  channel  be  included  in  the  measurement. 

Passing,  then,  to  other  bodies  of  water  em- 
braced within  the  limits  of  the  Babylonian 
Empire,  we  find  not  a  few  lakes  of  importance. 
Especially  is  this  true  in  the  western  portions 
of  the  dominions  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The 
greater  number  of  these  sheets  of  water  were 
of  the  brine  briny,  made  so  by  having  no  out- 
lets and  by  the  saline  character  of  the  sur- 
rounding districts.  Four  of  the  most  impor- 
tant, however,  were  fresh  water;  namely,  the 
Lake  of  Antioch — the  Bahr-el-Melak — the 
Bahr-el-Kades,  the  Lake  Merom,  and  the  Sea 
of  Tiberias.  All  of  these  bodies  were  simply 
expansions  in  the  beds  of  rivers,  by  whose 
volume  they  were  perpetually  repleuished 
from  the  hills,  and  through  whose  channels 
the  overflow  was  carried  to  the  sea. 

Beginning  in  Northern  Syria,  the  first  salt 
lake  demanding  attention  was  the  Sabakhah. 
It  was  situated  on  the  route  from  Aleppo  to 
the    Euphrates,   just    below    the    thirty-sixth 


248 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


parallel  of  latitude.  It  contains  about  fifty- 
square  miles  of  water,  being  thirteen  miles  in 
length  and  from  three  to  five  miles  brcjad.  It 
is  the  product  of  several  small  streams,  which 
pour  their  contributions  into  a  basin  from 
which  there  is  no  outlet.  The  watei-s  are  so 
exceedingly  salty  that  the  natural  incrusta- 
tions are  gathered  along  the  shores  and  sold — 
a  rudimentary  and  puny  commerce. 

The  Bahr-el-Melak  has  already  been  men- 
tioned as  the  lake  into  which  flows  the  river 
of  Aleppo.  It  has  the  same  general  character 
as  that  last  described,  but  is  considerably  less 
in  area.  Its  value,  however,  is  not  less  con- 
siderable, for  from  the  bed  of  this  basin,  Avhen 
the  waters  under  the  summer  sun  have  re- 
ceded to  their  lowest  ebb,  the  inhabitants  take 
from  the  bottom  a  large  part  of  the  salt  which 
supplies  the  markets  of  Syria.  Over  the  sur- 
face of  the  same  sheet  of  brine,  when  the 
winter  rains  have  filled  the  basin  to  the  brim, 
large  flocks  of  geese  and  ducks  and  solitary 
flamingoes  go  sailing. 

The  three  lakes  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Damascus  have  already  received  some  notice. 
Between  the  rainy  and  the  dry  season  they  fluc- 
tuate greatly  in  extent.  Indeed,  when  the 
rains  are  excessive  the  edges  of  the  three 
bodies  touch  each  other,  and  the  lake  is  con- 
tinuous. They  are  all,  as  has  been  said,  sup- 
plied from  the  streams  of  the  Antilibanus, 
and  being  without  an  outlet,  are  brackish 
and  heavy.' 

The  Dead  Sea,  at  the  lower  extremity  of 
the  gorge  of  the  Jordan,  is  the  largest  salt 
lake  of  Western  Asia.  Perhaps  no  other 
body  of  water  of  equal  size  has  attracted  so 
much  attention.  It  is  forty-six  miles  in 
length  and  ten  and  a-half  miles  in  breadth. 
The  area  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
square  miles.  The  lake  is  of  an  oblong  form, 
being  quite  regular  in  shape,  except  on  the 
eastern  side  near  the  southern  extremity, 
where  a  long  peninsula  projects  nearly  to  the 
other  shore.     All  that  portion  of  the  sea  lying 


'  The  marvel  of  the  Dead  Sea  in  regard  to  the 
quality  of  its  waters  has  been  greatly  exaggerated. 
The  fact  is,  that  dead  seas  prevail  wherever  the 
natural  conditions  are  present.  Syria  abounds  in 
them,  and  Utah  furnishes  a  notable  example. 


south  of  this  peninsula  is  shallow,  having  a 
depth  of  only  a  few  feet,  while  the  main  body 
lying  to  the  north  sinks  to  the  extraordinary 
depth  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  or  one 
thousand  three  hundred  feet ;  and  since  the 
surface  of  the  lake  is  above  one  thousand 
three  hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
Mediterranean,  the  hotloifi  of  the  chasm  is  in 
some  places  more  than  two  thousand  six  hun- 
dred feet  below  the  sea!  No  other  body  of 
water  on  the  earth's  surface  is  so  greatly 
depressed. 

The  water  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  impregnated 
with  salt  and  other  minerals  to  a  degree  un- 
equaled.  Lake  Urumiyeh,  in  Northern  Media, 
most  nearly  approaches  it  in  saltness  and  gen- 
eral character.  From  this  unusual  impregna- 
tion of  minerals,  and  from  the  great  depres- 
sion of  the  surface,  the  Dead  Sea  waters  have 
a  specific  gravity  and  consequent  buoyancy 
greater  than  any  other  lake  or  sea.  Chemical 
analysis  shows  that  one-fourth  of  the  whole 
weight  of  this  thick  brine  is  composed  of 
solid  matter — a  quantity  twice  as  gi-eat  as  is 
found  in  the  waters  of  the  open  ocean. 
Heavy  logs  of  wood  thrown  into  the  Dead 
Sea  float  out  of  the  surface,  buoyed  up  like 
cork,  and  the  human  body  will  sink  of  its 
own  weight  only  to  the  shoulders.  For  the 
greater  part  the  lake  is  lifeless.  Even  the 
shores  are  incrusted  with  the  crystalline  de- 
posits of  ages.     Lot's  wife  is  a  pillar  of  salt ! 

Turning  to  the  fresh-water  lakes,  the  most 
important  is  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  or  Galilee. 
In  shape  it  resembles  its  salt  counterpart  of 
the  south,  being  an  ellipse,  with  its  greater 
axis  up  and  down  the*  Jordan  valley.  Its 
length  is  thirteen  miles;  its  width,  six  miles. 
The  greatest  depth  is  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  feet.  It  is  simply  an  expansion  of  the 
Jordan,  which  comes  down  from  Merom  dis- 
colored with  a  muddy  sediment.  This,  how- 
ever, is  left  in  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  and  the 
river  issues  below  a  clear  and  beautiful  stream. 

The  region  of  Tiberias  and  the  sheet  of  water 
itself  may  claim  considerable  beauty — more 
than  any  other  region  of  Palestine.  The 
traveler  stands  on  the  beach  and  sees  around  a 
large  circumference  of  the  lake  a  well-defined, 
pebbly  shore ;    before  him  a  lake  of  bright. 


BABYLONIA.— THE  COUNTRY. 


249 


pure  water ;  around  him  a  background  of 
hills.  Water-fowl  on  graceful  wing  alight 
here  and  there,  and  the  finny  tribes  break  the 
surface  in  their  sport. 

A  few  miles  north  of  Tiberias  is  Lake  Me- 
rom,  now  known  as  the  Bahr-el-Huleh.  It  is 
nearly  circular  in  shape,  and  has  an  area  of 
about  twenty-five  square  miles.  The  country 
round  about  is  a  marsh,  covered  with  swamp- 
grass,  reeds,  and  rushes.  Through  these  the 
traveler  beats  a  diflScult  passage  down  to  the 
lake.  Wild  fowl  take  to  flight,  and  the  water 
teems  with  fishes. 

Passing  from  the  country  of  the  Jordan 
and  entering  the  valley  of  the  Orontes,  we 
find  the  Bahr-el-Kades,  similar  in  all  respects 
to  the  lakes  Tiberias  and  Merom.  The  first 
is,  like  the  latter  two,  an  expansion  of  the 
river  to  which  it  owes  its  supply.  The  area 
of  the  Kades  lake  is  nearly  the  same  as  that 
of  Merom,  being  about  eight  miles  long  by 
three  in  width.  There  is  a  tradition  extant 
that  the  lake  in  question  owes  its  origin  to  a 
dam  which  was  built  across  the  Orontes  in 
the  times  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  there 
are  some  evidences  that  the  basin  has  been 
artificially  formed  by  the  deflection  of  the 
river.  If  such  is,  indeed,  the  origin  of  Bahr- 
el-Kades,  the  lake  had  no  existence  in  the 
times  of  Nebuchadnezzar — a  thing  quite  pos- 
sible. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  north 
of  the  last  mentioned  body  of  water  lies  the  Sea 
of  Antioch,  the  Bahr-el-Melak  of  modern 
geography.  It  lies  nearly  four-square,  with 
the  angles,  like  the  corners  of  an  Assyrian 
palace,  facing  the  points  of  the  compass.  It 
is  a  shallow  lagoon,  only  a  few  feet  in  depth. 
The  surrounding  country  is  a  marsh,  like  the 
region  about  Merom.  The  banks  are  fringed 
around  the  whole  circumference  with  a  thick 
growth  of  reeds,  and  the  huts  of  fishermen  are 
seen  here  and  there — as  they  have  been  from 
ihamemorial  times. 

Such  were  the  general  features  of  the  great 


Empire  of  the  Babylonians.  To  the  east  lay 
Persia,  between  which  and  the  Chaldsean  plains 
rose  an  almost  impassable  barrier  of  moun- 
tains. After  the  conquest  of  Assyria  by  Me- 
dia, the  latter  country  bounded  Babylonia  on 
the  north,  nor  was  there  any  physical  obstacle 
to  invasion  from  that  direction.  It  will  be 
remembered,  however,  that  from  the  circum- 
stances attending  the  overthrow  of  Nineveh, 
relations  of  amity  were  established  between 
the  Medes  and  the  Babylonians,  and  were  long 
maintained.  The  danger,  therefore,  to  which 
the  kings  of  Babylon  might  have  been  ex- 
posed from  possible  attack  by  their  ambitious 
and  warlike  neighbors  on  the  north  was  from 
the  first  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

On  the  south  of  Babylonia  lay  Arabia — 
a  desert  waste.  Such  was  the  country  that 
no  great  population  could  be  maintained  upon 
its  treeless,  blasted  surface.  For  this  reason 
the  Empire  had  little  to  fear  from  the  Arabs, 
who  could  never  muster  in  sufficient  numbers 
to  menace  a  compact  and  powerful  people 
like  the  Babylonians.  On  the  extreme  west 
of  the  dominions  of  the  great  king  spread  the 
Mediterranean,  from  whose  billows  no  threat- 
ening foe  was  to  be  expected.  On  the  south- 
west border,  however,  lay  the  land  of  the  Pha- 
raohs, the  most  ancient  and  for  a  long  time  the 
most  powerful  of  kingdoms.  Egypt  was  the 
rival  of  Babylonia.  The  monarchs  of  the 
two  great  nations  eyed  each  other  askance; 
and  causes  of  quarrel  were  found  not  a  few. 
The  remoteness  of  the  two  countries  Avas  the 
saving  fact  which  prevented  almost  continual 
war.  If  Egypt  had  the  greater  fertility,  it 
was  restricted  to  narrow  boundaries.  The 
wider  domains  and  larger  and  more  warlike 
population  gave  the  advantage  to  the  Baby- 
lonians, who  waxed  great  and  branched  like 
a  cedar,  while  the  declining  energies  of  the 
Egyptians  wasted  to  feebleness  and  extinction. 
It  is  now  proper  to  consider  in  brief  the  pe- 
culiarities of  the  Babylonian  climate  and 
products. 


250 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


CHAPXBR   XX.— CLINIAXE    AND    PRODUCTS. 


AKEN  all  in  all,  the  coim- 
tries  included  within  the 
Babylonian  Empire  were 
dry  and  hot.  On  the 
south  the  desert  was  in 
close  proximity.  The 
seas  which  washed  the 
borders  of  the  dominions  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
were  small,  and  their  influence  was  little  felt 
at  a  distance  from  the  shore.  Nor  did  the 
mountain  ranges  included  within  the  Empire 
reach  to  such  length  and  rise  to  such  height 
as  to  insure  large  quantities  of  rain  or  diffuse 
everlasting  freshness.  The  country  was  in; 
eluded  between  the  thirtieth  and  thirty-seventh 
parallels  of  latitude,  and  was  through  the 
larger  part  of  its  extent  level  and  sandy. 

From  all  of  these  circumstances  heat  pre- 
dominated. The  summers  were  long  and 
scorching;  the  winters,  brief  and  mild.  Of 
course,  the  high  temperatures  of  Chaldtea,  of 
Idumsea  and  Palmyrene  were  more  excessive 
in  degree  than  in  Mesopotamia  and  the  north- 
ern provinces.  In  all  those  parts  approximate 
to  the  Persian  Gulf,  even  in  the  hilly  regions 
of  Susiana,  the  heat  of  midsummer  is  fearful. 
Frequently  the  thermometer  at  midday  reaches 
107°  of  Fahrenheit,  and  even  in  the  under- 
ground apartmerHts,  which  the  people  construct 
to  protect  themselves,  the  temperature  hardly 
falls  below  100°.  At  night  the  heat  is  as- 
suaged, and  the  people  find  rest  on  the  roofs 
of  their  houses.  In  all  the  low  countries  and 
southern  districts  winter  brings  no  snow.  In 
December  the  rainy  season  sets  in,  and  con- 
tinues until  March.  Sometimes  the  clouds 
pour  down  abundantly,  and  at  intervals  there 
are  violent  storms  of  hail.  Such  is  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  eastern  parts  of  what 
was  the  Babylonian  Empire. 

In  the  western  provinces,  next  to  the  Med- 
iterranean, there  was  a  moister  and  cooler  cli- 
mate. In  the  mountainous  districts  of  Liba- 
nus  and  Antilibanus  the  winter  is  suflSciently 
rigorous.    In  the  valleys,  however,  the  climate 


is  more  mild  than  in  the  corresponding  districts 
of  Europe.  In  some  parts,  indeed,  as  in  Pal- 
estine and  along  the  Phoenician  coast,  the 
winters  are  scarcely  more  severe  than  in  Bab- 
ylonia proper.  At  the  Dead  Sea  the  ther- 
mometer never  falls  to  the  freezing  point  of 
water,  and  in  the  summer  season  the  heats 
are  intense  and  oppressive.  In  general  the 
temperature  of  Syria  is  about  as  here  described, 
but  in  the  higher  regions  the  air  has  a  freer 
movement,  and  the  effects  of  the  heat  are 
thereby  assuaged. 

The  one  great  climatic  drawback,  however, 
in  the  countries  once  ruled  by  the  kings  of 
Babylon  is  the  fierce  Sirocco,  or  hot  wind  of 
the  desert.  This  burning  blast  is  always  blown 
from  the  heated  sands  of  Arabia.  It  is  the 
terror  alike  of  man  and  beast.  Mixed  with  a 
cloud  of  fine  hot  sand  the  blast  sweeps  up 
over  the  Syrian  or  Babylonian  plains  and 
bl'sters  what  living  thing  soever  it  smites. 
The  sky  grows  lurid  and  the  air  is  dai'kened. 
The  animals  and  birds  fly  to  their  covert,  and 
man  seeks  a  shelter  for  protection. 

It  is  not  likely  that  any  great  changes  have 
occurred  in  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  Bab- 
ylonian dominions  during  the  twenty-four 
hundred  years  that  have  elapsed  since  the 
days  of  the  great  Empire.  Perhaps  the  soil 
in  many  parts  has  suffered  some  deterioration, 
but  the  same  products  are  undoubtedly  yielded 
to-day  as  when  they  were  gathered  by  the 
husbandmen  for  Nebuchadnezzar's  army.  In 
one  respect  the  country  has  suffered  much. 
Many  regions  have  been  stripped  of  their  for- 
ests, and  by  this  fatal  procedure  the  natural 
tendencies  to  drought  have  been  aggravated. 
Especially  is  this  true  in  Syria,  the  climate  of 
which  has  certainly  undergone  some  change 
from  the  denudation  of  the  woodlands;^  but 

1  Woe  to  the  country  that  cuts  down  its  woods. 
The  United  States  may  well  be  warned  by  the 
past.  The  woodman's  axe  is  indeed  the  signal  of 
civilization,  and  it  is  also  the  forerunner  of  the 
desert!  The  desert  lies  just  the  other  side  of  the 
cleared  fields. 


BAB YLONIA.— CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTS. 


251 


the  essential  identity  of  products  ancient  and 
modern  precludes  the  conclusion  of  any  great 
transformation.  • 

In  ancient  Babylonia  wheat  grew  native,  as 
did  also  barley.  Lentils  and  sesame  came 
without  culture,  but  more  abundantly  with  it. 
The  edible  roots  peculiar  to  most  parts  of  the 
north  temperate  zone  grew  plentifully  and 
yielded  large  crops  to  the  gardener.  The  date 
palm  flourished  in  all  the  southerly  parts  of 
the  Empire,  and  the  great  apple-belt  of  the 
world  crossed  the  Babylonian  plain.  The 
fruits  of  the  country  were  various,  and  grew  a 
plentiful  supply  without  the  perils  of  winter 
rigors  or  the  untimely  frosts  of  spring. 

The  yield  of  smaller  grains  was  almost  like 
that  of  Egypt  in  abundance.  The  character 
and  amount  of  some  of  these  crops  as  given  by 
the  ancient  historians  is  well-nigh  incredible, 
and  can  only  be  accepted  on  the  supposition 
that  the  alluvium  of  the  Euphrates  valley  was 
still  fresh  in  its  native  powers,  and  that  the 
indigenous  wheat-plant  and  other  similar 
growths  felt  here  the  rich  impulses  of  nature. 

The  products  of  the  Babylonian  plain  have 
already  been  sketched  in  the  History  of  Chal- 
dffia.  Those  of  Susiana  were  similar.  Wheat 
and  barley  yielded  a  hundred  fold.  The  date- 
palm  flourished.  In  the  native  woods  grew 
acacias  and  poplars.  This  region,  like  parts 
of  Media  and  Persia,  is  the  home  of  apples 
and  pears.  Nearly  all  the  fruits  peculiar  to 
the  better  parts  of  the  north  temperate  zone 
grew  ripe  and  abundant  in  the  upland  districts 
and  foot-hills  of  Khuzistan.  The  mountain 
slopes  of  Susiana  furnished  a  fair  supply  of 
timber,  and  this  was  sometimes  cut,  as  in  Phoe- 
nicia, and  floated  down  the  streams  to  the 
populous  districts,  where  the  cities  were  built. 
For  building  materials,  however,  the  palm- 
tree — straight  and  tall  and  easily  hewn — was 
generally  preferred,  and  this  tree  grew  best 
in  the  low  plains  next  to  the  Gulf. 

In  the  district  hitherto  described  as  the 
Valley  of  the  Euphrates — meaning  that  part 
of  the  valley  above  the  alluvial  plain  of  Chal- 
d^ea — the  products  are  not  much  varied  from 
those  of  Susiana  and  Babylonia  proper.  As 
we  ascend  the  river  one  of  the  peculiarities  is 
the  appearance   of  the   olive   instead   of  the 


date  :  the  latter  prefers  the  sand.  Next  come 
the  mulberry  and  the  pistachio-nut,  and  the 
walnut  is  abundant.  In  this  region,  as  well 
as  in  many  parts  of  Mesopotamia,  the  vine 
flourishes,  though  the  valleys  of  the  great 
rivers  seem  not  to  have  equaled  those  of  Syria 
as  it  respects  the  vintage.  The  small  grains — 
wheat,  millet,  and  barley — grew  well  in  all  the 
arable  districts  bordering  on  the  Upper  Eu- 
phrates; and  the  orchards,  in  addition  to 
apples  and  pears  and  plums,  yielded  good 
crops  of  pomegranates  and  oranges. 

The  northern  portion  of  Syria  was  better 
adapted  to  pastoral  pursuits  than  to  agricul- 
ture. In  general,  there  was  more  forest  and 
less  productive  soil.  It  was  from  the  dense 
woods  of  Northern  Syria  that  the  kings  of 
Nineveh,  in  the  days  of  her  glory,  brought 
the  treasures  of  timber  with  which  to  adorn 
the  palaces  of  their  capital.  In  various  parts 
of  this  region  immense  forests  of  walnut,  oak, 
pine,  poplar,  and  ash  are  found,  furnishing 
an  almost  limitless  amount  of  lumber.  In  the 
open  country  wild  shrubs  appear  in  abun- 
dance— the  oleander  Avith  its  splendid  flowers, 
the  honeysuckle  with  its  fragrance,  the  myrtle 
with  its  deep  green  leaves.  In  the  orchards 
grow  the  orange  and  the  olive,  the  pome- 
granate and  the  mulberry.  The  vine  also  is 
cultivated,  and  pistachio-nuts  and  walnuts 
flourish  as  well  as  in  Mesopotamia.  The  vege- 
table growths  of  the  garden  are  similar  to 
those  of  like  latitudes  in  Europe.  Of  general 
products  the  castor-bean  is — and  has  always 
been — one  of  the  most  important  staples  of 
Syria;  and  in  modern,  though  perhaps  not  in 
ancient,  times,  cotton  assumes  its  j^lace  among 
the  products  of  the  country. 

Nearly  all  of  the  native  and  transplanted 
growths  of  Babylonia  are  found  in  South- 
western Syria.  In  this  part  of  the  dominions 
of  the  Empire,  however,  the  heat  was  more 
intense  than  in  the  northern  provinces,  and 
the  greater  moisture  fi-om  the  proximity  of 
the  sea  tended  to  create  certain  modifications 
in  the  products  of  the  country.  Here,  also, 
are  found  the  highest  mountains  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  ancient  Empire,  and  these,  also,  were 
the  causes  of  some  changes  in  the  things  which 
spring   from  the    soil.     Many    new    products 


252 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


appear,  not  found  in  Northern  Syria,  such  as 
the  fig  and  the  banana.  The  date  still  grows 
as  far  towards  Arabia  as  Damascus,  but  its 
existence  is  precarious.  Some  of  the  products, 
such  as  liquorice  and  the  egg-plant,  are  sug- 
gestive of  Egypt.  Others,  like  the  lemon  and 
the  almond,  are  similar  to  the  same  fruits  in 
the  southern  latitudes  of  the  United  States. 

The  general  character  of  the  products  of  an- 
cient Palestine  are  of  common  fame,  and  need 
hardly  be  repeated.  The  woods  of  the  moun- 
tain slopes  were  of  cedar  and  oak  and  juniper. 
The  wild  olive  was  a  common  plant  of  the 
valleys.  The  papyrus  of  Egypt,  the  sugar- 
cane, and  the  mistletoe  either  grew  wild  or 
were  cultivated  in  the  gardens. — Such  is  a 
cursory  view  of  the  vegetable  pi-oducts,  the 
fruits,  and  the  forests  which  prevailed  in  the 
Empire  of  the  Babylonians. 

Of  mineral  resources  the  supply  was  pecul- 
iar. In  Babylonia  Proper  oue  of  the  most 
important  was  bitumen.  It  was  found  as  far 
east  as  Susiana,  but  the  most  abundant  sup- 
ply was  procured  from  the  springs  of  Hit,  on 
the  Euphrates.  In  the  Dead  Sea  of  Palestine 
the  same  substance  exists  in  inexhaustible 
quantities.  The  part  which  this  strange  sub- 
stance played  in  the  rockless  plain  of  ancient 
Chaldsea,  and  afterwards  in  the  buildings  of 
the  Babylonians,  has  already  been  referred  to 
in  the  Second  Book.  As  has  already  been 
said,  common  salt  was  abundantly  procured 
from  the  beds  of  many  of  the  Syrian  lakes, 
and  was  exported  as  merchandise.  The  Dead 
Sea  and  the  lakes  nea:  Palmyra  yielded  the 
same  mineral,  the  supply  being  limited  only 
by  the  energy  of  the  manufacturers.  From 
the  sources  just  mentioned,  sulphur  and  niter 
were  also  procured,  and  in  other  parts  the 
same  substances  were  occasionally  found.  Of 
all  the  countries  embraced  within  the  Empire, 
the  best  for  copper  and  iron  was  Palestine, 
but  even  in  this  country  the  yield  of  these 
valuable  metals  was  not  great.  Silver  was 
found  in  small  quantities  in  the  range  of 
Antilibanus.  It  is  not  known  that  any  gold 
mine  existed  within  the  countries  swayed  by 
the  kings  of  Babylon. 

Among  the  Babylonians  gems  and  precious 
stones  were  greatly  coveted.     But  it  does  not 


appear  that  the  same  were  found  anywhere  in 
the  low  plains  around  the  head  of  the  Persian 
Gulf.  Several  kinds  of  gems  were  taken  from 
the  hills  of  Susiana.  In  the  channel  of  the 
river  Choaspes,  agates  were  found  in  abun- 
dance. In  the  vicinity  of  Damascus  there 
were  beds  from  which  alabaster  was  taken. 
The  Phoenician  mines  furnished  lapis-lazuli, 
and  amethysts  were  obtained  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Petra.  From  these  various  sources 
the  rough  gems  were  brought  to  Babylon,  and 
engraved  in  a  manner  which  has  excited  the 
envy  of  modern  times.  Cornelians,  rock- 
crystals,  chalcedony  and  onyx  stones,  jasper, 
and  feldspar  were  sought  and  sold  in  the  shops 
of  the  great  city. 

Of  the  supply  of  building  material  some- 
thing has  already  been  said  iij  the  history  of 
Chaldjfia  and  Assyria.  No  stone  was  found  in 
Babylonia.  In  the  earliest  times,  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  Chaldseans  with  the  native 
tribes  of  Mesopotamia  was  not  such  as  to  en- 
courage the  importation  of  stone  from  the 
north.  In  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates, 
above  the  city  of  Hit,  building  stone  is  abun- 
dant. Quarries  exist  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  and  in  the  country  to  the  west,  that  is, 
in    Northern    Syria,    there   is   no    deficiency. 

The  hills  of  Susiana  are  also  piled  up  with 
stone,  and  in  Southern  Syria  ledges  of  out- 
cropping rock  frequently  constitute  the  princi- 
pal feature  of  the  landscape.  The  variety 
most  abundant  is  common  limestone,  though 
sandstone  as  well  as  silicious  rocks  and  granite 
are  plentifully  distributed.  In  the  later  and 
more  splendid  days  of  the  Babylonian  Em- 
pire stone  was  much  used  for  building  and 
ornamentation,  and  the  material  so  employed 
was  taken  from  the  quarries  on  the  Upper 
Euphrates,  and  brought  down  the  river  to  the 
capital.  Building  with  bricks,  however,  was 
never  superseded,  even  in  the  palmiest  times 
of  the  great  kings. 

Passing,  then,  to  the  animal  life  of  Baby- 
lonia, and  beginning  with  the  savage  beasts, 
we  find  the  lion,  then,  as  always,  a  monarch. 
He  was  to  be  met  in  many  parts — Chaldsea 
of  old,  Mesopotamia,  Syria,  alike  in  the  des- 
ert and  the  hills.  Next  and  most  formidable 
were  the  bear,  the  hyena,  the  panther,  and  the 


BABYLONIA.— CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTS. 


253 


leopard.  The  herbivora  were  represented  by 
the  wild  ox,  the  wild  ass,  the  stag,  the  ante- 
lope, the  goat,  and  the  sheep.  Of  the  lesser 
creatures  may  be  named  the  fox,  the  hare, 
and  the  rabbit.  A  few  of  these  animals  are  still 
found,  but  rarely  or  in  remote  districts ;  others 
are  common,  and  abound.  The  ferocious 
beasts  have  receded  or  encroached  upon  the 
borders  of  civilization  as  those  limits  have 
been  enlarged  or  contracted  by  the  fluctuations 
of  political  power. 

In  modern  times  quite  a  number  of  addi- 
tional animals  not  mentioned  in  the  Assyrian 
inscriptions  have  become  prevalent  in  the 
countries  once  dominated  by  the  Babylonians. 
Such  are  the  otter  and  the  beaver,  the  lynx 
and  the  badger,  the  sable  and  the  squirrel, 
the  jerboa  and  the  porcupine.  Some  of  these 
are  found  in  some  parts,  and  some  in  others. 
Alligators  have  been  occasionally  seen  in  the 
Euphrates  by  travelers. 

The  birds  of   Babylonia  were — and  are — 
nearly  identical  with  those  now  occupying  the 
same  latitudes  in  Europe  and  America.     The 
chief  birds  of  prey  are  the  eagle,  the  vulture, 
the  falcon,  the  owl,  the  hawk,  and  the  crow. 
The  smaller  race   consists   of  magpies,  jack- 
daws, blackbirds,  thrushes,  nightingales,  larks, 
et   id  ormie    genus.     Of   the   edible   birds  the 
most  prized  and  most  abundant  are  pheasants, 
quails,  and  partridges.     Of  the  river-fowl  the 
principal  are  geese  and  ducks.     Of  the  ugly 
and   fantastic   species  may  be  mentioned  the 
pelican,  the   flamingo,   the   stork,   the   heron, 
and  the  cormorant.     Besides  these  are  snipes, 
woodcocks,  sand-grouse,  and  parrots.     In  the 
times  of  the  Empire  the  ostrich  was  common 
in  Syria  and  Babylonia,  though  that  phenome- 
nal creature  is  not  any  longer  found  in  those 
regions.     Perhaps  the  most  peculiar  bird  of 
these  countries  is  a  kind  of  heron,  unknown 
in  Europe.     It  inhabits  Northern  Syria  and 
the   districts    about    Aleppo.      It    is    grayish 
white  in  color,  having   tips  of  scarlet  on  the 
wings,  and  a  large   beak  scarlet  and   black. 
The   feet  are   yellow  and   the  eyes  red.     In 
shape  it  resembles  the  stork,  but  it  is  four  feet 
high,  and  the  expanded  wings  measure  as  much 
as  nine  feet  I     This  strange  creature  goes  in  a 

flock    of    his  kind.     They    are    semi-aquatic. 

N. — Vol.  I — 16 


In  the  rivers  of  Northern  Syria  they  may  be 
seen  standing  in  rows  across  the  stream.  They 
select  a  shallow.  Here  they  squat  with  their 
outspread  tails  up-stream.  The  current  w 
thus  stopped ;  the  water  below  runs  away, 
leaving  bare  the  bed.  When  this  feat  is  ac- 
complished the  birds  all  swoop  down  at  a 
signal  and  gather  up  in  their  big  beaks  the 
fish  and  frogs  that  have  been  exposed  in  the 
bed  of  the  river ! 

The  fishes  belonging  to  the  waters  of  As- 
syria and  Chaldaea  have  already  been  men- 
tioned. Some  of  the  reptiles  also  have  been 
noticed.  Of  insects,  those  most  dreaded  are 
scorpions,  tarantulas,  and  locusts.  The  last- 
named  have  been  the  dread  of  fifty  genera- 
tions. Coming  up  from  no  one  knows  where, 
swarming  across  the  sky  in  clouds  that  no 
one  can  measure,  settling  like  an  inexorable 
plague  on  every  green  thing  that  springs  from 
the  goodness  of  the  earth,  these  devastating 
creatures  are  the  veritable  curse  of  the  coun- 
tries subject  to  their  ravages.  In  the  locust- 
bird  Nature  has  kindly  provided  an  antidote 
with  the  bane. 

The  principal  domestic  animals  of  Babylo- 
nia may  be  briefly  mentioned.  The  chief  of 
these  were  the  camel,  the  horse,  and  the  ass. 
The  nature  of  the  country  was  specially 
adapted  to  the  service  ot  these  creatures.  The 
open  plain,  tending  on  the  Arabian  side  to 
the  desert,  gave  opportunity  for  the  endurance 
and  sagacity  of  the  camel,  for  the  fleetness 
and  spirit  of  the  horse,  for  the  dogged  pa- 
tience and  pertinacity  of  the  ass.  Next  iu 
importance  w^ere  the  mules  and  the  oxen. 
The  former  were  large  and  strong,  and  as  in 
other  countries  combined  in  themselves  the 
better  qualities  of  their  diverse  ancestry. 
They  were  much  used  alike  in  peace  and  war. 
The  monuments  of  Assyria  show  them  under 
the  saddle,  harnessed  to  carts,  drawing  huge 
war-chariots  on  the  way  to  battle.  From 
their  attitude  in  the  inscriptions  they  seem  to 
have  been  large  and  full  of  spirit,  plunging 
and  rearing  like  horses.  The  asses  from  which 
these  animals  were  derived  were  larger  and 
better  in  all  respects  than  the  breeds  known 
in  Europe.  The  same  can  not  be  said  for 
the  horses  of  Babvlonia,  for  these  were  hardly 


254 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


equal  to  those  of  some  other  countries.  Nev- 
ertheless they  were  produced  in  great  num- 
bers. Herodotus  narrates  that  the  stables  of 
one  of  the  Babylonian  kings  contained  no 
fewer  than  eight  hundred  stallions  and  sixteen 
thousand  mares.  The  prevalent  breeds,  if  Ave 
may  judge  by  the  delineations  which  have 
been  left  in  Assyria,  were  large-boned,  large- 
headed,  strong,  and  heavy-muscled  rather 
than  elegant  or  swift — adapted  rather  for  the 
brick-yards  of  the  plain  than  for  fleetness  or 
beauty. 

The  sheep  and  goats  of  Mesopotamia  were 
like  those  of  other  countries.  Of  the  former 
animal  several  breeds  were  reared,  of  varying 
grades  as  it  related  to  flesh  or  fleece.  The 
latter  yielded  its  flesh  to  the  Babylonian 
butcher-stalls — its  milk  and  cheese  to  the 
peasant.  Next  in  importance  of  the  domestic 
animals  was  the  dog.  The  tablets  show  them 
of  many  species  and  in  the  performance  of 
various  services.  The  breeds  presented  ranged 
from  the  elegant  greyhound  to  the  heavy  and 
impassive  mastiff. 

It  is  not  known  that  the  camel  was  native 
to  Babylonia.  In  several  of  the  neighboring 
countries,  however,  the  beast  was  an  eflScient 
agent  in  the  affairs  of  life,  and  his  importa- 
tion into  the  Babylonian  provinces  was  easy 
and    natural.      The    caravan    trade    then — as 


ever — depended  for  its  efficiency  upon  the 
ship  of  the  desert.  The  commercial  com- 
munication between  the  countries  bordering 
on  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  those 
lying  along  the  Mediterranean  was  maintained, 
perhaps  originally  suggested,  by  the  abilities 
and  temper  of  the  camel.  In  war  likewise 
and  in  common  travel  this  same  remarkable 
creature  became  indispensable  to  the  wants 
and  caprices  of  men. 

On  the  Babylonian  cylinders  are  found 
certain  representations  which  seem  to  indicate 
the  buffalo  as  an  animal  native  to  the  coun- 
try. The  creature  thus  delineated  differs  from 
the  ox,  and  corresponds  very  well  with  the 
buffalo  of  Europe.  The  animal  appears  to 
have  been  domesticated,  and  to  have  been 
subsisted  in  the  same  manner  and  for  the 
same  ends  as  the  ordinary  Babylonian  cattle. 
Oxen  are  represented  on  the  same  tablets, 
and  the  uses  of  the  two  species,  whether  of 
labor  in  the  flelds,  or  slaughter  for  the  mar- 
kets, or  of  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  seem  to  have 
been  identical. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch — as  supplemented 
by  Avhat  is  said  in  the  histories  of  Chaldsea 
and  Assyria — of  the  general  aspects  of  Nature 
as  she  appeared  to  the  ancient  Babylonians, 
and  of  the  principal  gifts  which  she  gave 
them  out  of  her  treasure. 


CHAPTER    XXI.— PEORLE    AND    ClXIES. 


fSsm^s 

1 

i 

H 

1 

||T  is  difficult  to  define 
properly  the  race-charac- 
ter of  the  Babylonians. 
From  the  earliest  times 
the  people  inhabiting  the 
low  plains  of  Chaldsea 
were  a  vielange  of  diverse 
tribes.  Here  the  old  Cushites  had  had  their 
abode.  Here  certain  of  the  Semitic  family 
had  found  a  home.  Here  perhaps  some  of 
the  primitive  Aryans  had  intruded  among 
their  elder  brethren.  Here  the  great  Arab 
Dynasty  had  been  established,  and  had  ruled 
from    the    middle    of   the    sixteenth    century 


to  the  year  B.  C.  1300.  At  the  latter  date 
the  Semitic  Assyrians  of  the  north  swooped 
down  on  Babylon,  and  took  the  land,  bringing 
in  the  customs  and  blood  of  Upper  Mesopo- 
tamia. Here  the  plan  of  colonizing  the  con- 
quered but  insurrectionary  populations  of  for- 
eign countries  was  fully  and  unreservedly 
adopted;  and  here  the  tides  of  war,  sweeping 
back  and  forth  from  the  east  and  the  north 
and  the  west,  drew  in  with  their  ebb  and  flow 
a  vast  debris  of  humanity,  and  left  it  as  a 
sediment  in  the  countries  about  Babylon. 
From  all  these  causes  a  mixture  and  agglom- 
eration of  races  took  place  within  the  realms 


BABYLONIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


255 


of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  like  of  which  could 
not  be  found  in  any  other  portion  of  the  an- 
cient world.  The  Babylonian  nation  was 
composite. 

The  three  dominant  race  elements  in  the 
people  of  the  Empire  were  the  Semitic,  the 
Cushite,  and  the  Turanian.  By  the  first  the 
Babylonians  were  allied  with  the  Hebrews 
and  Phoenicians;  by  the  second,  with  the 
Arabs  and  ancient  Egyptians;  by  the  third, 
with  the  wild  races  of  Northern  Asia.  With 
the  progress  of  time,  however,  and  the  as- 
sumption of  a  fixed  national  type,  the  Semitic 
element  in  the  Babylonian  people  became 
more  and  more  predominant.  After  the  con- 
quest of  the  country  by  the  Assyrians  this 
tendency  was  increased.  It  was  like  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Normans  among  the  Celtic  in- 
habitants of  Western  France.  The  race-type 
assumed  in  Babylonia  became  assimilated 
to  that  of  Assyria  and  the  West.  In  the 
times  of  the  later  Empire  the  old  antecedents 
had  in  a  great  measure  been  lost  in  a  fixed 
form,  hardly  discriminable  by  a  common  ob- 
server from  the  well-known  type  of  Assyria. 
It  may,  therefore,  be  assumed  that  the  Baby- 
lonians of  the  time  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and 
his  successors  were  a  race  of  Semites,  varied 
and  modified  by  many  diverse  lines  of  ancient 
descent. 

In  the  physical  appearance  of  the  ancient 
Babylonians  the  historian  must  trust  rather 
to  the  delineations  found  on  the  Assyrian 
monuments  than  to  representations  left  us 
by  native  artists.  Of  the  latter  only  a  few 
portraits,  drawn  on  cylinders,  have  been  pre- 
served ;  and  even  these  seem  to  present  the 
Babylonian  form  and  features  such  as  they 
were 'in  the  times  of  ancient  Chaldtea,  rather 
than  at  the  high  noon  of  imperial  distinction. 
According  to  these  delineations  the  people  of 
Old  Babylonia  Avere  slender  and  lithe — a 
rather  thin  visage  and  meager  person.  In 
later  times,  however,  owing  to  the  race-mixture 
already  described,  and  especially  to  the  ascend- 
ency of  the  Assyrians,  this  slight  personal  as- 
pect of  the  ancients  was  greatly  modified.  The 
Babylonians,  like  their  northern  masters,  be- 
came strong  and  massive — a  big-muscled, 
strong-limbed    race,    whose   bone   and    brawn 


were  the  impersonation  of  strength  and  en- 
durance. 

It  can  not,  of  course,  be  ascertained  how 
faithful  are  the  representations  made  by  the 
Assyrian  artists  of  the  citizens  of  Baby- 
lon, or  to  what  extent  those  artists  merely 
used  the  conventional  types  which  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  chisel  in  the  stones  of 
Nineveh.  At  any  rate,  the  later  Babylonians 
as  depicted  by  their  northern  conquerors  have 
the  same  form  and  features  as  did  the  men 
who  carved  their  portraits.  A  full  account 
of  the  personal  appearance  of  the  Ninevites 
has  already  been  given  in  a  chapter  of  the 
Third  Book. 

In  so  far,  then,  as  the  physiognomy  of  the 
Babylonians  differed  from  the  well-known  As- 
syrian type,  the  difference  seems  to  be  this: 
The  eyes  of  the  former  people  were  larger 
and  not  so  almond-shaped  as  those  of  the  latter. 
The  Babylonian  nose  was  shorter  and  more 
depressed  than  the  Assyrian,  and  the  general 
expression  was  less  determined  and  spirited. 
No  doubt  these  slight  departures  from  the 
type  prevalent  in  its  best  development  at  Nin- 
eveh were  the  result  of  climate,  and  perhaps 
of  some  old  inherited  characteristics  from  the 
ancient  Chaldseans.^ 

In  the  country  of  Susiana  there  seems  not 
to  have  been  any  such  amalgamation  of  races 
as  existed  in  Babylonia  proper.  In  the  for- 
mer province  the  old  Cushite  race  remained 
comparatively  pure  down  to  the  times  of  the 
Empire.  In  this  case,  also,  our  knowledge  of 
the  person  and  features  of  the  people  is  due 
rather  to  Assyrian  sculpture  than  to  the  na- 
tive art  of  Susiana.  The  delineations  found 
amid  the  ruins  of  the  Ninevite  palaces  prove 
that  there  were  two  Susianian  types,  quite  dis- 
tinct and  striking :  the  one,  the  ancient  Cushite 
just  referred  to,  and  the  other,  a  heavy  south- 
ern face,  having  the  leading  peculiarities  of 
the  Negro.  The  two  types  are  found  side  by 
side  in  the  sculptures,  the  one  face  being  high 
and  Caucasian  in  its  general  contour,  the  other 


'  As  a  general  rule  a  northern  climate  raises 
the  features  into  greater  prominence  ;  a  southern, 
depresses  them.  But  in  extreme  latitudes  the 
rule  seems  to  be  reversed,  and  in  the  high  north 
the  features  fall. 


256 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


marked  with  thick,  protuberant  lips,  a  receding 
forehead,  a  broad,  thick  nose,  and  having  the 
head  covered  with  the  short  crisp  hair  of 
Africa.  Perhaps  the  people  thus  represented 
were  the  primitive  people  of  Susiana,  origin- 
ally derived  from  the  south,  and  yielding  at 
a  later  date  to  a  northern  race  represented  in 
the  other  delineation. 

Like  most  of  the  ancient  peoples,  the  Bab- 
ylonians wore  their  hair  long.  It  does  not 
appear,  however,  that  to  the  matter  of  head 
adornment  they  gave  so  much  attention  as  did 
the  Egyptians  and  Assyrians.  The  sculptures 
show  that  the  hair  of  the  Babylonian  was  gen- 
erally arranged  in  a  single  heavy  curl,  which 
hung  stiffly  over  the  shoulders.  Sometimes 
the  natural  locks  were  left  loose  and  allowed 
to  fall  about  the  neck.  In  some  figures  the 
hair  descends  to  the  waist,  and  is  braided  or 
bound  in  a  sheath.  In  other  cases  the  Assyr- 
ian fashion  of  a  cluster  of  curls  about  the 
neck  and  shoulders,  or  a  close  mass  on  the  back 
of  the  head,  is  followed.  Perhaps  the  time 
was  when  the  dandies  and  belles  of  Babylon 
looked  to  Nineveh  for  their  styles  as  the  world 
of  absurdity  now  turns  to  Paris  in  the  matter 
of  personal  adornment. 

After  the  manner  of  Arabia  most  of  the 
Babylonians  wore  long,  flowing  beards.  A 
patriarchal  appearance  was  thus  given  to  many 
of  the  portraits.  Sometimes  the  beard,  when 
not  curling,  fell  nearly  to  the  waist,  and  some- 
times when  crisp  clung  closely  to  the  face. 
The  practice  of  shaving  was  common,  and 
many  of  the  delineations  show  the  face  smooth 
from  the  razor.  As  compared  with  the  As- 
syrians the  prevalent  complexion  of  the  Bab- 
ylonians was  dark  and  swarthy.  Here  again 
their  old  descent  from  the  south  had  coop- 
erated with  the  current  effects  of  climate  to 
give  to  the  features  that  bronzed  and  tropical 
aspect  which  until  to-day  prevails  in  the  coun- 
try about  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Bab- 
ylon lies  four  degrees  nearer  the  equator  than 
Nineveh,  and  the  prevalence  of  the  intense 
summer  heats  of  the  low  plains  of  that  re- 
gion gives  to  the  face  a  strong  suggestion  of 
Ethiopia. 

Turning  then  from  the  personal  habits  and 
appearance  of  the  people  to  their  intellectual 


and  moral  traits  we  find  much  to  admire  and 
not  a  little  to  contemn.  In  mental  abilities 
they  surpassed  most  of  the  ancient  races. 
They  had  inherited  from  their  ancestors,  the 
old  Chaldseans,  a  large  store  of  primitive  learn- 
ing. The  attainments  of  the  Chaldseans  in 
astronomical  and  mathematical  knowledge  have 
been  proverbial  in  all  ages,  and  this  scientific 
lore  was  transmitted  to  the  Babylonians.  The 
latter  people  not  only  maintained  but  promoted 
the  knowledge  thus  received  from  their  pred- 
ecessors. Their  fame  for  learning  resounded 
through  all  Western  Asia,  and  echoes  of  it 
were  heard  in  the  eastern  parts  of  Europe. 
The  Greek  historians  and  philosophers  ac- 
knowledged their  indebtedness  to  Babylonia  for 
many  valuable  inventions  and  much  abstract 
learning.  The  scholars  of  the  Empire  were 
in  good  repute,  and  their  attainments  appear 
to  have  been  fully  up  to  the  measure  of  their 
times  and  opportunities.  The  age  was  unsci- 
entific and  unscholarly,  and  the  maintenance 
by  any  people  of  a  resj)ectable  body  of  learn- 
ing brought  them  deserved  preeminence. 

The  Babylonians,  however,  were  unable  to 
rise  above  that  superstition  which  has  been  the 
besetting  sin  of  the  human  mind.  They  poi- 
soned their  scientific  teachings  Avith  a  vast  mass 
of  groundless  imaginings  deduced  from  their 
own  vague  fears  and  conjectures.  Astronomy 
thus  sank  to  the  level  of  astrology,  and  science 
in  general  remained  without  a  fixed  limit  of 
certainty.  The  same  degeneration  of  learning 
took  place  as  afterwards  occurred  among  the 
Arabian  philosophers  of  Baghdad,  Cairo,  and 
Cordova.  For  this  reason  the  purposes  had 
in  view  by  the  scholars  of  Babylonia  fell  below 
the  ends  of  true  science.  To  determine  some 
occult  or  mysterious  thing  appeared  to  be  the 
highest  aim  of  their  investigations.  To  inter- 
pret dreams,  or  to  determine  from  the  aspect 
of  the  stars  and  planets  the  destinies  of  hu- 
man life,  Avas  the  chief  work  of  the  Babylo- 
nian philosophy.  The  scientist  became  a' 
soothsayer,  and  the  sage  degenerated  into  a 
rhapsodist  or  pi'ophet.  The  mind  had  not  yet 
learned  in  its  investigations  that  in  order  to 
know,  the  hand  of  Thought  must  be  laid  im- 
plicity  in  the  hand  of  Nature. 

In  the  matter  of  personal  energy  and  ac-^ 


BABYLONIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


257 


tivity  the  Babylonians  held  a  high  rank 
among  the  nations  of  antiquity.  They  had  the 
spirit  of  adventure.  Alike  on  land  and  sea  they 
went  forth  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the 
world  and  the  Avorld  with  them.  They  became, 
after  the  Phoenicians,  the  most  distinguished 
merchants  of  the  age.  Their  enterprise  made 
them  first  in  the  marts  of  Asiatic  commerce. 
Babylon  became  the  great  metropolis  of  AVest- 
ern  Asia.  Whatever  mankind  had  to  sell  was 
offered,  and  whatever  the  needs  of  the  world 
demanded  was  purchasable,  in  the  emporiums 
of  that  great  city.  The  life  of  the  capital 
was  the  life  of  trade  and  commercial  rivalry. 

Under  these  conditions  the  Babylonians 
became  greedy  of  gain.  Avarice  grew  upon 
what  it  fed  on,  and  the  covetous  spirit  domi- 
nated almost  every  other  feeling.  Whatever 
would  bring  money  was /or  sale.  The  domes- 
tic virtues  were  recklessly  flung  away  for 
the  means  of  further  gratification.  Every 
woman  once  in  her  life  must  offer  herself  to 
strangers  publicly  before  the  temple  of  Beltis ; 
for  by  this  means  the  crowd  of  strangers  in 
the  city  would  be  increased.  Maidens  were 
sold  at  auction,  for  thus  the  wealthy  princes 
and  libertines  of  the  surrounding  nations 
would  be  drawn  to  the  unscrupulous  market. 
The  father  or  brother,  with  his  daughter  or 
sister,  stood  ready  to  barter  for  money  the 
pleasures  due  only  to  love. 

The  prime  motive  of  all  this  avarice  Avas 
the  passion  for  luxurious  living.  Babylon 
was  the  paradise  of  gluttony  and  lust.  What- 
ever ministered  to  the  appetites  and  senses 
was  eagerly  sought  and  enjoyed  without  scru- 
ple. Adornment  of  the  person,  rich  garments 
dyed  with  costly  dyes,  jewels  of  untold  value, 
costly  viands  gathered  perhaps  from  foreign 
lands,  fragrant  oils  for  perfuming  the  body — 
every  thing  that  could  excite  or  appease  hu- 
man desire  was  demanded  and  found  and 
wasted  in  luxurious  and  riotous  abandonment. 
The  banquet  and  the  feast  brought  drunken- 
ness and  I'evel.  The  tables  were  spread  with 
riches  which  no  appetite  could  consume. 
Dark  wines  were  poured  into  goblets  of  gold. 
Tropical  fruits  were  heaped  in  plates  of  silver. 
The  palace  halls  were  harems;  for  polygamy 
was  the  usage  of  the  land  and  city. 


It  has  not  often  happened  in  the  history  of 
mankind  that  such  personal  traits  and  habits 
as  those  of  the  Babylonians  were  blended — 
and  partly  redeemed — with  strength  and  hero- 
ism. In  spite  of  their  luxury,  the  people  of 
the  Empire  were  fearless  soldiers.  Those  who 
encountered  them  in  the  field  found  that  there 
was  iron  under  the  velvet.  The  epithets 
which  were  applied  to  them  by  foreign  histo- 
rians show  that  their  valor  in  war  was  equal  to 
their  abandonments  of  pleasure.  One  would 
have  looked  in  vain  among  the  bronzed  cohorts 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  for  the  fragrant  dandies 
who  were  recently  drunken  in  Babylonian 
palaces. 

Not  only  were  the  people  brave  and  war- 
like, but  with  these  heroic  virtues  they  joined 
rapacity  and  cruelty.  The  Babylonian  sol- 
diery was  not  only  without  fear,  but  also 
without  mercy.  Woe  to  the  enemy  against 
whom  the  fierce  hand  was  lifted!  There  was 
neither  quarter  nor  compassion.  Nearly  al- 
ways engaged  in  contests  with  surrounding 
nations,  war  became  a  profession.  Accus- 
tomed to  bloodshed  and  rapine,  the  soldiers 
of  the  Empu'e  learned  to  destroy  without  dis- 
crimination, to  kill  without  compunction. 
They  rode  their  horses  and  drove  their  char- 
iots over  living  and  dead,  crushing  in  an  in- 
distinguishable mass  the  innocent  with  the 
guilty.  The  tender  and  outraged  form  of 
woman  was  thrown  with  contempt  across  the 
brainless  bodies  of  babes.  From  the  moun- 
tains that  frowned  on  the  thither  borders  of 
Luristan  to  the  gateway  of  Egypt,  this  iron- 
hearted,  merciless,  lascivious  soldiery  carried 
the  banners  of  the  Empire,  and  the  nationa 
cowered  in  fear  before  them. 

In  their  methods  and  usages  of  war  the 
Babylonians  were  very  little  impressed  with 
the  practices  of  civilized  states.  Their  cam- 
paigns were  characterized  with  needless  vio- 
lence and  barbarity.  The  plan  of  colonizing 
insurrectionary  inhabitants  was  rigorously  fol- 
lowed. All  the  hardships  of  such  removals 
were  inflicted  without  mercy.  Prisoners  taken 
in  battle  were  either  killed  or  shamelessly 
mutilated.  The  unresisting  inhabitants  of 
provinces  engaged  in  revolt  were  visited  with 
indiscriminate  vengeance.     The  best  interests 


258 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  the  Empire  were  many  times  sacrificed  to 
the  blind  rage  of  revenge  kindled  against 
those  whom  a  better  treatment  might  easily 
have  won  to  loyalty. 

In  the  civil  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment the  same  ferocious  methods  were  em- 
ployed by  the  public  officers.  The  suspected 
was  condemned,  and  the  condemned  was  exe- 
cuted. A  fault  was  a  crime.  The  displeasure 
of  the  king  meant  death.  His  frown  was 
fatal.  Torture  was  inflicted  without  mercy 
upon  the  objects  of  the  royal  wrath.  Oft'eud- 
ers  were  cut  to  pieces  alive  or  Avere  cast 
bound  into  fiery  furnaces.  Such  was  the 
spirit,  the  temper,  of  this  terrible  race  of 
Asiatic  conquerors.  They  spared  not  any 
thing  that  opposed  them. 

Following  hard  after  these  dissolute  and 
vengeful  methods  of  peace  and  war  came  that 
haughty  and  austere  spirit  for  which  the  Bab- 
ylonians were  noted.  Their  successes  were 
such  as  to  make  them  deem  themselves  invin- 
cible. Pride  came  with  power,  as  avarice 
from  gain,  and  lust  from  lawless  indulgence. 
The  princes  of  Babylon  walked  abroad  amid 
the  splendors  of  the  city,  and  contemplated 
with  haughty  egotism  the  magnificence  of 
their  surroundings.  The  city  sat  as  a  queen, 
and  her  royal  broods  of  pampered  idlers  found 
little  to  check  their  selfishness  and  overween- 
ing pride. 

These  hard,  cruel,  and  relentless  features 
of  Babylonian  character  were  little  softened 
by  their  religion.  Albeit,  the  traveler  visit- 
ing the  great  metropolis  would  have  imagined 
that  a  people  so  devoted  to  the  worship  of 
the  gods  would  be  incapable  of  the  deeds  of 
cruelty.  Temples  rose  on  the  right  hand  and 
the  left.  Retinues  of  priests,  engaged  in  some 
work  peculiar  to  their  sacred  offices,  were  ever 
in  sight.  Costly  statues  of  the  deities  were 
set  up  in  honor  of  the  unseen,  and  to  attract 
the  gaze  of  the  pious.  In  no  other  country, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  Egypt,  was  the 
ceremonial  of  religion  more  costly  and  elabo- 
rate. The  kings  were  the  chief  worshipers. 
Princes  went  devoutly  to  the  temples.  Royal 
favors  were  poured  out  without  stint  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  national  faith.  The  names 
of  all  classes  had  a  religious  signification,  con- 


taining some  sacred  syllable  from  the  name  of 
a  god.  The  seals  of  officers  and  the  charms 
worn  by  men  and  Avomen  of  fashion  were 
nearly  always  embellished  with  some  religious 
device  or  emblem.  When  the  feast  was 
spread  and  the  wine  was  poured  and  the  ban- 
queters became  uproarious,  ever  and  anon  a 
song  in  honor  of  the  gods  was  heard  above 
the  rout. 

It  is  said  that  in  the  noisy  marts  of  Baby- 
lon, where  each  was  striving  to  sell  and  get 
gain,  a  certain  code  of  honesty  prevailed. 
Perhaps  it  was  such  honesty  as  was  current  in 
the  streets  of  mediaeval  Venice — a  kind  of  pol- 
itic observance  of  one's  words  and  promises. 
Commercial  transactions  necessarily  imply  a 
certain  kind  of  good  faith  which  must  be  ob- 
served by  those  who  trade ;  and  it  is  rather  to 
this  condition  than  to  any  subjective  trait  of 
cliaracter  that  the  alleged  honesty  of  the  Bab- 
ylonian tradesmen  must  be  referred.  To  this 
must  be  added  another  element  of  temper 
Avith  Avhich  the  people  of  the  Empire  have 
been  credited  by  ancient  historians.  They 
are  said  to  have  preserA^ed  under  all  circum- 
stances a  calm  and  placid  demeanor,  little 
indicatiA'^e  of  the  fierce  passions  Avhich  AA^ere 
burning  under  the  surface.  This  trait  is,  in- 
deed, a  quality  of  Asiatic  manners  quite  uni- 
versal in  some  of  the  oriental  nations.  It 
appears  to  accord  with  the  character  of  the 
Chinese  and  Hindus  and  Turks  to  conceal 
under  a  calm  and  sometimes  benignant  de- 
meanor the  fiercest  rage  and  most  vindictive 
purposes  of  Avhich  the  human  heart  is  capable ; 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  race-charac- 
teristic of  this  sort  has  furnished  the  basis  for 
the  reputed  equanimity  of  the  Babylonians. 
Howe\'er  this  may  be,  it  is  of  record  that 
they  hid  beneath  a  calm  and  imperturbable 
exterior  the  evil  designs  and  bloody  purposes 
AA'hich  so  much  abounded  in  their  characters 
and  liA'es. 

The  Babylonians  were  a  people  dwelling 
mostly  in  cities.  The  rural  population  was 
relatively  unimportant.  It  Avas  in  the  crowded 
thoroughfares  of  the  noisy  metropolis  that  the 
national  qualities  were  fully  developed.  The 
character  of  great  Babylon,  who  said  in  her 
heart,    "  I   sit  a  queen,"   may,    therefore,    be 


BABYLONIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


259 


properly  considered  in  this  part  of  the  history 
of  the  Empire.  Perhaps  no  other  city  of  the 
ancient  world,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Rome,  has  occupied  so  large  a  share  of  the 
attention  of  the  antiquary,  the  historian,  and 
the  philosopher. 

Babylon,  the  chief  city  and  great  capital 
of  the  Empire  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  was  situ- 
ated on  both  sides  of  the  river  Euphrates  in 
latitude  32°  39'  N.  The  name  "  Bab-ili"  sig- 
nifies the  gate  of  God.  The  modern  town  of 
Hillah  occupies  the  ancient  site.  It  was  the 
largest  and  most  opulent  metropolis  of  the 
ancient  world.  In  modern  times  the  whole 
space  once  occu- 
pied by  the  city 
is  dotted  here  and 
there  with  ruins, 
indicating  in  shad- 
owy outline  the 
site  of  palace  and 
temple,  of  wall 
and  battlement. 
Huge  mounds  of 
incredible  extent 
and  number  show 
the  traveler  and 
the  antiquary  the 
tomb  of  one  of 
the  wonders  of 
the  world. 

The  exact  size 
of  ancient  Baby- 
lon is  not  known. 

Modern  explorers  have  been  unable  to 
trace  the  course  and  extent  of  the  walls. 
All  authorities,  both  of  ancient  and  recent 
times,  agree  that  the  city  lay  four-square,  with 
the  river  running  diagonally  through  the  midst. 
But  the  remains  of  the  ancient  ramparts  do 
not  sufficiently  indicate  the  lines  of  circum- 
vallation.  The  old  historians,  therefore,  sev- 
eral of  whom  visited  the  city  and  were  eye- 
witnesses of  her  greatness,  are  the  best,  and, 
indeed,  the  only,  sources  of  information. 
Herodotus  declares  the  walls  to  have  been 
fourteen  miles  in  length  on  each  side,  or  fifty- 
six  miles  in  circumference.  This  would  give 
an  area  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  square 
miles.     Ctesias,  who  also  wrote  from  personal 


observation,  fixes  the  length  of  the  walls  at 
ten  and  a  half  miles  on  each  side,  or  forty 
miles  in  entire  compass,  giving  an  area  of  one 
hundred  and  ten  square  miles.  These  are  re- 
spectively the  largest  and  the  smallest  esti- 
mates of  the  size  of  the  city  which  have 
reached  us  from  antiquity.  The  writers  and 
travelers  who  followed  Alexander  in  his  vic- 
torious career  report  the  dimensions  of  Baby- 
lon as  intermediate  between  the  figures  given 
by  Herodotus  and  those  of  Ctesias.  The  his- 
torian Rawlinson,  after  a  careful  review  of 
all  the  facts,  fixes  the  size  of  the  city  or  in- 
closure  within  the  walls  at  about  one  hundred 


square  miles.  This,  though  a  much  less  area 
than  is  included  in  the  modern  cities  of  Paris 
or  London,  is  far  greater  than  the  space 
covered  by  any  other  ancient  city.  Rome 
could  have  been  two  or  three  times  inclosed 
within  these  walls,  and  Nineveh  was  hardly 
one-fifth  as  great  in  extent. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  this 
whole  area  of  a  hundred  square  miles  or  more, 
was  actually  occupied  with  the  buildings  of 
the  city.  An  open  space  all  around  was  left 
inside  of  the  walls,  and  even  in  the  parts  cov- 
ered wnth  edifices  or  devoted  to  streets  there 
was  doubtless  much  unoccupied  ground.  Or- 
chards and  gardens  and  parks  would  intervene 
here  and  there,  and  certain  parts  would  be 


260 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


reserved  for  public  or  private  improvements. 
It  is  believed  that  the  city  by  the  extent  of 
space  thus  included  within  the  walls,  and  not 
actually  appropriated  for  building  purposes, 
was'  rendered  quite  independent  of  outside 
support  in  case  of  invasion  or  siege;  for  the 
rich  grounds  which  were  not  devoted  to 
building  could  be  made  quickly  available  for 
gardens. 

For  an  elaborate  description  of  Babylon 
we  are  indebted  to  Herodotus.  The  streets 
were  broad,  and  were  laid  out  at  right  angles. 
The  city  was  thus  divided  into  blocks  or 
squares.  The  walls  were  pierced  on  each  side 
with  twenty-five  gates — a  hundred  openings 
in  all.  The  gates  were  the  termini  of  the 
streets,  so  that  the  whole  inclosure  was  divided 
into  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  great  squares. ' 
These  in  their  turn  Avere  divided  into  smaller 
blocks  by  less  important  streets,  and  along 
these  the  imposing  houses  of  the  proud  city 
were  erected. 

The  buildings  of  Babylon  were  generally 
three  or  four  stories  in  height.  They  were 
not,  however,  of  so  solid  a  character  as  those 
of  Nineveh.  Good  building-stone,  that  sine 
qua  non  of  architecture,  was  wanting  in  Bab- 
ylonia, and  its  place  had  in  a  large  measure 
to  be  supplied  with  less  desirable  materials. 
The  walls  were  for  the  most  part  of  brick, 
and  the  beams  and  frame-work  were  of  the 
palm-tree,  which  constituted  the  one  available 
timb'^r  of  the  country.  Of  the  trunks  of  this 
tree  the  posts  and  columns  were  fashioned. 
About  these  were  twined  for  decorations 
wreaths  of  rushes,  and  the  whole  was  then 
covered  with  stucco,  and  made  to  resemble 
carved  pillars  of  stone. 

The  Euphrates  entered  the  city  by  one 
archway  and  found  an  exit  by  another.  Along 
its  whole  course  inside  of  the  walls  the  banks 
were  paved  for  a  great  distance  with  bricks 
laid  in  bitumen.  Thus  were  constituted  the 
wharves  of  Babylon.  The  river,  moreover, 
was  inclosed  with  a  wall  on  either  bank  run- 
ning parallel  with  his  course,  and  preventing 
the  waters  from  overflow  in  times  of  floods. 
These  protecting  walls  were  pierced  with  arched 

^  At  the  smallest  estimate  each  of  these  squares 
contained  nearly  a  hundred  acrex. 


openings  at  every  street  crossing,  and  through 
these  openings  the  crowds  of  merchants  and 
market  people  and  idlers  made  their  way 
down  to  the  river  bank,  where  boats  were  ever 
ready  for  conveyance  to  the  other  side.  In 
case  of  high  water  the  archways  were  shut, 
and  the  walls  became  continuous.  In  some 
places,  instead  of  the  ferry,  the  river  was 
spanned  with  bridges,  over  which  the  crowds 
jostled  from  side  to  side.  These  bridges  were 
built  with  a  draw  between  the  piers,  so  that 
communication  could  be  easily  cut  off".  As  an 
additional  means  of  passage,  a  tunnel  (if  we 
may  believe  Diodorus)  was  constructed  under 
the  channel  from  shore  to  shore.  This  pas- 
sage was  fifteen  feet  in  width  and  twelve  feet 
in  height,  being  paved  and  walled  and  arched 
with  bricks. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  single  struc- 
ture of  Babylon  was  the  great  temple  of  Belus. 
It  was  founded  four-square,  in  an  inclosure  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  long  on  each  side.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  great  tower  or  pyramid,  on  the  top 
of  which  was  placed  the  shrine  of  the  deity. 
It  was  built  somewhat  after  the  manner  of 
the  structures  of  Egypt.  The  basement  was 
a  square  of  solid  masonry,  measuring  over  six 
hundred  feet  on  each  side.  On  this  was  an- 
other square  of  smaller  proportions,  and  on 
this  another,  and  so  up  to  the  summit.  The 
ascent  to  the  top  was  on  the  outside  by  means 
of  steps,  which  wound  around  the  edifice. 
The  height  of  the  temple  was  four  hundred 
and  eighty  feet,  being  but  a  few  feet  less  than 
that  of  the  greatest  Egyptian  pyramid.  The 
summit  overtopped  the  city.  From  the  shrine 
the  whole  panorama  of  Babylonian  glory  lay 
spread  below  as  a  picture.  Palaces  and  marts, 
Avails  and  river,  quays  and  decorated  boats, 
and  beyond  all  the  limitless  plains  of  old  Chal- 
d^ea,  down  to  the  distant  horizon  of  the  desert, 
furnished  perhaps  the  most  Avonderful  vision 
which  the  eyes  of  man  beheld  anywhere  in 
the  precincts  of  the  ages  that  are  dead. 

The  shrine  on  the  summit  of  the  tower 
contained  originally  three  colossal  statues;  one 
of  the  god  Bel,  one  of  Beltis,  and  one  of 
Ishtar.  Here  were  two  great  censers  and  three 
golden  bowls,  the  drinking  cups  of  the  three 
deities.     In  front  of  Beltis  were  placed  two 


BABYLONIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


26i 


lions  of  gold  and  two  silver  serpents,  weighing 
each  thirty  talents;  and  these  were  accom- 
panied with  two  huge  bowls  of  silver  of  the 
same  weight  as  the  serpents.  These  splendid 
treasures,  however,  were  carried  away  at  the 
time  of  the  Persian  conquest;  and  when  He- 
rodotus visited  Babylon  the  shrine  was  dis- 
mantled. The  statues  were  gone.  So  also 
the  golden  lions,  the  serpents,  and  the  drink- 
ing-cups.  Instead  of  these  were  set  a  golden 
table,  and  a  couch  draped  with  a  rich  cover- 
ing. The  old  Greek  historian  found  on  his 
ascent  to  the  top,  about  half-way  up,  a  resting- 
place  arranged  with  seats  for  those  who  ascended 
and  descended  the  great  tower. 

The  second  and  less  pretentious  shrine  at 
the  base  of  the  edifice  had  also  been  despoiled 
by  the  Persians.  Originally  there  had  stood 
in  this  place  a  colossal  human  figure,  wrought 
of  solid  gold,  twelve  cubits  in  height.  In  the 
time  of  Herodotus  there  remained  only  a  small 
sitting  image  of  Bel,  with  a  golden  table  placed 
in  front.  Here  the  offerings  of  the  worshipers 
were  laid  in  the  presence  of  the  deity.  In 
front  of  the  basement  of  the  temple  were  set 
tAvo  altars  of  sacrifice,  and  on  these  human 
beings  were  probably  offered  up  to  appease 
the  anger  of  the  Warrior  Bel. 

Not  equal  to  the  temple  of  Belus  in  height, 
but  of  greater  ground  dimensions,  was  the 
royal  palace.  This  also  was  a  quadrangular 
edifice,  and  was  surrounded  with  three-fold 
ramparts  of  masonry,  the  outermost  being 
nearly  seven  miles  in  extent.  The  inner  wall 
measured  more  than  two  miles  around,  and 
the  basement  of  the  palace  proper  was  of  an 
incredible  size.  The  two  inner  walls  were 
faced  with  enameled  bricks,  upon  which  were 
pictured  a  vast  array  of  animals.  The  scenes 
were  chiefly  from  the  chase.  In  one  part  a 
lion  is  thrust  through  with  a  spear,  and  in 
another  a  huntress  hurls  a  javelin  at  a  leopard. 
No  complete  description  of  the  parts  and  gen- 
eral appearance  of  this  great  building  has 
been  preserved.  It  is  only  known  that  there 
were  three  bronze  gates  to  the  palace,  so  mas- 
sive as  to  require  machinery  to  open  and 
shut  them. 

It  was  within  the  inclosure  of  this  royal 
palace    that    were    constructed    the    famous 


Hanging  or  Elevated   Gardens   of  Babylon, 
which  constituted  one  of  the  "  Seven  Wonders" 
of  the  ancient  world.     Their  construction  was 
due  to  the  caprice  of  Amyitis,   the  Median 
wife  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  who,  pining  for  her 
native    hills,    besought    her    royal    spouse    to 
create  for  her  a  landscape.     A  rectangle  was 
selected,  each   side   of  which   measured   four 
hundred  feet.     Around  this  space  were  built 
a  series  of  open  arches,  and  upon  these,  serv- 
ing as  piers,  other  rows  of  arches  were  erected, 
after  the  manner  of  an  ancient  theater;  and 
thus  the  vast  structure  arose  to  the  height  of 
seventy-five    feet.      Upon    the    summit    was 
spread  an  abundance  of  earth,  and  here  not 
only  were  seeds  sown  and  flowers  reared  and 
shrubs  transplanted,  but  trees  of  the   largest 
growth,  brought  from  distant  provinces,  were 
set  in  their  native  beauty.     It  was  a  miniature 
Bois  cle  Boulogne,  created  on  a  hill  of  masonry. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  was  set  a 
huge  hydraulic  machine,  working  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  screw  of  Archimedes,  and  by  this 
means  water  was  raised  in  pipes  to  the  summit 
and   distributed   about   the  Gardens;    and  to 
prevent  this  water  from   percolating   to   the 
masonry,  layers  of  rushes  and  floors  of  bricks 
laid  in  bitumen  and  sheets  of  lead  were  inter- 
posed between  the  superincumbent  earth  and 
the  supporting  arches  beneath.     On  the  out- 
side, at  convenient  intervals,  were  flights   of 
steps  leading  to  the  top,  and  along  the  ascent 
were   grottoes  and   resting-places,    where   the 
royal   pleasure-parties   regaled    themselves    at 
their  ease :  why  should  they  hurry  on  such  an 
excursion?     Hurry   is    precipitated    by   those 
who  fear  that  their  pleasures  will  escape  them. 
Across  the  Euphrates  from   the  principal 
palace  stood  another  of  smaller  proportions. 
Around  it,  in  the  usual  manner,  was  drawn  a 
three-fold  rampart,  the  outer  wall  measuring 
about  three  and  a-half  miles  in  circumference. 
These  ramparts  and  the  walls  of  the  palace 
itself  were   covered   with   representations    of 
hunting  scenes  and  battles,  drawn  with   con- 
siderable   skill    on    the    surface   of   enameled 
bricks.     As  in  the  case  of  the  larger  palace, 
not  much  is  known  of  the  appearance  of  the 
smaller  structure.    Within  the  halls  and  courts 
were  set  bronze  statues,  representing  the  gods 


262 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


and  the  great  kings  of  Babylon.  Here  were 
seen  the  mythical  Ninus  and  Semiramis,  sur- 
rounded by  princes  of  old  Chaldsean  renown. 

The  Walls  of  Babylon  are  associated  in 
history  and  tradition  with  the  Hanging  Gar- 
dens as  one  of  the  Seven  "Wonders  of  the 
world/  These  walls  were,  pei-haps,  the  most 
marvelous  structures  of  the  sort  ever  erected. 
Their  true  dimensions,  however,  have  never 
been  determined.  The  Greek  historians  who 
visited  Babylon  have  left  contradictory  ac- 
counts of  the  breadth  and  height  of  the  vast 
ramparts  surrounding  the  city.  Nor  is  it 
likely  that  positive  measurements  would  have 
been  much  more  satisfactory,  for  these  being 
made  at  different  times  would  have  represented 
the  walls  in  various  degrees  of  dilapidation 
resulting  from  the  havoc  wrought  by  besiegers 
and  the  slower  ravages  of  time.  Herodotus 
states  the  breadth  of  the  walls  at  eighty-five 
feet,  and  the  height  at  three  hundred  and 
thirty-five  feet.  Ctesias,  without  giving  the 
breadth,  puts  the  height  at  three  hundred 
feet.  Pliny  gives  the  two  dimensions  as 
sixty  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet 
respectively.  The  lowest  estimates  of  all  are 
those  given  by  Clitarchus  and  Strabo,  who 
place  the  breadth  at  thirty-two  feet  and  the 
height  at  seventy-five  feet;  but  these  authors 
must  either  have  greatly  underestimated  the 
dimensions  or  else  given  measures  of  the  ruined 
rampart  rather  than  of  the  original  walls. 
Perhaps  a  fair  average  approximation  would 
be  seventy -five  feet  for  the  thickness  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  for  the  height — meas- 
urements sufficiently  vast  to  shock  if  not  con- 
found the  credulity  of  modern  times.  The 
length  of  these  stupendous  battlements  has 
already  been  given  as  being  more  than  forty 
miles. 

On  the  top  of  the  great  wall  of  the  city 
were  two  hundred  and  fifty  towers.  These 
were  arranged  in  pairs  on  the  outer  and  inner 
edges  of  the  rampart,  and  so  broad  was  the 

^The  Seven  Wonders  of  the  ancient  world 
were:  the  Pyramids  of  E^ypt,  the  Pharos  or 
Light-house  of  Alexandria,  the  Colossus  of 
Rhodes,  the  AValls  and  Hanging  Gardens  of  Baby- 
lon, the  Tomb  of  King  Mausolus,  the  Temple  of 
Diana  at  Ephesus,  and  the  statue  of  Jupiter 
Olympius. 


space  that  a  four-horse  chariot  could  be  turned 
between  them.  The  towers  were  square,  and 
looked  down,  the  outer  row  upon  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  the  inner,  upon  the 
city.  So  vast  was  the  mass  of  masonry  in 
these  walls,  so  great  their  height  and  thick- 
ness, that  they  were  an  impregnable  bulwark 
against  any  enginery  of  the  times.  They 
could  be  neither  undermined  nor  surmounted. 

Such  was  the  famous  capital  of  the  Baby- 
lonian kings.  In  splendor  and  opulence  and 
power  it  far  surpassed  any  other  city  of  an- 
cient times.  Through  her  magnificent  streets 
swept  the  chariots  of  princes  and  monarchs. 
Out  of  her  splendid  gates  poured  the  bronzed 
cohorts  of  well-nigh  invincible  soldiers,  going 
forth  to  conquest.  Into  these  same  gates 
were  driven  the  captives  from  a  hundred 
vanquished  provinces.  Over  her  palaces  and 
temples  the  oriental  sun  rose  in  unclouded 
glory.  In  the  might  of  her  power  and  re- 
nown she  saw  her  rivals  one  by  one  expire, 
and  in  her  triumph  she  arrogated  to  herself 
the  rank  and  title  of  mistress  of  the  world. 
But  in  the  slow  processes  of  destiny  her  own 
time  came  to  suffer  humiliation  and  downfall. 
No  other  city,  reared  by  the  genius  and  pride 
of  man,  has  suffered  a  more  complete  extinc- 
tion. Babylon  is  literally  in  the  dust.  Only 
scattered  mounds,  which  the  rolling  years 
have  covered  with  grass  and  shrubs,  remain 
of  the  once  mighty  metropolis  of  the  Babylo- 
nians. All  else  rests  in  the  slumber  of  ever- 
lasting oblivion. 

Journeying  down  the  river  from  Baghdad 
to  Hillah,  the  traveler  of  to-day  comes  un- 
expectedly upon  a  series  of  scattered  heaps 
which,  could  they  speak,  would  cry  up  from 
the  ground,  "We  are  Babylon!"  As  he  pro- 
ceeds, the  mounds  increase  in  size  and  fre- 
quency. In  the  intervals  between  them, 
should  he  disturb  the  soil,  he  finds  an  indis- 
tinguishable mass  of  broken  bricks  and  pot- 
tery, slowly  returning  to  dust.  The  mounds 
mark  the  sites  of  the  palaces  and  temples, 
and  the  intermediate  spaces  the  place  of  the 
common  buildings  and  streets  of  the  city.  The 
northernmost  of  the  great  heaps  is  called  Babil 
by  the  Arabs  to  the  present  day.  It  is  a  mound 
nearly  four-square,  with  steep  sides.     The  top 


BABYLONIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


2fi8 


is  flat,  though  traversed  with  several  raviues, 
plowed  out  by  time.  The  southern  side  of 
the  elevation,  extending  a  distance  of  six 
hundred  feet,  is  tolerably  well  jDreserved.  The 
eastern  face,  also,  is  easily  traceable  for  a  dis- 
tance of  five  hundred  and  forty  feet.  The 
other  two  sides  of  the  square  have  been  worn 
down  by  the  action  of  the  elements,  and  re- 
duced in  some  places  to  a  level  with  the  plain. 
The  highest  part  of  the  mound  is  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet  above  the  surrounding  country. 
The  vast  heap  consists  of  a  mass  of  sun-dried 
bricks,  but  in  the  outer  Avail  the  bricks  are 
burnt  and  enameled,  bearing  the  monogram 
of  Nebuchadnezzar.  This  great  mound  of 
Babil  has  been  identified  by  antiquaries  as  the 
site  of  the  temple  of  Belus. 

A  short  distance  down  the  river  is  the  still 
larger  mound  known  as  El  Kasr,  or  "the 
Palace."  This  remarkable  elevation  is  two  thou- 
sand one  hundred  feet  in  length  by  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  in  breadth.  Its  sununit  is 
seventy  feet  above  the  level  of  the  plain. 
Like  the  other  heaps,  it  consists  of  an  infinity 
of  crushed  bricks  and  slabs  and  pottery.  In 
the  basement  some  passages  have  been  ex- 
plored, which  are  paved  and  arched  with  bricks. 
Some  of  the  slabs  which  have  been  discovered 
in  this  mound  bear  inscriptions  by  which  the 
place  has  been  identified  as  the  site  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's palace.  All  the  bricks  which 
have  been  discovered  in  that  vicinity  bear  his 
monogram,  so  that  both  tradition — as  shown 
in  the  name  of  ' '  the  Palace "  now  borne  by 
the  ruin — and  antiquities  point  unmistakably 
to  this  spot  as  that  on  which  w'as  reared  the 
royal  house  of  the  great  king. 

Near  the  ruin  of  El  Kasr  is  that  of  Am- 
RAN,  so-called,  according  to  tradition,  because 
here  was  buried  the  prophet  Amran-ibn-Ali. 
It  is  simply  a  heap,  irregular  in  outline,  and 
less  striking  than  the  Kasr  ruin.  It  lies  near 
the  river  bank,  and  one  of  the  sides  of  the 
original  structure  was  evidently  lashed  by  the 
water  when  the  river  was  full.  The  three 
sides  of  the  elevation,  which  have  been  traced 
with  some  accuracy,  measure  respectively 
3,000,  2,400,  and  2,100  feet.  The  slopes  of 
this  mound,  like  many  others,  are  furrowed 
with  deep  ravines,  through  which  the  rains  of 


two  thousand  years  have  found  their  way  to 
the  plain. 

It  is  fitting  in  this  connection  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  modern  antiquaries 
have  been  divided  in  their  opinion  as  to  the 
site  of  the  famous  Birs  Nhvirud,  or  so-called 
"Tower  of  Babel."  Some  have  attempted  to 
identify  this  ruin  with  the  Mound  of  Babil 
already  described ;  while  others,  with  better 
reason,  have  decided  in  favor  of  a  more  strik- 
ing elevation  near  the  city  of  Borsippa.  This 
is  distant  from  the  heaps  which  mark  the  site 
of  Babylon  about  ereven  miles,  and  may, 
therefore,  have  jwgsiWy  been  included  within 
the  walls  of  the  ancient  city.  There  are  rea- 
sons for  believing,  however,  that  such  was  not 
the  case,  though  no  doubt,  owing  to  the  vast 
extent  of  the  rampart  of  the  capital,  the  Birs 
Nimrud  may  have  not  been  far  distant  from 
the  w^alls.  Be  this  as  it  may,  and  whatever 
difiiculties  may  arise  from  fixing  the  site  of 
the  Tower  away  from  Babylon,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  tliat  the  Birs  Nimrud  of  Borsippa 
is  the  true  ruin  of  the  ancient  and  gigantic 
structure. 

It  is  from  this  greatest  of  the  Babylo- 
nian mounds  that  the  best  knowledge  of  the 
character  of  the  ancient  temples  or  towers  is 
derived.  Some  account  of  the'general  features 
of  the  Birs  Nimrud  and  of  the  wonderful  tow'er 
Avhich  constituted  its  essential  part  will  accord- 
ingly be  given  in  this  connection.  The  plan 
of  the  structure  has  been  cai*efully  studied  on 
the  ground,  and  an  accurate  knowledge  has 
thus  been  acquired  of  the  dimensions  and 
peculiarities  of  the  original  edifice. 

The  Bii's  Nimrud  is  the  ruin  of  the  great 
temple  of  Nebo.  Its  foundation  was  an  exact 
square,  each  side  being  two  hundred  and 
seventy-two  feet  in  length.  The  height  of 
this  first  platform  of  masonry  was  twenty-six 
feet.  Upon  this  was  raised  the  second  square 
of  the  same  height  as  the  first,  the  sides 
measuring  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet.  This 
second  square,  however,  was  not  placed  cen- 
trally over  the  first,  but  was  displaced  or 
drawn  over  towards  the  south-western  edge  of 
the  lower  platform.  The  displacement  was 
such  as  to  make  the  oflTset  on  one  side  meas- 
ure thirty  feet  and  on  the  other  but  twelve  feet. 


264 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  third  square  was  laid  upon  the  second 
in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  the  second 
on  the  first.  This  platform  was  also  twenty- 
six  feet  in  height,  and  measured  one  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  feet  on  each  side.  The  fourth 
square  was  laid  on  the  third  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  others;  but  the  thickness  of  this 
platform  was  reduced  to  fifteen  feet,  the  sides 
measuring  one  hundred  and  forty-six  feet,  and 
the  same  style  of  displacement  towards  the 
south-west  side  being  observed. 

Above  the  fourth  stage  in  the  Birs  the  ef- 
fects of  the  ruin  become  more  manifest,  and 
estimates  have  to  be  substituted  in  many  parts 
for  exact  measurements.  The  fifth  square  was 
of  the  same  thickness  as  the  fourth,  and  was 
laid  in  like  manner.  The  sides  of  this  plat- 
form and  of  the.  sixth  and  seventh  squares 
measured  one  hundred  and  four  feet,  sixty-two 
feet,  and  twenty  feet  respectively.  The  thick- 
ness of  fifteen  feet  for  each  platform  w^as 
maintained  to  the  top.  On  the  seventh  square 
was  erected  the  shrine  of  the  god,  being  a 
cube  of  fifteen  feet  in  each  of  its  dimensions. 
The  whole  height  of  the  original  structure 
was,  therefore,  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet, 
and  the  theodolite  shows  that  the  present 
height  of  the  Birs  is  within  three  feet  of  the 
original  elevation!  The  blasts  of  twenty-five 
centuries  have  not  sufiiced  to  level  the  house 
of  Nebo  with  the  Chal(li3ean  plain. 

The  great  temple  was  an  embodiment  of 
Babylonian  mythology.  The  seven  platforms 
were  dedicated  to  the  seven  planets  known  to 
the  ancients.  To  each  of  these  planets  a  color 
was  assigned,  according  to  the  astrological  no- 
tions of  the  Chaldseans.  To  the  Sun  was 
given  the  color  of  gold;  to  the  Moon,  silver; 
to  Mercury,  blue;  to  Venus,  yellow;  to  Mars, 
red;  to  Jupiter,  orange;  to  Saturn,  black. 
To  this  planet  was  assigned  the  basement 
square,  which  was  accordingly  painted  black. 
The  second  platform  was  dedicated  to  Jupiter, 
and  was  painted  orange.  The  third  was  given 
to  Mars,  and  was  red.  The  fourth,  or  golden 
square,  was  assigned  to  the  Sun ;  the  fifth,  or 
yellow,  to  Venus.  The  sixth,  or  blue  platform, 
was  sacred  to  Mercury;  and  the  last  was  as- 
signed to  the  Moon  and  received  her  color — 
silver.     These  colors  were  laid  on  in  various 


ways,  some  being  burnt  in  the  surface  of  the 
bricks,  some  painted,  and  the  fourth  and  sev- 
enth squares — and  with  the  latter  perhaps  the 
shrine  itself — being  faced  respectively  with  thin 
layers  of  gold  and  silver!  Such  was  the  profu- 
sion of  superstition ! 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Tower  of  Nebo 
rose,  like  the  temple  of  the  Medes  in  Ecba- 
tana,  in  successive  bands  of  brilliant  color. 
Viewed  from  a  distance,  the  eflfect  must  have 
been  such  as  to  attract  and  please  the  eye.^ 
Doubtless,  when  the  sun  flashed  his  splendors 
upon  the  brilliant  hues  of  the  great  pyramid,  or 
when  the  full-orbed  moon  in  milder  radiance 
diffiised  her  light  around  the  gigantic  pile, 
the  awe-struck  worshiper  may  well  have  im- 
agined that  Nebo  himself  was  enshrined  on 
the  summit. 

A  strange  fact  relative  to  the  Birs  Nimrud 
monument  is  that  no  stairways  or  other  means 
of  ascending  to  the  top  have  been  discovered. 
It  is  possible,  however,  that  more  extensive 
ex]:»lorations  would  uncover  flights  of  steps. 
The  face  of  the  first  or  basement  square  of 
masonry  was  in  several  places  indented 
with  niches,  but  these  seem  to  have  been  for 
ornameut  rather  than  for  statues.  It  may  be 
remarked,  also,  that  the  third  platform  was 
less  durable  than  the  rest,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  bricks  composing  it  were,  in  order  to 
secure  the  blood-red  color,  only  half-burnt, 
and  were  thus  left  perishable. 

Antiquaries  have  decided  that  the  sloping 
or  receding  side  of  the  mound  facing  to  the 
north-east  is  the  true  front  of  the  Tower.  It 
is  also  believed  that  within  the  platforms  of 
masonry  were  apartments  where  the  priests  of 
Nebo  lived ;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  the 
means  of  ascent  were  contrived  within  rather 
than  without  the  temple.  Many  of  these 
things,  however,  have  been  left  to  conjecture 
and  to  such  dim  reasoning  as  the  data  will 
support.  It  is  a  disputed  point,  even,  whether 
the  approach  to  the  Tower  was  simply  a  plain 
ascent,  or    whether    there    was    an    elaborate 

'  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Babylonians  were 
either  ignorant  of  the  charming  effects  of  the 
solar  spectrum,  or  else  they  preferred  to  sacrifice 
beauty  to  their  mythology.  The  beautiful  con- 
trasts of  color  were  quite  neglected  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  bands  on  the  successive  squares. 


BABYLONIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


265 


vestibule  which  has  gone  to  dust  with  the  cen- 
turies. The  latter  view  is  sustained  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  by  the  existence  in  front  of  the 
north-east  slope  of  an  irregular  mass  of  ruins, 
which  seem  to  indicate  some  kind  of  raised  or 
columnar  approach  to  the  main  edifice. 

The  city  of  Borsippa,  near  which  the  great 
Birs  still  stands,  was  among  the  most  impor- 
tant of  Babylonia.  It  was  one  of  the  ancient 
and  venerated  towns  of  Chaldtea.  In  the 
primitive  ages,  before  the  Assyrian  Empire 
had  arisen  or  Media  had  an  existence,  Bor- 
sippa  was  already  a  flourishing  mart,  adorned 
with  temples  and  other  public  buildings.  A 
sketch  of  these,  and  of  the  city  itself,  has 
been  given  in  the  Second  Book. 

After  Borsippa  may  be  mentioned  the  town 
of  Opis.  It  was  situated  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Tigris,  just  below  the  confluence  of  the 
Gyndes.  The  ancient  name  of  this  city  was 
Hupiya.  The  site  is  now  marked  by  the  ruins 
of  Khafaji.  In  the  days  of  its  importance 
Opis  was  a  large  and  flourishing  emporium, 
receiving  commerce  from  both  the  rivers  which 
washed  its  Avails.  A  short  distance  to  the 
south,  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  Tigris,  was 
another  consider-  _^-_ 

able  town  called  _  _ -=^==r~ 

SiTACE,      which  __  ^^E 

gave  its  name  to 
the  province  in 
which  it  lay. 
Further  down, 
on  the  shore  of 
the  Persian  Gulf, 
was  Teredon, 
founded  by  Neb- 
uchadnezzar,and 
containing  in  the 
palmy  days  of 
the      Empire 

many  thousand  inhabitants.  The  site  has 
not  been  identified,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  shore  line  of  the  Gulf  has  receded  and 
the  whole  district  been  covered  with  deposits. 
It  is  thought,  however,  that  Teredon  was  lo- 
cated in  the  neighborhood  of  the  modern  town 
of  Zobair. 

Passing  into  the  Provinces  of  the  Empire 
the  most  notable  city  was  SusA,  the  capital  of 


Susiana.  In  the  times  of  Babylonian  great- 
ness it  was  second  only  to  Babylon,  It  lay, 
as  already  stated,  between  the  two  branches  of 
the  river  Chaospes,  on  a  beautiful  plain,  re- 
lieved, at  the  distance  of  twenty-five  miles, 
with  a  background  of  mountains.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  healthful  and  attractive  regions 
within  the  dominions  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 
Here  was  situated  the  ancient  palace  of  the 
old  native  kings.  It  was  reared  upon  a  great 
mound,  after  the  style  of  the  Babylonian 
and  Assyrian  temples.  The  ancient  city  lay 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  palace.  Here,  ac- 
cording to  Herodotus,  lived  in  primitive  days 
King  Memnon,  who  led  an  army  to  Troy  to 
defend  the  city  against  the  Greeks.  Such  was 
the  beauty  and  salubrity  of  Susa  and  her  en- 
virons that  the  place  was  regarded  as  a  sort 
of  second  capital  of  the  Empire.  Several  of 
the  Babylonian  monarchs  here  maintained 
summer  residences,  and  the  court  of  Susa, 
thronged  with  princes  and  native  and  foreign 
noblemen,  almost  rivaled  the  splendors  of 
Babylon. 

On  the  Upper  Euphrates  was  Carchemish, 
famous  for  more  than  one  decisive  battle  fought 


EUINS  OF  TYRE. 


in  her  vicinity.  The  strategic  position  was 
one  of  great  importance.  By  this  route,  as 
through  a  gate,  the  armies  of  Mesopotamia 
and  the  South  must  make  their  way  in  their 
invasions  of  Syria.  Here  the  nations  of  the 
West  —  Egyptians,  Phoenicians,  Israelites — 
must  debouch,  if  at  all,  into  Babylonia. 

Far    distant    on    the    Mediterranean     lay 
queenly  Tyre,  greatest  of  the  maritime  cities 


266 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  the  Empire.  The  position  Avas  strong, 
easily  defensible.  At  lirst  the  shore  was 
chosen;  but  at  a  later  date,  when  Tyre 
had  grown  to  be  the  wealthiest  metropolis 
of  the  West,  the  city  was  carried  out  to  a 
littoral  island,  which  became  thenceforth  the 
principal  seat  of  business  and  defense.  The 
shore-town    was   known   as   Old   Tyre.     The 


its  fortunate  position  and  the  genius  of  its 
inhabitants  upheld  its  preeminence  even 
down  to  the  days  of  the  Mohammedan  con- 
quests. 

Next  may  be  mentioned  the  rival  city  of 
SiDON — older,  but  less  famous,  than  Tyre.  It 
was  situated  on  the  coast,  twenty-three  miles 
north  of  the  sister  city.     Sidon  was   the  old 


VIEW  OF  JERT'SALEM. 


people  of  the  city  were  the  most  enterprising 
of  their  times.  They  were  manufacturers, 
merchants,  sailors ;  large-minded  and  courage- 
ous; ready  for  any  enterprise,  and  quick  in 
the  spirit  of  adventure.  Their  manufactures 
were  of  matchless  beauty  and  excellence. 
Kings,  princes,  and  nobles  were  proud  to 
wear  the  royal-dyed  fabrics  of  Tyre.  Several 
times  in  the  vicissitudes  of  the  nations  the 
city  was  besieged,  and  a  few  times  taken ;  but 


metropolis  of  Phoenicia.  The  people  of  the 
country  were  proud  to  be  called  Sidonians  in 
honor  of  their  ancient  capital.  The  period 
of  greatest  prosperity  was  from  1600  to  1200 
B.  C,  when  its  commercial  preeminence  was 
already  acknowledged  by  the  Egyptians. 
Sidon  was  destroyed  by  the  Persians  in  the 
year  B.  C.  351,  as  a  punishment  for  rebelling 
against  Artaxerxes  III.  It  then  became  a 
provincial    town    of    little    importance.       In 


BABYLONIA.— ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 


267 


modern  times  the  site  of  the  old  capital  is 
marked  by  the  seaport  of  Saida. 

On  the  route  from  Palestine  to  Egypt  lay 
the  city  of  Ashdod.  It  was  regarded  as  the 
western  key  to  Syria,  as  Carchemish  was 
the  eastern.  He  who  held  the  two  strong- 
holds just  mentioned,  and  Tyre,  the  doorway 
to  the  sea,  practically  controlled  the  whole  of 
the  Syrian  dominions;  nor  could  the  suprem- 
acy of  these  regions  be  long  maintained  save 
by  the  possession  and  control  of  these  impor- 
tant cities. 

Finally  should  be  mentioned  Jerusalem, 
the  capital  of  Palestine.  It  is  situated  fifteen 
miles  west  of  the  head  of  the  Dead  Sea.  It 
is  built  on  a  high  plateau  of  limestone  about 


two  miles  square,  abutting  against  the  mount- 
ains on  the  north.  Here  was  originally  the 
capital  of  the  Jebusites,  one  of  the  Cauaanit- 
ish  tribes  expelled  by  Joshua.  Under  David 
and  Solomon,  Jerusalem  grew  into  importance. 
It  became  regarded  as  the  Holy  City  of  Israel, 
and  acquired  great  fame  as  the  principal  seat 
of  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  In  the  times  of 
the  Babylonian  ascendency  the  city,  lying 
almost  on  the  route  between  Babylon  and 
Memphis,  was  many  times  an  object  of  the 
cupidity  or  vengeance  of  the  rival  nations  of 
the  East  and  the  West.  Her  demolished 
walls,  ruined  towers,  pillaged  temple,  and 
depopulated  streets  frequently  boi-e  witness  to 
obstinate  defense  and  signal  punishment. 


CHAPTER  XXII.-ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 


F  the  general  character 
of  the  learning  of  the 
Babylonians,  much  may 
be  inferred  from  what 
has  already  been  said  of 
the  lore  of  the  Chaldees. 
The  artistic  tastes  and 
philosophical  opinions  of  the  later  people  Avere 
derived  from  the  culture  of  the  ancient  mon- 
archy. The  civilization  of  Babylonia  was 
merely  an  expansion  or  development  of  that 
of  Chaldiea,  modified  as  it  was,  with  a  certain 
infusion  of  Assyrian  opinions  and  practices. 

If  we  begin  with  Architecture,  we  must 
traverse  to  a  considerable  extent  the  same 
ground  which  has  been  gone  over  in  the  ac- 
count of  the  cities  and  temples  of  the  Empire. 
Perhaps,  however,  some  more  specific  notice 
of  the  style  of  building  employed  by  the  Bab- 
ylonians may  be  added  with  propriety;  and 
in  producing  such  a  sketch  it  is  natural  to 
begin  with  the  royal  palaces.  These  ^vere,  of 
course,  next  after  the  temples  of  the  gods,  the 
most  important  structures  of  the  times. 

It  is  an  unfortunate  fact  that  the  Babylo- 
nian royal  palaces  have  suflTered  more  from 
the  dilapidations  of  war  and  violence  than 
have  the  temples ;  partly,  no  doubt,  because 


the  latter  were  more  solidly  built,  and  partly 
because,  in  case  of  conquest,  the  temple  is 
less  likely  than  the  king's  house  to  suflfer  from 
the  fury  and  lust  of  a  victorious  soldiery. 
The  renmins  of  the  royal  structures  of  the 
Babylonians  furnish  but  a  meager  outline  and 
dim  shadow  of  the  superb  originals.  But,  as 
if  in  compensation  for  this  loss,  the  old  histo- 
rians and  travelers  have  left  us  materials  tol- 
erably abundant  from  which  to  fill  out  the 
the  outline. 

The  palaces  of  Babylon,  like  those  of  As- 
syria, were  built  upon  raised  mounds  or  plat- 
forms. These  mounds  were  square  in  shape, 
and  were  constructed  of  solid  masonry.  The 
elevation  of  the  platform  w'as  fifty  or  sixty 
feet  above  the  surface.  The  great  mass  of  the 
square  was  constructed  of  sun-dried  bricks, 
but  a  thick  wall  around  the  outside  and  a  sub- 
stantial pavement  on  the  top  were  of  burnt 
bricks  or  stone  slabs  carefully  laid  in  bitumen. 
Upon  this  practically  imperishable  basis  the 
palace  proper  was  reared. 

The  material  used  in  the  body  of  the  struct- 
ure was  burnt  bricks  of  the  finest  and  most 
durable  quality.  They  were  laid  in  a  kind 
of  cement  which,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
way  in  which   it   has  withstood   the  elements 


268 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


for  centuries,  was  superior  to  any  thing  of  like 
sort  employed  in  modern  masonry.  The  walls 
of  the  building  were  of  enormous  thickness. 
The  ground-plan  was  a  rectangle,  the  sides  of 
the  square  being  parallel  with  those  of  the 
foundation.  It  is  unfortunate  that  no  remains 
of  a  Babylonian  palace  have  been  discovered 
in  a  state  of  such  preservation  as  to  furnish 
authentic  data  for  the  restoration  of  the  edi- 
fice. Only  a  few  facts  can  be  educed  from 
the  crumbling  debris  on  the  summits  of 'the 
mounds.  In  general,  the  walls  were  straight. 
They  were  high  enough  to  be  imposing.  They 
were  not  pierced  with  windows  or  other  open- 
ings. They  were  strengthened  by  buttresses, 
built  at  intervals  along  the  face.  They  were 
decorated  here  and  there  with  sculptured  slabs, 
set  in  both  the  inner  and  the  outer  surface. 
The  figures  with  which  these  were  adorned 
were  generally  small,  but  were  executed  with 
care  and  with  considerable  artistic  skill. 

It  was  rather,  however,  to  the  device  of 
color  than  to  the  work  of  the  chisel  that  the 
palace  walls  owed  their  beauty.  On  the 
smooth  surface  of  the  bricks  the  Babylonian 
painters  exhausted  their  resources  in  depicting 
such  scenes  from  the  chase  and  the  fight  as 
could  please  the  eye  or  flatter  the  vanity  of 
the  royal  occupants.  What  the  splendid 
sculptures  of  Nineveh  furnished  to  the  Assyr- 
ian kings  in  the  way  of  artistic  pleasures,  that 
the  painter's  brush  in  some  measure  supplied 
for  the  princes  of  BaJDylon.  An  abundance 
of  these  pictorial  representations  have  been 
found  on  the  great  mound  of  El  Kasr. 

Curiosity  to  know  the  details — the  height, 
the  number  of  stories,  the  internal  arrange- 
ment— of  these  Babylonian  palaces  will,  per- 
haps, remain  forever  ungratified.  No  doubt, 
in  altitude,  they  greatly  overtopped  the  three- 
and  four-story  houses.  As  the  king  was  lifted 
up  above  his  subject,  so  his  abode  and  the 
abodes  of  his  princes  and  nobles  were  raised 
on  high  above  the  unaspiring  cityful.  An- 
other conjecture  is  that  the  palaces  were 
lighted  through  the  roofless  space  overhead, 
and  not  by  means  of  windows.  The  extreme 
mildness  of  the  climate  would  justify  such  a 
supposition,  and  the  same  is  attested  by  the 
fact  that  no  windows  have  been  found  in  the 


walls.  Another  feature  of  the  palaces,  not  con- 
jectural, is  the  drainage,  which  was  carefully 
provided  for  by  subterranean  passages  in  the 
basement. 

An  examination  of  the  meager  remains  of 
the  bridges  across  the  Euphrates  and  of  the 
great  wall  around  the  city  does  not  indicate 
that  the  Babylonian  architects  were  especially 
skillful.  The  piers  of  the  bridges,  however, 
were  correctly  built,  with  a  sharp  angle 
against  the  current  of  the  river.  In  general, 
the  buildings  of  Babylonia,  particularly  those 
of  the  great  capital,  were  loftier  and  more 
imposing  than  the  structures  of  other  oriental 
countries.^  No  doubt  they  were  equally 
superior  to  those  of  other  nations  in  respect 
to  ornamentation  and  general  structure  and 
adaptation. 

In  the  manufacture  and  preparation  of 
building  material,  the  Babylonians  surpassed 
only  in  the  production  of  bricks.  Like  their 
ancestors,  the  Chaldseans,  they  had  two  va- 
rieties— those  dried  in  the  sun  and  those 
burnt  in  kilns.  The  former  were  used  only 
in  the  interior  of  thick  walls  and  in  building 
great  platforms  and  buttresses,  wherein  the 
action  of  the  elements  could  not  be  felt.  All 
the  exposed  portions  of  structures  were  of  the 
kiln-baked  variety — very  hard  and  perfect. 
The  finest  were  of  a  yellow  color,  and  were 
so  firm  as  to  be  practically  imperishable. 
Another  very  superior  quality  were  of  a  blu- 
ish tinge,  sometimes  almost  black,  and  were 
well-nigh  as  hard  as  stone.  The  softer  sorts — 
half-burnt  varieties,  etc. — were  red  or  pink, 
and   could  be  easily  broken  into  fragments. 

The  sizes  employed  were  variable,  but  the 
standard  make  were  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
inches  square  on  the  face  and  three  or  four 
inches  thick.  For  the  corners  and  angles 
sizes  and  shapes  were  used  which  were  adapted 
in  form  to  the  situation.  The  bricks  were  all 
cast  in  molds,  after  the  manner  of  modern 
times,  and  were  stamped  on  one  face  with  a 
monogram  or  inscription.    The  die  was  always 


^  In  the  present  day  the  houses  of  the  people 
of  the  countries  described  in  the  text  are  rarely, 
if  ever,  more  than  two  stories  in  height.  Accord- 
ing to  Herodotus,  those  of  ancient  Babylon  were 
"  three  or  four  stories  high." 


BABYLONIA.'^ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 


269 


sunk  below  the  surface,  so  that  the  design, 
whatever  it  was,  should  not  be  injured  or 
broken  away  in  laying  or  handling.  In 
building  walls  or  other  masonry,  the  bricks 
were  generally  laid  horizontally,  though  in 
some  instances  the  vertical  position  was  pre- 
ferred. In  other  cases  both  plans  were 
adopted,  a  row  being  set  vertically  after  each 
horizontal  layer. 

The  material  used  to  keep  the  bricks  in 
place  was  cement,  and  of  this  there  were 
three  varieties.  The  first  was  composed  of  a 
mixture  of  common  clay  and  chopped  straw. 
In  building,  this  mortar  was  used  more  abun- 
dantly than  by  modern  masons,  being  some- 
times laid  on  to  the  thickness  of  two  inches. 
The  second  sort  of  cement  was  composed  of 
bitumen,  and  was  identical  with  that  employed 
by  the  Chaldseans.  This  variety  was  used  in 
basements  and  pavements,  and  especially  in 
those  parts  of  structures  which  were  exposed 
to  the  action  of  water.  The  third  kind 
was  composed  of  lime,  and  was  of  a  quality 
unsurpassed,  perhaps  unequaled,  by  that  em- 
ployed in  any  other  country.  Until  to-day, 
the  great  masses  of  bricks  piled  up  in  the 
basement  squares  and  thick  walls  of  the  Baby- 
lonian ruins  are  held  together  with  a  tenacity 
which  seems  to  defy  alike  the  insidious  onset 
of  the  elements  and  the  stroke  of  the  anti- 
quary's hatchet. 

That  which  is  the  most  striking  feature  of 
the  present  ruins  of  the  Babylonian  jilain, 
and  which,  no  doubt,  was  most  striking  in  the 
original  edifices,  is  their  great  magnitude. 
They  are  imposing  by  their  size.  In  this  re- 
spect they  are  allied  with  the  monuments  of 
Egypt.  There  is  about  them  a  certain  im- 
pressive grandeur,  which,  next  after  the 
gigantic  structures  of  the  Nile  valley,  strike 
the  beholder  as  the  most  majestic  remains  of 
antiquity.  They  make  up  in  massiveness  what 
they  lack  in  beauty,  and  their  sameness  and 
silence  heightens  rather  than  weakens  the 
vision  of  vanished  greatness. 

Passing  from  architecture  to  Painting  and 
Sculpture,  but  little  is  found  to  admire. 
Only  a  few  fragments,  mutilated  by  time  and 
accident,  have  survived  to  the  present;   and 

from   these  it  may  not   be   properly  judged 

N.— Vol.  I— 17 


what  was  or  was  not  the  attainment  of  Baby- 
lonian art.  Of  sculpture,  a  half-dozen  broken 
pieces  have  survived.  Of  these  the  most  im- 
portant is  the  figure  of  a  colossal  lion  stand- 
ing over  the  prostrate  body  of  a  man,  found 
on  the  top  of  the  mound  of  El  Kasr.  Artists 
and  antiquarians  have  pronounced  the  work 
of  little  merit.  The  figure  of  the  lion  in 
many  parts  deviates  from  the  outlines  of 
nature,  and  in  some  features  is  distorted. 
The  form  of  the  man  is  so  clumsily  done  as 
to  be  hardly  distinguishable.  A  certain  pose 
and  grandeur  of  general  effect,  faintly  sugges- 
tive of  the  sculptures  of  Egypt,  are  all  that 
redeem  the  group  from  contempt.  Of  figures 
modeled  in  clay  a  few  have  been  discovered. 
The  best  is  that  of  a  mother  and  child.  The 
statuette  is  no  more  than  three  and  a  half 
inches  in  height.  The  mother  sits.  The 
child  is  encircled  in  the  left  arm.  The  figures 
are  nude,  the  attitudes  graceful.  The  general 
effect  is  pleasing,  as  if  deduced  from  nature 
by  an  artist.  The  figures  were  originally 
glazed  wdth  some  sort  of  enamel,  which  has 
peeled  oflT,  exposing  the  clay. 

Of  bas-reliefs  the  best  specimen  is  that  of 
one  of  the  Babylonian  kings.  The  piece  is 
now  preserved  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  a 
black  slab,  upon  the  surface  of  which  the  fig- 
ure is  engraved  with  excessive  details  of  orna- 
ment. There  is  very  little  grace  or  artistic 
skill  displayed  in  the  work,  though  the  finish 
is  almost  as  fine  as  that  of  the  Assyrian  sculp- 
tures. The  proportions  of  the  figure  are  tol- 
erably well  preserved,  and  there  is  a  6ertain 
stiff*  dignity  in  the  attitude  not  Avholly  un- 
meritorious.  The  king  with  the  left  hand 
grasps  his  bow ;  in  the  right  he  holds  his 
arrow.  His  eyes  are  fixed,  like  those  of  Apollo 
on  the  typhon — but  here  the  likeness  ends. 
The  whole  figure,  with  the  exception  of  the 
face  and  neck  and  hands,  is  covered  with 
elaborate  ornamentation,  showing  all  the  de- 
tails of  the  royal  garment. 

Turning  to  animal  forms,  Babylonian  art 
appears  to  a  better  advantage.  A  common 
subject  of  the  artist  was  the  dog.  The  crea- 
ture was  presented  in  bas-relief,  generally  on 
a  black  stone  slab.  His  canine  excellency  is 
on  guard.     He  rises  on  his  fore-feet,  and  will 


270 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


spring  upon  the  intruder  if  he  advances 
further.  The  piece  is  evidently  a  kind  of 
cave  canem,  suitable  for  halls  and  doorAvays. 
Another  figure,  also  in  relief,  is  that  of  a  great 
bustard,  executed  with  much  spirit.  The  bird 
strides,  and  has  the  manner  of  nature.  On 
the  cylinders  are  figures  of  cows,  deer,  mon- 
keys, goats— sometimes  figured  with  what  may 
be  called  artistic  ability. 

In  the  matter  of  engraved  gems,  the  art  of 
Babylonia  is  tolerably  represented  in  modern 
museums.  The  peculiarity  of  such  work  is 
lis  quaintness.  Sometimes  the  artist  seems  to 
have  caricatured  the  thing  represented.  In 
one  gem  the  central  figure  is  that  of  a  man 
with  two  elbow  joints  in  one  of  his  arms!  In 
the  same  group  two  of  the  figures  menace 
each  other  with  their  fists,  while  two  grotesque 
animals  in  another  corner  make  grimaces. 
The  whole  is  purposely  done  in  the  ridiculous 
or  satirical  spirit.  In  some  pieces  the  whole 
group  is  composed  of  animals  intentionally 
misshapen  and  ludicrous.  They  make  faces. 
One  takes  the  head  of  another  in  his  mouth. 
The  wrong  head  is  put  on  the  body.  A  bird 
is  finished  as  a  fish,  and  a  goat  ends  like  a 
monkey.  Among  these  odd  conceits  a  human 
figure  appears.  He  would  assert  human  dig- 
nity by  kicking  out  at  the  well-pleased  mon- 
sters around  him.  It  is  a  mark  of  grotesque 
fancy,  perhaps  tipped  with  satire.  In  other 
gems  there  is  a  sort  of  procession  of  nonde- 
script creatures  flung  from  the  fancy  of  the 
artist.  Some  are  comical;  some,  quaint; 
some,  it  may  be,  serious.  Generally  a  man 
brings  up  the  rear — human  intelligence  follow- 
ing a  nondescript  cavalcade  of  the  lower  crea- 
tures in  the  march  of  folly!  It  is  hard  to 
discover  whether  the  spirit  of  the  work  is  that 
of  profound  irony  or  of  mere  caprice. 

One  feature  of  the  gem-engraving  practiced 
by  the  Babylonians  may  well  excite  some  won- 
der. This  relates  rather  to  the  mechanical 
than  to  the  artistic  part  of  the  process.  By 
what  means  was  the  cuttiiig  of  the  stones  ac- 
complished? In  some  cases,  as  when  the 
softer  gems  such  as  lapis-lazuli,  serpentine, 
and  alabaster  were  used,  the  engraving  would 
be  easily  accomplished.  But  in  the  case  of 
the    hard    stones,  such    as   cornelian,   jasper. 


agate,  quartz,  syenite,  loadstone,  and  feldspar, 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  cutting 
could  be  accomplished — what  kind  of  tools 
and  devices  could  be  employed  in  an  unscien- 
tific age  to  reach  the  required  result.  The 
use  of  emery  seems  to  have  been  a  necessary 
part  of  the  process.  From  the  nature  of  the 
work  done  it  appears  that  revolving  points  of 
steel  or  some  other  substance  equally  hard  and 
tenacious  would  have  been  a  sine  qua  nan  of 
the  lapidary's  bench.  It  should  be  observed 
that  the  Babylonian  gems  indicate  clearly  the 
superiority  of  the  mechanical  over  the  artistic 
part  of  the  process — a  rare  fact  in  the  history 
of  ancient  art.  Modern  curiosity  may  well 
be  racked  to  know  by  what  kind  of  contri- 
vances the  work  was  accomplished. 

Another  fact  stUl  better  calculated  to  excite 
our  astonishment  is  the  minuteness  of  much 
of  the  engraving.  It  seems  impossible  that  it 
could  have  been  done  without  the  use  of  mag- 
nifying lenses.  Indeed,  the  supposition  of  the 
use  of  such  devices  is  not  wholly  unwarranted. 
It  is  certain  that  the  manufacture  of  glass  was 
known  and  practiced  by  several  of  the  nations 
of  antiquity,  and  the  actual  discovery  by  Mr. 
Layard,  at  Nineveh,  of  a  plano-convex  lens 
of  rock  crystal  is  proof  positive  of  the  exist- 
ence of  such  knowledge  in  Assyria.  Why  not 
in  Babylonia?  The  gem-engraving  of  that 
country  seems  to  have  demanded  some  such 
scientific  expedient. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  best  and  at  the 
same  time  most  peculiar  species  of  Babylonian 
art  has  perished.  This  was  pictorial  enamel- 
ing. It  was  practiced  on  the  surface  of  glazed 
bricks.  The  almost  universal  decay  of  the 
great  walls  and  bastions  and  buttresses  of  the 
palaces  and  temples  has  carried  down  to  dust 
the  artistic  designs  with  which  they  w^ere  em- 
bellished. The  ancient  historians  bear  record 
to  the  striking  and  beautiful  effects  which 
were  achieved  in  the  surface  decorations  of 
the  public  and  private  buildings  of  Babylon, 
but  the  actual  evidence  has  crumbled  away 
and  the  antiquary  is  put  at  fault.  What  is 
known  with  respect  to  these  remarkable  pic- 
torial representations  is  that  their  subjects 
were  selected  chiefly  from  battle  and  the 
chase,  and  that   nearly  all   conspicuous  build- 


BABYLONIA.— AETS  AND  SCIENCES. 


271 


ings  were  distinguished  by  their  presence. 
Just  as  the  artistic  sense  of  the  Assyrians 
found  expression  in  the  abundant  sculptures 
of  Nineveh  and  Calah,  so  the  taste  of  the 
Babylonians  sought  and  found  gratification  in 
the  colored  designs  of  enameled  walls.  The 
prophet  Ezekiel  speaks  only  common  fame 
when  he  refers  to  ' '  the  image  of  the  Chal- 
dseans,  portrayed  upon  the  Avails  with  ver- 
milion." He  also  describes  the  pictures  thereon 
as  being  "girded  with  girdles  upon  their  loins, 
exceeding  in  dyed  attire  upon  their  heads,  all 
of  them  princes  to  look  to,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Babylonians  of  Chaldsea,  the  land  of 
their  nativity."  He  further  says  that  as  soon 
as  Aholibah  saw  these  images  she  doted  xqwn 
them,  and  sent  messengers  into  Chaldsea.  Such 
was  the  influence  of  these  striking  pictures 
upon  those  who  visited  the  great  city.  All 
the  facts  in  the  case  go  to  show  that  according 
to  the  then  standards  of  art  criticism  the 
enameled  pictures  on  the  walls  of  Babylonian 
buildings  were  of  a  high  degree  of  excellence. 
The  known  skill  of  the  Assyrians  in  sculpture 
at  a  much  earlier  date,  as  well  as  the  kinship 
and  similar  tastes  and  activities  of  the  two 
peoples,  render  it  inherently  probable  that  the 
Babylonian  artists  achieved  with  the  brush 
something  of  the  same  distinction  attained  by 
their  northern  rivals  with  the  chisel.  It  also 
stands  to  reason  that  the  artists  of  the  two 
nations  would  alike  select  from  war  and  the 
chase  the  principal  subjects  for  delineation. 

In  the  application  of  color  the  Babylonians 
seem  to  have  followed  nature.  The  tints  most 
employed  were  white,  blue,  yellow,  brown,  and 
black.  Red  was  not  much  used.  These  colors 
were  distributed  to  difierent  objects  according 
to  the  fitness  of  things.  Water  was  repre- 
sented with  pale  blue,  and  the  earth  with  a 
shade  of  yellow.  Lions  were  painted  a  tawny 
hue,  and  spear-heads  black. 

Chemical  analysis  shows  that  the  pigments 
employed  on  the  decorated  walls  were  essen- 
tially the  same  as  those  used  by  modern  artists. 
The  yellow  was  principally  an  oxide  of  iron; 
the  blue  was  produced  by  the  oxidation  of 
cobalt  or  copper.  The  red  was  a  sub-oxide 
of  the  last-named  metal.  The  yellow  was 
sometimes  the  antimoniate  of  lead. 


The  designs  were  painted  on  the  surface 
of  brick  walls  before  the  glazing  was  applied. 
Or,  if  the  bricks  were  glazed  before  they  were 
laid,  then  the  design  was  laid  on  with  refer- 
ence to  the  position  which  the  bricks  should 
occupy  in  the  structure.  The  latter  suppo- 
sition is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  the  bricks 
were  so  laid,  and  indeed  so  made,  as  to  give 
the  figure  represented  on  the  surface  a  raised 
character,  like  that  attained  in  bas-relief.  This 
indicates  no  little  skill  in  botn  ^he  artist  and 
the  artisan.  The  eflfect  could  culy  have  been 
reached  by  modeling  a  large  mass  of  clay  with 
the  desired  figure  in  the  surface,  and  then  cut- 
ting the  same  into  bricks  to  be  afterwards  set 
in  the  same  relative  position  in  the  wall.  All 
of  this  implies  a  kind  of  designing,  and  an 
adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  of  which  modern 
workmen  need  not  be  ashamed. 

In  the  matter  of  metallurgy  the  Babylo' 
nians  had  considerable  attainments.  Of  the 
precious  metals,  gold  and  silver  were  abun- 
dantly employed.  Of  these  were  made  the 
vessels  and  utensils  of  the  palace  and  the 
temple.  The  chief  of  the  baser  metals  were 
iron  and  lead.  The  alloy,  known  as  bronze, 
was  more  important  than  either.  Of  this  were 
made  the  magnificent  gates  and  doors  for 
which  the  great  buildings  of  Babylon  were 
famous.  The  art  of  casting  metals  was  well 
known.  The  golden  images  found  about  the 
temple  altars  and  shrines  were  generally  cast 
in  a  mould.  Sometimes,  however,  the  idol 
was  of  baser  stufl^,  plated  with  the  precious 
metal.  The  silver  statuettes  were  in  like  man- 
ner cast  molten.  The  gold  and  silver  facings 
so  much  used  as  a  covering  for  walls  and  fur- 
niture were  thin  plates  hammered  into  proper 
shape.  The  great  castings,  such  as  enormous 
bronze  gates,  doors,  portcullises,  etc.,  were  of 
a  sort  to  be  set  in  fair  rivalry  with  the  works 
of  modern  times.  Of  smaller  castings  of  the 
same  material  there  were  a  multitude:  brace- 
lets, armlets,  dagger  handles,  small  figures  in 
imitation  of  the  human  form,  or  the  forms  of 
animals.  Such  were  set  as  decorations  about 
the  halls  and  hearths  of  the  Babylonians. 

The  pottery  of  the  nation  was  as  good  as 
the  fine  wares  of  Assyria,  from  which  it  dif- 
fered in  no  essential  particular.     Brick-making 


272 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


was  better  understood  than  by  the  Ninevites, 
with  whom  stone  was  more  prized.  From  the 
kilns  of  Babylon  all  kinds  of  cups  and  vases 
and  jars  were  produced  of  good  quality  and 
in  great  abundance.  The  colors  preferred 
were  yellow  and  red  and  green.  The  vessels 
thus  produced  were  symmetrical,  being  evi- 
dently the  work  of  the  potter's  wheel.  They 
were  of  elegant  shapes,  but  were  without  or- 
namentation, the  only  exception  being  in  the 
case  of  vases,  which  sometimes  have  a  raised 
band  carried  around  the  exterior  surface  in 
the  form  of  a  spiral.  Glazing  was  frequently 
employed,  both  without  and  within. 

Among  the  other  arts  practiced  by  the 
Babylonians  was  that  of  glass-blowing.  Sev- 
eral bottles  and  vases  produced  by  this  method 
have  been  found  in  the  ruins.  These  articles, 
however,  are  not  very  perfect  either  in  design 
or  execution.  Every  specimen  is  more  or  less 
warped  from  symmetrical  outlines.  The  glass 
composing  them  is  in  some  instances  tolerably 
clear;  in  others  tinted  with  coloring  matter. 
There  are  some  grounds  for  believing  that  the 
artisans  of  the  country  were  able  to  produce 
large  masses  of  solid  glass,  but  no  actual  dis- 
covery has  verified  the  supposition.  The 
historian  Pliny  has  contributed  a  rather  apoc- 
ryphal story  about  the  presentation  to  an 
Egyptian  king  by  one  of  the  Babylonian  mon- 
archs,  of  a  huge  block  of  green  glass,  or  em- 
erald, six  feet  in  length  and  four  and  a  half 
feet  broad. 

No  nation  of  antiquity,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  Phoenicians,  surpassed  the 
Babylonians  in  the  manufacture  of  textile 
fabrics.  The  products  of  the  factories  of  the 
capital  were  famous  as  far  as  civilization  ex- 
tended. As  far  west  as  Athens  and  Carthage 
the  carpets  of  Babylon  were  prized  above 
those  of  every  other  country.  The  dyes  em- 
ployed were  imperishable,  and  the  designs 
used  were  artistic  and  beautiful.  The  figures 
of  animals,  real  and  fabulous,  were  woven  into 
the  patterns  with  wellnigh  as  much  skill  and 
delicacy  as  by  the  looms  of  modern  times. 
In  like  manner  cotton  goods  were  produced 
of  the  finest  and  best  quality.  Brilliant  dyes 
and  beautiful  patterns  made  these  fabrics  so 
attractive  that  the  kings  and  princes  preferred 


them  for  garments.  Such  goods  were  exported 
to  foreign  countries,  and  were  the  admiration 
of  the  connoisseurs  of  Sardis  and  Damascus 
and  Memphis.  Nor  was  the  manufacture  of 
linen  less  conspicuously  successful.  At  Bor- 
sippa  and  other  places  in  Babylonia  factories 
were  established  which  produced  great  quan- 
tities of  linen  fabrics,  these  being  the  goods 
commonly  worn  by  the  people.^  The  nobles 
l^referred  cotton  and  woolen  garments. 

It  is  the  misfortvme  of  nations  living  in  a 
pre-literary  age  that  their  learning  is  either 
unknown  or  discredited  by  posterity.  The 
lore  of  the  Chaldees  perished  for  want  of 
books.  The  tradition  of  it  only  is  preserved 
in  the  literature  of  the  Western  nations.  But 
this  reflected  light  has  indicated  ancient  Chal- 
dsea  as  the  birthplace  of  several  branches  of 
learning,  most  notably  the  science  of  astron- 
omy. Over  these  old  Babylonian  plains  was 
arched  a  cloudless  sky.  The  great  heats  of 
midday  made  the  calm  twilights  and  starry 
nights  of  summer  the  time  of  out-door  medi- 
tation. Overhead  the  benignant  planets  pur- 
sued their  everlasting  courses.  The  upturned 
face  of  that  unscientific  age  caught  from  the 
bending  heavens  the  first  sublime  lessons  of 
the  universe.  To  trace  the  paths  of  familiar 
stars,  to  watch  the  silent  revolution  of  the 
celestial  wheel,  to  note  recurrences  and  then 
to  expect  them, — these  were  but  natural  and 
necessary  stages  in  the  sublime  lore  of  the 
heavens. 

Thus  would  soon  be  developed  a  correct 
perception  of  the  differences  between  the 
planets  and  stars,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  di- 
verse laws  by  which  they  were  respectively 
governed.  By  and  by  the  moon,  as  being  a 
wanderer,  was  associated  with  those  five  plan- 
etary bodies  discoverable  by  the  naked  eye, 
and  finally  the  sun  himself  was  added  as  the 
seventh  globe  of  fire  which  seemed  to-  change 
place  among  the  fixed  orbs  of  the  skies.  The 
paths  of  these  seven  *'  planets  "  were  carefully 
mapped,  and  the  rudiments  thus  obtained  of 

'  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  various  prod- 
ucts of  manufacture  will  be  reversed  in  value  in. 
the  processes  of  civilization.  The  relative  values 
of  cotton,  linen,  woolen,  and  even  silk  goods  have 
been  many  times  interchanged  in  the  course  of 
history.     The  same  may  occur  again. 


BABYLONIA.-AETS  AND  SCIENCES. 


273 


a  true  science  of  astronomy.  Of  course,  the 
fundamental  hypothesis  of  the  solar  system 
was  at  fault,  as  it  continued  to  be  until  the 
days  of  Copernicus. 

Beyond  their  knowledge  of  the  planetary 
system,    the    Babylonians    made    considerable 
progress  in  the  study  of  the  fixed  stars.    These 
were  arranged   in  groups  and  constellations, 
and   upon  them  was  conferred  the  imperish- 
able poetry  of  names.     The  imagination  of 
the   observer    caught   a    resemblance    in    the 
heavens   to  the  things  on  earth.     The  figures 
of  the  great  animals  of  the  terrestrial  sphere 
were  transferred  to  the  celestial,  and  sky-maps 
were  drawn  with  the  outlines  of  these  figures. 
The  poles  of   the  heavens    were    fixed,   and 
Arcturus  and  Orion  took  their  place,  the  one 
with  his  bow  and  the  other  with  his  club,  in 
the  blue  pavilion  spangled  with  points  of  fire. 
From  the  Babylonians  to  the  Greeks,  from 
the  Greeks  to  the  Arabians,  from  the  Arabians 
to  Modern  Europe,  from  Modern  Europe  to 
the  world,  this  old  star  lore  of  the  East,  with 
its  quaint  uranography  of  animals  and  men 
and  monsters,  has  been   transmitted,  and  the 
science  of  to-day  and  to-morrow  seems  unable 
to  cast  the  spotted  skin  of  the   past!     The 
Zodiac  is  there  with  its  Bull  and  its  Lion  and 
its  Virgin,  and  who  shall  ascend  into  heaven 
to  take  them  down? 

In  the  British  Museum  is  a  conical,  black 
stone  upon  which  are  figured  the  Signs  of  the 
Zodiac  as  taught  by  the  Babylonian  astrono- 
mers. Several  of  the  outlines  are  identical 
with  those  presented  on  a  modern  celestial 
sphere.  The  Ram,  the  Bull,  and  the  Scorpion 
are  easily  recognized  among  the  groups,  and 
the  genius  of  ancient  Superstition  makes  com- 
ical grimaces  at  the  genius  of  recent  Folly. 

After  the  manner  of  their  system  and  under 
the  limitations  of  their  knowledge,  the  Baby- 
lonians labored  at  the  practical  problems  of 
the  heavens.  Eclipses  were  calculated  and 
predicted ;  the  phenomena  sometimes  happen- 
ing as  foretold  and  sometimes  falling  wide  of 
the  times  specified.  Of  course,  the  calcula- 
tions were  based  upon  observations  of  recur- 
rences and  other  data  of  a  misleading  charac- 
ter rather  than  upon  the  well-known  principles 
of   modern   astronomy.      Certain    facts    were 


recognized,  however,  with  respect  to  the  mo- 
tions of  the  sun  and  moon,  tending  to  make 
the  calculations  of  the  Babylonian  seers  more 
trustworthy  than  at  first  sight  would  be  con- 
jectured.    In  the  first  place,  the  sun's  course 
through  the  Zodiac  was  carefully  traced.    The 
signs    of    the    great    belt    were    called    the 
"Houses  of  the  Sun  "—for   there   the   deity 
seemed  to  lodge   from  month  to  month.     In 
like  manner  the  path  of  the  moon  was  accu- 
rately mapped  through  the  same  zone  of  the 
heavens.     The  "  Houses  of  the  Moon,"  mark- 
ing the  monthly  stages  of  the  silver  orb,  were 
located  as   were   the   "Houses  of  the   Sun." 
Albeit,  the  two  classes  of  "Houses"  did  not 
exactly  coincide,  owing  to   the  inclination  of 
the  moon's  orbit ;  but  the  relations  of  the  two 
paths  through  space  were  so  Avell  determined  as 
to  afford  a  fair  basis  of  expectancy  in  the  matter 
of  eclipses.     The    laws   of   nature,  however, 
Avere    not    sufficiently   understood   to   remove 
such  striking  phenomena  from  the  realm  of 
superstition   to    the  cool   domain  of    Science. 
The  Babylonians,  like  the   other   peoples   of 
antiquity,  looked  on  and  shuddered  while  the 
great  mystery  of  darkness  was  accomplished. 
Lists  of  eclipses  as  recorded  by  the  astrono- 
mers of  Babylon  and  preserved  by  the  Greek 
historians  have  been  verified  by  modern  math- 
ematicians,  and  have  been  found  correct^  in 
time  and  extent  of  obscuration. 

The  Babylonians  also  succeeded  in  a  toler- 
ably accurate  measurement  of  time.  They 
fixed  the  length  of  the  year  at  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  days,  six  hours,  and  eleven 
minutes— a  very  close  approximation.  By 
means  of  the  (jnomon  and  the  polos,  two  vari- 
eties of  sun-dial,  they  kept  the  hours  of  the 
day.  The  period  of  the  moon's  revolution  in 
her  orbit  was  accurately  determined,  and  the 
relative — though  not  the  absolute — distances 
of  the  planets  from  the  earth  and  from  each 
other  seem  to  have  been  known.  It  is  also 
in  evidence  that  some  of  the  secondary  planets, 
as  the  four  moons  of  Jupiter,  had  been  ob- 
served and  figured  by  the  sages  of  Babylon. 
If  we  look  at  the  uses  to  which  the  scholars 


^  The  five  most  conspicuous  examples — all  be- 
ing eclipses  of  the  moon — belong  to  the  years  B.  C. 
747,  721,  720,  621,  and  523. 


274 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  the  Empire  put  their  astronomical  knowl- 
edge, there  is  less  to  admire.  The  astrological 
purpose  Avas  dominant.  The  astronomer  was 
expected  to  inquire  under  what  stars  a  person 
was  born,  and  to  determine  therefrom  his  des- 
tiny. The  fortunes  and  fate  of  human  life 
were  to  be  deduced  from  the  aspects  of  the 
skies.  Sometimes  the  celestial  influence,  which 
began  with  birth  and  ended  only  with  death, 
was  benign,  and  sometimes  malignant.  A 
particular  star  presided  at  the  entrance  of 
each  man  into  the  world,  but  to  determine  the 
entire  destiny  of  his  life  the  astrologer  must 
know  the  aspect  of  the  whole  heavens  at  the 
moment  of  his  entrance  upon  life.  From 
these  higher  offices,  relating  to  the  weal  or  woe 


of  human  beings,  the  Babylonian  sages  de- 
scended to  such  topics  as  meteorology.  They 
predicted  the  weather,  the  apparition  of  comets, 
the  coming  of  the  earthquake.  They  kept 
lists  of  lucky  and  unlucky  days,  and  pointed 
out  in  a  semi-prophetical  way  the  portents  of 
doom  to  particular  countries  and  peoples. 
Peace,  prosperity,  and  plenty ;  famine,  pesti- 
lence, and  war,  were  all  determined  from  the 
overruling  influence  of  the  stars. 

Such  was  the  mixture  of  scientific  truth 
and  vague  superstition  in  the  beliefs  and  scho- 
lasticism of  the  Babylonians,  who  from  the 
great  city  of  the  Euphrates  stretched  out  so 
proudly  the  imperial  rod  over  the  nations  of 
Western  Asia. 


CHAPTER    XXIII.— NIANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS. 


ONCERNING  the  Man- 
ners and  Customs  of  the 
Babylonians,  a  great  deal 
may  be  inferred  from 
what  has  already  been 
said  respecting  the  other 
aspects  of  their  civiliza- 
tion. The  monuments  of  the  country  being 
so  meager  as  compared  with  the  unperishable 
records  left  us  by  the  primitive  Egyptians  and 
the  Assyrians,  we  are  more  at  a  loss  to  deduce 
what  may  be  called  the  Personal  Life  of  the 
people  of  Babylonia  than  in  the  case  of  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  the  valleys  of  the  Nile 
and  the  Tigris.  We  are  left,  therefore,  rather 
to  the  old  historians  tlian  to  contemporaneous 
inscriptions,  in  determining  the  personal  habits 
and  individuality  of  the  subjects  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. To  Herodotus  especially  are  we  in- 
debted for  copious  descriptions  of  w4iat  he  saw 
and  heard  in  Babylon. 

Beginning  with  the  subject  of  dress :  the 
people  of  the  lower  classes  generally  clad  them- 
selves in  a  linen  garment  reaching  to  the  feet. 
Over  this  a  woolen  tunic  was  worn,  and  this 
was  surmounted  with  a  white  cape.  The  feet 
were  sometimes  incased  in  checkered  shoes 
with  wooden  bottoms.     The  hair  was  usually 


worn  long,  and  was  gathered  close  to  the  head 
under  a  sort  of  miter  or  turban.  A  cane  or 
walking-stick,  with  a  carved  handle,  was  a 
universal  accompaniment,  especially  in  the 
hands  of  gentlemen  of  leisure.  The  miter  and 
cape  and  Avoolen  tunic  of  the  Babylonian 
attire  were  thrown  off'as  convenience  suggested, 
and  the  figures  frequently  appear  merely  with 
the  long  linen  robe.  The  worshipers  in  the 
temples  are  generally  bare-headed,  and  wear 
to  theii"  devotions  a  peculiar  embroidered 
tunic,  diflferent  from  that  Avorn  at  labor.  The 
rich  man  at  the  altars  of  the  gods  is  arrayed  in 
more  costly  style.  He  Avears  a  miter,  and  his 
garments  are  longer  and  more  elaborate  than 
are  those  Avoru  by  the  peasantry.  He  is  pic- 
tured with  a  goat  in  his  arms,  or  some  other 
sacrifice  ready  to  be  oflfered.  In  adjusting  the 
long  or  principal  garment,  the  Babylonians 
left  the  right  arm  and  shoulder  bare,  some- 
what after  the  manner  of  the  Romans. 
Around  the  waist  the  clothing  was  held  se- 
curely wath  a  belt. 

A  different  style  of  dress  was  that  of  a  short 
coat  with  sleeves,  fringed  on  the  sides,  reach- 
ing to  the  knees.  This  also  was  w^orn  by  wor- 
shipers in  the  temples,  though  sometimes  in 
every-day  life  by  peasants.     As  a  general  rule 


BABYLONIA.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


275 


the  feet  of  the  common  people  are  bare, 
though  kings  and  noblemen  are  not  so  repre- 
sented. Other  parts  of  the  royal  attire  were 
distinguished  both  in  pattern  and  material 
from  the  dress  of  the  people.  His  gown  de- 
scended to  the  ankles.  It  was  richly  fringed 
and  embroidered.  A  vestment  worn  over  this 
came  as  low  as  the  knees,  and  was  adorned 
with  tassels.  In  addition  to  the  regular  girdle 
two  cross  belts,  perhaps  to  support  the  mon- 
arch's quiver,  are  seen  on  the  royal  person. 
The  miter  or  turban  was  of  great  height, 
cylindrical  in  shape,  and  expanded  towards 
the  crown.  It  covered  nearly  the  whole  head, 
resting  close  upon  the  brows.  The  material 
was  of  some  kind  of  felt-cloth,  elaborately 
wrought  and  brilliantly  dyed  to  please  the 
kingly  fancy. 

The  chief  articles  of  mere  adornment  were 
the  bracelets.  The  figures  on  the  cylinders 
indicate  that  the  kings  had  the  good  taste  to 
leave  earrings  to  others.  In  some  instances 
collars  or  necklaces  were  worn  by  royal  person- 
ages, and  these  articles  are  sometimes  found 
about  the  necks  of  the  gods.  The  collars 
were  made  of  joints  or  rings  of  gold  or  silver, 
and  the  bracelets  were  plain  bands  of  the  same 
precious  metals. 

As  in  most  of  the  ancient  countries,  the 
garments  of  the  priests  were  costly  and  elab- 
orate. The  princij)al  article  was  a  long  robe, 
ornamented  from  top  to  bottom  with  a  series 
of  flounces.  Over  this  Avas  placed  an  open 
jacket,  finished  in  the  same  style  as  the  robe. 
Down  the  back  hung  a  long  scarf  or  ribbon. 
The  head-dress  was  a  tiara  or  miter,  different 
in  pattern  from  those  turbans  worn  by  other 
people  of  high  or  low  degree.  Sometimes  the 
priestly  cap  was  pointed  with  horns  in  a  way 
to  suggest  the  sacerdotal  head-gear  of  the 
Egyptians.  The  priests  went  barefoot  before 
the  altars  of  the  gods. 

Of  military  armor  and  dress  not  so  much 
is  known  as  of  the  garments  of  the  priestly 
caste.  The  principal  articles  worn  by  soldiers 
were  helmets,  breast-plates,  and  shields.  The 
material  used  was  bronze.  The  articles  car- 
ried were  bows  and  arrows,  spears,  daggers, 
and  clubs.  The  bows  are  of  the  usual  pat- 
tern,   and   might  be    mistaken   for   those    of 


American  Indians.  The  curve  extends  from 
end  to  end;  the  length  is  about  four  feet. 
The  quiver,  too,  is  the  ordinary  sheath,  such 
as  is  used  by  the  half-civilized  races  of  to-day. 
The  arrows  are  three  feet  in  length,  barbed 
with  a  metallic  point,  feathered  and  notched 
to  receive  the  string.  In  the  soldier's  girdle 
were  worn  his  daggers,  many  specimens  of 
which  have  been  discovered  and  are  preserved 
in  modern  museums.  No  battle-axes  have 
been  found,  but  the  same  are  represented  ii 
several  patterns  on  the  cylinders.  The  draw- 
ings indicate  that  the  weapons  were  rude  and 
clumsy,  such  as  are  employed  by  people  just 
emerging  from  savagery.^ 

The  Babylonian  army  embraced  the  three 
divisions  of  infantry,  cavalry,  and  chariots. 
The  tactics  and  discipline  were  essentially  the 
same  as  those  employed  by  the  Assyrians.  A 
few  representations  of  war-chariots  have  been 
found  on  the  cylinders.  The  pattern  and  equip- 
ment are  like  those  seen  in  the  sculptures  of 
Nineveh,  but  the  drawings  are  rude,  and  the 
details  can  not  be  determined.  The  cavalry 
was  regarded  by  foreign  nations  as  the  most 
formidable  division  of  the  army.  The  prophet 
Habakkuk,  who  had  occasion  to  know  whereof 
he  affirmed,  says  of  the  Babylonian  soldiery: 
"They  are  terrible  and  dreadful.  From  them 
shall  proceed  judgment  and  captivity;  their 
horses  also  are  swifter  than  the  leopards,  and 
are  more  fierce  than  the  evening  wolves.  And 
their  horsemen  shall  spread  themselves,  and 
their  horsemen  shall  come  from  far ;  they  shall 
fly  as  the  eagle  that  hasteth  to  eat.  And  they 
shall  scofl^  at  the  kings,  and  the  princes  shall 
be  a  scorn  unto  them  :  they  shall  deride  every 
stronghold ;  for  they  shall  heap  up  the  earth 
and  take  it."  A  like  fame  is  given  to  the 
Babylonian  cavalry  by  Jeremiah,  and  others 
of  the  Hebrew  seers.  In  later  times,  how- 
ever, as  appears  from  the  distribution  of  the 
forces  in  the  army  of  Xerxes,  the  horsemen 
of  Babylonia  were  less  esteemed  than  the 
infantry,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  superior 
reputation  which  had  now  been  attained  by 


*  A  battle-axe,  pictured  on  a  clay  tablet  discov- 
ered in  the  ruins  of  Sinkara,  is  thought,  from  its 
primitive  pattern,  to  have  belonged  to  the  Chaldaic 
period. 


276 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  cavalry  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  them- 
selves. 

The  Babylonian  infantry  was  a  vast  mass 
of  half-disciplined  soldiers,  made  up  of  na- 
tives, provincials,  and  foreigners.  They  were 
irregular,  both  in  movement  and  weaponry. 
Each  of  the  subject  nations  sent  its  own  con- 
tingent of  troops,  armed  and  equipped  accord- 
ing to  the  manner  of  the  respective  countries. 
It  was  a  courageous  host,  having  an  almost 
fatalistic  contempt  of  death,  inspired  by  the 
hope  of  booty  and  fired  with  the  lust  of  con- 
quest. In  marching,  the  army  spread  itself 
over  the  invaded  country,  destroying  every 
thing  within  reach.  The  populace  was  driven 
before  them  into  the  towns.  These  were  be- 
sieged and  taken  with  every  accompaniment 
of  violence  and  barbarity.  If  the  walls  were 
weak,  they  were  soon  leveled  with  battering- 
rams.  If  the  ramparts  resisted  such  assault, 
then  mounds  of  earth  were  heaped  outside 
until  the  fortifications  were  overtopped,  and 
the  infuriated  soldiery  poured  in  to  their  re- 
past of  blood  and  plunder.  Sometimes,  when 
the  walls  were  high  and  strong  and  ably  de- 
fended, years  were  consumed  in  the  siege,  the 
vengeance  of  the  besiegers  gathering  head  to 
burst  with  the  excess  of  long-restrained  rage 
upon  the  fated  city.  Woe  to  the  rebellious, 
and  a  double  woe  to  them  that  resisted ! 

The  campaigns  of  the  Babylonians  were 
waged  without  much  regard  to  political  expe- 
diency. The  object  had  in  view  was  rarely, 
if  ever,  the  national  development  of  the  Em- 
pire. Passion  was  the  mainspring  of  war. 
When  that  failed,  the  priests  were  called  in 
with  their  hocus-pocus  to  decide  what  nation 
should  be  next  invaded  I  In  the  progress  and 
management  of  the  invasion  the  priests  were 
as  much  relied  on  as  the  generals  to  give  di- 
rection to  the  movements  and  to  explain  the 
failures  and  successes  of  the  army.  The  wars, 
indeed,  were  regarded  as  the  avenging  bolts 
of  the  Babylonian  gods,  hurled  against  the 
impudent  deities  of  other  lands.  Meanwhile, 
if  a  royal  indigestion  precipitated  a  bad  dream, 
or  if  the  king  was  from  any  cause  troubled 
in  his  cogitations,  all  must  be  interpreted  and 
made  clear  by  the  clever  gentlemen  who  wore 
the  robes  of  the  altar.     The  only  compensa- 


tion to  this  mutual  superstition  was  that  if  the 
priests  failed  to  satisfy  the  king's  spirit  with 
their  rendering  of  his  troubles,  or  if  they 
gave  advice  ending  in  disaster  which  could 
not  be  explained  away,  their  gods  were  rarely 
able  to  save  them  from  their  master's  wrath. 

Looking  more  closely  at  the  priestly  pro- 
fession, not  merely  in  their  relations  to  mili- 
tary management,  but  more  particularly  as  to 
their  regular  duties  in  the  temples,  we  find 
them,  as  were  the  priests  of  Egypt,  the  pos- 
sessors of  a  certain  body  of  learning  and  tra- 
ditions. They  had  rules  and  precedents,  dog- 
mas and  ceremonials.  They  had  methods  of 
purification,  and  laws  for  conducting  the  sac- 
rifices. They  had  principles  of  interpretation, 
and  a  canon  of  criticism  relating  to  portents 
and  omens.  Their  wisdom  was  in  high  repute. 
From  king  to  peasant  no  one  might  question 
the  infallibility  of  their  oracles. 

It  is  not  certainly  known  to  what  extent 
there  was  in  Babylon  a  guild  of  secular  schol- 
ars distinct  from  the  priests.  There  are  some 
reasons  for  believing  that  such  a  class  of  per- 
sons existed ;  and  the  condition  of  Babylonian 
learning — a  mixture,  as  we  have  seen,  of  tol- 
erably exact  science  with  gross  superstition — 
seems  to  warrant  the  supposition  of  a  secular 
as  well  as  a  hierarchical  brain  at  work  in  the 
problem.  The  language  of  contemporaneous 
Western  writers  also,  notably  the  expressions 
of  the  prophet  Daniel,  indicate  quite  clearly 
the  existence  of  several  classes  of  wise  men  in 
Nebuchadnezzar's  capital.  Some  are  called 
simply  Chaldseans;  some,  soothsayers;  some, 
magicians;  some,  astrologers.  Nor  does  the 
language  indicate  that  these  are  merely  differ- 
ent names  for  the  same  group  of  persons.  It 
could  not  even  be  inferred  from  the  recital  of 
Daniel  that  any  of  the  classes  referred  to  were 
priests.  Indeed,  it  would  seem  clear  from  the 
presidency  of  Daniel  (himself  a  Hebrew  and 
not  a  priest)  over  the  Babylonian  college  that 
a  powerful  non-priestly  element  existed  in  the 
learned  body  of  the  city.'  In  all  such  ques- 
tions, however,  it  should  be  always  borne  in 
mind  that  the  office  of  the  priest  in  most  of 
the  nations  of  antiquity  was  that  of  a  natural 
philosopher,  rather  than  of  a  spiritual  guide. 
He  was  expected  to  interpret  the  phenomena 


BABYLONIA.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


277 


of  nature,  for  with  those  phenomena  the  an- 
cients were  much  more  concerned  than  with 
the  mysteries  of  spix'itual  being  or  the  possi- 
bilities of  immortality. 

However  these  questions  may  be  decided, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  philosophers  and 
priests  of  the  Babylonian  Empire  exercised 
great  influence  in  the  afiairs  of  the  state. 
They  held  high  office.  They  were  the  king's 
advisers.  They  conducted  the  ceremonials  of 
religion.  They  were  reputed  to  have  the 
confidence  of  the  gods.  By  degrees  the  priests 
became  a  caste.  They  had  their  own  rules 
and  discipline.  Their  sons  were  brought  up 
to  perform  the  duties  of  their  fathers.  Around 
this  organization  grew  a  certain  body  of 
literature,  in  which  were  recorded  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  past  and  the  speculations  of  the 
present.  The  history  of  the  ancient  Chal- 
dseans,  chronological  lists  of  kings  real  and 
mythical,  treatises  on  grammar  and  law  and 
science — such  were  the  materials  of  which  the 
Babylonian  sages  constructed  their  meager 
kingdom  of  letters. 

The  principal  schools  and  seats  of  learning 
in  Babylonia  were  at  the  old  towns  of  Erech 
and  Borsippa.  At  these  places  a  certain  de- 
gree of  mental  activity  and  'even  audacity  was 
developed.  There  were  scholastic  schisms  and 
disputatious  factions  suggestive  of  Greek 
wrangling  and  mediaeval  dogmatism.  But 
under  this  superficial  agitation,  such  as  will 
always  exist  when  the  human  mind  undertakes 
to  drag  Nature  up  to  the  temple  of  Truth, 
there  was  a  vast  deal  of  practical  scientific 
knowledge.  Mathematics,  astronomy,  and 
other  branches  of  natui'al  philosophy  were 
cultivated  with  such  success  as  to  leave  a  trace 
on  all  subsequent  history. 

As  already  indicated  the  two  principal  pur- 
suits of  the  Babylonian  common  folk  were 
agriculture  and  commerce;  after  these,  manu- 
factures loomed  into  much  importance.  Of 
the  kinds  of  agricultural  work  and  the  meth- 
ods of  tillage  not  much  is  known  beyond  what 
has  ah-eady  been  presented  in  the  Histoiy  of 
Chaldsea.  The  products  were  the  same,  and 
the  cultivation  perhaps  identical. 

From  Babylon  the  lines  of  commerce 
stretched  out  to  nearly  all  the   countries  of 


the  known  world.  The  merchants,  resident 
and  traveling,  constituted  a  large  per  cent  of 
the  population.  Their  energy  and  success 
are  attested  by  tradition  and  history.  They 
were  both  exporters  and  importers;  and  the 
shops  of  Babylon  displayed  an  array  of  goods 
from  almost  every  land.  Not  only  by  land, 
but  by  sea  as  well,  was  this  commerce  carried 
on.  Around  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf, 
and  as  ambition  and  cupidity  increased  along 
the  distant  coasts  of  Africa  and  India, 
the  ships  of  the  merchant  princes  of  the 
great  city  sailed  Avith  their  cargoes  and  re- 
turned laden.  Babylon  was  called  the  "  City 
of  Merchants,"  and  the  Babylonians  in  the 
army  of  Xerxes  were  known  as  the  "Navi- 
gators of  Ships." 

The  leading  articles  of  merchandise  were 
wool,  linen,  cotton,  and  the  fabrics  made 
therefrom.  The  precious  metals  were  im- 
ported from  distant  mines.  From  Phoenicia 
were  brought  tin  and  copper.  Gold  and  ivory 
were  gathered  from  Arabia ;  silk,  from  India. 
Media  contributed  wool  and  several  varieties 
of  precious  stones.  From  Upper  Mesopotamia 
were  imported — by  way  of  the  great  rivers — 
wine  and  gems,  emery  and  building  stone. 
With  these  imports  came  foreign  merchants 
as  well  as  native  traders — in  the  shops  of 
Babylon  was  heard  the  jargon  of  tongues  and 
the  noise  of  them  who  sell  and  get  gain. 

The  staple  of  the  Babylonian  table  was  the 
dried  fruit  of  the  date  tree:  this  for  the  com- 
mon peasants.  Herodotus  declares  it  to  have 
been  the  bread  of  the  people.  The  dates  were 
gathered  when  ripe,  and  were  pressed  into 
cakes  in  the  same  manner  in  which  they  are 
prepared  at  the  present  time.  The  goat  fur- 
nished milk  and  cheese.  The  sap  and  pith 
of  the  palm  yielded,  under  fermentation,  the 
palm-wine  which  was  served  on  the  table. 
Of  vegetables  the  chief  were  cucumbers  and 
melons.  Of  the  oddities  of  the  Babylonian 
board  may  be  mentioned  gourds  and  pickled 
bats — the  latter  especially  beiug  a  dish  which 
could  hardly  excite  the  appetite  of  a  modern 
epicure.  The  markets  of  the  country  always 
abounded  in  fish.  It  constituted  one  of  the 
chief  articles  of  diet,  particularly  of  those 
living  on  the  borders  of  the  provincial  marshes 


278 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  the  Empire  or  along  the  Gulf.  Fishes 
were  taken  with  hooks  and  nets,  and  were 
cured  in  the  sun.  Sometimes  a  "fish-cake" 
was  produced  by  pounding  and  straining  the 
fiber  and  reducing  it  to  a  compact  mass,  like 
bread.  As  already  narrated,  the  tables  of  the 
rich  were  loaded  with  viands  and  delicacies. 

No  people  lived  more  luxuriously,  as  it  re- 
spects banqueting  and  feasting,  than  did  the 
ancient  Babylonians.  The  supper  of  princes 
was  a  revel,  at  which  voluptuousness  and  in- 
toxication, heightened  with  music,  were  the 
presiding  genii.  An  orchestra  of  trained  per- 
formers sat  conspicuous  and  discoursed  mellif- 
luous strains,  while  the  perfumed  guests  were 
plied  with  wine.  Indeed,  the  music  of  the 
Babylonians,  struck  from  fine  instruments  of 
many  sorts  and  fashions,  was  a  notable  feature 
of  social  life.  Alike  in  the  royal  banqueting- 
halls  and  in  the  huts  of  the  peasantry,  in  the 
stores  and  market-houses  as  well  as  in  the 
painted  palaces  and  the  temples  of  the  gods, 
sweet  strains  were  heard  to  inspire  the  courage 
or  lull  the  senses  of  the  people. 

The  position  of  the  women  of  the  Empire 
was  peculiar.  It  began  in  abasement  and 
came  near  ending  in  honor.  When  a  maiden 
became  marriageable,  Avhich  she  did  at  an 
early  age,  she  was  subject  to  be  sold  by  pub- 
lic auction.  Her  father  or  brother  might  thus 
expose  her  to  the   excited  passions  of  rival 


bidders.  The  custom  was  commonly  practiced, 
and,  as  it  appears,  without  compunction  on 
the  part  of  either  seller  or  buyer.  When  the 
creature  was  thus  sold  and  delivered  over  to 
lawless  rapacity,  it  was  with  the  understand- 
ing that  she  should  at  some  time  go  of  her 
own  accord  to  the  temple  of  Beltis  and  deliver 
herself  up  to  the  first  stranger  whom  she  met. 
And  this  Esplanade  of  Shame  was  always 
thronged  with  visitors! 

These  two  degrading  customs  apart,  the 
women  of  Babylonia  fared  much  better  than 
in  most  other  Eastern  countries.  There  was 
no  harem,  properly  so  called.  AVomen  were 
apparently  free  from  that  degrading  seclusion 
which  oriental  despots  have  contrived  to  pre- 
serve the  purity  of  the  sex!  Nor  do  the  an- 
nals of  the  Empire  indicate  that  the  wives  of 
the  Babylonian  kings  and  princes  were  worse 
treated  or  held  in  less  esteem  than  were  the 
women  of  Macedonia  or  Carthage.  From  the 
pictorial  sketches  found  on  the  cylinders,  rep- 
resenting the  various  vocations  and  pleasures 
of  the  Babylonian  women,  even  among  the 
peasantry,  it  would  not  appear  that  their  lot 
was  to  be  more  deplored  than  that  of  the 
men  of  their  age  and  country.  Doubtless,  the 
relations  of  the  sexes  then,  as  always  under 
the  present  constitution  of  human  nature, 
were  to  a  certain  degree  refined  by  mutual 
sorrow  and  hallowed  by  the  blessedness  of  love. 


CHAPTKR  XXIV.— reliqion. 


FEW  paragraphs  will 
suffice  to  give  an  outline 
of  the  theology  and  re- 
ligious rites  of  the  Baby- 
lonians. Their  system 
Avas  so  little  deflected 
from  that  of  primitive 
Chaldfea  that  the  whole  subject  might  be  dis- 
missed with  a  simple  reference  to  what  has 
been  said  in  the  Second  Book  respecting  the 
religion  of  the  Chaldees.  The  original  gods 
of  the  plains  of  Shinar  survived  the  shock  of 
the  Assyrian  conquest,  and  revived  without  a 


m^a  M 

vSi 

M 

M 

change  of  n.ame  or  feature  amid  the  splendors 
of  the  Later  Empire.  Nebuchadnezzar  might 
have  walked  to  the  temple  arm  in  arm  with 
the  shade  of  Kudur-Lagamer,  and  the  twain 
would  have  found  no  cause  of  controversy! 
True,  some  subtle  distinctions  had  arisen  with 
which  the  elder  was  unfamiliar  in  his  day, 
but  they  were  not  such  as  to  disturb  his  faith 
or  shock  his  orthodoxy. 

The  few  changes  which  occurred  in  the  re- 
ligious development  of  the  Chaldsean  into  the 
Babylonian  system  had  respect  to  such  points 
as  the  relative  rank  of  different  deities,  and 


BAB  YL  ONIA.— RELIGION. 


279 


to  such  non-esseiitials  as  tlie  matter  of  names 
and  epithets.  In  several  instances,  the  higher 
god  of  the  Chaldseans  becomes  the  lower  of 
the  Babylonians,  and  vice  versa.  Thus  Mero- 
dach,  who  was  inferior  to  Bel  in  the  primitive 
pantheon,  was  made  his  superior  by  the  priests 
of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Nabonadius,  however, 
resented  the  degradation  of  Bel  and  restored 
him  to  his  supremacy.  In  like  manner,  there 
was  a  confusion  and  even  blending  of  the 
names  and  offices  of  Beltis  and  Ishtar,  who 
are  sometimes  spoken  of  as  one  and  the  same 
divinity. 

The  three  great  gods  of  the  Babylonian 
system  were  Bel,  Merodach,  and  Nebo.  After 
these  was  Nergal,  who  had  the  principal  seat 
of  his  worship  at  Cutha.  Bel  and  Merodach 
were  the  supreme  deities  of  Babylon.  Here 
once  a  year,  in  the  magnificent  temple  of  the 
former  god,  a  great  festival  was  celebrated. 
A  splendid  jDrocession  was  formed  in  his  honor, 
and  on  the  broad  altar  in  front  of  his  shrine 
a  thousand  talents  of  frankincense  were  burned. 
Nebo  was  the  tutelary  deity  of  Borsippa.  His 
worship  was  especially  popular,  and  his  name 
was  incorporated  in  the  names  of  a  majority 
of  the  Babylonian  kings.    The  great  monarchs, 


IMAGE  OF  BEELZEBUB,   THE  FLY  GOD. 

JVafco-polassar,  iVefcit-chadnezzar,  and  Naho- 
nadius,  were  so-called  after  their  patron  god. 
The  names  of  Nergal  and  Bel  occur  in  like 
manner,  but  less  frequently.  The  worship  of 
the  Moon   as  the  deity  of  Borsippa,  and  the 


Sun  at  Sippara,  has  already  been  described  in 
the  Book  on  Chaldsea. 

In  all  the  Babylonian  temples  were  images 
of  the  gods.  It  does  not  appear,  however, 
that  the  worship  conducted  before  these 
images  was  downright  idolatry.  The  theory 
of  the  priests  was — as  it 
has  ever  been — that  the 
mind  of  the  worshiper  was 
fixed  upon  the  deity  by 
means  of  the  symbol.  To 
many  of  the  ignorant 
masses,  however,  the  idol 
was  doubtless  the  god,  and 
the  god  the  idol.  An  in- 
termediate class  believed 
that  the  deity  came  down 
at  certain  times,  and  ate 
and  drank  the  ofierings 
which  were  left  before  his 

imao-e  image  of  ashtaroth. 

The  making  of  idols  was  a  regular  trade  in 
the  city.  The  god-smith  was  in  good  repute. 
The  materials  used  in  the  fabrication  of  images 
were  gold,  silver,  bronze,  and  stone — accord- 
ing to  the  costliness  of  the  temple  and  shrine 
wherein  the  statues  were  to  be  placed.  Some 
of  the  idols  were  cast  solid ;  others  were  of 
the  base  metals,  or  even  of  clay,  overlaid  or 
plated  with  gold  or  silver. 

Each  one  of  the  Babylonian  temples  had  its 
retinue  of  i:)riests.  To  them  the  management 
of  the  shrines  and  images  and  the  conduct  of 
worship  were  intrusted.  These  hierarchs 
lived  either  in  the  temple  itself  or  in  adjacent 
houses  assigned  to  their  use.  They  married 
and  reared  families  just  as  the  members  of 
other  professions,  and  their  places  in  the 
priestly  office  were  taken  by  their  sons.  In 
many  cases,  however,  the  sacred  college  was 
recruited  from  the  ranks  of  the  laity,  nor  was 
any  marked  discrimination  made  even  against 
foreigners.  In  the  conduct  of  the  ceremonies 
of  their  religion  the  priests  were  formal  and 
dignified.  Their  dresses  were  rich  to  the  last 
degree,  and  the  public  services  were  pompous 
and  magnificent.  The  altars  were  hidden 
under  clouds  of  frankincense  ;  costly  offerings 
were  laid  on  the  shrine ;  victims  bled  to  satisfy 
the  hunger  of  the  gods.     The  great  occasions 


280 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  religious  solemnity  were  holidays  in  the 
city.  Processions  were  formed  and  banquets 
spread  in  honor  of  such  days.  Wine  flowed 
freely.  Priests  and  people  alike  gave  way  to 
the  revel.  The  gods  were  said  to  rejoice  and 
drink  with  their  Avorshipers,  and  all  the  ex- 
cesses of  the  festival  were  shared  in  common 
by  men  and  deities.^  During  such  seasons  of 
religious  abandonment  the  esplanade  before 
the  temple  of  Beltis  was  more  than  usually 
thronged  with  women  and  strangers  to  fulfill 
the  degrading  injunctions  of  that  goddess  and 
her  priests. 

As  among  the  Egyptians  and  the  Jews, 
certain  requirements  were  made  of  the  Baby- 
lonians respecting  personal  cleanliness.  Ab- 
lutions and  the  burning  of  incense  were  the 
means  employed  to  purify  those  who  were  de- 
filed. The  newly-married  were  unclean,  and 
were  obliged  to  sit  for  a  season  before  a  burn- 
ing censer.  The  touch  of  a  dead  body,  and 
many  other  acts  analogous  to  those  interdicted 
by  the  Egyptian  priests  and  by  Moses,  ren- 
dered the  person  unclean  ;  and  Avhatever  thing 
the  unclean  touched  was  in  like  manner  de- 
filed. After  the  prescribed  formula  of  purifi- 
cation the  unclean  were  restored  to  purity  and 
returned  to  the  ordinary  duties  of  life. 

The  Babylonian  priests  were  mystics.  They 
delighted  in  the  substitution  of  the  symbol  for 
the  thing.  They  assigned  to  their  deities,  and 
to  many  other  facts  of  their  religion,  sacred 
numbers  and  signs  by  which  the  divine  things 
were  known  in  conversation  and  writing. 
Thus  the  god  Anu  was  numbered  60;  Bel, 
50;  and  Hea,  40.  The  Moon  was  30;  the 
Sun,  20;  and  Vul,  10.  Beltis  Avas  15,  and 
Nergal  12.  Besides  these  numbers,  which 
were  usually  employed  instead  of  the  sacred 
names  for  which  they  stood,  many  other  signs 


'  It  was  on  occasions  of  this  sort  that  the  priestess 
of  the  temple  had  the  splendid  gold-embroidered 
couch  of  the  inner  shrine  prepared  for  herself  and 
for  the  god  who  was  said  to  visit  her. 


and  symbols  were  used  in  the  same  mys- 
tical manner.  The  surfaces  of  the  cylinders 
arc  in  some  instances  almost  covered  with 
these  signs,  the  same  being  placed  here  and 
there  in  all  the  vacant  spaces  of  the  regular 
inscription.  Among  such  signs  may  be  men- 
tioned the  circle  crossed  with  transverse  di- 
ameters, which  was  the  symbol  of  Shamas^ 
god  of  the  Sun ;  also  the  six-rayed  star,  which 
was  the  emblem  of  Anunit.  Vul,  the  air-god, 
was  represented  by  a  triple  thunderbolt,  and 
Hea  by  a  serpent.  Ishtar  was  symbolized  by 
the  female  form,  and  Bar  by  a  fish.  Beside* 
those  signs,  the  meanings  of  which  have  been 
determined,  many  more  are  found,  the  sig- 
nificance of  Avhich  has  not  yet  been  deter- 
mined— and  may  never  be.  Prominent  among 
these  uninterpreted  symbols  are  the  double 
cross,  the  jar,  the  altar,  the  lozenge,  and  many 
kinds  of  beasts  and  birds."  To  these  may  be 
added  the  double  horn,  the  sacred  tree,  and 
the  sjjearhead,  all  of  which  are  many  times- 
repeated  on  the  cylinders.  It  is  safe  to  infer 
that  all  these  signs  had  reference  to  the  theo- 
logical notions  and  religious  ceremonies  of  the 
Babylonians,  that  they  were  understood  by 
the  priests  and  perhaps  by  the  people,  and 
that  the  final  purpose  of  such  symbolization 
was  to  prevent  the  most  sacred  ideas  and  words 
of  religion  from  becoming  too  common  by 
rej^etitiou  on  the  lips  of  the  vulgar. 

Most  of  the  great  temples  of  Babylonia 
had  symbolic  names,  the  meanings  of  which 
have  not  been  determined.  Such  names  are 
nearly  always  preceded  by  the  syllable  bit,  and 
this  part  is  evidently  identical  with  the  He- 
brew word  beth,  meaning  a  "house."  Thus 
the  names  of  some  of  the  most  noted  temples 
were  Bit-Saggath,  Bit- Ana,  Bit-Parra,  Bit- 
Ulmis,  Bit-Tsida,  etc.;  but  the  meanings  of 
these  primitive  words,  Saggath,  Parra,  Ulmis, 
etc. ,  are  unknown.  The  sense  and  the  symbol 
have  sunk  together  into  that  oblivious  dust 
from  which  there  is  no  resurrection. 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


281 


CHAPITER    XXV.— CiVIIv    AND    NlILIXARY    ANNALS. 


ABYLON   was 
seven    kings. 


ruled   by 
Of   these 
the  great  names  are  Na- 
bopolassar,  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, and  Nabonadiue.  The 
history  of  the  Empire  be- 
gins  with    the    accession 
of  the  first  named,  in  the  year  B.  C.  625. 
Babylonia,  however,   as  a  province   or  vice- 
royalty  of   Assyria,    had    had    an    existence 
extending  over  several  centuries.      The  As- 
syrian conquest   had   never  extinguished  the 
southern  kingdom,  but  merely  reduced  it  to  a 
position  of  subordination.     There  was  thus  in- 
terposed between  the  time  of  the  capture  of 
Babylon  by  the   Assyrians,   in   B.  C.    1300, 
with  the  consequent  transfer  of  the  leadership 
of  the  Mesopotamian  nations  to  Nineveh,  and 
the   sudden   revival   of  Babylonian   indepen- 
dence under  Nabopolassar,  a  long  and  dubious 
period  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  kingdom 
of  the  South — a  period  in  which  the  political 
status  of  Babylonia  fluctuated  between  abso- 
lute subjection  and  quasi  independence.     It  is 
in  this  chaotic  time,  between  the  extinction 
of  the  Chaldsean  monarchy  and  the  restitution 
under  Nabopolassar,   that  the  beginnings  of 
Babylonian  history  must  be  sought  and  found. 
Very  soon  after  the  conquest  of  the  coun- 
try by  Tiglathi-Adar,  in  B.  C.  1300,  it  was 
found   desirable    to    govern    Babylonia    as   a 
viceroyalty  rather  than  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  Assyrian  Empire.     In    order  to  prevent 
revolts  and  to  insure  the  loyalty  of  the  pro- 
vincial government,  the  Ninevite  kings  were 
careful  for  a  long  time  to  select,  as  their  vice- 
roys in  the  South,  princes  and  nobles  of  As- 
syrian   blood.       With    this    precaution,    the 
province  was  left  in  a  state   of  comparative 
independence,  subject  only  to  the  regular  pay- 
ment of  the   tribute.     It   was   but    natural, 
however,  that  these  Babylonian  governors,  so 
far  removed  from  Nineveh,  should  frequently 
look  askance  at  the  doings  of  the  home  gov- 
ernment, and  that  they  should  see  in  the  situ- 


ation the  suggestion  of  independence.  Even 
under  a  certain  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  first 
Babylonian  viceroy,  there  were  two  outbreaks 
on  the  part  of  the  governor.  He  made  con- 
siderable headway  against  the  forces  of  Asshur- 
Kis-Ilim,  the  then  Assyrian  king,  and  though 
defeated  and  driven  back,  he  retired  into  his 
government  without  serious  punishment. 

When  Asshur-Ris-Ilim  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Tiglath-Pileser  I.,  the  latter  determined 
to  avenge  the  insult  offered  to  his  country  and 
led  an  army  into  Babylonia.    Merodach-Iddin- 
Akhi  had   now  become  viceroy,  and  between 
him  and  the   Assyrian  there  was  a  struggle 
for    the    mastery.      The    Babylonians    were 
beaten.     Several  of  their  cities  were  takefi, 
including  the  two  Sipparas,  Opis,  and  Baby- 
lon ;  but  there  was  still  vigor  enough  left  in 
the  army  of  the  viceroy  to  pursue  and  harass 
the  king  as  he  retired  from  the  country.     It 
is  said,  even,  that  Merodach  in  one  instance 
made   a   dash   on   the   rear  of    the    Assyrian 
army,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  and  carrying 
away  the  images  of  the  gods,  which  Pileser 
had    brought    along   to    protect  him.     These 
disturbances  continued  during  the   two    suc- 
ceeding reigns,  and  it  was  not  until  the  close 
of  the  first  century  after  the  conquest  that  a 
state  of  comparative  quiet  was  attained. 

This  more  peaceful  condition  was  brought 
about  rather  by  the  weakening  of  Assyrian 
influence  than  by  any  stupor  among  the 
Babylonians.  For  about  two  hundred  years 
(B.  C.  1100-900),  the  power  which  had  been 
so  signally  established  by  Tiglathi-Adar  was 
allowed  to  decline  in  the  hands  of  incompetent 
successors.  Meanwhile  the  Babylonians,  re- 
covering from  the  depression  of  conquest, 
flourished  and  extended  their  influence,  polit- 
ical and  commercial,  into  several  surrounding 
countries.  But,  Avith  the  accession,  in  the 
year  B.  C.  880,  of  Asshur-Izir-Pal,  a  new  en- 
ergy was  diffused  in  Assyrian  affairs.  This 
monarch  marched  an  army  into  Babylonia, 
and  recovered  all  those  territories  over  which 


282 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  viceroys  had  in  the  interim  extended  their 
authority. 

In  the  year  850  B.  C.  a  civil  broil  arose 
in  Babylonia,  and  the  distraction  thus  entailed 
gave  an  easy  opportunity  to  the  son  of  Asshur- 
Izir-Pal  still  further  to  humble  the  ambitions 
of  the  Babylonians.  He  had  the  prudence  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  legitimate  viceroy, 
who  was  opposed  by  a  younger  brother.  The 
Assyrian  king  was  admitted  to  Babylon.  The 
younger  brother  was  slain,  and  the  rightful 
governor  restored  to  his  authority.  But  the 
Assyrian,  having  thus  become  strong  by  acting 
as  arbiter  in  a  civil  war,  proceeded  to  make  him- 
self more  completely  than  ever  master  of  the 
whole  of  Lower  Mesopotamia.  Those  districts 
which  had  been  dependent  upon  Babylonia 
were  made  to  feel  that  a  mightier  than  Baby- 
lonia had  come.  Their  petty  kings  were  dis- 
placed. Assyrians  were  put  in  their  stead, 
and  tribute  exacted  from  all  the  provinces  of 
the  South.  The  relation  of  the  viceroyalty  to 
the  Ninevite  power  was  no  longer  ambiguous. 

Nine  years  later  the  country  was  again — 
and  this  time  wantonly — invaded  by  the  As- 
syrians. The  object  seems  to  have  been  mere 
spoliation.  The  viceroy  met  his  antagonist  in 
the  field,  and  was  twice  disastrously  defeated. 
He  was  obliged  to  make  an  absolute  submis- 
sion. Babylon  fell  to  the  rank  of  a  provin- 
cial city,  subject  to  a  heavy  tribute.  For 
more  than  fifty  years  this  state  of  miserable 
subjection  continued.  Not  until  the  disturbed 
reign  of  Asshur-Dayan  III. ,  B.  C.  770,  did  a 
revival  take  place  in  the  fortunes  of  Babylo- 
nia. PuL  was  now  the  provincial  governor. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  troubles  in  Assyria, 
he  organized  an  army,  overran  Lower  Meso- 
potamia, made  a  successful  campaign  into  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  and  carried 
his  victorious  arms  without  serious  opposition 
into  Syria  and  even  Palestine.  These  bold 
movements  on  the  part  of  Pul  cleared  the 
ground  for  the  still  more  marked  successes 
which  were  to  follow. 

In  747  B.  C.  Nabonassar  became  ruler  of 
Babylonia.  He  is  generally  regarded  as  the 
first  king  of  the  Later  Empire.  Certain  it  is 
that  by  him  Babylonian  independence  was  for 
a  time   reestablished.     The   ambition   of  this 


monarch,  however,  seems  to  have  extended  no 
further  than  Babylonia  Proper.  The  other 
dependent  provinces  of  the  South  were  left  to 
go  their  ways.  Several  of  them  succeeded 
for  a  season  in  throwing  off  the  yoke  and 
reaching  up  towards  sovereignty.  Thus  did 
Yakin,  chief  of  one  of  the  coast  provinces. 
Thus  also  did  Nadina  and  Zakiru,  two  other 
local  rulers  in  the  northern  part  of  Lower 
Mesopotamia.  Babylonia  under  Nabonassar 
was  thus  restricted  to  her  narrowest  limits. 
Nevertheless,  the  kingdom  was  so  completely 
established  as  to  constitute  the  beginning  of  a 
new  era,  from  which  are  dated  the  subsequent 
events  in  the  history  of  the  Empire.^ 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  rather  easy- 
going Tiglath-Pileser  II. ,  king  of  Assyria,  was 
much  disturbed  by  Nabonassar's  assumption 
of  sovereignty.  In  the  early  part  of  his  reign 
he  made  an  invasion  of  Chaldsea,  but  his 
object  seems  to  have  been  merely  to  humble 
Merodach-Baladan — son  and  successor  of  Ya- 
kin, mentioned  above  —  who  was  trying  to 
maintain  local  independence.  Pileser  does 
not  seem  to  have  troubled  himself  with  the 
more  important  work  of  humbling  Nabonas- 
sar, who  was,  perhaps,  too  large  game  for  the 
king's  quiver.  All  of  this  inured  greatly  to 
the  benefit  of  the  Babylonian,  who  witnessed 
with  delight  the  subjugation  of  the  petty,  re- 
bellious princes  of  his  own  neighborhood  by 
the  Assyrians.  It  saved  himself  the  trouble 
of  making  war  upon  the  insurrectionists  within 
his  own  borders.  That  which  humbled  them 
gave  him  strength.  The  broken-down  prov- 
inces of  the  South  naturally  looked  to  him  as 
a  leader  and  protector,  since  he  only  seemed 
able  to  stand  without  alarm  in  the  presence 
of  the  majesty  of  Assyria. 

The  reign  of  Nabonassar  extended  from 
B.  C.  747  to  B.  C.  733.  With  him,  according 
to  Herodotus  and  other  ancient  writers,  was 
associated  his  mother,  Semiramis.  Attempts 
have  been  made  to  show  that  she  and  the  As- 
syrian Semiramis  were  one  and  the  same  per- 


^  It  should  not  be  forgotten  in  this  connection 
that  Nabonassar  took  care  to  have  destroyed  the 
records  of  his  predecessor  in  order  to  make  sure 
his  own  place  in  history  as  the  founder  of  a  dy- 
nasty. 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


283 


sonage.  If  we  are  to  trust  the  accepted 
chronologies,  the  Assyrian  queen  flourished  a 
full  half  century  before  the  date  assigned  to 
the  Babylonian.  Possibly  there  were  two 
princesses  of  the  same  name.  Possibly  a  mis- 
take has  been  made  in  the  dates,  x^t  any 
rate  it  appears  that  the  queen-mother— or 
queen-wife,  as  some  say— of  Nabonassar  exer- 
cised a  large  influence  during  his  reign,  and 
added  to  the  traditional  glory  of  the  name  of 
Semiramis, 

Nabonassar  conducted  no  important  wars, 
and  added  nothing  by  conquest  to  his  domin- 
ions.    After  a  reign  of  fourteen  years  he  was 
succeeded  by  an  obscure  prince,  called  NADros. 
He  is  not  reckoned  among  the  "kings,"  and 
his  two  successors,  Chinzinus  and  Porus,  were 
still  less  worthy   to   be   counted   among   the 
great  rulers  of  Babylon.    The  next  was  named 
Elulacus,  who  is  rather  a  mythical  than  a 
historical  personage.     Nadius  is  said  to  have 
reigned  for  two  years,  and  the  others  followed 
in  quick  succession.     None  of  the  four  left 
any  distinct  impress  on  the  history  of  their 
times,  nor  do  they  seem  to  have  been  honored 
even  in  their  own  country.     With  the  accession 
of  Merodach-Baladan,  however,  another  era 
of  prosperity  and  power  dawned  in  Babylonia. 
This  ambitious  prince  had  been  the  ruler  of 
a  province  in  the  times  of  Nabonassar,  and  in 
the  vicissitudes  that  followed  that  monarch's 
death  gained  such  influence  as  to  make  him- 
self the  successor  of  Elulacus.     He  had,  after 
his  father's  death,  been  obliged  by  Tiglath- 
Pileser  to   acknowledge  himself  tributary  to 
Assyria;    but  this   was  done   with  a  mental 
reservation,  and  after  remaining  for  a  while 
in  obscurity,  he  suddenly  availed  himself  of 
a  change  of  dynasties  in  both  Assyria  and 
Babylonia  to   extend  his  authority  over  the 
latter  country.     This  was  accomplished  in  the 
year  721  B.  C,  coincidently  with  the  acces- 
sion of  Sargon  to  the  throne  of  Nineveh. 

It  was  a  precarious  assumption  of  power. 
Merodach-Baladan  seemed  to  realize  the  peril 
of  his  situation.  Sargon,  the  new  monarch  of 
Assyria,  was  not  a  ruler  to  be  trifled  with. 
The  Babylonian  saw  that  he  must  fight.  For 
some  time  the  affairs  at  Nineveh  were  in  such 
a  condition  as  to  favor  Merodach's  usurpation. 


A  period  of  twelve  years  intervened  before 
Sargon  was  ready  to  turn  his  attention  to 
affairs  in  Babylonia.  This  interval  had  been 
well  employed  by  the  king  of  that  country  in 
preparations  for  the  conflict.  He  had  suc- 
ceeded in  building  up  a  formidable  league  to 
resist  the  further  encroachments  of  Assyrian 
ambition.  He  established  friendly  relations 
with  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah.  Sabak,  the 
Egyptian  Pharaoh,  also  entered  into  the  plans 
of  Merodach,  and  thus  an  alliance  was  effected 
between  Babylonia  and  Susiana  in  the  East 
and  Egypt  and  Palestine  in  the  West.  The 
array  thus  presented  to  Sargon  was  not  to  be 
despised. 

The  geographical  position  of  the  parties, 
however,  greatly  favored  the  Assyrians.  Nin- 
eveh was  so  situated  with  respect  to  Babylonia 
and  Syria  as  to  enable  Sargon  to  divide  the 
parties  to  the  league.  He  could  easily  thrust 
his  armies  between  those  of  his  antagonists 
and  beat  them  in  detail.  He  accordingly  or- 
ganized two  campaigns,  one  against  Egypt 
and  one  against  Babylon.  The  allies  were 
unable  to  withstand  him.  In  B.  C.  711  he 
made  his  way  into  Egypt.  The  stronghold  of 
Ashdod  was  taken  without  much  resistance, 
and  Pharaoh  Sabak  made  haste  to  send  an 
embassy  suing  for  peace.  Egyptian  depen- 
dency was  reestablished,  and  Sargon  turned 
his  attention  to  the  reduction  of  Babylonia. 

In  the  next  year  he  marched  into  Lower 
Mesopotamia.  A  decisive  battle  was  fought, 
and  Merodach-Baladan  was  completely  over- 
thrown. He  retreated  into  his  native  prov- 
ince, and  shut  himself  4n  the  fortress  of 
Yakin;  but  Sargon  pursued  him,  took  the 
city,  got  possession  of  the  Babylonian  himself, 
and  carried  him  oflf  to  Nineveh.  Before  leav- 
ing the  South,  Sargon  had  himself  proclaimed 
king  of  Babylon,  thus,  for  the  time,  extin- 
guishing the  line  of  native  rulers. 

The  Assyrian  monarch,  however,  did  not 
long  live  to  enjoy  his  double  throne.  Upon 
his  death,  in  the  year  B.  C.  704,  insurrections 
immediately  broke  out  in  Babylonia,  and  sev- 
eral aspirants  claimed  the  crown.  A  son  of 
Sargon  attempted  to  uphold  his  father's  claims, 
but  was  unable  to  do  so.  A  prince  named 
Hagisa  secured  the   throne,  but  was  driven. 


■284 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


away  after  a  month's  occupancy.  Meanwhile, 
Merodach-Baladan,  after  a  captivity  of  several 
years,  succeeded  in  escaping  from  Nineveh, 
and  reappeared  where  he  was  most  needed. 
He  kiUed  Hagisa,  and  again  seized  the  throne. 

His  ascendency  was  for  a  short  time  main- 
tained, but  Sennacherib,  who  had  now  suc- 
ceeded Sargon  as  king  of  Assyria,  marched 
against  him,  overthrew  him  in  battle,  and 
drove  him  into  exile.  The  Assyrian  then 
reestablished  the  authority  which  had  been 
exercised  by  his  father  in  Babylonia,  and  for 
the  next  seventy-five  years  the  status  of  the 
country  as  a  dependency  of  Assyria  was  not 
seriously  disturbed.  Sometimes  the  kings  of 
Nineveh  controlled  afiairs  in  the  South  with- 
out subordinate  governors,  and  at  other  times 
viceroys  were  appointed  after  the  manner 
which  had  prevailed  before  the  accession  of 
Pul.  During  the  reigns  of  Esarhaddon  and 
Asshur-Bani-Pal,  of  Assyria,  several  revolts 
occurred,  but  they  were  of  little  importance, 
and  were  easily  subdued.  In  no  case  did 
these  civil  troubles  continue  for  more  than  a 
year. — Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  Bab- 
ylonian kingdom  from  the  conquest  by  Tig- 
lathi- Adar  down  to  the  time  of  the  revolt  of 
Nabopolassar. 

The  circumstances  leading  to  this  important 
•event  have  already  been  reviewed  in  connec- 
tion with  the  overthrow  of  Assyria  by  the 
Medes.  Two  generations  had  now  passed,  and 
the  Babylonians  had  become  comparatively 
contented  under  the  dominion  of  the  Ninevite 
rule.  Perhaps  they  had  come  in  some  measure 
to  regard  themselves  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  Assyrian  Empire.  At  any  rate,  when  the 
first  symptoms  of  the  Median  invasion  ap- 
peared, they  were  not  shaken  from  the  alle- 
giance to  which  they  had  now  grown  accus- 
tomed. In  the  first  disastrous  expedition  of 
Cyaxares  against  Nineveh,  the  Babylonians 
took  no  part.  During  the  whole  time  of  the 
Scythic  invasions,  when  the  attention  of  the 
Empire  was  absorbed  with  the  movements  of 
that  barbaric  horde,  the  southern  viceroys 
made  no  effort  to  assert  their  independence. 

Meanwhile  the  baffled  but  not  broken 
ambition  of  Cyaxares  was  busily  at  work. 
His  emissaries  were  in  Babylonia,  sowing  the 


seeds  of  insurrection.  The  nobles  and  princes 
of  the  country  were  taught  to  expect  the  not 
improbable  collapse  of  Assyria  under  the 
assaults  of  the  Mede.  Such  was  the  discon- 
tent thus  created  that  when  the  rumor  of  a 
second  advance  by  Cyaxares  through  the 
passes  of  the  Zagros  reached  Nineveh,  the 
news  also  came  that  the  Babylonians  had  re- 
volted, and  were  marching  from  the  south  to 
cooperate  in  the  invasion.  Under  this  double 
peril  the  forces  of  Assyria  were  divided. 
Saracus  remained  at  the  head  of  his  principal 
army  to  confront  the  Medes,  and  Nabopolassar, 
a  trusted  Assyrian  general,  was  put  in  com- 
mand of  a  large  division  with  orders  to  march 
into  Babylonia,  restore  order  in  the  kingdom, 
and  defend  the  southern  border  against  ag- 
gression. 

It  appears  that  Nabopolassar  was  not  seri- 
ously resisted  in  his  mission.  Either  by  force 
or  counsel  he  concOiated  the  Babylonians  to 
the  extent  of  gaining  admission  to  the  capital, 
where  he  was  quietly  installed  as  viceroy  of 
the  kingdom.  Here,  however,  he  soon  saw 
his  own  opportunity.  The  agents  of  Cyax- 
ares were  ready  to  foster  and  stimulate  a  trea- 
son, which  the  circumstances  had  ali'eady 
suggested.  Nabopolassar  fell  from  his  loyalty 
and  entered  into  willing  negotiations  with  the 
Mede.  It  was  arranged  that  the  viceroy 
should  betray  his  king  and  join  in  the  coming 
invasion  of  Assyria.  Babylonia,  as  the  price 
of  this  treachery,  was  to  be  made  independent. 
Nabopolassar  was  to  be  the  king.  His  son 
Nebuchadnezzar  should  have  for  his  queen 
Amyitis,  the  daughter  of  Cyaxares:  and  aU 
was  accomplished  as  it  was  contrived. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  in  Babylon  that 
the  king  of  the  Medes  was  on  the  march, 
Nabopolassar  set  out  from  the  capital  with  an 
army.  While  he  made  his  way  northward 
his  ally  came  from  the  east.  The  overthrow 
of  Saracus  and  the  siege  and  capture  of  Nin- 
eveh followed.  The  Assyrian  Empii-e  was 
broken  up,  and  each  of  the  confederates  took 
his  allotted  portion.  Assyria  Proper  fell  to 
the  Medes,  and  Nabopolassar  received  the 
kingdom  of  Babylon,  to  which  were  an- 
nexed Susiana  on  the  east,  and  the  valley  of 
the  Euphrates  and  the  whole  of  Syria  on  the 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


285 


west.  To  these  subject  countries  the  transfer 
of  masters  was  no  great  hardship,  nor  was  the 
conduct  and  usurpations  of  Nabopolassar  in 
any  quarter  seriously  resented.  Such  were  the- 
circumstances  of  the  founding  of  what  may 
be  properly  called  the  Empire  of  the  Bab- 
ylonians. 

The  great  revolution  occurred  in  the  year 
625  B.  C.  Nabopolassar  entered  upon  a 
peaceful  reign  of  twenty-one  years.  His  gov- 
ernment was  not  seriously  disturbed  by  revolts 
or  by  foreign  invasion.  He  seems  to  have 
had  that  wisdom  of  peace  which  permits  the 
fruits  of  revolution  to  ripen  into  institutions. 
The  reigns  of  such  rulers  are  generally  called 
uneventful,  but  if  the  histories  of  countries 
•were  written  by  peasants,  a  different  story 
would  be  told — a  story  of  prosperity  in  com- 
mercial marts  and  of  quiet  vmder  roofs  of 
thatch. 

The  foreign  relations  of  Babylonia  were 
peculiarly  auspicious.  Assyria  on  the  north 
was  disrupted.  Media  on  the  east  was  bound 
by  a  marriage  tie  and  a  treaty  of  amity.  Per- 
sia had  not  yet  become  formidable,  and  Lydia 
was  far  away.  Egypt,  now  under  the  rule 
of  Pharaoh  Psametik,  had  assumed  a  con- 
servative policy  quite  necessary  to  her  own 
salvation.  So  Babylon,  basking  in  the  sun- 
shine of  good  fortune,  began  to  wax  great 
and  to  exhibit  that  splendor  of  proportions 
and  adornment  for  which  she  was  soon  to 
become  famous  throughout  the  world. 

A  single  circumstance  contributed  to  main- 
tain the  military  ardor  of  the  Babylonians. 
By  the  terms  of  the  alliance  between  Cyaxares 
and  Nabopolassar,  the  latter  was  to  assist  the 
former  in  the  prosecution  of  his  wars.  From 
this  clause  in  the  agreement  it  frequently 
happened  that  the  Babylonian  king  had  to 
lead  an  army  into  the  field  to  aid  in  the  cam- 
paigns of  his  ally.  In  those  wars  in  which  the 
Medes  were  obliged  to  engage  after  the  cap- 
ture of  Nineveh,  in  order  to  maintain  and 
establish  by  force  what  had  been  won  by  bat- 
tle, contingents  of  Babylonian  troops  were 
always  auxiliary,  and'  not  infrequently  Nabo- 
polassar himself  and,  after  him,  his  successors 
were    present  in  person  in  the  field.     It  will 

foe  remembered  that  when  the  armies  of  Cyax- 

N.— Vol.  I— 18 


ares  and  Alyattes  were  contending  in  the 
great  Battle  of  the  Eclipse,  it  was  Nabopolas- 
sar who  acted  on  the  part  of  the  Medes  in 
settling  the  conditions  of  peace. ^  It  is  easy 
to  conceive  that  the  Babylonian  was  more  zeal- 
ous in  his  efforts  for  reconciliation  than  if  he 
himself  had  been  one  of  the  principals  in  the 
contest.  Albeit,  he  may  have  known  better 
than  the  other  kings  on  that  memorable  field 
that  an  eclipse  is  simply  a  natural  occurrence 
in  no  wise  indicative  of  the  wrath  of  the 
celestials. 

After  the  peace  thus  established  between 
the  ISIedes  and  the  Lydians,  Nabopolassar  re- 
turned to  his  own  capital.  He  was  no  longer 
either  young  or  warlike.  It  was  the  fate  of 
his  old  age,  and  of  the  close  of  his  reign,  to 
be  clouded  with  disaster.  A  cloud  arose  out 
of  Egypt  which  cast  a  shadow  over  him 
and  his  empire.  The  Pharaoh  Psametik  was 
now  dead,  and  his  successor,  Necho,  was  a 
ruler  less  politic  and  more  ambitious.  He 
regarded  the  Babylonian  dominion  in  Syria 
as  a  usurpation,  which  he  determined  to  resent 
and  punish.  Accordingly  he  raised  an  army 
and  began  an  invasion,  with  a  view  to  rees- 
tablish Egyptian  supremacy  in  that  country. 
He  proceeded  through  the  plain  of  Esdraelon, 
as  far  as  the  city  of  Megiddo,  where  he  met 
Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  with  an  army  drawn 
up  to  oppose  his  progress.  Josiah  was  at  this 
time  tributary  to  Nabopolassar,  and  from  some 
cause  had  come  to  prefer  a  Babylonian  to  an 
Egyptian  master.  He  therefore  stood  loyally 
in  the  way  of  Necho,  who  first  tried  strategy 
and  then  force  to  remove  the  obstacle.  The 
battle  went  against  the  Jewish  king,  who  was 
driven,  mortally  wounded,  into  Jerusalem, 
where  he  died.  Necho  then  proceeded  with 
the  invasion  of  Syria,  and  carried  his  triumph- 
ant arms  to  the  very  banks  of  the  Euphrates. 

The  authority  of  Egypt  was  thus  restored 
over  the  whole  western  portion  of  the  domin- 
ions which,  out  of  the  spoils  of  Assyria,  had 
fallen  to  Nabopolassar.  On  his  return  from 
this  successful  campaign,  Necho  interfered  in 
the  civil  war  which  was  going  on  between  the 
two  sons  of  Josiah,  both  of  whom  claimed  the 
crown  of  Judah.     The  Egyptian  decided  in 

1  See  page  229. 


286 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


favor  of  Jehoiakim,  Jehoahaz,  the  younger 
brother,  being  deposed  as  a  usurper.  Before 
reaching  his  own  country,  Necho  fell  upon 
the  strong  fortress  of  Gaza,  next  to  Ashdod, 
the  principal  town  of  Philistia,  and  carried  it 
after  a  siege. 

Nabopolassar  was  now  (B.  C.  605)  in  the 
last  year  of  his  life.  Alarmed  by  the  loss  of 
Syria,  he  determined  to  recover  what  Necho 
had  taken  from  him.  After  the  army  was 
raised  and  equipped,  however,  the  aged  king 
found  himself  unable  to  conduct  the  expedi- 
tion, and  so  the  command  was  given  to  his 
son,  Nebuchadnezzar.  This  prince  had  al- 
ready had  considerable  experience  in  war,  and 
had  shown  tokens  of  the  distinguished  career 
which  awaited  him.  He  pushed  boldly  into 
Upper  Syria,  where  at  Carchemish  the  Egyp- 
tians had  established  themselves  in  full  force 
to  hold  v.he  country.  Here  they  were  at- 
tacked by  the  Babylonian  army  and  w^ere 
completely  routed.  Every  vestige  of  Egyp- 
tian resistance  melted  aAvay. 

Nebuchadnezzar  proceeded  to  the  West, 
meeting  no  further  opposition.  He  paused 
for  a  short  time  in  Palestine,  where  he  re- 
ceived the  submission  of  Jehoiakim,  whom 
Necho  had  set  up,  and  then  continued  his 
triumphant  course  to  the  gateway  of  Egypt. 
Doubtless  the  Pharaoh  would  have  paid  dearly 
for  his  recent  ambitions  but  for  the  news 
which  here  reached  Nebuchadnezzar  of  his 
father's  death.  Without  delay,  the  king, 
fearing  that  some  rival  might  usurp  the  throne 
of  Babylon,  gave  orders  for  his  army  to  re- 
trace its  course  into  Upper  Syria,  and  himself, 
with  a  detachment,  made  all  speed  by  the 
nearest  route  across  the  desert  to  the  capital. 

In  Babylon,  however,  every  thing  w^as 
quiet.  After  the  death  of  Nabopolassar,  the 
priests,  loyal  to  the  son,  had  assumed  the  con- 
duct of  affairs  until  the  prince  might  return 
from  the  borders  of  Egypt.  He  had  a  tri- 
umphant reception,  and  Avas  peacefully  estab- 
lished on  the  throne  of  the  Empire.  His 
accession,  in  B.  C.  604,  marks  the  era  of 
Babylonian  greatness.  Whether  we  regard 
the  vigor  and  success  of  his  wars,  or  the  glory 
of  his  capital,  or  his  prestige  as  a  civil  ruler, 
his  reign  must  be  considered  one  of  the  most 


illustrious  of  ancient  history.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  the  great  palaces  and  temples  arose, 
that  the  AValls  were  built,  that  the  Hanging 
Gardens  were  reared  for  the  Median  wife  of 
the  king.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that 
the  chief  renown  of  the  Babylonians  as  a  na- 
tion is  referable  in  a  large  degree  to  the  per- 
sonal energy  and  kingcraft  and  warcraft  of 
Nebuchadnezzar. 

To  Josephus  and  other  JcAvish  historians 
we  are  indebted  for  the  best  accounts  of  the 
wars  of  this  period.  The  contemporaneous 
records  of  Babylonia  furnish  but  scanty  and 
imperfect  materials  from  w^hich  to  gather  any 
extended  account  of  the  militaiy  movements 
of  the  time.  It  is  to  be  assumed  that  most 
of  the  campaigns  of  Nebuchadnezzar  were 
carried  on  to  the  West — into  Syria,  Palestine, 
Phoenicia,  Egypt.  It  was  from  this  direction 
that  he  was  provoked  in  his  boyhood,  and  the 
restless  peoples  spreading  out  towards  Syria 
and  the  Mediterranean  were  in  a  state  of  tur- 
bulence most  likely  to  continue  the  provoca- 
tion. On  the  side  of  the  Medes  and  Persians 
not  much  trouble  was  to  be  anticipated.  His 
wife  was  a  sister  of  Astyages,  and  Cyrus  had 
not  yet  appeared  on  the  stage.  These  circum- 
stances gave  peace  on  one  side  of  the  Empire, 
and  on  the  other  war.  The  Jewish  historians 
had  good  reason  to  recount  the  inroads  and 
devastations  wrought  by  the  great  king's 
armies. 

For  the  first  six  years  the  reign  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar w^as  but  little  disturbed.  The  first 
important  insurrection  was  the  revolt  of  Tyre, 
the  chief  city  of  the  Phoenicians.  About  the 
same  time,  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah — doubt- 
less calling  to  mind  the  fact  that  he  owed  his 
own  sovereignty  to  Pharaoh  Necho,  the  rival 
of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  believing  that 
the  Egyptians  would  come  to  his  aid — revolted 
and  took  up  arms.  It  Avas  to  punish  these 
Phoenician  and  Jewish  rebels  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar undertook  the  first  great  campaign 
after  his  accession.  He  invested  Tyre,  but 
that  strong  city  proved  for  a  long  time  im- 
pregnable. So  the  king,  without  desisting 
from  the  siege,  divided  his  forces,  and  with 
one  division  proceeded  against  Jerusalem.  To 
the  last  moment  Jehoiakim   relied   upon  the 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


287 


Egyptians  to  come  to  his  aid,  but  the  Pharaoh 
held  aloof,  and  his  self-constituted  ally  was 
left  to  his  fate.  He  made  his  submission  to 
Nebuchadnezzar,  who  deliberately  put  him  to 
death,  and  he  was  "buried  with  the  burial  of 
an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  forth  beyond  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem."  For  the  time  being, 
the  Babylonian  king  conferred  the  crown  of 
Judah  upon  Jehoiakin,  son  of  the  recent 
ruler;  but  he  soon  fell  under  suspicion  of 
treachery,  was  deposed,  and  taken  a  captive  to 
Babylon,  thus  making  way  for  Zedekiah,  who 
■was  put  upon  the  Jewish  throne. 

Meanwhile,  the  siege  of  Tyre   continued. 
The  island  city  seemed  invincible  before  the 
clumsy  methods  of  the  Babylonians,  but  the 
latter  hung  to  the  task  with  vindictive  energy. 
Year  after  year  went  by,  and  the  city  must 
soon    have    fallen    but    for   a    second    revolt 
on  the  part  of  the  Jews.     For  some  reason 
these  people  had  come  to  prefer  Egyptian  to 
Babylonian  masters.    Perhaps  they  even  hoped 
ultimately   to  throw  off  all  mastery  and  be- 
come independent,  as  in  the   days  of  David. 
At  any  rate,  Zedekiah,  after  having  kept  his 
faith   with   Nebuchadnezzar   for   eight    years, 
became  at  heart  disloyal,  and  entered  into  an 
intrigue  with  Egypt  against  the  Babylonians. 
Pharaoh  Apries  was  now  the  Egyptian  ruler, 
a  youth  whose  ambition  overleaped  his  pru- 
dence.    He    and    Zedekiah    took  counsel   to- 
gether against  the  mighty,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  the  Jewish  king  should  revolt  and  that 
the    Egyptian    should    come    to   his  support. 
Accordingly,  in  B.  C.  588,   Zedekiah    threw 
off  his  allegiance  and  gathered   an  army  for 
defense.      This    was    the    fourth    insurrection 
which  had  occurred  since  Palestine  became  a 
Babylonian  dependency.    Nebuchadnezzar  was 
enraged.     He  marched  with  his  host  against 
the  city  of  the  Jews,  desolating  the  country 
as  he  came.     Jerusalem  was  at  once  invested. 
Mounds  were  built  against  the  walls,  and  the 
place   was    already  reduced    to    straits   when 
Apries    came    up   from   Egypt  to  succor  his 
friend.     Nebuchadnezzar,  for  the  time,  gave 
up   the    siege,    turned    upon    the    Egyptians, 
whom  he  routed  in  battle  and  drove  precipi- 
tately into  their  own  country.     Zedekiah  was 
thus  left  to  his  fate.     The  investment  of  the 


city  Avas  renewed,  and  after  eighteen  months 
Jerusalem  fell.  Zedekiah  attempted  to  escape 
with  a  remnant  of  his  troops,  but  was  captured 
near  Jericho.  His  sons  were  slaughtered  be- 
fore his  face ;  his  eyes  were  put  out,  and  he 
was  sent  in  chains  to  Babylon.  The  state  of 
Judah  was  extinguished,  and  the  seventy 
years'  captivity  of  the  Jews  began.  Gedaliah 
was  appointed  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to  rule 
over  the  ruins  of  Palestine,  among  which 
Jeremiah  sat  weeping. 

It  is  appropriate  in  this  connection  to  re- 
count in  a  few  paragraj)hs  the  history  of  the 
people  of  Israel.     Their  career  as  a  tribe  from 
the  days  of  Abraham  to  the  time  of  the  Exo- 
dus has  already  been   sketched   in   the  First 
Book.^     After  their   escape   from   the   Egyp- 
tians, the  crossing  of  the   Gulf  of  Suez,  and 
a  conflict  with  the  Amalekites,  Moses  led  the 
people  to  Sinai,  where  the  Law  was  given  and 
the  Jewish  economy  instituted.     The  Levites 
were  set  apart  to  have  exclusive  jurisdiction 
over   the  national  worship.     In   his   progress 
from  Sinai  to  Canaan — a  desert  march  from 
station  to  station  through  a  period  of  forty 
years — Moses  avoided  the  lands  of  the  Edom- 
ites,    the  Moabites,    and  the  Ammonites,  but 
proceeded   boldly  against  Sihon,  king  of  the 
Amorites,  and  Og,  king  of  Bashan.     Both  of 
these    chieftains   lived    east   of    the    Jordan. 
They  were  dispossessed  of  their  lands,  which 
were  bestowed  on  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and 
Gad  and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh.     Moses 
died  on  Mount  Nebo,  and  was  succeeded  in 
authority  by  Joshua,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim. 
He  proved  himself  to  be  an  able  and  reso- 
lute   general.     He   led    the   tribes    of    Israel 
across  the  Jordan  into  Canaan,  or  the  Holy 
Land,  and  there  began  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion  upon  the  native  inhabitants.     A  preda- 
tory life  of  forty  years  in  the  desert  had  con- 
verted the  brick-makers  of  Egypt  into  a  hardy 
soldiery,    and    the    Canaauites    were    driven 
back  before  them.     All  were  exterminated  ex- 
cept the  Gibeonites,  who  secured  their  safety 
by  a  stratagem,  and  became  a  dependent  or 
servile  class  among  the  Hebrews.     The  other 
Canaanitish  kings  were  enraged  at  this  immu- 
nity of  the  Gibeonites,  and  assembled  in  the 
See  Book  First,  pp.  64-66. 


288 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


north  with  the  remnants  of  the  native  tribes 
to  punish  those  who  had  made  an  alliance 
with  the  invader.  Jabin,  the  so-called  "king" 
of  Canaan,  was  leader  of  the  confederacy 
against  which  Joshua  mustered  his  forces  at 
Beth-horon.  Decisive  battles  were  fought  at 
this  place,  and  shortly  afterwards  at  Merom, 
in  both  of  which  Joshua  completely  overthrew 
and  dispersed  his  enemies.  The  country  of 
Palestine  was  peaceably  divided  among  the 
remaining  ten  and  a  half  tribes  of  Israel.^ 
The  tribes  of  Keuben  and  Gad  and  half  of 
the  tribe  of  Manasseh  had  already  received 


HIGH    PRIEST  OF  IREAEU 


their  chosen  portion  east  of  the  Jordan.  The 
first  period  of  Jewish  history  exteuds  from 
the  time  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  B.  C. 
1350,  to  the  establishment  of  the  mon- 
archy under  Saul,  B.  C.  1095.  The  govern- 
ment of  Israel  during  this  period  was  a  theoc- 
racy.    Moses  had  been  a  law-giver  and  leader. 


^  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  twelve  sons 
of  Jacob  became  the  progenitors  of  the  thirteen 
tribes  of  Israel.  The  two  sons  of  Joseph— Eph- 
raim  and  Manasseh— inherited  equally  with  their 
uncles.  When  the  tribe  of  Levi  was  set  apart  for 
the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  the  number  of  tribes 
inheriting  lands  (for  the  Levites  had  none)  was 
again  reduced  to  twelve. 


After  him  Joshua,  the  general,  gave  the  peo- 
ple peace  by  war.  After  him  a  series  of 
rulers  arose  known  as  Judges;  for  they 
"judged  Israel."  Many  of  these  were  persona 
of  distinguished  merit  either  in  Avisdom  or 
war.  Such  were  Deborah  and  Samson  and 
Gideon,  who — the  first  by  exaltation  of  char- 
acter, the  second  by  strength,  and  the  third 
by  military  prowess — conducted  the  govern- 
ment with  energy  and  success.  Sometimes 
for  an  interval  there  was  no  judge  at  all.  In 
such  interregna  every  man  was  at  liberty  to 
do  what  seemed  good  in  his  own  eyes. 

By  and  by  the  example  of  the  surround- 
ing nations  produced  the  infection  of  mon- 
archy in  Israel.  The  people  clamored  for  a 
king.  The  uncertain  judgeshij)  proved  only 
an  equivocal  defense  against  the  strong,  per- 
sonal governments  of  the  adjacent  pagan 
nations.  Under  the  popular  impulse,  and 
against  the  theocratic  principle,  Saul,  the  son 
of  Kish,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  was  chosen 
for  the  royal  honor,  and  was  anointed  by  the 
prophet  Samuel.  With  this  event  the  second 
period  of  Israelitish  history  begins. 

Saul  was  a  w^arrior.  He  was  an  austere 
and  able  man,  cordially  disliked  by  the  priest- 
hood, between  whom  and  himself  there  was  a 
conflict  of  authority.  He  began  his  reign  by 
making  war  on  the  Ammonites,  whom  he 
quickly  reduced  to  subjection.  He  then  fell 
upon  the  Philistines,  whom  he  routed  with 
great  slaughter  in  the  decisive  battle  of  ^lich- 
mash.  Then  the  Moabites,  Amalekites,  and 
Edomites  were  successively  driven  beyond  the 
borders  of  Israel.  Meanwhile,  however,  an 
anti-Saul  party  had  arisen  among  the  people. 
The  intractable  spirit  of  the  king  had  given 
the  priests  opportunity  to  incite  discontent 
and  to  direct  popular  attention  to  young 
David,  the  son  of  Jes^e,  as  the  coming  ruler 
of  Israel.  There  were  dissensions  in  the 
house  of  Saul.  The  jealousy  of  the  king  was 
aroused  against  David,  and  Jonathan,  the 
king's  son,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  young 
aspirant  to  the  extent  of  becoming  his  pro- 
tector. By  and  by,  in  a  battle  with  the  Philis- 
tines, led  by  Achish,  king  of  Gath,  Saul  and 
all  but  one  of  his  sons  were  killed.  Ishbo- 
sheth  survived,  and  was  for  a  brief  period  rec- 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS, 


289 


BATTLE  OF  MICHMASH. 


290 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ognized  as  king  of  Israel.  David,  however, 
was  also  crowned  at  Hebron,  and  only  awaited 
Ishbosheth's  death  to  become  king  of  the  whole 
nation. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  his  reign  was  the 
conquest  of  Jerusalem,  the  principal  town  of 
the  Jebusites,  which  place  he  made  the  future 
capital  of  Israel  and  the  holy  city  of  his  race 


remnants  of  the  old  pagp,n  nations  around  the 
borders  of  Palestine  were  reduced  to  absolute 
subjection.  The  king  conquered  a  peace,  and 
rested  on  his  laurels. 

At  this  epoch  a  national  literature  made  its 
appearance.  David  himself  was  a  poet  and  a 
patron  of  song.  He  is  the  reputed  author  of 
many   of   the    Psalms   composed    during   his 


SAUL  A>OINTED  BY  SAMUEL. 


in  all  time  to  come.  The  Ark  of  the  Cove- 
nant, set  up  a  long  time  ago  in  the  desert, 
was  now  transferred  from  Kirjathjearim  to 
Jerusalem,  and  this  fact  fixed  the  religious 
thought  of  the  people  on  the  new  capital. 
David  then  entered  upon  his  wars,  which  were 
successful  to  the  extent  that  the  primacy  of 
Israel  was  for  a  season  extended  from  the  Red 
Sea  to  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates.     All  the 


reign,  which  have  ever  since  remained  a  cen- 
tral element  in  the  religious  worship  of  both 
Jewish  and  Christian  peoples.  Less  creditable 
to  the  king  were  the  social  abuses  which  began 
in  his  time,  and  in  some  measure  under  his 
countenance.  Polygamy  was  introduced  and 
abetted  by  the  king's  example,  and  his  per- 
sonal conduct  in  many  respects  has  subjected 
him   to  the   censure  of  after  ages.     Growing 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


291 


out  of  the  jealousies  attendaut  upon  his  mul- 
tiple marriages,  his  sons,  Absalom  and  Adon- 
ijah,  revolted  against  their  father's  authority, 
and  the  former  of  the  two  was  proclaimed 
king.  The  armies  of  Israel  were  sent  against 
them ;  Absalom  was  killed,  and  Adonijah  was 
sentenced  and  executed  after  the  death  of  the 
king. 


ABSALOM'S  TOMB. 


David  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Solomon, 
whose  chief  glory  is  the  building  of  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem.  He  was  perhaps  the  most  cul- 
tured and  certainly  the  most  splendid  king  of 
his  times.  The  fame  of  his  court  extended 
into  all  the  surrounding  nations.  Luxury  was 
given  full  sway.  The  government  was  trans- 
formed into  a  sultanate,  in  which  all  the  vices 
of  the  East  flourished.  The  splendors  of  the 
gorgeous  temple  erected  on  Mount  Moriah 
shone  with  a  strange  luster  into  the  royal 
palace  and  harem  of  the  abandoned  king. 
His  old  age  was  distracted  with  domestic 
troubles,  and  his  death  was  clouded  with  the 
shadows  of  imminent  revolt  and  dissolution. 

No  sooner  was  Solomon  dead  than  Reho- 
BOAM,  his  son  and  successor,  adopted  his 
father's  methods  as  his  own.  He  assumed 
towards  the  discontented  people,  long  oppressed 
by  heavy  burdens  of  taxation,  a  haughty  air 
well  calculated  to  fire  the  rebellious  spirit. 
Jeroboam,  the  Ephraimite,  appeared  as  a  pop- 
ular leader.  Ten  of  the  tribes  revolted  and 
went  over  to  his  banner.  The  remaining  two 
tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  remained  under 
Rehoboam,  who  henceforth  took  the  title  of 
king  of  Judah,  the  ten  tribes  under  Jeroboam 


constituting  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  Thus,  in 
B.  C.  975,  was  effected  the  division  of  the 
Hebrew  nation  into  two  peoples,  who  ever 
afterwards  maintained  towards  each  other  an 
attitude  of  estrangement  and  hostility. 

Jerusalem  remained  the  capital  of  Judah, 
but  the   borders   of  Israel   came   within    ten 
miles  of  the  city.     The   capital  of  the  latter 
kingdom  was  fixed  first  at  Shechem,  then  at 
Tirzah,  and   finally  at   Samaria.      Jeroboam 
began  his  reign  with  a  series  of  measures  best 
calculated  to  win  the  people  away  from  any 
remaining  compunctions  as  it  respected  alle- 
giance to  the  House  of  David,  now  represented 
by   Rehoboam.      At    Bethel    and    Dan    new 
sanctuaries  were  set   up,  and   the  god  Apis, 
cast  of  gold,  was  substituted  for  the  ark  and 
the  altar  of  the  temple.     A  new  priesthood 
was  instituted,  and  not  a  few  Levites  went 
over  from  Judah  to  Israel.     The  people  fol- 
lowed the   new  idolatry  with  enthusiasm,  up- 
braided for  their  apostasy,  but  hardly  checked 
in  their  fall  by  the  indignant  protests  of  the 
prophets.     It  was  under  these  conditions  that 
Elijah  appeared   and  fought  the   good  fight 
v/ith  the  prophets  of  Baal. 

From  Jeroboam,  the  first,  to  Hoshea,  the 
last,  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  there  were  nine- 
teen reigns.  The  rulers  who  held  the  throne 
during  this  period  belonged  to  no  fewer  than 
nine  different  houses— a  fact  indicative  of  the 
extreme  turbulence  of  the  kingdom.  Nadab, 
the  successor  of  Jeroboam,  was  murdered  by 
his  successor,  Baasha.  The  latter  had  some 
military  ambition,  and  built  a  fortress  at 
Ramah,  with  a  view  to  future  encroachments 
on  the  kingdom  of  Judah;  but  Ben-hadad, 
king  of  Syria  and  friend  of  Judah,  drove  the 
Israelite  back  into  his  own  country.  Elah 
succeeded  to  the  throne  only  to  be  slain  by 
ZiMRi,  who  was  king  for  a  week,  when  he  in 
turn  was  deposed  by  Omri,  who  had  been 
Elah's  captain  of  the  host.  Then  came  Ahab 
and  Jezebel,  whose  unsavory  names  have 
offended  all  Christendom.  She  outlived  her 
husband,  as  well  as  Ahaziah,  who  succeeded 
him,  until  she  and  her  favorite  son  JehorAM 
were  both  put  to  death  by  Jehu,  captain  of 
the  guard.  The  latter  took  the  kingdom,  and 
held  it  long  enough  to  lose  all  his  territories 


292 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


"  '"  '1)1  ^"^ 


t» 


m 

i 

^IqJ 

ip 

1 

p^: 

^HB 

1 

i 

Hill  ^^1 
HffWr ,  T 

■K 

1 

1 

B 

1 

1 

^^K 

1 

1 

^?^^^ 

K 

east  of  the  Jordan  in  a  war  with  Hazael, 
king  of  Damascus.  It  was  at  this  epoch  that 
Israel  first  became  tributary  to  Assyria,  in  the 
reign  of  Asshur-Nazir-Pal,  monarch  of  that 
country.  In  the  times  of  Jehoahaz,  successor 
of  Jehu,  the  Syrians  made  further  conquests 
from  Israel,  and  the  kingdom  appeared  on  the 
verge  of  extinction  until  the  military  abilities 
of  JoASH,  the  next  king  of  the  line,  restored 
a  part  of  what  had  been  lost  during  the  two 
preceding  reigns. 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  SOLOMON. 

These  temporary  successes  were  extended 
by  Jeroboam  II.,  the  ablest  king  of  Israel, 
who  regained  all  that  the  surrounding  nations 
had  won  from  his  kingdom,  and  restored  the 
former  borders  of  Israel.  After  him,  how- 
ever, there  was  another  lapse,  both  Zecha- 
EiAH  and  Shallum — the  next  two  kings — 
being  murdered  in  the  same  year.  Menahem 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  and  undertook  a 
vain-glorious  expedition  against  the  Babylo- 
nians, whose  dominions  he  invaded  as  far  a& 
Thapsacus.  This  town  he  took,  only  to  be 
quickly  expelled  and  followed  to  his  own 
dominions  by  Pul  the  Babylonian. 

The  next  two  reigns,  of*  Pekahiah  and 
Pekah,  were  of  little  importance.  During  this 
time  (762-730  B.  C.)  Tiglath-Pileser,  of  As- 
syria, overran  the  territories  of  Israel  and  re- 
duced the  kingdom  to  the  last  extreme.  Ho- 
shea,  the  last  king  of  Israel,  came  to  the  throne- 
in  B.  C.  730,  and  held  it  for  nine  years,  when, 
after  a  two  years'  siege  of  his  capital,  he  waa 
taken  and  the  nationality  of  Israel  extin- 
guished by  Shalmaneser — a  full  account  of 
which  is  given  in  the  History  of  Assyria.^ 

The  kingdom  of  Judah,  ruled  over  by  the 
descendants  of  David  during  twenty  reigns — 
covering  a  period  of  three  hundred  and  sixty- 

1  See  Book  III.,  p.  175. 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


293 


nine  years — ^has  a  history  somewhat  more  rep- 
utable than  that  of  Israel.  The  people  had 
fewer  vices,  and  fewer  of  their  kings  suffered 
death  by  violence.  A  long  list  of  misfor- 
tunes, however,  came  upon  the  kingdom,  not 
a  few  of  which  were  precipitated  either  by 
the  folly  of  the  people  or  the  treachery  of 
their  rulers.  Judah,  as  has  already  been  as- 
serted, lay  on  the  highway  beween  Babylonia 
and  Egypt,  the  rival  powers  of  the  East  and 
the  West;  and  the  Jewish  nation  was  not  in- 
frequently ground  between  the  upper  and  the 
nether  mUl-stone.  Thus,  during  the  reign 
of  Rehoboam,  the  first  king  of  Judah,  Jeru- 
salem was  taken  and  pillaged  by  Shishak  of 
Egypt.  There  were,  also,  constant  troubles 
with  Israel.  Abijam,  the  successor  of  Reho- 
boam, gained  some  successes  over  that  king- 
dom, especially  the  capture  of  Bethel,  one  of  the 
ancient  sacred  places  of  the  nation.  Asa,  the 
next  king,  was  so  hard  pressed,  by  the  Egyp- 
tians on  one  side  and  the  Israelites  on  the 
other,  that  he  was  obliged  to  despoil  the  tem- 
ple of  its  treasures  in  order  to  purchase  the 
help  of  Ben-hadad  of  Damascus.  Jehosha- 
PHAT,  the  next  king,  made  an  alliance  with 
the  Israelite  Ahab,  and  the  two  made  com- 
mon cause  against  the  Syrians ;  but  the  people 
of  Judah  paid  dearly  for  the  advantage  on 
account  of  the  idolatrous  practices  which 
flowed  in  with  this  friendly  intercourse. 
While  Jehoeam  was  king,  a  horde  of  Philis- 
tines and  Arabs  gained  possession  of  Jerusa- 
lem. Later,  Athaliah,  mother  of  Ahaziah, 
killed  all  of  her  offspring,  except  Joash,  and 
instituted  the  worship  of  Baal  instead  of  that 
of  Jehovah.  Idolatry  was  rampant  for  a  sea- 
son, until  the  queen  was  overthrown  in  a 
revolt  headed  by  Jehoida,  the  high-priest. 

Of  the  reigns  of  Joash,  Amaziah,  Uzziah, 
JoTHAM,  Ahaz,  Hezekiah,  Manasseh,  and 
Amon  there  is  little  to  be  recorded,  except  a 
steady  decline  of  the  kingdom,  accompanied 
with  domestic  troubles  and  petty  wars.  Jo- 
siah's  reign  was  an  epoch  of  partial  restora- 
tion. The  land  was  cleared  of  idolatry.  The 
king  showed  himself  to  be  a  true  iconoclast. 
The  pagan  altars  were  everywhere  broken 
down  and  the  idols  ground  to  dust.  After 
this  work  was  done  the  temple  was  renovated, 


and  the  ancient  worship  of  Jehovah  restored 
in  comparative  purity.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  a  copy  of  the  Mosaic  Law  was  found  and 
brought  forth  as  a  swift  witness  against  the 
degeneracy  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

The  close  of  the  reign  of  Josiah  corre- 
sponds with  the  date  of  those  devastating  in- 
cursions of  the  Scythians,  which  have  been 
hitherto  narrated  in  the  Second  and  Third 
Books.  These  barbarians  found  their  way 
into  Palestine,  and  even  as  far  as  Ascalon  and 
Bethshan.  At  the  former  city  they  captured 
and  despoiled  the  temple  of  Astarte,  and  the 
latter  place  took  the  name  of  the  savage  in- 
vaders, being  known  for  many  centuries  as 
Scythopolis.  About  the  same  time  that  Ju- 
dah was  thus  overrun  by  savages  from  the 
north-east,  Pharaoh  Necho  of  Egypt  started 
on  his  campaign  against  Babylonia.  Josiah, 
the  king,  for  once  loyal  to  the  Babylonian 
sovereign,  undertook  to  oppose  the  Egyptian's 
progress,  but  in  the  great  battle  of  Megiddo 
was  defeated  and  slain.  Then  followed  the 
brief  and  disastrous  reigns  of  Jehoiakevi  and 
jEHOiACKCsr,  and  finally  that  of  Zedekiah, 
whose  relations  with  Nebuchadnezzar  were  nar- 
rated at  the  beginning  of  this  digression.  With 
the  overthrow  of  Zedekiah,  in  the  year  B.  C. 
586,  the  kingdom  of  Judah  was  extinguished. 
It  had  survived  the  rival  kingdom  established 
by  Jeroboam  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
years,  but  finally  yielded  to  the  same  forces 
which  had  brought  to  an  end  the  erratic  ca- 
reer of  the  Ten  Tribes  of  Israel. 

Resuming,  then,  the  thread  of  Babylonian 
history :  Tyre  fell.  For  thirteen  years  it  had 
withstood  the  siege,  but  in  the  year  after  the 
downfall  of  Jerusalem,  namely,  in  B.  C.  585, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  now  relieved  from  his  em- 
barrassments with  the  Jews,  renewed  in  per- 
son the  assaults  on  the  Phoenician  capital,  and 
the  investment  was  pressed  to  a  successful 
issue. 

Having  thus  secured,  beyond  perad ven- 
ture, the  capitals  of  two  of  'the  principal 
states  of  the  West,  Nebuchadnezzar  was  free 
to  undertake  the  chastisement  of  Egypt.  It 
will  be  remembered  how  Pharaoh  Apries, 
having  allowed  Zedekiah  to  break  with  the 
Babylonians   in    the   interest   of  Egypt,  had 


294 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


incontinently  rushed  to  the  support  of  his 
ally  and  had  then  incontinently  rushed  back 
again.  Nebuchadnezzar  now  made  prepara- 
tions to  punish  his  would-be  rival,  and,  in 
B.  C.  581,  began  an  Egyptian  campaign. 

Herodotus  and  the  records  of  Egypt  differ 
as  to  the  results  of  the  invasion,  the  former 
stating  that  Apries  was  dethroned  and  put  to 
■death ;  the  latter,  that  the  Pharaoh  continued 
to  reign  until  many  years  afterwards,  when 
he  perished  in  an  insurrection  of  his  own 
subjects.     The   truth  appears  to  be   that  in 


and  all  around  the  outposts  to  the  horizon  of 
civilization,  until  his  Empire  extended  from 
the  Pillars  of  Hercules  to  the  limits  of  Ar- 
menia and  the  foot  of  the  Caucasus.  For 
such  extraordinary  exploits  and  wide-spread 
dominion  there  are  no  sufficient  grounds  of 
historic  belief.  After  all  deductions,  how- 
ever, the  wars  of  Nebuchadnezzar  were  suffi- 
ciently important  and  successful  to  win  for 
him  the  name  of  a  great  conqueror,  and  to 
insure  for  his  own  capital  and  kingdom  sua 
era  of  peace  and  splendor. 


SIEGE  OF  TYRE  BY  THE  BABYLONIANS. 


his  first  campaign,  Nebuchadnezzar  had  no 
marked  success ;  but  that  in  a  second  invasion 
of  the  country,  in  B.  C.  570,  the  king  of 
Egypt  was  driven  from  his  throne,  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  Amasis,  who  became  tributary  to 
the  Babylonian  Empire. 

Such  were  the  wars  of  the  great  king  in 
Syria  and  the  West.  Besides  these  actual 
achievements  tradition  has  built  up  about  the 
name  of  Nebuchadnezzar  almost  as  dazzling 
-an  array  of  conquests  as  of  Sesostris  or  of 
Alexander,  The  Babylonian  was  even  re- 
puted to  have  made  war  in  Africa  and  Spain 


Perhaps  the  first  great  result  of  these  im- 
perial conquests  was  to  bring  into  Babylon 
and  the  surrounding  districts  vast  multitudes 
of  captives,  who  sank  at  once  to  the  level  of 
a  servile  class.  These  hordes  of  driven  crea- 
tures furnished  at  a  trifling  cost  an  unlimited 
supply  of  labor.  The  Babylonians  were  thus 
relieved  from  oppression,  and  found  time  to 
build  and  to  banquet.  There  were  thus  af- 
forded those  limitless  resources  out  of  which 
arose  the  otherwise  inconceivable  wonders  of 
Babylon.  The  conquered  provinces  were  in  a 
measure   depopulated,    in    order   that   by   de- 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


295 


portation  and  colonization  in  and  around 
Babylon  all  further  danger  of  provincial  in- 
surrections might  be  removed,  and  at  the 
same  time  an  exhaustless  supply  of  slave  la- 
bor be  furnished  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
splendid  capital,  led  and  incited  by  imperial 
caprice. 

Thus  were  begun  and  executed  the  princi- 


Now  it  was  that  the  incomparable  Walls  of 
Babylon,  with  their  more  than  five  hundred 
million  cubic  feet  of  solid  masonry,  were 
raised  in  massive  grandeur  around  a  circum- 
ference of  forty-one  miles.  Now  it  was  that 
the  Hanging  Gardens  arose  for  the  delight  of 
the  imperial  spouse,  capricious  as  Pompadour. 
Now  it  was  that  the  great  temple  of  Nebo  at 


CAPTIVE  JEWS  LED  INTO  BABYLONIA. 
After  the  painting  by  E.  Bendemann. 


pal  monuments  of  Babylonian  greatness:  for 
most  of  these  wonders  belong  to  the  reign  of 
Nebuchadnezzar.  It  was  the  captive  Jews, 
Egyptians,  Phoenicians,  Syrians,  and  Moab- 
ites — swept  hitherward  in  the  wake  of  the 
victorious  armies  of  the  Empire — who  for  the 
most  part  reared  those  stupendous  masses  of 
masonry  which  even  to-day  in  ruins  break 
here  and  there  the  horizon  of  the  Babylonian 
plain  as  if  with  the  shoulders  of  a  mountain. 


Borsippa,  hidden  at  present  under  the  moun- 
tainous Birs-Nimrud,  was  reared  as  if  to  the 
skies.  Now  it  was  that  the  almost  equally 
grand  temple  of  Belus  at  Babylon  was  ex- 
tended and  adorned.  Now  it  was  that  the 
vast  reservoir  of  Sippara,  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  in  circumference  and  one  hundred 
and  eighty  feet  in  depth,  was  digged  and  fur- 
nished with  its  flood-gates  and  sluices.  Now 
it  was  that  not  only  the  banks  of  the  Eu- 


296 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


phrates,  but  also  the  shores  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  were  lined  with  quays  and  warehouses 
for  the  safety  and  convenience  of  them  that 
go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships.  Now  it  was  that 
on  more  than  a  hundred  sites  in  Babylonia 
cities  were  built,  any  one  of  which,  but  for  the 
superior  splendor  of  Babylon,  would  have  been 
worthy  to  perpetuate  the  fame  of  the  king. 
Now  it  was  that  the  grand  canal  from  the 
city  of  Hit,  on  the  Euphrates,  to  the  sea,  a 
distance  of  four  hundred  miles,  carrying 
through  the  alluvial  plain  a  broad  stream  of 
water  that  gave  life  and  kept  the  desert  at 
bay,  was  excavated  by  the  servile  armies  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  brought  home  in  the 
wake  of  conquest.  No  wonder  that  the  cap- 
tive Hebrew  cried  out,  "By  the  rivers  of 
Babylon,  there  we  sat  down  and  wept," 

The  old  writers  have  left  not  a  few  traces 
of  the  personal  character  of  this  great  king. 
By  the  Jewish  historians  he  is  generally  de- 
picted as  a  sanguinary  and  cruel  monarch. 
If  his  conduct  with  respect  to  the  Jews  be 
viewed  apart  from  the  provocations  which  led 
to  the  same,  there  is  good  ground  for  the  an- 
tipathy manifested  by  Israelitish  authors. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  kings  of 
Israel  were  guilty  of  constant  duplicity,  and 
that  the  severe  punishments  Avhich  followed 
came  as  a  necessary  consequence  under  the 
military  practices  of  the  times.  In  the  case 
of  the  slaughter  of  Zedekiah's  sons  before  the 
face  of  their  father  and  the  putting  out  of  his 
own  eyes,  there  could  be  found  little  palliation 
for  the  atrocity.  The  act,  however,  Avas  in 
keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  could 
be  easily  paralleled  in  the  history  of  almost 
any  other  oriental  nation. 

Of  the  splendor  and  magnificence  of  Neb- 
ichadnezzar,  as  displayed  in  his  court  and 
government,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  His 
audiences  before  his  courtiers  and  foreign  am- 
bassadors were  a  pageant  perhaps  unequaled 
in  the  ancient  world.  He  was  surrounded  by 
a  retinue  of  princes,  governors,  and  captains, 
whose  gorgeous  apparel  and  courtly  manners 
made  the  throne  a  cynosure.  The  halls  of 
his  palace  were  thronged  with  counselors  and 
soothsayers,  who,  according  to  common  fame, 
■were  expert  in   the   lore   of  both  earth  and 


heaven.  His  coflfers  were  filled  with  untold 
treasures,  gathered  by  taxation  and  tribute 
and  war  from  nearly  all  the  nations  of  West- 
ern Asia.  To  have  withstood  the  volume  of 
adulation  which  rose  in  clouds  around  his 
throne  would  have  implied  a  type  of  character 
unknown  in  his  age  and  country.  The  great 
king  was  proud  and  haughty.  He  ordered  to 
be  made  of  himself  a  golden  image  ninety 
feet  in  height  and  nine  feet  in  breadth !  And 
he  Avas  not  free  from  the  Egyptian  foUy  of 
claiming  a  measure  of  divine  honors. 

To  the  credit  of  the  king  may  be  men- 
tioned his  loyalty  to  his  queen.  It  was  hardly 
to  be  expected  that  a  princess  of  a  foreign 
nation,  given  to  him  without  his  choosing  and 
for  reasons  purely  political,  Avould  have  gained, 
much  less  retained,  an  ascendency  over  his 
mind  and  affections.  But  Amyitis  charmed 
her  royal  spouse,  and  maintained  such  an  in- 
fluence over  him  as  to  become  a  powerful  fac- 
tor in  the  government.  Besides  the  Hanging 
Gardens  erected  for  her  delight,  many  other 
works,  public  and  private,  gave  proof  of  the 
esteem  in  which  she  continued  to  be  held  by 
the  king. 

The  old  age  of  Nebuchadnezzar  was  not 
unlike  that  of  Louis  XIV.  In  the  midday 
of  their  power  each  might  well  be  called  the 
Grand  Monarch.  In  the  hour  of  the  setting 
sun  each  might  well  be  commiserated  for  the 
woes  that  befell  him.  When  well  advanced 
in  years,  the  king  of  Babylon  dreamed  a 
dream.  It  Avas  the  vision  of  a  tree  reaching 
unto  heaven,  and  bearing  leaves  and  fruit  for 
the  blessing  of  the  nations.  Suddenly  a 
watcher  appeared,  and  said,  "Hew  it  down, 
and  cut  ofl^  his  branches.  Nevertheless,  leave 
the  stump  of  his  roots  in  the  earth,  even  with 
a  band  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender  grass 
of  the  field ;  and  let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew 
of  heaven,  and  let  his  portion  be  with  the 
beasts."  All  of  the  soothsayers  and  astrolo* 
gers  of  the  court  failed  to  interpret  this 
strange  vision  until  the  Hebrew  Daniel  wa3 
called  in,  who  declared  to  the  monarch  that 
he  himself  was  the  tree  which  should  be  hewn 
down  and  have  his  branches  cut  away;  that 
the  king  should  be  smitten  and  driven  forth 
to  live  with  the  beasts  of  the  field  until  his 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


297 


pride  should  be  humbled  and  his  reason  re- 
stored. So  Nebuchadnezzar  was  visited  with 
madness.  He  imagined  himself  a  beast,  and 
•went  forth  ou  all  fours  into  the  fields.     He 


his  reason  suddenly  returned,  and  he  was 
allowed  a  brief  interval  of  glory  and  peace 
before  his  death.  His  reign  covered  a  period 
of  forty-four  years,  and  is  by  far  the   most 


DANIEL  INTERPRETING  THE  DREAM  OF  NEBUCHADNEZZAR. 


lived  on  herbs,  and  slept  under  the  open 
canopy  at  night.  Under  the  influence  of  the 
lycanthropy  which  had  attacked  him,  he 
barked  like  a  wolf.  He  became  hairy  by  ex- 
posure to  the  elements,  until  after  seven  years 


illustrious  in  the  annals  of  the  Babylonian 
Empire. 

Nebuchadnezzar  was  succeeded  in  B.  C. 
557  by  his  son,  Evtl-Merodach.  He  appears 
not  to  have  possessed  his  father's  courage  or 


298 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


abilities.  He  had  been  reared  in  the  court 
rather  than  in  the  field,  and  his  tastes  were 
little  inclined  to  war  and  great  enterprises  of 
state.  It  seems  that  the  circumstances  of  his 
father's  affliction,  and  the  part  played  by 
Daniel  in  relation  thereto,  had  influenced  his 
mind  towards  religious  subjects  and  made  a 
favorable  impression  regarding  the  HebrcAV 
captives.  Under  these  impulses  the  young 
king  ordered  the  now  aged  Jehoiachin,  who 
had  been  in  a  Babylonian  prison  for  thirty- 
five  years,  to  be  set  at  liberty.  The  Israelite 
was  advanced  to  honor  at  the  court,  and  is 
said  to  have  become  one  of  the  king's  coun- 
cilors. Other  marks  of  favor  were  shown  to 
the  Jewish  captives,  whose  condition  from  this 
time  forth  became  more  tolerable  than  that 
of  most  of  their  fellow  exiles.  But  before 
any  important  measures  were  undertaken  in 


Palace.  The  ruins  of  this  edifice  indicate 
that  it  was  a  royal  residence,  second  only  in 
proportions  and  splendor  to  the  greater  won- 
der on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Euphrates. 
The  house  of  Neriglissar  was  ornamented  with 
the  best  art  of  the  times,  and  but  for  the 
superior  magnificence  of  its  rival,  would 
have  been  regarded  as  the  special  glory  of 
Babylon. 

The  reign  of  Neriglissar  Avas  brief,  lasting 
only  for  a  little  over  three  years.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Laborosarchod,  a  mere 
youth,  unable  either  in  age  or  abilities  to  bear 
the  vast  responsibilities  of  the  Empire.  The 
ambitious  princes  of  the  court,  tired  of  in- 
efficieucy,  resolved  on  heroic  measures.  Ac- 
cusations of  crime  were  put  forth  against  the 
young  king,  who,  incapable  of  defense,  was 
seized,    dethroned,    and    put    to    death    Avith 


X.  NABOPOLASSAR,  605. 

i 
2.  NEBUCHADNEZZAR.  561. 


6.  NABONADIUS,  539=^  Daughter.    3.  EVIL-MERODACH.    A  Daughter=A.  NERIGLISSAR,    A  Daughter. 

563.  I  556.  [ 

5.  LABOROSOARCHOD,  .WG.  Belshazzar,  539. 

NABOPOLASSAR.  (Regent  of  Babylon.) 


THE  FAMILY 

OF 


Showing  tlie  relation  of  Belshazzar  to  the  Babylonian  Kings. 


their  behalf  an  insurrection  broke  out  in 
which,  after  a  reign  of  only  two  years,  Evil- 
Merodach  was  driven  from  his  throne  and 
killed. 

The  leader  of  this  revolt  was  Neriglis- 
sar, a  turbulent  spirit,  who  had  married 
Nebuchadnezzar's  daughter.  He  had  partici- 
pated in  the  Western  wars  of  that  great  king, 
and  had  imbibed  the  military  ardor  of  his 
sovereign.  His  character  Avas  thus  more  in 
accord  with  the  temper  of  the  Babylonians 
than  was  that  of  Evil-Merodach,  and  the  revo- 
lution was  easily  accomplished.  Neriglissar 
ascended  the  throne  Avithout  opposition  as  the 
fourth  king  in  the  line  of  Nabopolassar.  His 
accession  AA'as  all  the  more  readily  accepted 
on  account  of  a  claim  Avhich  he  advanced  to 
be  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  old  kings  of 
Babylon.  The  principal  event  of  his  reign, 
which  was  peaceful,  Avas  the  erection,  across 
the  river  from  the  great  palace  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar,   of    what    is    knoAvn    as    the    Lesser 


torture.  With  his  OA^erthroAV  the  House  of 
Nabopolassar,  Avhich  had  held  the  throne  of 
Babylonia  for  seventy  years,  Avas  extinguished, 
and  the  croAvn  Avas  conferred  by  the  conspira- 
tors upon  one  of  their  own  number  named 
Nabonadius.  He  had  been  an  important 
ofiicer  in  the  government,  but  had  no  claim 
by  blood  relationship  to  royal  honors.  To 
remedy  this  defect  in  title  he  immediately 
sought  a  marriage  Avith  one  of  the  daughters 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  to  placate  the  ghost 
of  legitimacy  the  widow  of  Neriglissar  Avas 
taken  to  the  royal  couch.  After  the  marriage 
no  trouble  was  anticipated,  nor  did  any  occur 
relatiA'e  to  the  right  of  the  usurper  to  be 
king. 

Babylonia  was  now  on  the  eve  of  great 
CA^ents.  Scarcely  Avas  Nabonadius  securely 
seated  on  the  throne  when  an  embassy  came 
to  Babylon  from  Sardis,  the  capital  of  Lydia. 
The  business  was  of  the  utmost  moment.  The 
circumstances  of  the  overthrow  of  the  king- 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


29& 


dom  of  the  Medes  by  Cyrus  will  be  readily 
recalled.'  The  ambitious  young  prince  of 
Persia  very  little  resembled  either  in  character 
or  policy  the  unaspiring  Astyages,  whom  he 
had  beaten  out  of  an  empire.  The  Persian 
at  once  entered  on  a  career  of  conquest. 
Dissatisfied  with  a  dominion  embracing  not 
only  his  paternal  kingdom,  but  also  that  of 
Media,  inclusive  of  all  Cyaxares  had  retained 
of  the  Assyrian  Empire,  Cyrus  looked  boldly 
to  the  West,  and  discovered  on  the  horizon 
the  rich  domains  of  Lydia.  That  realm 
discerned  the  approaching  danger,  and  doubt- 
ing of  its  own  ability  to  cope  single-handed 
with  so  powerful  an  enemy  at  once  sought  to 
contract  alliances  with  the  neighboring  powers. 
To  this  end,  in  the  year  B.  C. 
555,  legates  were  sent  to  Nabo- 
nadius,  who  had  thus  to  decide 
between  the  risk  which  he  him- 
self might  soon  have  to  take 
from  the  overgrown  ambition  of 
Persia,  and  the  certainty  of  ex- 
citing the  hostility  of  Cyrus  by 
accepting  the  overtures  of  the 
Lydians.  The  latter  alternative 
was  chosen.  The  proposed  alli- 
ance between  Lydia  and  Baby- 
lonia was  consummated.  The 
two  kingdoms  agreed  to  cooper- 
ate in  the  maintenance  of  mu- 
tual independence  against  the 
threatened  encroachments  of  the  Persians. 

Nabonadius  had  the  wisdom  to  see  that  his 
course  would  in  the  near  future  bring  on  a 
trial  of  arms  between  himself  and  Cyrus.  To 
prepare  for  this  emergency  was,  therefore,  the 
first  and  great  care  of  the  Babylonian.  He 
accordingly  began  a  series  of  works  in  and 
about  Babylon,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
secure  the  capital  and  government  against  the 
coming  storm.  The  nature  of  these  works 
was  such  as  to  indicate  that  the  people  had 
already  fallen  into  that  stage  of  helplessness 
which  prefers  the  impotent  array  of  walls 
and  barricades  to  the  d-^cisive  battle  of  the 
open  plain.  In  the  first  place  the  Euphra- 
tes,  was  confined  within  walls,  which  were 
closed  at  the  street  crossings  with  ponderous 
1  See  Book  VI.,  p.  344. 


gates  of  bronze.  Thus,  though  an  enemy 
might  enter  by  the  river,  he  would  find  him- 
self between  huge  battlements,  and  would  be 
no  more  in  the  city  than  he  was  outside  the 
ramparts. 

In  addition  to  this,  a  great  wall — described 
by  Xenophon  —  a  hundred  feet  high  and 
twenty  feet  in  thickness,  extending  across- 
the  Mesopotamian  plain  from  the  Euphrates 
to  the  Tigris,  was  interposed  against  the  ap- 
proach of  an  army  from  that  direction.  The 
surface  of  the  country  towards  the  north  was 
likewise  cut  transversely  with  canals  and 
sluices  to  impede  the  progress  of  invasion 
from  the  side  of  Assyria.  Ample  time  was 
given  to  complete  these  great  works ;  for  the 


RUINS  OF  SAEDIS. 


Persians  and   the  Lydians   were  already  en- 
gaged in  war. 

Crcesus,  king  of  Lydia,  had  acted  with  too 
great  haste.  Without  awaiting  the  move- 
ments of  the  Babylonians  he  plunged  into  the 
fight  with  Cyrus.  The  latter  pressed  forward 
into  the  country  of  his  antagonist,  whom  he 
overthrew  in  the  battle  of  Pteria,  and  then 
beseiged  the  capital.  After  an  investment 
Sardis  fell;  Croesus  Avas  taken  prisoner,  and 
his  kingdom,  reduced  to  submission,  was  an- 
nexed to  the  Persian  Empire.' 

1  It  is  narrated  in  a  tradition  which  has  gone 
into  the  literature  of  all  lands,  that  the  Lydian 
king  was  condemned  to  die  by  fire.  When  the 
pyre  was  prepared  and  Croesus  was  seated  thereon 
awaiting  the  application  of  the  torch,  he  cried 
out,  "  O,  Solon,  Solon ! "     For  he  remembered  the 


soo 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  thesp  events  Nabonadius  had  borne  no 
hand,  being  occupied  with  the  defenses  of 
his  own  capital.  These  were  completed.  A 
period  of  fourteen  years  elapsed  before  Cyrus 
turned  his  attention  to  the  great  power  which 
by  the  Lydian  alliance  had  thrown  down  the 
^age  of  battle.  The  actual  invasion  of  Bab- 
ylonia did  not  begin  until  B.  C.  539,  and 
then  Nabonadius  behind  his  ramparts  regarded 
the  movement  with  contempt.  It  was  not 
thought  possible  that  the  Persian  could  pene- 
trate to  the  capital,  or  that  if  he  did,  he 
■could  make  the  slightest  impression  upon  the 
massive  fortifications  of  the  city. 

Cyrus  was  now  on  the  march.  About 
midway  between  Ecbatana  and  Babylon  an 
incident  occurred  highly  characteristic  of  the 
times.  In  crossing  the  river  Gyndes  one*  of 
the  white  horses  which  drew  the  chariot  of 
the  sun  Avas  drowned.  The  Persian  king 
thereupon  ordered  a  halt,  and  consumed  the 
better  part  of  the  summer  and  fall  in  punish- 
ing the  river,  which  he  did  by  scattering  its 
waters  through  three  hundred  and  sixty  chan- 
nels into  the  desert!  In  the  following  spring 
lie  was  enabled  to  resume  the  less  important 
work  of  overthrowing  an  Empire !  Such  was 
the  folly  of  antiquity. 

Cyrus  crossed  the  Tigris  without  opposition, 
and  found  himself  in  Babylonia.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Babylon, 
where  he  was  encountered  by  the  army  of 
Nabonadius,  who  had  resolved  to  risk  a  bat- 
tle in  defense  of  his  capital.  In  the  conflict 
which  ensued  the  Babylonians  were  com- 
pletely defeated.  The  larger  portion  of  the 
army  retreated  into  the  city,  but  the  king 
with  the  remainder  threw  himself  into  Bor- 
sippa,  thus  perhaps  hoping  to  divide  the  forces 
of  his  antagonist.  But  the  hope  was  vain.  He 
who  was  fool  enough  to  attack  the  Gyndes  for 
drowning  a  horse,  was  wise  enough  to  know 
that  Babylon  was  the  object  of  his  endeavor. 

•declaration  of  the  Athenian  sage  that  none  might 
be  truly  considered  happy  until  they  were  dead. 
This  exclamation  led  to  an  inquiry  on  the  part  of 
■Cyrus  as  to  what  god  it  was  that  Croesus  called 
upon.  On  hearing  the  story  of  Solon  and  his 
sayings,  the  half-barbaric  mind  of  the  Persian  was 
struck  with  admiration,  and  Croesus  was  released 
irom  the  penalty. 


Meanwhile  in  the  city  there  was  little 
alarm.  Belshazzar,  the  eldest  son  of  the  king, 
had  remained  therein,  and  to  him,  when  his 
father  went  forth  to  contend  with  the  Per- 
sians, the  general  direction  of  afiairs  was  nat- 
urally intrusted.  The  queen,  his  mother, 
also  remained  in  the  city,  against  the  walls 
of  which  for  a  season  the  hosts  of  Cyrus  beat 
in  vain.  Indeed,  the  Persian  soon  despaired 
of  taking  Babylon  by  any  direct  or  open 
means.  He  therefore  resorted  to  an  auda- 
cious expedient,  which  was  planned  and  exe- 
cuted with  entire  success.  Leaving  a  por- 
tion of  his  troops  to  occupy  the  attention 
of  the  Babylonians  before  the  city  walls,  he 
withdrew  with  the  remainder  to  a  safe 
distance  up  the  river,  and  there  having 
marked  the  topography  of  the  country,  un- 
dertook the  work  of  dispersing  a  large  part 
of  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  from  the  nat- 
ural bed  into  canals  which  he  had  cut  for  the 
purpose.  AVhen  the  work  was  done,  and 
every  thing  was  in  readiness  to  dissipate  the 
river,  Cyrus  still  delayed.  He  had  learned 
that  the  great  annual  festival  of  the  Babylo- 
nians was  about  to  be  celebrated,  and  he 
awaited  the  coming  of  that  event  as  the  best 
time  to  strike  the  impending  blow. 

Meanwhile,  the  Babylonians,  in  contempt 
of  an  enemy  whom  they  supposed  to  be  foiled 
in  his  purposes,  made  unusual  preparations 
for  the  great  feast.  The  young  prince,  Bel- 
shazzar, gave  himself  up  recklessly  to  the 
occasion.  A  thousand  nobles  were  invited  to 
a  royal  banquet  at  the  palace.  There  was 
splendor  within  and  darkness  without.  It 
was  the  night  of  doom.  While  the  revel  was 
going  on  in  the  wild  abandonment  of  victo- 
rious debauchery,  the  hardy  Persian  was 
opening  the  sluices  into  his  canals  above  the 
city.  The  river  began  to  sink,  but  made  no 
moan.  The  invaders  hurried  along  the  banks 
to  the  wall  of  the  city.  There  was  no  alarm. 
The  river  had  left  on  either  side  a  broad 
space  of  bare  ground.  The  Persians  passed 
in  without  opposition.  The  noise  of  the  fes- 
tival resounded  afar.  The  river-gates  were 
seized  by  the  invaders,  who  now  sounded  the 
tocsin  and  began  the  assault.  It  was  a  gigan- 
tic massacre.     The  drunken  Babylonians  fled 


BABYLONIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


301 


N.— Vol.  I— 19 


CRCESUS  ON  THE  FUNERAL  PYRE. 
Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


802 


UNIVERSAL  HIS'rORY.—THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


in  all  directions.  The  iDrince  Belshazzar  and 
his  nobles  were  slain  at  their  banquet,  and 
the  dawn  found  the  victorious  Persian  in  com- 
plete possession  of  the  city. 

As  soon  as  possible  he  dismantled  the  outer 
walls,  and  then  proceeded  against  Nabonadius. 


dethroned  king  the  governorship  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Carmania. 

It  was  the  last  act  in  the  drama  of  the 
great  Empire.  *'The  kingdom  was  given  to 
the  Medes  and  Persians."  A  new  power  had 
arisen,  whose  energies  were  still  freshened  with 


CAPTURE  OF  BABYLON. 


The  latter  was  still  at  Borsippa,  awaiting  an 
opportunity  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  invader. 
But  the  invader  came  swiftly  upon  him,  and 
the  king,  seeing  the  uselessness  of  a  further 
struggle  against  the  inevitable,  went  forth 
and  surrendered.  Honorable  terms  were 
granted  by  Cyrus,  who  treated  the  subject 
army  with  consideration,  and  bestowed  on  the 


the  breezes  of  the  hills  and  whose  natural 
ambitions  had  not  yet  been  quenched  in  the 
cups  of  luxury  and  lust.  "The  beauty  of 
the  Chaldees'  excellency"  faded  like  the 
shadow  of  a  pageant  from  the  great  canvas 
of  history,  and  the  glory  of  Babylon  began 
to  hide  itself  under  the  dust,  and  ruin  of  the 
ages. 


lonfe  ^«xl|. 


PBRSIA 


CHAPTER   XXVI.— XHK    country. 


HE  Persian  Empire,  es- 
tablished by  Cyrus  the 
Great,  was  of  vast  ex- 
tent. After  the  dominion 
of  the  Csesars,  no  other 
kingdom  of  the  ancient 
world  had  equal  terri- 
torial limits.  From  east  to  west  the  rule  of 
the  Achsemenian  kings  extended  over  more 
than  fifty-six  degrees  of  longitude,  and  from 
north  to  south  through  twenty  degrees  of  lati- 
tude. The  boundaries  of  the  Empii-e  on  the 
east  were  the  river  Indus  and  Thibet;  on  the 
south,  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  deserts  of 
Arabia  and  Nubia;  on  the  west,  the  Great 
Desert,  the  Mediterranean,  the  JSgean,  and 
the  river  Strymon;  on  the  north,  the  Danube, 
the  Euxine,  the  Caucasus,  the  Caspian,  and 
the  Jaxartes. 

Such  was  the  territorial  horizon  of  the 
great  kings.  A  right  line  from  the  eastern  to 
the  western  limit  of  the  Empire  reached  as 
far  as  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco ;  and 
the  measure  from  north  to  south  was,  in  its 
greatest  dimension,  fully  one  thousand  five 
hundred  miles.  The  entire  area  was  more 
than  eight  times  as  great  as  Babylonia,  four 


times  as  great  as  Assyria,  and  more  than  one« 
half  as  great  as  the  whole  of  modern  Europe. 
The  Persian  territories  embraced  fully  two 
million  square  miles. 

Glancing  at  the  political  divisions  of  the 
Empire,  we  find  an  array  of  provinces  and 
subordinate  kingdoms  almost  equal  in  number 
and  extent  to  the  Provindos  of  Rome.  The 
general  divisions  were  into  three  groups:  the 
Central,  the  Eastern,  and  the  Western.  The 
Central  provinces  were  Persia  Proper,  Susiana, 
Babylonia,  Assyria,  Media,  the  Caspian  dis' 
trict,  and  the  Great  Desert.  The  Eastern 
were  Hyrcania,  Parthia,  Asia,  Chorasmia, 
Sogdiana,  Bactria,  Scythia,  Sattagydia,  India, 
Paricania,  Eastern  Ethiopia,  and  Mycia.  The 
AYestern  were  Pseonia,  Thrace,  Asia  Minor, 
Armenia,  Iberia,  Syria,  Palestine,  Phoenicia, 
Egypt,  and  Cyrenaica.  Most  of  these  coun- 
tries, especially  the  more  important,  have 
been  already  described  in  the  preceding  Books. 
Others  will  be  considered  in  subsequent  por- 
tions of  the  work.  It  remains,  in  this  connec- 
tion, to  describe  briefly  the  character,  climate, 
and  resources  of  that  district  which  constituted 
the  nucleus  of  the  Empire. 

Persia  Proper,  corresponding  almost  pre- 

(305) 


306 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


cisely  in  boundaries  with  the  modern  province 
of  Faristan,  lay  upon  the  gulf  of  the  same 
name,  and  extended  from  the  river  Tab  to  the 
Indian  Ocean.  It  was  bounded  on  the  east 
by  Mycia,  on  the  north  by  Media,  on  the 
west  by  Susiana,  and  on  the  south  by  the 
ocean.  Its  length  from  east  to  west  was  four 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  its  breadth  an 
average  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  giv- 
ing a  geographical  area  of  over  one  hundred 
thousand  square  miles,  being  about  one-half 
as  large  as  Spain.  This  territory  exceeds  that 
of  modern  Faristan  to  the  extent  of  including 
the  ancient  province  of  Carmauia,  which  now 
constitutes  the  district  of  Kerman. 

The  most  distinctly  marked  natural  division 
of  Persia  Proper  was — and  is — into  a  Warm 
and  a  Cold  district,  the  former  being  about  one- 
eighth  and  the  latter  seven-eighths  of  the  whole 
territory.  The  Hot  region,  a  strip  from  ten 
to  fifty  miles  in  width,  lies  next  to  the  sea, 
and  consists  of  the  eastern  extension  of  the 
Susianian  plain.  It  is  a  kind  of  a  half-desert, 
saline  district,  whose  salt  sands,  sloping  to  the 
sun,  are  heated  to  an  unusual  degree,  and 
drink  up  the  streams  which,  few  and  sparse, 
make  a  feeble  struggle  to  reach  the  ocean. 
In  summer  the  temperature  is  excessive.  The 
air  glows  and  fluctuates  and  flings  up  the 
mirage  like  that  of  Arabia.  The  soil  is  gravel 
and  clay — poor  in  almost  every  quality  of 
productiveness. 

The  Cold  region  of  ancient  Persia  was  an 
upland,  flanked  with  ranges  of  mountains. 
From  Ispahan,  in  a  south-westerly  direction, 
runs  a  lofty  chain,  which,  in  the  province  of 
Kerman,  turns  to  the  west,  and  thus  supports 
the  larger  part  of  Faristan  on  the  east  and 
south.  It  is  in  the  angle  thus  formed  that 
the  Persian  upland  lies — a  district  in  every 
respect  different  from  the  hot  belt  which, 
south  of  the  mountains,  slopes  to  the  sea. 
The  high  tract  included  in  the  ranges  east 
and  south  is  generally  bi'oken.  Here  and 
there  hills  rise  to  mountains.  Plains  are  in- 
terspersed. At  intervals  verdant  valleys  ap- 
pear, rich  in  their  luxuriance.  It  is  the  com- 
mon verdict  of  travelers  that  the  region  is  in 
many  respects  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
world.     There  are  situations  which,  for  loveli- 


ness and  romantic  scenery,  rival  the  vales  of 
Greece;  but  these  are  contrasted  in  other 
parts  with  landscapes  which,  from  the  scanti- 
ness of  water,  sink  into  comparative  sterility. 
The  north-eastern  portion  of  Persia  is  for  the 
most  part  of  this  character.  In  this  region 
the  streams  are  of  the  same  sort  as  those  of 
Media,  many  of  them  running  in  sunken 
channels  or  dwindling  away  to  nothing  in  a 
country  of  sand. 

The  chief  rivers  of  Persia  are  the  Tab  and 
the  Araxes.  The  former  has  been  already 
described  in  the  History  of  Babylonia.^  The  lat- 
ter rises  in  the  mountains  of  Bakhtiyari,  and 
flows  in  a  south-easterly  direction  past  the 
ruins  of  Persepolis.  Here  it  receives  the 
Pulwar,  and  thence  makes  its  way  to  the  salt 
lake  Neyriz,  in  which  it  is  lost.  In  all  the 
Icwer  course  of  this  river  the  Avaters  are 
drawn  off*  at  intervals  into  canals,  which,  trav- 
ersing the  country,  furnish  the  means  of  ir- 
rigation. The  volume  of  the  stream  is  thus 
greatly  reduced,  and  the  remnant  discharged 
into  the  lake  is  insignificant. 

Next  in  importance  may  be  mentioned  the 
KooNAZABERNi,  a  Small  stream  which  rises 
near  the  ruins  of  Shapur.  Pressed  between 
ranges  of  lofty  hills,  it  traverses  a  valley  for 
nearly  a  hundred  miles,  and  reaches  the  Per- 
sian Gulf  a  short  distance  north  of  the  city 
of  Bushire.  All  the  other  streams  of  the  coun- 
try are  of  comparatively  little  importance. 

Of  other  inland  bodies  of  water  the  largest 
is  the  lake  Neyriz,  above  referred  to.  It  is 
about  sixty  miles  in  length  and  five  miles 
broad.  In  summer,  owing  to  the  intense  heat, 
its  dimensions  are  greatly  reduced.  When 
this  occurs  the  inhabitants  make  the  most  of 
nature's  offer  by  gathering  large  quantities  of 
salt  from  the  exposed  bed,  after  the  manner 
already  described  in  the  account  of  the  lakes 
of  Syria.  The  second  lake  in  size  is  the 
Deri  AH  Nemek,  about  ten  miles  from  the  town 
of  Shiraz.  It  is  also  a  "dead"  sea,  having 
no  outlet.  It  has  an  area  of  about  forty 
square  miles ;  the  character  of  the  waters  is 
the  same  as  that  of  Neyriz.  A  few  other 
small  lakes  are  found  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  but  none  contain  fresh  water. 

1  See  Book  Fifth,  p.  245. 


PERSIA.— THE  COUNTRY. 


307 


In  its  general  features  the  country  is  moun- 
tainous. The  geographical  peculiarity  of  the 
ranges  is  the  frequent  gorges  and  chasms  by 
which  they  are  cleft  in  twain.  Not  only 
where  the  mountains  are  divided  for  the 
passage  of  streams,  but  in  many  other  places 
where  nature  makes  no  such  demand,  the 
chains  are  parted,  so  that  transit  from  one 
side  to  the  other  is  easy.  In  many  districts 
roads  are  made  through  these  great  chasms, 
on  either  side  of  which  rise  frightful  preci- 
pices of  rock,  some  of  which  are  two  thousand 
feet  high.  Sometimes  the  abyss  is  closed 
overhead,  and  the  road  winds  under  a  grotto. 

The  range  already  referred  to  as  dividing  the 
Hot  from  the  Cold  region  of  Persia  is  cleft 
in  no  fewer  than  four  places  by  these  striking 
and  picturesque  mountain  gorges.  These 
passes  have  in  all  ages  furnished  the  inhabi- 
tants with  a  safe  and  easy  route  from  the  in- 
land districts  to  the  sea,  and  at  the  same  time, 
from  their  defensibility,  have  ever  been  a  safe- 
guard in  war.  A  few  men  at  the  top  of  the 
chasms  can  easily  make  the  passage  of  an 
army  impossible.  It  was  in  the  very  entrance 
to  one  of  these  mountain  gorges  that  Pasar- 
GAD^,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  country,  was 
situated. 

Of  political  divisions  in  Persia  Proper  there 
were  five :  Paractacene,  Mardyene,  Taocene, 
Ciribo,  and  Carmania.  The  first  of  these  lay 
among  the  mountains  of  Bakhtiyari.  The 
second  was  adjacent  to  the  first,  and  extended 
from  Bebahan  to  Kazerun.  Taocene  lay  in 
the  Hot  district  along  the  coast.  Ciribo  Avas 
the  other  division  of  the  same  region.  The 
eastern  part  of  the  Persian  upland  Avas  known 
as  Carmania — the  modern  Kerman.  BetAveen 
these  political  districts  into  which  the  country 
was  divided  there  A\'ere  no  natural  lines  of 
demarkation,  the  only  distinction  of  that  kind 
being  the  mountain  range  already  referred 
to  as  dividing  the  coast  region  from  the  table- 
lands. 

Nearly  one-half  of  Persia  Proper  Avas  un- 
inhabitable. The  mountain  regions  could 
support  only  a  scanty  population.  The  sandy 
plains,  devoid  of  vegetation  and  incrusted 
with  salt,  could  sustain  no  animal  life.  It 
was  on   the   hill-slopes,  and  by  the  banks  of 


infrequent  rivers,  and  in  the  valleys  that  a 
population  accumulated  and  flourished.  The 
uplands  generally  tended  to  sterility,  and  the 
landscape  in  such  regions  had  a  touch  of 
desolation,  dropping  aAvay  to  a  brown  horizon 
of  cheerlessness  and  solitude. 

The  forests  of  Persia  Avere  in  the  moun- 
tains. BetAveen  Bebahan  and  Shiraz  there  is 
a  tract  of  fine  Avood  land  sixty  miles  in  ex- 
tent, and  from  the  latter  city  eastAvard  tOAvards 
Carmania  is  an  attracti\'e  country  of  low 
hills  covered  Avith  timber  and  divided  by 
luxuriant  valleys.  The  plains  about  Shiraz 
and  Kazerun  are  beautiful  in  appearance,  and 
even  under  their  scanty  supply  of  Avater  pro- 
duces abundant  crops.  Such  is  the  general 
character  of  Persia  Proper,  the  heart  of  the 
great  Empire  of  the  Achsemenian  kings. 

Turning  to  the  provinces  and  countries 
which  were  conquered  by  the  Persian  mon- 
archs  and  added  to  their  dominions,  we  find 
many  of  those  already  described  in  the  his- 
tories of  Chaldsea,  Media,  and  Babylonia. 
But  the  limits  of  Persia  reached  far  beyond 
these  countries,  and  embraced  others  of  which 
no  account  has  hitherto  been  given.  Some 
of  the  regions  Avith  Avhich  A\'e  are  noAV  brought 
into  contact  lay  eastward  from  Persia  Proper, 
some  to  the  far  north-west,  and  some  to  the 
south-Avest,  looking  to  Africa. 

Beginning  with  the  eastern  part  of  the  Em- 
pire, we  have  first  of  all  the  Great  Plateau  of 
Iran,  a  vast  region  extending  through  tAventy 
degrees  of  longitude,  and  raised  to  an  elevation 
of  five  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  It  has  a  breadth  of  seven  degrees,  form- 
ing a  kind  of  rectangle  with  an  area  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles. 
The  grand  plateau  extends  from  the  Zagros 
mountains  to  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  and  em- 
braces the  great  countries  of  Khorasan  and 
Afghanistan. 

Two-thirds  of  this  vast  region  are  a  desert. 
The  plain  is  high  and  rainless.  The  few 
streams  that  descend  from  the  mountain 
slopes  flow  a  short  distance  and  are  SAvallowed 
in  the  sands.  Of  all  the  rivers  on  the  north- 
ern and  western  sides,  only  tAvo  contribute 
sufficient  water  to  form  lakes.  On  the  south 
the  mountains  are  cleft  here  and  there  for  the 


308 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


passage  of  some  more  ambitious  stream  to  the 
sea,  but  for  the  rest  running  water  is  a 
stranger.  With  the  coming  of  the  summer 
heats  the  limits  of  the  desert  are  greatly  ex- 
tended ;  for  many  districts  which  in  the  brief 
spring-time  put  up  a  sudden  verdure,  wither 
to  desolation  under  the  cloudless  skies  and 
fierce  suns  of  July,  At  such  seasons  of  the 
year  the  river  beds  are  dry  and  the  air  glows 
like  a  furnace. 

In  the  western  portions  of  the  great  pla- 
teau the  conditions  of  nature  are  modified  by 
the  proximity  of  the  mountains.  Here  the 
surface  of  the  country  is  broken  into  ridges. 
Kain  is  more  abundant,  and  many  small 
streams  trace  the  valleys  with  a  band  of  life. 
In  the  south  and  east  also  the  same  changes 
occur  as  the  limits  of  the  table-land  are  ap- 
proached, and  the  plains  grow  green  as  the 
hills  rise  above  the  horizon.  But  within  these 
surrounding  borders  of  comparative  fertility 
there  is  little  else  than  a  barren  waste  of 
blackened  sand :  nor  will  there  ever  be. 

On  the  north  of  the  region  here  described 
is  another  not  more  attractive.  It  is  the  dis- 
trict occupied  by  the  modern  Khiva  and  Bo- 
khara, bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Caspian, 
and  running  eastward  through  fourteen  de- 
grees of  longitude.  Its  breadth  is  about  the 
same,  extending  from  the  thirty-sixth  to  the 
fiftieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  a  distance 
of  more  than  eight  hundred  miles.  The 
whole  region  is  one  of  the  most  forbidding 
in  the  world.  It  is  the  great  Sahara  of  the 
North,  a  vast  trackless  plain  of  red  or  black 
sand,  blown  up  here  and  there  into  dunes  by 
the  bleak  wind  which  finds  nought  else  upon 
which  to  Avaste  its  vagrant  energies.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  ranges  of  the  Great  and 
Little  Balkan  which,  near  the  Caspian,  break 
the  surface  with  moderate  elevations  and  fur- 
nish the  conditions  of  rain,  the  whole  region 
would  be  a  treeless  and  almost  lifeless  desert. 
To  the  modifying  influence  of  these  mount- 
ains must  be  added  the  presence  of  two  large 
rivers  which  traverse  the  waste  and  pour  their 
volumes  into  the  basin  of  the  Aral.  These 
are  the  Oxus  (the  modern  Amoo)  and  the 
Jaxartes  (the  modern  Sir) — two  streams  of 
considerable  historical  importance.     Others  of 


lesser  note  are  the  Murgah,  the  Abi  Meshed, 
the  Herirud,  the  Maymene,  the  Balkh,  and 
the  Ak  Su.  Most  of  these  take  their  rise  on 
the  slopes  of  the  mountains  referred  to,  and 
flow  desertward  until  they  are  lost  in  the 
sands.  In  some  instances  small,  brackish 
lakes  are  formed  as  the  termini  of  these 
streams.  It  is  along  the  banks  of  these  rivers 
that  the  only  fertile  soil  of  the  country — ex- 
cept in  proximity  to  the  Balkans — is  found. 
Here,  in  good  seasons,  a  fair  degree  of  fruit- 
fulness  is  seen,  and  a  line  of  orchards  and 
cornfields  and  meadows  marks  the  course  of 
the  river  across  the  waste.  Here,  from  times 
immemorial,  the  larger  part  of  the  popula- 
tion inhabiting  this  desolate  region  has  been 
gathered. 

Lying  to  the  east  of  this  desert  of  Bokhara 
and  Khiva  is  the  Valley  of  the  Indus,  one  of 
the  most  ancient  seats  of  civilization.  Its  impor- 
tance has  been  but  feebly  apprehended  by  the 
AVestern  nations,  to  whom  the  Nile  of  the  East 
has  seemed  like  a  dream  on  the  horizon.  The 
region  drained  by  the  Indus  is  divided  into 
two  distinct  regions,  a  broad,  triangular  plain 
towards  the  north,  and  a  long,  narrow  valley 
towards  the  south.  The  broad  district  of  the 
north  is  a  territory  through  which,  gathering 
their  waters  from  the  hills,  flow  five  consider- 
able rivers  converging  into  one — the  Indus ;  and 
hence  to  this  division  of  the  country  is  given 
the  name  of  Punjab,  or  Five  Rivers.  At  the 
lower  angle  of  this  district  the  five  valleys 
narrow  into  one,  and  through  this  to  the  sea 
flows  the  river  of  India.  This  valley  is 
known  in  modern  geography  as  Sinde,  which 
is  merely  a  variation  of  the  word  India  or 
Hindu.^ 

The  Punjab  region  has  at  the  north  a 
breadth  of  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  but  the  country  narrows  towards  the 
south  until,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Five 
Rivers,  the  breadth  is  not  more  than  seventy 
miles.  The  whole  length  of  the  Indus  valley 
is  about  eight  hundred  miles,  and  the  average 
breadth  below  the  Punjab  is,  approximately, 
fifty  miles.  The  upper  division  of  the  coun- 
try   is   mountainous   towards   the    north,  and 

^  In  the  native  language  the  Indus  is  called  the 
Sindus. 


PERSIA.— THE  COUNTRY. 


309 


abuts  against  Kashmeer  and  Thibet.  Sloping 
southward  it  sinks  into  a  plain  whose  natural 
resources  are  unsurpassed.  The  area  of  the 
Punjab  is  about  fifty  thousand  square  miles. 

The  valley  of  the  Indus  proper  is  almost 
as  fertile  as  that  of  the  Nile,  Like  that  river, 
the  Indus  is  the  father  of  the  land.  He  di- 
vides his  channel,  giving  ofl^  here  an  arm  and 
there  a  branch  for  the  perpetual  nourishment 
of  the  hungry  soil.  All  the  way  down  from 
the  twenty-eighth  parallel  to  the  sea  these  di- 
verging channels  are  found  at  intervals,  some- 
times rejoining  the  parent  tide  and  sometimes 
diffusing  themselves  completely  in  the  districts 
which  they  water.  As  we  descend  to  the  sea 
we  find  on  the  right  the  ranges  of  Suliman 
and  Hala,  between  which  and  the  river  lies 
the  important  plain  of  Gandava,  with  an 
area  of  seven  thousand  square  miles — one  of 
the  richest  tracts  in  the  world.  From  this 
point  southward  the  valley  narrows  for  a 
hundred  miles,  and  thence  to  the  sea  expands 
into  the  Delta  of  the  Indus,  a  disti'ict  of  an 
area  of  more  than  one  thousand  square  miles, 
rich  as  Egypt,  but  breeding  malaria  and  sub- 
ject to  inundations.  This  is  the  rice  field  of 
India. 

Passing  westward  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Indus  along  the  coast  to  the  Persian  Gulf  the 
traveler  enters  the  long,  narrow  strip  of  shore 
land,  once  the  native  seat  of  the  Ichthyo- 
phagi,  or  Fish  Eaters.  The  region  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  Great  Plateau  of  Iran, 
and  on  the  south  by  the  Indian  Ocean,  Its 
length  from  east  to  west  is  about  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  but  its  greatest  breadth 
scarcely  exceeds  twenty  miles.  It  slopes  sea- 
ward, has  a  surface  of  scorched  sand,  and 
most  of  the  streams  run  dry  in  summer.  The 
winter  rains,  however,  blown  up  heavily  from 
the  Indian  Ocean,  completely  saturate  the 
soil,  and  in  some  parts  there  is  for  a  consid- 
erable season  good  pasturage  and  some  fair 
crops  of  grain. 

The  next  district  requiring  notice  is  that 
which  is  formed  by  the  eastern  outspreading 
and  descent  of  the  Elburz  mountains.  This 
high  chain  divides  into  a  number  of  parallel 
ranges  of  no  great  height,  between  which  flow 
such  streams  as  the  Ettrek  and  the  Gurgan  ; 


and  the  valleys  thus  formed,  with  their  gen- 
eral trend  to  the  East,  were  among  the  most 
delightful  within  the  limits  of  the  Persian 
Empire.  Another  district  less  attractive  was 
that  lying  east  of  Sogdiana  and  Bactria,  the 
modern  Chinese  Tartary.  It  was  one  of  the 
native  seats  of  the  Scythians,  and  contributed 
to  the  Persian  armj^  a  quota  of  fearless  half- 
savages.  The  country  in  the  north  and  west 
was  comparatively  well-watered  and  fertile, 
but  the  remainder  was  an  arid  waste. — Such 
were  the  Eastern  provinces  of  the  Empire  of 
Cyrus  and  Darius. 

The  North-western  districts  of  that  Emj^ire 
were  still  more  important.  West  of  the  Cas- 
pian Sea  lies  the  great  table-land  of  Armenia. 
This  is  indeed  a  continuation  westward  of  the 
Great  Plateau  of  Iran :  they  touch  at  the 
corners,  and  would  be  continuous  but  for  the 
interposition  of  the  Caspian.  The  western 
portion  of  the  great  elevation  embraces  not 
only  Armenia  Proper,  but  also  a  part  of 
Modern  Persia  and  most  of  Asia  Minor, 

The  mountain  ranges  traversing  this  vast 
region  extend  from  east  to  west,  with  trans- 
verse spurs  running  north  and  south.  The 
most  important  chain  is  the  Taurus,  which 
really  supports  the  jilateau  on  the  south-west, 
and  traverses  a  large  part  of  Asia  IMinor, 
The  peaks  of  this  range  in  the  western  por- 
tion rise  to  the  height  of  ten  thousand  feet, 
and  further  east  the  elevation  is  still  greater, 
reaching  the  line  of  perpetual  snow.  On  the 
opposite  or  northern  side  of  the  plateau  the 
mountains  are  not  so  high.  These  extend 
from  the  Mysian  Olympus  to  the  neighborhood 
of  Kars,  Between  this  northern  range  and 
the  Taurus  several  parallel  chains  of  slight 
elevation  occur,  and  this  country  of  high 
ridges  and  mountain  spurs  is  Armenia — one 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  valuable  parts  of 
the  Persian  Empire.  From  this  province 
came  the  horses  which  the  nobility  proudly 
rode  to  battle.  From  these  mountain  slopes 
and  hill  sides  was  taken  the  larger  part  of  the 
timber  and  stone  demanded  by  the  architects 
of  Ecbatana  and  Persepolis. 

West  of  Armenia  lay  Asia  Minor,  a  coun- 
try of  vast  resources.  The  general  elevation 
is   not   great.     A   single   mountain,   Argaeus, 


310 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


rises  to  the  height  of  thirteen  thousand  feet. 
The  country  is  one  of  broad  plains  well- 
watered  and  fertile,  rich  in  timber  and  min- 
erals. Nearly  every  important  product  of 
the  north  temperate  zone  was  found  in  this 
delightful  region.  The  principal  rivers  Avere 
the  Meander  and  the  Hermus.  Outside  of 
the  mountainous  borders  of  Armenia  and  Asia 
Minor,  on  the  north  and  north-east,  were 
various  lowland  districts  which  were  overrun 
by  the  armies  of  the  Empire,  but  were  not  of 
much  historical  importance.  South  of  the 
Taurus  lay  Lycia,  Pamphylia,  and  Cilicia, 
provinces  the  names  of  which  frequently 
occur  in  the  annals  of  the  times. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  limit  of 
Persian  ambition  on  the  west  was  marked  by 
the  shore-line  of  the  ^gean.  Many  of  the 
littoral  islands  and  the  more  remote  Cyclades 
were  both  claimed  and  conquered  by  the  suc- 
cessors of  Cyrus.  Of  these  may  be  mentioned 
Rhodes,  Cos,  Samos,  Chios,  Lesbos,  Tenedos, 
Lemnos,  Imbros,  Samothrace,  and  Thasos. 
Further  on,  the  extensive  countries  of  Thrace 
and  Ppeonia  were  subjugated  and  held  for 
twenty  years  by  Darius.  The  general  charac- 
ter of  these  islands  and  countries  will  be 
properly  considered  in  the  History  of  Greece. 

More  important  than  any  other  island  con- 
quest was  that  of  Cyprus.^  Here  were  fine 
forests.  Here  grew  the  vine  and  the  olive. 
Here  the  cornfields  flourished,  and  here  the 
copper  mines  poured  out  their  wealth.  The 
island  is  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  in 
length  and  thirty-five  miles  broad,  somewhat 
mountainous  in  the  interior,  but  in  all  respects 
a  beautiful  and  valuable  country. 

Of  the  African  districts  brought  under 
dominion  of  the  Persians,  the  principal  was 
Egypt,  of  which  an  ample  geographical  de- 
scription has  already  been  given  in  Book 
First.  Beyond  Egypt  was  Libya,  a  desert 
country  dotted  with  oases.  The  tract  lay 
along  the  Mediterranean,  and  varied  consid- 
erably in  breadth  from  a  narrow  strip  to  dis- 
tricts several  hundred  miles  in  width.  The 
chief  products  were  dates   and  the   hides  of 

^  It  was  from  the  Greek  word  cyprios  [so.  chnl- 
cos],  meaning  copper,  that  the  name  of  Cyprus 
was  derived. 


wild  animals.  From  this  region,  moreover,  a 
large  proportion  of  the  African  slaves  of  an- 
tiquity were  gathered  by  traders  and  pirates. 

Further  west  along  the  coast  was  Cyrenaica, 
lying  between  the  meridians  of  20°  and  23° 
15'  E.  The  country  is  a  highland,  and  is  for 
that  reason  well-watered  and  fruitful.  Rich 
pastures  and  fields  of  grain  might  be  seen 
even  from  times  most  ancient.  The  people 
were  much  more  civilized  than  were  the 
Libyan  savages,  and  the  province — which  was 
the  westernmost  of  the  Persian  dominions — was 
always  regarded  as  among  the  best  in  Africa. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  addition  to 
vast  districts  and  countries — Eastei'n,  North- 
western, South-western  —  here  described  as 
parts  of  the  Empii'e  of  the  Ach^emenians,  all 
of  the  countries  of  Media,  Babylonia,  Assyria, 
and  Egypt  were  likewise  embraced  in  their 
almost  world-wide  dominion.  The  great  bulk 
of  the  territory  lay  to  the  east ;  but  outside 
of  the  valleys  of  the  Indus  and  the  Oxus  the 
lands  stretching  out  beyond  Persepolis  were 
of  little  value.  Civilization  has  never  been 
able,  in  those  vast  and  arid  regions,  to  main- 
tain more  than  a  precarious  footing.  The 
greater  part  was  a  riverless,  shrubless  waste, 
better  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  jackals 
and  bustards  than  to  the  development  of  high- 
ways and  the  growth  of  cities. 

In  the  western  half  of  the  Empire  nature 
was  more  generous.  Here  Avere  the  rich  and 
powerful  countries  of  Susiana,  Media,  Baby- 
lonia, Assyria,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fertile 
and  productive  countries  of  Syria,  Armenia, 
and  Asia  Minor.  Egypt  herself,  the  harvest- 
field  of  the  Avhole  earth,  was  for  a  while  in- 
cluded among  the  territorial  treasures  of  the 
'descendants  of  Cambyses.  Within  their  do- 
minions six  great  rivers  throbbed  like  tre- 
mendous arteries,  sending  life  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  seas.  The  Jaxartes,  the  Oxus, 
the  Indus,  the  Tigris,  the  Euphrates,  and  the 
Nile — such  were  the  mighty  currents  on 
whose  banks  were  gathered  the  subjects  of 
Darius,  and  on  whose  bosoms  floated  fleets  of 
boats  bearing  his  treasures.  It  is  now  fitting 
to  examine  somewhat  in  detail  the  resources 
of  the  Empire,  as  determined  by  its  climate 
and  other  natural  conditions. 


PERSIA.— CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTS. 


311 


Chapter  xxvii.— Cliniate  and  products. 


T  is  impossible  to  sketch 
in  general  terms  the  cli- 
matic peculiarities  of  a 
country  extending 
through  twenty  degrees 
of  latitude.  The  difficulty 
is  heightened  if  the  coun- 
try extends  for  three  thousand  miles  from 
east  to  west,  and  varies  in  its  level  from 
sunken  gorges  one  thousand  three  hundred 
feet  below  the  sea  to  mountains  whose  summits 
are  twenty  thousand  feet  in  height.  Only 
specific  observations  on  different  parts  of  the 
vast  tract  can  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the 
inner  moods  and  outward  aspects  of  Nature. 

In  Persia  Proper — both  ancient  and  mod- 
ern— there  are  tAvo  kinds  of  climate.  The 
narrow  strip  along  the  coast  is  a  region  of 
torrid  heats.  No  snow  is  ever  seen.  Through 
the  larger  part  of  the  year  rain  seldom  falls. 
The  one  redeeming  feature,  so  far  as  moisture 
is  concerned,  is  the  heavy  dew,  which  satu- 
rates whatever  is  exposed  to  it  at  night.  The 
early  mornings  are  from  this  cause  cool  and 
refreshing.  But  as  midday  approaches,  the 
scorching  rays  of  the  sun  drive  away  every 
particle  of  vapor  and  burn  the  earth  to  a 
crisp.  The  thermometer  marks  as  high  as 
125°  F.  Nature  lies  weltering  or  is  blistered 
with  heated  sands  blown  in  clouds  before 
some  sudden  gust  or  sirocco.  Only  certain 
types  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  can  survive 
the  fierce  heats  of  the  Avorse  than  tropical 
summers.  Men  retreat  from  the  coast  and 
find  refuge  in  the  foot-hills,  or  even  ascend 
the  mountains,  till  the  torrid  season  is  past. 
With  the  approach  of  autumn,  when  the 
reign  of  the  sun  is  abbreviated  and  occasional 
showers  are  blown  up  from  the  sea,  the  situa- 
tion again  becomes  tolerable,  and  such  life  as 
can  be  supported  in  the  region  finds  a  respite 
from  the  excesses  of  the  climate.  Along  the 
whole  coast,  as  far  east  as  the  excessive  limit 
of  the  Empire,  the  same  extreme  heats  are 
found,  modified  about  the  estuaries  of  occa- 


sional rivers  into  the  damp  suffocations  of 
water-vapor  and  malaria. 

Passing  into  the  uplands  of  Persia,  a  great 
change  is  encountered.  The  winters  are  cold. 
The  thermometer  marks  fifteen  degrees  below 
the  freezing  point.  Snow  falls  abundantly. 
Severe  storms  drive  across  the  face  of  the 
country.  Then,  with  the  opening  of  spring, 
comes  a  heavy  fall  of  rain.  In  summer  the 
showers  are  few  and  scanty,  and  the  autumns 
are  very  dry.  The  temperature  of  midsum- 
mer is  not  enervating,  being  nearly  always 
modified  by  cool  breezes.  The  fluctuation, 
however,  between  the  noonday  heat  and  the 
chill  of  night  is  so  considerable  as  to  put  the 
constitution  to  the  test  of  endurance. 

Turning  to  the  mountainous  countries  of 
the  Elburz,  the  Zagros,  and  Armenia,  a  still 
more  rigorous  climate  is  experienced.  With 
the  return  of  the  sun  in  summer  the  weather 
is  bright  and  genial,  but  the  Avinter  blasts  are 
furious,  and  the  snoAV  heaps  up  to  a  great 
depth  in  the  gorges  of  the  hills.  The  climate 
of  Asia  Minor  was,  on  the  whole,  the  best  of 
any  in  the  confines  of  the  Empire.  The  me- 
teorological character  of  Syria  has  been  suffi- 
ciently noted  in  connection  AA'ith  the  history 
of  Babylonia;  and  that  of  Egypt,  in  Book 
First.  Cyrenaica  had  a  delightful  climate. 
Except  in  winter  there  was  no  rain  at  all,  but 
the  summer  vapors  of  the  Mediterranean, 
heavy  to  saturation,  drooping  over  the  cool 
uplands  of  this  peculiar  region,  came  down  in 
dews  so  copious  as  to  leave  all  nature  drip- 
ping: it  Avas  sufficient.  In  the  AA'inter  time 
violent  storms  rolled  along  the  coast,  bellow- 
ing Avith  thunder  and  pouring  out  floods 
of  rain. 

On  the  extreme  east  of  the  dominions  of 
the  Achsemenians  lay  the  valley  of  the  Indus, 
with  such  climatic  conditions  as  are  not,  per« 
haps,  encountered  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 
The  heats  are  so  oppressive,  the  atmosphere 
so  sultry,  as  to  quench  the  energy  of  the 
strongest  race  if  long  exposed  to  their  debili- 


312 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


tating  influence.  For  a  while,  in  a  rainless 
season,  the  vaUey  will  be  filled  with  intolera- 
ble clouds  of  dust,  driven  into  the  eyes  and 
nostrils  of  every  thing  alive,  and  then  a  tor- 
nado will  roll  up  from  the  horizon  and  pour 
out  a  flood,  whirled  into  sheets  by  furious 
winds.  Then  will  come  a  lull;  the  stifling 
air  becomes  laden  with  hot  vapors,  under  the 
influence  of  which  human  nature  collapses. 
The  delta  of  the  great  river  is  a  locality  so 
hot  and  dank,  so  infected  with  miasmatic  va- 
pors and  flooded  with  poisonous  waters,  as  to 
be  unendurable  except  for  a  small  portion  of 
the  year.^ 

Turning  to  the  vegetable  growths  of  the 
Empire,  and  beginning  with  the  woodland, 
we  find  in  Persia  Proper  a  valuable,  but  not 
very  extensive,  forest.  The  prevailing  trees 
are  oaks,  sycamores,  poplars,  planes,  willows, 
cypresses,  acacias,  and  junipers.  The  prin- 
cipal shrubs  are  the  wild  fig,  the  wild  almond, 
the  tamarisk,  the  myrtle,  the  box,  the  rhodo- 
dendron, the  tragacanth  bush,  the  blackberry, 
and  the  liquorice-plant.  Perhaps  no  country 
in  the  world  is  richer  in  native  fruits  than 
Persia.  The  date-palm  flourishes.  Lemons, 
oranges,  and  pomegranates  abound.  Grapes, 
apricots,  and  plums  are  found  in  all  parts. 
Peaches,  quinces,  and  apples  are  indigenous 
to  the  country.  Pears,  figs,  and  mulberries 
are  gathered  in  abundance.  The  "royal" 
walnuts,  sold  in  all  the  markets  of  the  world, 
are  from  Persia.  The  almonds  and  pistachio- 
nuts  served  in  the  great  hotels  of  Europe  and 
America  are  in  many  cases  a  Persian  product. 
In  short,  almost  every  variety  of  fruit  pro- 
duced in  the  north  temperate  zone  either 
grows  wild  in  this  land,  or  else  yields  abun- 
dantly under  transplantation. 

In  the  matter  of  grain  the  products  are 
almost  equally  various.  Besides  the  usual 
small  crops  of  the  field  many  products  pecul- 
iar to  the  country  are  added  to  her  resources. 
Of   this   sort    are    madder,   and    indigo,   and 

'  It  remains  for  modern  science  to  determine 
whether  any  locaUty,  unless  actually  infected  with 
living  germs  sown  by  some  preceding  contagion, 
will,  under  the  influence  of  purely  natural  condi- 
tions, produce  disease.  If  the  so-called  germ  theory 
of  disease  be  correct,  then  the  question  is  an- 
Bwered  in  the  negative. 


henna.  Opium  and  tobacco  are  also  produced 
in  large  quantities,  though  it  is  quite  certain 
that  some  of  these  were  unknown  in  ancient 
times.  Cotton  has  been  from  time  immemo- 
rial a  product  of  Persia,  but  Indian  corn  is 
of  recent  introduction. 

The  wild  animals  are  almost  identical  with 
those  of  Mesopotamia.^  The  ichneumon, 
however,  is  not  found  west  of  the  Zagros. 
It  inhabits  the  strip  of  hot  country  next  to 
the  Indian  Ocean.  The  birds  of  Persia  are 
the  same  as  those  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia. 
To  these  must  be  added  the  oyster-catcher, 
the  hooded  crow,  and  the  cuckoo.  In  the 
matter  of  song  birds  the  Persian  woods  and 
hedges  can  boast  of  a  greater  variety  than 
almost  any  other  country,  thrushes  and  night- 
ingales being  of  the  number.  Swallows,  spar- 
rows, and  blackbirds  also  add  their  less  artis- 
tic music. 

The  supply  of  fish  was,  so  far  as  the  coast 
countries  were  concerned,  quite  inexhaustible. 
In  the  Hot  district  of  Southern  Persia  this 
article  of  food  gave  a  name  to  the  inhabitants, 
who  were  known  to  the  ancient  writers  as 
Ichthyophagi.  The  sea  also  gave  an  unusual 
contribution  in  its  whales,  which  were  often 
cast  ashore.  The  bones  were  a  great  treasure 
to  the  natives,  who  used  them  for  building 
huts.  The  waters  along  the  coast  abounded 
in  oyster-beds,  from  which  the  inhabitants 
scooped  up  with  little  exertion  a  large  propor- 
tion of  their  food. 

The  rivers  of  the  Empire  were,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  well  supplied  with  fish;  but  the 
same  could  not  be  said  for  the  lakes,  whose 
brackish  waters  were  rarely  capable  of  sup- 
porting life.  The  reptiles  of  the  country 
were  of  the  same  species  as  those  inhabiting 
Mesopotamia.  Snakes  have  always  prevailed 
in  the  Persian  plateau,  but  they  are  not  es- 
pecially venomous.  The  insects,  however,  are 
peculiarly  troublesome,  many  of  the  species 
being  of  a  sort  to  endanger  life  by  their  bite 
or  sting.  Scorpions  are  everywhere,  creeping 
into  houses  and  furniture.  In  some  districts 
there  are  poisonous  spiders  or  tarantulas. 
There  are  also  centipedes,  whose  bite  is  some- 
times fatal.     Among  the  lesser  pests  may  be 

^See  Book  Fifth,  pp.  252-254. 


PERSIA.— CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTS. 


313 


mentioned  musquitoes,  which,  swarm  and  buzz 
and  bite  with  the  ferocity  of  those  infesting 
the  banks  of  the  Lower  Mississippi. 

At  intervals  Persia  is  greatly  afflicted  with 
locusts.  They  sometimes  swarm  up  like  the 
devouring  plagues  of  Syria  and  Egypt.  They 
generally  come  on  the  Avinds  which  blow  from 
the  coasts  of  Arabia.  The  sky  is  not  infre- 
quently darkened  with  the  clouds  of  these 
devastating  creatures  that  drop  in  myriads  on 
every  spot  of  greenness,  leaving  it  a  desola- 
tion. It  only  remains  for  the  inhabitants 
when  visited  with  this  plague  to  avenge  them- 
selves by  eating  the  eaters. 

The  domestic  animals  of  Persia  are  the 
same  as  those  of  Media  and  Mesopotamia. 
The  most  valuable  are  the  sheep  and  the  goat. 
Cows  and  oxen  are  less  esteemed.  The  horses 
are  of  many  fine  breeds,  from  the  fleet  Ara- 
bian to  the  heavy  Turcomans  used  for  com- 
mon service.  The  sheep  are,  for  the  most 
part,  black  or  brown,  small  and  short-legged, 
but  bearing  fleeces  of  great  fineness.  Camels 
were  employed  by  the  ancient,  as  by  the  mod- 
ern Persians,  for  carrying  heavy  burdens, 
and  for  other  service  requiring  great  en- 
durance. 

In  the  times  of  the  Empire  the  mines  of 
Persia  were  already  in  a  flourishing  condition. 
Gold  aud  silver,  copper  and  iron,  were  the 
principal  metals  produced  therefrom.  It  is 
believed  that  the  red-lead  mines  near  Neyriz 
were  also  worked  with  advantage  in  the  times 
of  the  Achsemeniaus.  As  to  salt,  the  supply 
was  limitless.  From  the  exposed  beds  of 
lakes,  and  in  some  districts  from  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  it  was  taken  up  with  little  labor. 
In  Carmania  and  some  other  provinces  rock 
salt  was  found  of  several  colors,  and  in  great 
abundance.  Near  the  city  of  Dalaki  there 
were  springs  of  naphtha  and  bitumen.  Sulphur 
was  a  product  of  several  districts,  but  the 
values  of  this  mineral  were  little  known  or 
appreciated. 

The  pearl-fisheries  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
have  been  famous  since  the  days  of  Darius. 
The  pearls  gathered  from  this  source  were 
reckoned  the  finest  of  all  the  East.  In  the 
uplands  of  the  north  several  varieties  of  hard 
gems  were  found,  but  they  were  for  the  most 


part  of  kinds  less  valuable  than  those  of  Bab- 
ylonia and  India. 

Passing  beyond  the  limits  of  Persia  Proper, 
we  come  again  to  those  great  countries — 
Egypt,  Chaldsea,  Assyria,  Media — whose  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  products  and  mineral 
resources  have  already  been  described  in  the 
preceding  Books.  Outside  of  the  borders  of 
these  countries,  in  regions  of  which  only  the 
geography  has  thus  far  been  sketched,  there 
were  many  animals  unknown  in  the  domin- 
ions of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Ramses.  In  the 
country  between  the  Elburz  mountains  and 
the  Caspian  the  tiger  has  his  haunts.  He  is 
also  found  on  the  borders  of  the  Sea  of  Aral 
and  in  the  valley  of  the  Indus.  In  the  latter 
locality  elephants  were  not  infrequent  objects 
of  wonder  to  Western  travelers.  The  water 
of  the  Indus  and  the  jungles  along  the  banks 
were  the  native  abode  of  the  alligator  and  the 
crocodile.  The  hippopotamus  was  found  only 
in  Egypt.  In  Bactria  was  the  home  of  the 
two-humped  camel,  that  creature  of  prodig- 
ious strength  and  patient  endurance,  whose 
qualities  made  him  almost  a  necessity  of  an- 
cient civilization.  The  celebrated  goat  of  An- 
gora, with  its  heavy  fleece  of  white,  silk-like 
wool,  should  also  be  mentioned  among  the  an- 
imals of  the  Empire.  In  Armenia  and  parts 
of  Afghanistan  the  elk  flourished  and  was 
reckoned  among  the  most  royal  beasts  of 
the  chase. 

Around  the  peaks  of  the  Taurus  circled 
the  great  vulture.  In  the  Delta  of  the  Indus 
ibises  were  abundant.  The  ostrich  ranged  the 
sandy  regions  of  Mesopotamia,  but  was  not 
found  on  the  Persian  plateau.  The  other 
birds  were  either  those  which  have  been 
hitherto  noticed  in  the  Books  on  Bab- 
ylonia and  Egypt,  or  were  such  as  are  com- 
mon in  most  parts  of  the  north  temperate 
zone.  Some  of  the  reptiles  require  particular 
mention. 

Of  these  first  the  iguana.  This  creature  is 
found  in  Syria  and  Egypt.  It  is  from  a  foot 
to  three  feet  in  length,  and  is  the  color  of  an 
olive,  streaked  with  black.  This  is  the  ani- 
mal which  is  so  cordially  hated  in  Moham- 
medan countries.  Its  attitude  is  thought  to  be 
in  imitation  of  the  foUoivers  of  the  Prophet  when 


314 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


they  go  to  prayer  J     Therefore  it  is  mercilessly 
killed  by  the  faithful. 

Contrary  to  popular  belief  the  Egyptian 
asp  is  a  reptile  of  considerable  size,  sometimes 
growing  to  the  length  of  six  feet.  It  is  an 
exceedingly  poisonous  serpent  and  is  easily 
angered.  It  has  the  power  of  distending  the 
skin  of  its  neck  to  a  wonderful  degree,  and 
this  it  does  when  its  wrath  is  kindled.  It 
feeds  on  mice,  frogs,  and  other  vermin,  and 
is  not  considered  an  unmixed  evnl  even  by 
those  who  are  exposed  to  its  often  fatal  pres- 
ence. In  the  desert  districts  of  Syria  is  found 
the  cerastes,  or  horned  snake,  whose  bite  is 
still  more  deadly  than  that  of  the  asp.  The 
creature  lies  buried  in  the  sand,  ft'om  which 
it  differs  but  little  in  color.  Unnoticed  it 
springs  out  like  the  rattlesnake,  and  a  sudden 


twinge  in  its  victim's  foot  or  hand  is  the  signal 
of  doom. 

In  the  same  countries  with  the  cerastes 
and  the  asp  is  found  the  chameleon — that 
strange  creature  which  assimilates  the  color 
of  its  surroundings.  It  has  a  most  oddly 
shaped  body,  a  long  prehensile  tail  like  that 
of  an  opossum,  and  a  protruding  eye  of  un- 
usual brilliancy.  Its  motions  are  contradic- 
tory and  ludicrous.  Its  pace  is  that  of  a 
snail,  and  the  creature  could  never  "make  a 
living"  but  for  the  precision  and  lightning- 
like  rapidity  with  which  its  long,  round 
tongue  is  darted  forth  to  seize  its  prey. 
Whatever  is  thus  taken  is  gulped  like  a  flash, 
and  then  the  odd  beast  is  as  sober  and  devout 
as  ever.  The  chameleon  is  the  bete  noir  of  the 
bugs  of  the  Orient. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII —PEOPLE  AND    CITIES. 


CCORDING  to  the  best 
ethnological  views  of 
modern  times  the  great 
Aryan  race,  now  distrib- 
uted through  Europe  and 
America,  had  its  origin 
within  the  Persian  Em- 
pire. The  province  of  Bactria  has  generally 
been  selected  as  the  geographical  source  of 
this  widespread  and  aggressive  family  of  man- 
kind. From  their  native  seat  the  primitive 
Aryans  seem  to  have  moved  southward.  The 
oldest  division  migrated  into  the  Punjab,  and 
passed  thence  down  the  various  valleys  to  the 
confluence  of  the  rivers  in  the  Indus — and 
thence  to  the  sea.  Thus  was  established  the 
Indie  branch  of  the  human  family.  A  second 
division  spread  over  the  Great  Plateau  of 
Iran,  constituting  the  Iranic  stock,  of  which 
the  Persian  race  became  tlie  central  and  prin- 
cipal development.  The  Medes,  of  whom  an 
account  has  already  been  given,  were  a  col- 
lateral branch  of  the  same  stock,  and  were 
thus  allied  by  blood  with  the  people  who  sub- 
verted them.  These  two  races,  very  properly 
combined    in   the   one   ethnic   title   of   Medo- 


Persian,  were  the  principal  and  only  note- 
worthy developments  of  the  Iranian  stock. 

The  time  of  the  early  tribal  migrations 
here  referred  to  is  lost  in  prehistoric  shadows. 
It  was  not  until  about  the  eighth  century  B. 
C.  that  the  Medo-Persians  assume  an  impor- 
tant part  in  the  afiairs  of  nations.  But 
Berosus  gives  to  the  Medes  an  influence  over 
surrounding  tribes  as  early  as  B.  C.  2400.  If 
such  a  date  be  allowed,  it  would  make  the 
Iranians  as  old  a  people  as  the  Chaldreans 
themselves.  It  will  be  remembered  that  tradi- 
tion assigns  to  Chaldsea  a  "Median"  dynasty 
among  the  first  that  ruled  that  country.  An 
inscription  of  Tiglath-Pileser  about  B.  C. 
1100,  mentions  the  "country  of  the  Medes," 
and  the  same  reference  occurs  on  one  of  the 
black  obelisks  belonging  to  the  ninth  century. 

The  early  Iranic  race,  with  its  semi-nomadic 
habits,  divided  into  many  branches,  ramifying 
into  distant  provinces.  People  of  this  race 
mixed  with  the  Susianiaus  on  the  south  and 
spread  westward  into  Armenia  and  to  the 
shores  of  the  JEgean.  But,  as  already  said, 
the  home  and  principal  seats  of  this  people 
were  and   ever   remained   in   Media   and  the 


PERSIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


315 


plateau  of  Persia.  They  constituted  the  vigor 
and  soul  of  those  vast  populations,  which  were 
bound  together  for  a  season  by  the  genius  of 
Cambyses  and  Cyrus.  Bearing  this  fact  in 
mind,  it  is  appropriate  to  consider  the  ethnic 
character  of  some  of  the  provincial  peoples  of 
the  Empire. 

Beffinnine:  at  the  south-east  with  the  vast 
region  now  divided  between  Afghanistan  and 
Beloochistan,  we  find  the  country  ajopropriated 
by  many  tribes,  some  of  which  are  compara- 
tively unknown  in  history.  Here  dwelt  the 
Sagartiaus,  the  Cossteans,  the  Parthians,  the 
Gandarians,  the  Sattagydians,  and  the  Ge- 
drosians.  The  native  seats  of  the  Sagartians 
and  the  Cossseans  were  in  the  Avestern  portion 
of  Afghanistan.  The  former  people  were 
much  more  powerful  and  widely  distributed 
than  the  latter.  They  Avere  scattered  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country  from  the  Elburz 
to  the  borders  of  Pei'sia,  and  were  a  hardy, 
warlike  people.  The  Cossseans  were  concen- 
trated about  the  mountains  of  Siah-Koh. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  of  the  races 
above  mentioned  were  the  Parthians — a  people 
whose  courage  gave  them  fame  as  far  west  as 
Rome.  Their  territory  lay  south-east  of  the 
Caspian,  embracing  what  is  now  the  northern 
portion  of  Khorassan.  In  early  times  they 
were  nomadic,  having  no  large  cities.  Their 
valor  in  war  gave  them,  in  the  time  of  the 
Empire,  a  certain  preeminence  over  the  sur- 
rounding nations.  The  Parthians  were  thought 
to  be  of  Scythic  origin.  They  armed  them- 
selves in  the  same  fashion  with  that  barbaric 
race,  and  were  regarded  as  the  equals  of  the 
Scythians  in  those  extraordinary  feats  of 
horsemanship  and  archery  for  which  the  latter 
were  so  celebrated.  The  Parthian  language 
also  indicated  the  race-affinity  between  this 
people  and  the  Scyths. 

The  original  abode  of  the  Gandarians  was 
Kabul,  and  the  region  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  of  that  name.  They  spread  out  east- 
ward to  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Indus, 
and  held  all  that  mountainous  district  which 
constitutes  the  north-eastern  corner  of  the 
great  plateau.  The  Sattagydians  lived  south 
of  the  country  of  the  Gandarians,  in  the  dis- 
trict between  the  valley  of  the  Indus  and  the 


desert.  Both  of  these  wild  races  were  brave 
and  hardy,  but  were  less  populous  and  daring 
than  the  Parthians.  The  Sattagydians  occu- 
pied that  part  of  Afghanistan  not  held  by 
the  Sagartians,  that  is,  the  region  between  the 
Ghuzni  river  and  the  Indus  valley.  They 
were  a  tribe  of  about  the  same  numbers  and 
character  as  the  Sattagydians,  though  the 
territory  occupied  by  the  latter  was  much 
superior  to  that  of  the  former. 

Below  the  country  of  the  last  named  na- 
tion, in  the  south-eastern  corner  of  the  great 
plateau,  dwelt  the  Gedrosians.  They  held  the 
larger  part  of  the  modern  Beloochistan,  a 
region  of  few  rivers  and  many  mountains. 
The  Gedrosians  were  regarded  by  the  Persian 
and  Macedonian  kings  as  a  people  of  consider- 
able importance,  and  the  Roman  historians 
and  proconsuls  frequently  refer  to  them  in  re- 
spectful terms. 

Such  were  the  principal  half-civilized  na- 
tions belonging  to  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
Empire  of  Darius.  It  only  remains  to  notice 
the  tribe  of  the  Mysians,  who  occupied  the 
western  part  of  the  Hot  region  bordering  on 
the  sea,  and  the  Persian  Scythians,  whose  bad 
fame  has  been  more  than  once  referred  to  in 
the  preceding  pages.  Their  seat  was  the  great 
plain  of  Chinese  Tartary.  On  the  west  lay 
Sogdiana  and  Bactria;  on  the  north  were  the 
mountains  of  Tien-chan,  and  on  the  east  the 
desert  of  Cobi.  These  barbarians  were  called 
by  Homer  the  "cheese-eating,  mare-milking 
Scythians."  Herodotus  describes  them  as 
savages  skilled  in  archery  and  horsemanship. 
By  Hippocrates  they  are  referred  to  as  gross, 
flabby,  loose-jointed  beasts,  covered  with  scat- 
tering hair.  It  was  their  custom  to  drink 
the  blood  of  the  first  enemy  whom  they  slew 
in  fight.  The  body  of  the  dead  foe  was 
scalped  and  skinned  a  la  mode,  and  the  delicate 
trophies  thus  obtained  were  preserved  as  souv- 
enirs of  the  pleasant  days  of  war.  When 
their  kings  died  a  great  many  men  and  beasts 
were  sacrificed  in  their  honor,  while  sooth- 
sayers and  magicians  attended  to  the  black 
arts  of  the  occasion.  It  was  these  refined 
moralists  who  gave  the  Persians  some  of  their 
hottest  work,  and  slew  in  battle  their  most 
illustrious  king. 


310 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  the  plateau  of  Asia  Minor,  west  of 
Armenia,  lived  the  Cappadocians.  They  were 
called  by  the  Greek  historians  the  "White 
Syrians."  They  were  a  people  of  the  Semitic 
race,  hardy  and  vigorous,  but  their  character 
was  marred  by  the  foolish  superstitions  to 
which  they  abandoned  themselves.  They 
built  many  temples,  the  most  famous  being 
that  of  Comana,  dedicated  to  the  goddess  Ma, 
the  Bellona  of  the  Romans.  The  high-priest 
of  the  nation  was  a  dignitary  second  only  in 
honor  to  the  king,  whom  he  greatly  influenced 
in  affairs  of  state. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  river  Halys  dwelt 
the  Phrygians,  one  of  the  most  ancient  nations 
of  Asia  Minor.  They  are  thought  to  have 
been  of  an  Iranian  origin,  and  thus  to  have 
been  allied  by  blood  with  the  Medes  and  Per- 
sians. Their  ancient  king  was  the  mythical 
Midas,  who  turned  whatever  he  touched  into 
gold.  In  the  time  of  the  Persian  Empire  the 
Phrygians  were  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
progressive  and  cultured  peoples  in  the  Avest- 
ern  dominions  of  the  great  kings.  Before  this 
time  they  had  been  subdued  by  the  Lydians, 
and  when  in  their  turn  they  were  overthrown 
by  the  Persians,  the  kingdom  of  Phrygia  went 
to  the  new  master  from  beyond  the  Tigris. 

Of  the  cities  of  the  Empire  many  have 
already  been  described  in  the  preceding  Books. 
Among  those  which  have  not  yet  received  any 
extended  notice,  the  greatest  was  Persepolis. 
This  was  the  capital  of  Persia  Proper  in  the 
times  when  under  the  Achsemenian  kings  that 
country  held  the  leadership  of  Western  Asia. 
The  city  was  situated  thirty-five  miles  north 
of  the  modern  Shiraz,  in  the  plain  of  Mer- 
dasht,  near  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Medus 
and  Araxes.  This  spot,  surrounded  by  lofty 
mountains,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  situa- 
tions in  the  world.  The  plain  is  well- watered 
by  the  two  rivers  Bendamir  and  Pulwar,  and 
is  fruitful  to  luxuriance.  After  the  removal 
of  the  government  from  Pasargad^,  the 
ancient  capital,  in  the  time  of  Darius  Hystas- 
pis,  Persepolis  became  the  seat  of  the  Empire 
until  conquest  and  ambition  carried  the  great 
kings  to  Susa  and  Babylon. 

In  modern  times  all  that  remains  of 
Persepolis  is  a  ruin,   but  from    it   has  been 


gathered  a  fair  idea  of  the  magnificence  of 
the  ancient  city.  Over  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  plain  the  broken  columns  and 
crumbling  architraves  of  the  once  splendid 
capital  lie  scattered.  On  every  hand  is  the 
evidence  of  the  massiveness  and  solidity  and 
grandeur  which  characterized  the  buildings 
of  the  Persians.  Near  one  of  the  mountain 
spurs,  projecting  somewhat  into  the  plain,  are 
the  ruins  of  the  great  palace  of  Xerxes.  The 
basement  is  still  intact.  The  platform  is  one 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  in  length  and  nine 
hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  wide.  Three  of 
the  sides  are  supported  by  walls  of  great 
strength,  and  the  fourth  abuts  against  the 
hill.  The  basement  is  composed  of  three 
elevations  or  terraces,  the  middle  one  being 
over  forty  feet  in  height.  The  details  of  this 
great  palace  will  be  hereafter  noticed  in  con- 
nection with  the  Architecture  of  the  Persians. 

In  the  hillside  near  the  ruins  of  the  city 
are  the  celebrated  rock  tombs  of  the  kings. 
One  of  them  still  bears  the  inscription  of 
Darius  Hystaspis.  About  two  miles  north  of 
this  interesting  locality  are  the  remains  of  one 
of  the  fortified  gates  of  the  city,  grand  and 
massive.  In  wealth  and  population  Persepolis 
was,  next  after  Susa,  the  greatest  city  of 
Western  Asia  east  of  the  Tigris.  It  was  de- 
stroyed in  the  time  of  Alexander  of  Macedon, 
and  after  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  is 
no  longer  mentioned  among  the  towns  of 
Persia. 

Susa,  the  capital  of  Susiana,  was  called  the 
"  Lily."^  It  was  the  lily  of  the  Empire,  one 
of  the  residences  of  the  kings,  and  the  chief 
treasury  of  the  kingdom.  It  was  situated 
between  the  Choaspes  and  the  Coprates  rivers 
in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  the  Per- 
sian dominions.  The  city  was  walled  after 
the  manner  of  Babylon,  and  had  a  circum- 
ference of  twenty  miles.  It  was  founded  by 
Tithonus,  the  father  of  Memnon,  and  became 
noted  at  an  early  day  for  its  splendor  and 
wealth.  Here  it  was,  in  B.  C.  325,  that 
Alexander  the  Great  celebrated  his  marriage 
with  Parysatis,  using  the  treasures  of  the  city 
with  a  liberal  hand  in  honor  of  his  nuptials. 

^  The  Hebrew  word  shushan,  from  which  Susa 
is  derived,  means  a  lily. 


PERSIA.— PEOPLE  AND  CITIES. 


317 


It  is  only  in  recent  times  that  antiquai'ies 
have  succeeded  in  establishing  beyond  ques- 
tion   the    site    of    the   ancient   capital. 

The  most  important  cities  of  Asia  Minor 
were  Ephesus,  Sardis,  and  Miletus.  The  last 
named  was  the  capital  of  the  province  of 
Caria,  and  was,  in  the  times  of  the  Hellenic 
ascendency,  a  member  of  the  Ionian  confed- 
eracy. The  town  was  situated  on  a  headland 
or  promontory  opposite  Mycale,  and  com- 
manded the  bay,  into  which  flowed  the  river 
Meander.  The  builders  of  the  city  wei-e 
Cariaus  and  Cretans.  The  leader  of  the  latter 
Avas  named  Miletus,  and  from  him  the  town 
took  its  appellation.  At  a  later  date  num- 
bers of  Greek  traders  and  colonists  settled  in 
the  place  and  gave  it  its  commercial  im- 
portance.    Perhaps  no 

other  city  on  the  shores .    _ 

of  the  JEgean  carried 
its  trade  and  settle- 
ments so  far  or  pros- 
pered so  greatly  as  did 
Miletus.  It  became  the 
envy  of  surrounding 
nations.  The  Lydians 
twice  made  unsuccess- 
ful war  upon  this  mar- 
itime metropolis,  and 
not  until  Croesus  led 
his  army  against  it  did 

the  stronghold  succumb.  Then  for  a  brief 
space  the  city  was  a  Lydian  trophy,  until 
Cyrus  came  into  the  West  and  swept  all  within 
his  grasp. 

The  city  of  Sardis,  capital  of  Lydia,  was 
situated  on  the  river  Pactolus,  near  the  con- 
fluence of  that  stream  and  the  Hermus, 
about  forty-five  miles  east  from  Smyrna.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  West- 
ern Asia.  The  name  is  mythological,  and  is 
thought  to  have  been  given  in  honor  of  the 
Syrian  Sun-god.  The  city  was  already  famous 
at  the  time  of  the  composition  of  the  Homeric 
poems,  in  which  there  are  many  references  to 
the  Lydians  and  their  capital.  The  site  was 
specially  favorable  to  the  foundation  of  a 
city.  Here,  from  the  hills  of  Mount  Tmolus 
and  Mount  Sipylus,  the  river  brings  down  its 
sands   of   gold.     From  no  other  place  in  all 


Asia  could  the  precious  dust  be  so  easily  and 
plentifully  gathered.  In  the  time  of-  Croesus, 
Sardis  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  richest  cit- 
ies in  the  world,  and  her  fame  has  been  coex- 
tensive with  history.  The  site  is  marked  at 
the  present  day  only  by  a  few  ruins,  of  which 
the  most  important  are  the  still-standing  walls 
of  the  ancient  acropolis  and  the  remains  of  a 
great  amphitheater,  cut  partly  in  the  side  of 
a  hill. 

Ephesus,  like  Miletus,  was  a  member  of 
the  Ionian  confederacy.  It  was  situated  near 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Cayster,  and  was  said 
to  have  been  founded  by  the  Amazons.  From 
a  very  early  date  it  was  a  place  of  great  pros- 
perity. In  the  way  of  fame  it  claimed  to  be 
the  birthplace  of  Homer.     More  substantial 


MILETUS. 

was  the  distinction  of  the  Ephesians  in  claim- 
ing Heraclitus,  Hermodorus,  and  Parrhasius, 
all  of  whom  were  born  in  this  city.  The 
tutelary  divinity  of  the  place  was  Diana, 
whose  great  temple  was  one  of  the  Seven 
Wonders  of  the  World.  It  was  enlarged  and 
restored  on  seven  different  occasions,  the  ex- 
pense being  met  by  contributions  from  all 
Asia.  On  the  night  of  the  birth  of  Alexan- 
der the  Great  a  certain  slave,  named  Erostra- 
tus,  in  order  to  immortalize  himself  by  per- 
petrating a  capricious  crime,  set  fire  to  the 
magnificent  structure,  and  it  was  burned  to 
the  ground.  When  Alexander  was  grown  to 
years  he  oflTered  to  rebuild  the  temple  on  con- 
dition of  receiving  its  name,  but  this  was 
refused,  and  the  Ephesians  themselves  under- 
took the  task  of  restoration,  which  was  not 
comnleted  for  two  hundred  and  twenty  years. 


318 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  temple  of  Diana  was  the  chief  glory 
of  the  city.  The  style  was  Grecian.  The 
length  of  the  ground-plan  was  four  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  and  the  bi'eadth  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet.  The  structure  w^as 
thus  four  times  as  large  as  the  Parthenon  at 
Athens.  The  statue  of  the  goddess  was  one 
of  the  finest  works  of  art  ever  produced.  It 
was  wrought  of  ivory  and  gold,  and  was  a 
marvel  of  costliness  and  beauty.  The  temple 
was  decorated   with  sculptures  by  Praxiteles 


TEMPLE  OF  DIANA  AT  EPIJESUS,   EESTOEED. 


and  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  Apelles.  A 
representation  of  the  temple  was  stamped  on 
the  coins  and  medals  of  the  city.  Next 
among  the  wonders  of  Ephesus  was  the  great 
theater,  of  which  a  good  portion  has  been 
exhumed,  and  is  still  well  preserved.  It  was 
a  vast  circle  of  stone  rising  seat  on  seat,  until 
the  capacity  was  sufficient  to  accommodate 
fifty  thousand  persons. 

In  the  course  of  the  preceding  Histories  of 
Egypt,  Chaldeea,  Assyria,  Media,  Babylonia, 
and  in  the  present  Book  on  Persia,  a  pretty 
full  delineation  of  the  race-character  of  the 


peoples  of  Western  Asia  and  the  northern 
parts  of  Africa  has  been  attempted.  Sketches 
of  considerable  length  have  also  been  pre- 
sented of  those  fundamental  facts  in  geogra- 
phy and  climate  upon  which  the  dispositions 
and  genius  of  nations  are  so  largely  based. 
A  summary  of  the  prevalent  animals  and 
plants  and  fruits  of  the  various  countries  has 
been  given  to  the  end  that  a  just  estimate 
may  be  made  of  the  means  of  subsistence  and 
the  manner  of  life  in  those  ancient  times  when 

the  relations  of 
man  with  the  ani- 
mal kingdom  were 
so  much  more  im- 
portant than  they 
are  to-day.  De- 
scriptions also  have 
been  presented  — 
some  brief,  some 
more  ample  —  of 
the  leading  cities 
of  antiquity,  those 
vast  aggregations 
of  humanity  which, 
in  the  absence  of 
a  vigorous  and  in- 
telligent country 
populace,  really 
constituted  the  an- 
cient state.  It  will 
not,  therefore,  be  necessary  hereafter  to  refer 
so  often  or  so  extensively  to  the  above-men- 
tioned primary  facts  in  civilization,  but  rather 
to  give  a  larger  relative  importance  to  the 
actual  movements  of  human  society,  taking  it 
for  granted  that  the  ethnic,  geographical,  and 
climatic  conditions  and  surroundings  of  the 
people  under  review  are  sufficiently  under- 
stood. In  entering  upon  the  history  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  it  will  again  be  desirable 
to  note  the  external  conditions  by  which  these 
peoples  and  the  other  races  of  Europe  have 
been  affected  in  habits,  manners,  and  deeds. 


PERSIA.— ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 


819 


CHAPTER   XXIX.— ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


IMONG  the  peoples  of 
Western  Asia,  the  Per- 
sians, after  the  Babylo- 
nians and  the  Ninevites, 
stand  first  in  architectural 
skill.  For  a  long  time 
their  merits  remained  un- 
noticed or  unacknowledged.  The  remote  geo- 
graphical position  of  Persia,  lyiug  beyond  the 
Zagros,  prevented  the  Greek  traders  and  his- 
torians from  obtaining  personal  information 
respecting  the  artistic  achievements  of  the 
subjects  of  Cyrus  and  Cambyses.  Nor,  is  it 
unlikely  that  at  a  later  date,  when  in  the 
times  of  Alexander  a  better  knowledge  of  the 
architecture  and  sculpture  of  the  Persians  be- 
came diffused  in  the  West,  there  was  a  twinge 
of  jealousy  in  the  Greek  writers  when  they 
came  to  speak  of  works  that  might  rival  those 
of  their  own  country.  Neither  Herodotus  nor 
Xenophon  ever  visited  Persia,  and  the  refer- 
ences to  architecture  made  by  Ctesias,  who 
dwelt  for  seventeen  years  at  the  court  of  Susa, 
are  few  and  meager.  At  the  time  of  the 
overthrow  of  the  Empire  by  the  Macedonians, 
the  wrath  of  Alexander  was  loosed  against 
the  palaces  and  cities  of  his  foes,  and  the 
pride  of  the  laud  was  in  a  great  measure  ex- 
tinguished by  the  fagot.  Nevertheless,  the 
ruins  that  were  left  behind  and  the  occasional 
accounts  of  the  Greek  authors  have  furnished 
sufficient  data  from  which  to  derive  a  tolerable 
notion  of  Persian  art  at  the  epoch  of  the  Achae- 
menians.  Indeed,  in  modern  times  more  at- 
tention has  been  given  by  travelers  and  anti- 
quarians to  the  remains  of  Persepolis  than  to 
those  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh. 

As  in  most  of  the  ancient  kingdoms,  so  in 
Persia,  the  grandest  display  of  architectural 
skill  was  in  the  construction  and  decoration 
of  royal  palaces.  Owing  to  the  purer  and 
simpler  religious  doctrines  of  the  Persians, 
their  temples  were  relatively  less  grand  and 
less  numerous  than  those  of  the  Mesopotamian 

nations  and  the  Egyptians.    After  the  palaces, 
N. — Vol.  I — 20 


the  most  striking  works  of  the  Empire  were 
the  tombs  which  the  great  kings,  with  feelings, 
no  doubt,  akin  to  those  of  the  Pharaohs, 
built  for  their  final  abodes.  It  is,  then,  to  the 
houses  of  the  kings — living  and  dead — that 
we  must  turn  for  our  knowledge  of  the  style 
and  character  of  the  building  arts  of  the 
Persians. 

There  are  in  Persia  Proper  the  remains  of 
two  great  palaces.  One  stood  within  the 
walls  of  Persepolis,  and  the  other  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  city.  The  latter, 
which  was  the  great  edifice  to  which  the  torch 
was  a2:)plied  by  the  orders  of  Alexander,  is  the 
best  preserved  ruin  in  the  country,  and  is  in 
its  present  state  sufficient,  under  careful  ex- 
amination, to  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  original 
edifice.  It  is  built  on  a  raised  platform,  after 
the  manner  prevalent  in  Assyria  and  Baby- 
lonia. The  exact  philosophy  of  such  a  method 
has  never  been  ascertained.  Perhaps  the  ideal 
consideration  was  merely  the  elevation  of  the 
king's  house  to  a  level  from  which  the 
monarch  might  look  down  on  his  people. 
There  were  also  certain  physical  advantages 
to  be  gained  from  the  high  situation.  In 
those  countries  where  the  summer  heats  were 
excessive,  the  king's  halls  would  have  a  cooler 
breeze  than  in  the  plain.  Thfe  elevated  posi- 
tion was  also  more  defensible.  In  some  coun- 
tries, as  in  Babylonia,  there  were  many  ills 
and  pests  which  were  avoided  in  a  measure 
on  the  high  platform  Avhere  stood  the  house 
of  the  king.  Here  the  miasm  of  the  lowlands 
was  not  felt.  Here  the  insects  and  vermin 
which  plagued  the  people  of  less  favored  situ- 
ations were  kept  at  bay  by  the  perpendicular — 
sometimes  jutting — walls  and  solid  masonry 
of  the  basement. 

The  platform  of  the  great  palace  just  out- 
side of  Persepolis  was  built  of  massive  blocks 
of  hewn  stone.  These  were  held  together  by 
strong  clamps  of  iron.  The  blocks  were  pur- 
posely cut  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  and 
were  fitted  together  according  to  a  plan  which 


320 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


contemplated  strength  and  solidity.  The  out- 
side of  the  wall,  which  was  in  the  lowest  part 
twenty  feet  in  height,  was  smooth  and  per- 
pendicular. The  ground  plan  was  a  rectangle, 
the  dimensions  of  which  have  been  given  in 
the  preceding  chapter.^  On  the  north  side, 
however,  the  native  rock  of  the  mountain 
spur,  against  which  the  platform  abuts,  was 
used  as  a  part  of  the  substructure,  and  this 
end  of  the  wall  is  set  at  an  angle  to  the  other 
sides  of  eighty  degrees  instead  of  the  right 
angle,  which  measures  the  remaining  corners. 
The  surface  of  the  wall  is  purposely  broken 
at  intervals  with  certain  angular  projections 
and  recesses,  after  the  same  style  noticed  in 
the  basement  stories  of  the  palaces  at  Baby- 
lon and  Nineveh. 

The  platform  consists  of  a  series  of  terraces, 
three  of  which  ai*e  still  seen.  The  lowest  of 
these  is  on  the  south  side.  It  has  an 
elevation  of  twenty  feet,  is  eight  hundred 
feet  in  length  and  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  wide.  The  northern  terrace  has  much 
greater  dimensions,  being  thirty-five  feet  high, 
and  having  a  breadth  of  about  five  hundred 
and  fifty  feet.  The  central  terrace  is  still 
more  grand,  being  forty-five  feet  in  height. 
The  length  and  lireadth,  however,  are  no 
greater  than  that  of  the  northern  elevation, 
being  respectively  seven  hundred  and  seventy 
and  four  hundred  feet.  It  was  uptm  this  cen- 
tral terrace  that  the  palace  proper  was  reared. 

The  ascent  to  the  great  platform  was  made 
by  a  system  of  staircases  so  massive  and  grand 
as  to  excite  just  wonder,  even  at  the  present. 
The  broadest  and  noblest  of  these  ascents  is 
on  the  west  side  of  the  elevation  near  its 
northern  end.  The  stairs  composing  the  flight 
are  of  solid  stone.  They  are  of  two  sets,  and 
are  built  at  right-angles  to  the  wall  of  the 
platform.  At  the  first  landing  they  diverge 
to  the  right  and  left,  and  then  converge  to  a 
common  lauding  on  the  upper  level.  The 
steps  are  very  broad  and  low,  being  no  more 
than  three  or  four  inches  in  height.  Modern 
travelers  ride  up  and  down  them  without  dif- 
ficulty, the  breadth  of  the  flight  being  suffi- 
cient to  allow  of  ten  horsemen  abreast.  The 
ancient  world  has  bequeathed  to  the  modern 

1  See  Book  Sixth,  p.  316. 


no  other  example  of  a  stairway  so  massive,  so 
simple,  so  grand,  so  enduring. 

The  second  ascent  is  on  the  north  front  of 
the  second  terrace  leading  to  the  summit.  It 
consists  of  four  flights  of  steps,  two  of  them 
being  central,  and  the  other  two  distant  about 
sixty  feet  on  either  side.  The  width  of  this 
second  flight  is  sixteen  feet,  and  the  entire 
length  of  the  staircase  two  hundred  and  twelve 
feet.  Tne  ascent  is  as  gentle  as  in  the  flight 
on  the  Avestern  front  of  the  lower  platform 
described  above,  the  elevation  being  at  the 
rate  of  thirty-one  steps  in  ten  feet,  or  a  little 
less  than  four  inches  to  the  step. 

The  chief  difference  between  the  two  stair- 
cases is  that  the  lower  one  on  the  west  is  per- 
fectly plain,  being  composed  of  broad  slabs  of 
hewn  stone  laid  with  a  solidity  of  adjustment 
which  time  has  been  unable  to  disturb.  The 
faces  of  the  second  stairway,  however,  are 
covered  with  sculptures,  the  most  interesting 
of  any  found  among  the  relics  of  Persian 
greatness.  One  of  the  chief  of  these  works 
is  a  relief  of  a  lion  devouring  a  bull,  the  fig- 
ures being  executed  with  great  spirit.  At  the 
observer's  left  as  he  ascends  the  steps  are 
eight  colossal  Persian  guards,  who  stand  sentry 
over  the  approach  to  their  royal  master. 
They  are  armed  with  spear  and  sword  and 
shield,  and  are  executed  in  a  style  worthy  of 
the  chisels  of  Greece.  Another  row  of  smaller 
figures,  carrying  the  bow  and  quiver,  stand  in 
another  part  of  the  ascent,  and  though  less 
striking  are  equally  artistic.  Further  on,  the 
wall  was  divided  into  three  horizontal  bands, 
each  of  which  was  occupied  with  an  array 
of  figures.  Those  in  the  upper  band  are 
nearly  destroyed,  but  in  the  lower  two  divis- 
ions the  sense  of  the  work  can  be  easily  made 
out.  In  the  middle  baud  a  large  number  of 
subject  peoples  are  bringing  (by  their  repre- 
sentatives) their  tril)ute  to  the  great  king; 
while  in  the  lower  band  the  courtiers  and 
officers  of  the  monarch,  arranged  in  rank  ac- 
cording to  their  several  dignities,  are  conduct- 
ing the  ceremonial  of  the  court.  In  three 
different  parts  of  the  stairway  slabs  are  left 
for  the  evident  purpose  of  receiving  inscrip- 
tions, and  on  one  of  these,  written  in  Old 
Persian,  ire  the  following  memorable  words: 


PERSIA.— ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 


321 


"Xerxes,  the  Great  King,  the  King  of 
Kings,  the  son  of  King  Darius,  the  Ach- 
iEMENiAN."  Thus  is  removed  all  doubt  as  to 
whose  royal  halls  opened  at  the  landing  of 
these  stairs,  or  under  whose  auspices  the  great 
palace  was  reared. 

On  the  top  of  the  terraces  are  the  ruins  of 
what  were  once  the  most  splendid  edifices  in 
all  Persia.  It  appears  from  the  remains  that 
the  summit  was  not  occupied  by  one  continu- 
ous palace  of  great  proportions,  like  the 
Louvre,  but  that  no  fewer  than  ten  separate 
and  distinct  buildings  were  erected  on  the 
platform.  One-half  of  these  were  structures 
of  large  dimensions,  and  the  remaining  five 
of  but  moderate  size  and  importance.  Four 
of  the  larger  buildings  were  upon  the  summit 
of  the  central  terrace,  while  the  fifth  of  the 
first  class  stood  at  some  distance  between  that 
elevation  and  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Of  the 
four  structures  on  the  central  platform  three 
were  palaces  consisting  of  sets  of  chambers 
and  apartments  suitable  for  the  royal  resi- 
dence, but  the  fourth  was  an  open  Hall  of 
Pillars  of  great  extent  and  beauty,  designed, 
as  is  believed  by  antiquarians,  for  the  Audi- 
ence Hall  of  the  kings.  The  three  palaces 
were  the  abodes  of  Darius,  Xerxes,  and  Ar- 
taxerxes-Ochus,  by  whose  architects  they  were 
no  doubt  respectively  built.  The  House  of 
Darius  stood  near  the  western  edge  of  the  ele- 
vation, between  the  Hall  of  Audience  and 
the  House  of  Artaxerxes.  The  ground-plan 
measured  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  in 
length  and  about  one  hundred  feet  in  breadth. 
It  was  the  most  elevated  of  all  the  buildings 
on  the  terrace,  having  the  foundation  fifteen 
feet  higher  than  the  level  of  the  platform  and 
five  feet  higher  than  the  floor  of  the  House 
of  Xerxes.  This  difference  in  elevation,  how- 
ever, was  perhaps  more  than  compensated  by 
the  greater  height  of  the  buildings  bearing  the 
names  of  the  later  kings.  The  House  of  Da- 
rius is  believed  to  have  been  but  one  story 
high,  and  to  have  measured  in  altitude  no 
more  than  twenty-five  feet.  The  whole  build- 
ing was  comparatively  simple,  suggesting  in 
design  and  execution  the  severe  work  of  the 
early  architects  of  Greece.  The  sculptured 
stairway  was  the  most  ornamental  part  of  the 


edifice,  the  other  parts  being  nearly  devoid  of 
decorations.  By  comparison  the  palace  was 
of  much  less  dimensions  than  those  built  by 
the  kings  of  Nineveh :  it  was  the  chaste  solid- 
ity and  classic  execution  of  the  work  rather 
than  the  size  of  the  structure  that  gave  fame 
to  the  edifice  in  which  Darius  planned  the 
subjugation  of  the  Greeks. 

The  remaining  two  palaces,  those  of  Xerxes 
and  Axtaxerxes-Ochus,  were  larger  and  more 
elaborate.  The  latter  is  a  complete  ruin,  inso- 
much that  no  adequate  idea  of  its  style  and 
details  can  be  obtained.  The  former  is  still 
preserved  in  outline,  from  which  it  is  known 
to  have  been  a  reproduction  of  the  architec- 
ture of  the  palace  of  Darius.  The  great  hall 
in  this  edifice  was  eighty  feet  square.  In  the 
portico  were  two  rows  of  pillars,  six  in  a  row. 
Around  the  hall  were  the  royal  apartments  in 
which  the  king  and  his.  household  and  officers 
had  their  abodes.  These  apartments  were — 
unlike  those  of  the  Babylonian  palaces — 
roofed  over,  the  roofs  being  supported  by 
rows  of  columns.  The  whole  structure  was 
thrown  back  to  the  rear  edge  of  the  terrace,  so 
that  the  open  space,  instead  of  being  distrib- 
uted around  the  building,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  palace  of  Darius,  was  all  thrown  to  the 
front.  In  the  matter  of  ornamentation,  as 
determined  from  the  sculptures  of  the  stair- 
ways, there  is  a  marked  change  in  taste  from 
the  style  of  the  older  buildings.  In  the  halls 
and  passages  of  the  House  of  Xerxes  the  fig- 
ures, instead  of  representing  heroic  combats, 
in  which  bulls  and  lions  and  the  king  himself 
are  seen  struggling  for  the  mastery,  depict 
the  attendants  of  the  monarch  bearing  viands 
and  passing  to  and  fro  in  such  service  as 
clearly  belonged  to  a  luxurious  and  sensual 
court. 

In  addition  to  the  main  buildings  which 
crowned  the  great  platform,  it  supported  four 
gateways,  which  covered  the  approaches  to  the 
various  palaces.  It  appears  that  these  were  a 
kiud  of  guard  stations,  where  sentries  were 
posted  to  hold  at  bay  any  who  might  unduly 
come  into  the  presence  of  the  king.  The 
largest  one  of  these  gateways  stood  opposite 
the  center  of  the  landing-place  before  the 
main  stairway  which  led  to  the  summit  of  the 


322 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


platform.  The  structure  was  a  great  square, 
measuring  eighty-two  feet  on  each  side.  The 
walls  were  of  enormous  thickness,  the  roof 
supported  by  columns  sixty  feet  in  height. 
There  were  two  portals  through  which  passage 
must  be  sought  to  the  space  beyond,  and  these 
were  thirty-five  feet  high  and  twelve  feet  in 
breadth.  The  portals  were  guarded  without 
by  colossal  bulls,  some  of  them  having  the 
heads  of  men  and  the  wings  of  eagles,  after 
the  style  prevalent  in  Assyria.  The  massive 
pillars  of  masonry  in  which  these  marvelous 
effigies  are  carved  are  still  in  a  tolerable  state 
of  preservation,  and  the  mythological  mon- 
sters look  out  in  solemn  silence  over  the  ruins 
of  former  glory. 

It  remains  to  notice  briefly  the  two  great 
pillared  halls,  which  have  been  pronounced  by 
competent  judges  to  be  the  most  marvelous 
pieces  of  architecture  ever  Avrought  by  artists 
of  the  Aryan  race  in  Asia.  The  first,  known 
as  the  Hall  of  a  Hundred  Columns,  was  situ- 
ated about  the  center  of  the  great  platform, 
rather  nearer  to  the  eastern  than  to  the  west- 
ern edge.  Here  a  grand  square,  two  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  feet  on  each  side,  was  laid 
off*  and  inclosed  with  a  tremendous  wall  of 
the  uniform  thickness  of  ten  and  a  half  feet. 
The  whole  space  was  covered  over,  the  roof 
being  supported  by  a  hundred  columns  set  in 
ten  rows  of  ten  columns  each.  Each  of  the 
four  walls  was  pierced  with  two  grand  door- 
ways, which  stood  facing  the  corresponding 
openings  on  the  opposite  side,  the  passage 
through  leading  between  rows  of  columns  on 
the  right  and  left.  In  front  of  the  main 
structure  was  a  portico  one  hundred  and 
eighty-three  feet  long  by  fifty-two  feet  in 
depth,  the  roof  being  supported  by  sixteen 
pillars,  thirty-five  feet  in  height.  Between 
the  portico  and  the  main  hall  were  three  win- 
dows, and  in  the  remaining  three  sides  of  the 
square  the  walls  contained  niches,  finished 
above  with  a  peculiar  style  of  fluted  orna- 
mentation. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Hall  of  a  Hundred 
Columns  was  a  place  of  public  ceremonies. 
All  of  the  sculptures  and  decorations  are  o£a 
sort  to  warrant  this  conclusion.  It  was  not  a 
place   for  couches  and  banquets  and   for  the 


idle  displays  of  courtiers,  but  for  the  formal 
dispatch  of  the  important  aflTairs  of  the  Em- 
pire. The  Achsemenian  kings  were  not  merely 
oriental  figure-heads,  but  energetic  rulers, 
who  gave  their  first  hours  to  business  and  the 
rest  to  relaxation,  perhaps  to  luxury.  The 
representations  on  the  walls  of  the  great  hall 
show  the  monarch  in  a  victorious  struggle 
against  some  monster,  real  or  fabulous,  or 
else  sitting  in  state,  dispensing  orders  or  re- 
ceiving ambassadors  from  foreign  lands.  In 
such  scenes  he  occupies  the  throne,  over 
which  is  spread  a  canopy.  He  wears  the 
crown,  and  in  his  right  hand  bears  the  golden 
scepter.  Five  dignitaries  of  the  Empire 
stand  near  by,  and  on  a  lower  level  at  a  dis- 
tance are  fifty  armed  guardsmen,  standing  in 
files  of  ten,  bearing  swords  and  bows  and 
quivers.  On  another  portal  a  throne  still  more 
elaborate  is  represented.  It  is  on  a  raised 
dais  of  three  stages,  the  successive  platforms 
being  supported  by  a  series  of  sculptured  fig- 
ures. These  apparently  represent  the  natives 
of  the  various  provinces  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Persians.  The  various  costumes  are  as 
widely  different  as  the  person  and  features  of 
the  wearers.  Doubtless  these  throne  scenes, 
looking  down  silently  from  the  doors  and 
panels  of  the  great  hall,  were  an  actual 
transcrijjt  of  what  was  witnessed  almost  con- 
stantly in  the  great  pillared  rectangle,  where 
the  Majesty  of  Persia  sat  and  dispensed  his 
edicts  to  the  nations. 

On  a  different  part  of  the  great  platform 
are  the  ruins  of  another  edifice,  still  more 
wonderful  than  the  Hall  of  a  Hundred  Col- 
umns. This  was  the  structure  known  as  the 
Chehl  Minar,  or  Great  Hall  of  Audience. 
The  space  covered  by  this  building  was  three 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  and  two 
hundred  and  forty-six  feet  in  breadth.  Like 
the  Hall  of  a  Hundred  Columns,  it  was  a 
structure  the  vast  roof  of  which  was  supported 
by  a  system  of  pillars,  which  in  grandeur  and 
beauty  surpassed  any  thing  in  the  ancient 
world,  excepting  only  the  columnar  wonders 
of  Egypt  and  Greece.  The  main  square  in 
the  Hall  of  Audience  consisted  of  a  space  of 
twenty  thousand  square  feet,  occupied  by 
thirty-six  pillars,  arranged  in  rows  of  six.    On 


PERSIA.— AETS  AND  SCIENCES. 


323 


three  of  the  sides  of  this  principal  space  were 
magnificent  porticoes,  each  being  one  hundred 
and  forty-two  feet  long  by  thirty  feet  in 
breadth.  The  structure  of  these  was  also  co- 
lumnar, each  porch  being  supported  by  twelve 
pillars,  placed  in  rows  of  six,  to  correspond 
with  those  of  the  main  edifice.  The  seventy- 
two  columns,  thirty-six  of  which  stood  in  the 
principal  square  and  the  remainder  in  the 
porticoes,  were  all  sixty-four  feet  in  height. 
Many  of  them  are  still  erect,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  displaced  capitals,  present,  after 
the  dilapidations  of  twenty-two  hundred  years, 
almost  the  original  appearance.  The  capitals 
are  of  two  varieties.  The  first  style  consists 
of  two  half-griffins  facing  in  opposite  direc- 
tions, or  of  two  bull's  heads  arranged  in  the 
same  manner.  The  other  style  is  more  com- 
plex, consisting  of  three  parts.  The  first,  which 
rests  on  the  head  of  the  column,  is  a  lotus-bud ; 
the  second,  a  system  of  volutes,  set  perpendic- 
ularly; and  the  third  the  bull's-head  cap  already 
described.  The  bases  of  the  pillars  are  bell- 
shaped,  and  are  for  beauty  unsurpassed  by 
any  in  the  world.  The  ornamentation  consists 
of  a  system  of  lotus-leaves  depending.  The 
columns  themselves  taper  gently  to  the  top, 
and  are  fluted  through  their  entire  length, 
the  number  of  flutings  being  forty-eight  or 
fifty-two  in  each  pillar.  The  entablature  and 
the  grand  roof  overhead  have  fallen  into  in- 
distinguishable ruin. — Such  were  the  magnifi- 
cent structures  which  once  crowned  the  sum- 
mit of  the  great  platform  of  Persepolis. 

The  other  palaces,  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made,  were  found  at  Pasargads, 
the  ancient  capital,  at  the  city  of  Istakr,  and 
at  Susa.  Pasargadse  was  the  city  of  Cyrus 
the  Great,  and  nearly  all  the  ruins  discovered 
at  that  place  (now  the  town  of  Murgab)  per- 
petuate in  some  way  his  name  and  deeds. 
The  monuments  found  here  are  the  most 
ancient  in  all  Persia,  and  represent  the  begin- 
nings of  that  style  of  palatial  structure  which 
gained  its  full  development  at  Persepolis. 
The  largest  single  ruin  at  Pasargadse  presents 
a  ground  plan  one  hundred  and  forty-seven 
feet  in  length  and  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
feet  in  width.  This  space  was  surrounded  by 
a  massive  wall,  in  the  four  sides  of  which  were 


huge  stone  doors.  On  the  facing  of  each 
portal  is  this  legend:  "I  am  Cyrus,  tele 
King,  the  Ach^menian."  The  buUding 
within  the  inclosure  was  columnar,  though  all 
of  the  pillars,  except  a  single  one,  have  fallen. 
This  remaining  shaft  has  a  height  of  thirty- 
six  feet.  It  is  a  column  perfectly  plain,  with 
a  diameter  of  three  feet  and  four  inches  at 
the  base.  The  stumps  of  seven  of  the  other 
pillars  remain  on  the  pavement,  and  these  are 
arranged  in  rows  so  as  to  indicate  an  oblong 
structure.  In  a  smaller  building  of  similar 
style,  found  at  no  great  distance,  the  bases  of 
twelve  columns  have  been  found  as  they  Avere 
originally  placed.  Besides  these  ruins  the 
remains  of  a  square  tower  have  been  found 
at  Murgab.  The  structure  is  of  hewn  stone, 
built  with  great  solidity,  having  projecting 
corners  and  a  height  of  forty-two  feet.  Not 
far  distant  is  a  fourth  and  last  foundation, 
composed  of  solid  stone  carefully  dressed  and 
laid  immovably  in  horizontal  courses.  Some 
of  the  facing  stones  are  as  much  as  ten  feet 
in  length,  and  are  put  into  place  with  artistic 
exactness.  The  structure  is  said  by  antiqua- 
rians to  bear  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  the 
basement  of  the  Jewish  temple  at  Jerusalem. 
At  the  town  of  Istakr  have  been  discov- 
ered the  remains  of  a  ruined  palace,  dating 
back  to  the  times  of  the  Achsemenians.  The 
ground  plan  of  the  edifice  has  not  been  deter- 
mined. '  One  standing  column  and  the  bases 
of  eight  others  have  been  found  in  their  orig- 
inal places.  Parts  of  the  walls  have  also  been 
traced  by  the  curious  and  certain  features  of 
the  building  made  out  with  sufficient  clearness 
to  show  that  the  palace  was  in  its  architecture 
of  a  later  date  than  the  edifices  of  Pasargadse. 
The  fluted  columns,  massive  portals,  and  thick 
walls  are  more  like  those  of  Persepolis  than 
those  of  the  ancient  capital. 

The  great  palace  at  Susa,  one  of  the  resi- 
dences of  the  Persian  kings,  was  built  by 
Darius  Hystaspis  and  afterwards  restored  by 
Artaxerxes  Longimanus.  The  site  selected 
was  the  old  rectangular  platform  of  unburnt 
bricks,  which  from  the  earliest  times  had  sup- 
ported the  royal  abodes  of  the  kings  of 
Susiana.  The  view  from  this  summit  was  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  to  be  had  in  the  Empire. 


324 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  palace  front  was  to  the  north-west,  look- 
ing to  the  distant  mountains  of  Luristan. 
The  royal  edifice  erected  here  by  Darius  was, 
so  far  as  has  been  determined  by  the  few 
remains  and  by  the  references  of  the  Greek 
historians,  almost  an  exact  duplicate  of  the 
palace  of  Persepolis:  a  description  of  the  one 
will  answer  for  the  other. 

As  already  said,  the  architectural  works 
of  the  Persians  which,  next  after  their  pal- 
aces, have  been  considered  most  worthy  of 
note  were  the  tombs  of  the  kings.  Eight  of 
these  royal  sepulchers  have  been  examined. 
They  are  found  to  be  of  two  kinds;  the  one 
being  a  structure  built  in  an  open  space,  and 
the  other  an  ornamented  chamber  carved  in 


TOMB  OF  CYRUS. 


the  native  rock  of  the  hillside.  By  far  the 
most  conspicuous  work  of  the  first  class  is  the 
celebrated  tomb  of  Cyrus.  It  is  situated  near 
Pasargadse  in  a  rectangular  area  now  covered 
with  broken  pillars,  of  which  there  were 
originally  twenty-four.  The  tomb  proper  con- 
sists of  a  basement  of  marble  in  the  form  of 
a  pyramid.  The  lower  layer  of  slabs  measures 
on  one  side  forty-seven  and  on  the  other  forty- 
three  feet.  The  pyramid  rises  to  the  summit 
in  seven  contracted  squares,  the  upper  area 
measuring  over  twenty  feet  on  each  side. 
Upon  the  platform  thus  formed  was  reared  a 
marble  chamber  almost  exactly  the  shape  of 
a  common  house  of  to-day,  having  a  double 
sloping  roof  of  marble  slabs.  The  door  was 
in  the  middle  of  the  end.  The  inner  cell  or 
tomb  was  eleven  feet  in  length  by  seven  feet 


in  each  of  its  other  dimensions.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  within  this  marble  crypt,  in 
a  coflfin  of  gold,  the  founder  of  the  Persian 
Empire  was  laid  in  his  last  resting-place. 

The  rock-tombs — those  carved  in  the  hill- 
sides— are  more  elaborate  by  far  than  the  one 
just  described.  Four  of  this  kind  have  beep 
discovered  in  the  face  of  the  mountains  skirt- 
ing the  valley  of  the  Pulwar,  and  three  have 
been  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Persepolis.  The 
hill-front  selected  by  the  builders  was  first 
hewn  to  a  smooth  surface.  This  was  then 
divided  into  three  horizontal  sections,  the  cen- 
tral one  being  much  broader  than  the  lower 
and  upper  ones.  The  lower  section  remained 
without  ornamentation,  being  simply  hewn 
plain  with  definite  outlines.  The 
middle  section,  corresponding  to  the 
transverse  arm  of  a  Greek  cross,  con- 
tained the  tomb  proper.  The  front 
of  this  section  was  adorned  with  a 
row  of  columns,  between  which  the 
Btoue  was  cut  away,  forming  cham- 
bers in  the  hill.  In  the  center  a 
deeper  recess  was  carved,  intended 
to  receive  the  body  of  the  dead.  The 
upper  section  was  highly  ornamented, 
being  a  kind  of  architrave  covered 
with  allegorical  figures,  and  generally 
representing  in  its  upper  part  the  king 
himself  in  the  act  of  worshiping 
Ormazd.  Such  is  the  character  of 
the  great  tomb  of  Darius  Hystaspis,  near 
Persepolis. 

A  short  distance  from  this  royal  burying- 
ground  stood  an  edifice  the  meaning  of  which 
has  not  been  determined.  This  is  a  square 
tower,  built  of  blocks  of  marble.  The  height 
of  the  building  is  thirty-six  feet.  The  ground- 
plan  is  a  square,  measuring  twenty-four  feet 
on  each  side.  The  corners  were  ornamented 
with  pilasters,  and  the  faces  with  niches.  In 
the  middle  of  the  north  side  was  a  doorway 
looking  towards  the  tombs.  The  door  leads 
into  a  square  chamber,  which  reaches  from 
the  level  of  the  entrance  to  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  is  covered  with  a  roof. 

Taken  all  in  all,  the  architecture  of  the 
Persians  was  simple  and  grand.  There  ap- 
pear to   have  been  great  regularity  of  struc- 


PERSIA.— ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 


325 


ture  and  harmony  of  design.  The  general 
effect  was  heightened  by  the  elevation  which 
was  attained  by  means  of  the  basement  plat- 
forms. The  columnar  feature  of  the  great 
buildings  added  a  beauty  hardly  surpassed  by 
the  temples  of  Greece.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Persian  buildings — though  the  fiiult  was 
not  as  conspicuous  as  in  those  of  Babylonia — 
were  little  improved  in  appearance  by  0})en- 
ings  in  the  walls,  or  by  any  device  by  which 
surfaces  are  broken  and  their  monotony  re- 
lieved. In  the  way  of  analogy,  the  sculp- 
tures and  other  decorations  of  buildings  were 
like  those  of  Assyria  rather  than  those  of 
Eg}'^t  and  Greece,  though  traces  of  similarity 
may  be  seen  to  the  works  of  the  latter  coun- 
tries. But  for  the  reckless  fury  of  Alexander 
and  his  followers,  much  of  the  architectural 
glory  of  the  Persians  which  now  lies  in  heaps 
of  ruin  would  still  bear  witness  to  the  ambi- 
tion and  genius  of  the  vigorous  j^eople  by 
whom  that  glory  was  achieved. 

In  the  matter  of  Persian  sculpture,  nearly 
every  thing  that  may  be  presented  has  al- 
ready been  said  incidentally  in  connection 
with  their  architecture.  The  work  of  this 
sort  consists  of  figures  carved  in  relief  on 
slabs  of  stone.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  tomb  of  Darius,  described  above,  the 
artist  has  displayed  his  skill  on  the  face  of 
the  natural  rock.  In  every  case,  however, 
the  figures  are  upon  the  surface  of  the  mate- 
rial of  which  they  are  composed.  No  sepa- 
rate piece  of  Persian  statuary  has  been  dis- 
covered. The  colossal  bulls  and  other  effigies 
of  the  sort  which  stand  guard  at  the  entrances 
to  the  palaces  are  but  partially  developed  fig- 
ures, only  the  front  of  the  image  being  raised 
from  the  pillars  in  which  the  body  is  im- 
bedded. Neither  clay  models  nor  metallic 
castings  have  been  found.  No  specimen  of 
Persian  pottery,  no  carving  in  ivory  or  wood, 
has  rewarded  the  curiosity  of  the  antiquary. 
Of  stamped  coins,  however,  great  numbers 
are  in  existence,  and  of  engraved  gems  not  a 
few  have  been  discovered.  The  colossal  bulls, 
some  copied  from  nature  and  some  mytholog- 
ical monsters  having  men's  heads  and  eagles' 
wings,  are  of  a  high  order  of  artistic  merit. 
The  figures  are  grand  and  imposing.     Indeed, 


there  is  about  them  a  certain  sphinx-like  maj' 
esty  suggestive  of  the  great  effigies  of  Egypt. 
There  is  in  these  works  the  sublimity  of  repose 
combined  with  the  beauty  of  strength. 

After  the  winged  bulls  the  next  class  of 
figures  requiring  notice  are  those  of  a  man, 
generally  the  king,  contesting  with  beasts. 
Sometimes  the  antagonist  of  the  royal  person 
is  a  wild  bull ;  sometimes,  a  lion ;  sometimes, 
a  monster  of  mythology.  These  scenes  are 
represented  with  great  spirit  and  truthfulness, 
the  artist  always  being  careful  to  give  the  an- 
ticipation of  victory  to  his  master,  the  king. 
The  third  series  of  sculptures  are  those  rep- 
resenting processions  of  human  figures,  some- 
what like  those  upon  the  architraves  of  Gre- 
cian tem2:)les.  The  persons  depicted  are  the 
courtiers  of  the  king,  a  retinue  of  guards,  a 
file  of  attendants,  or  an  embassy  of  foreigners 
bringing  tribute  and  homage  to  the  great  king. 
The  fourth  kind  of  sculptures  represent  the 
monarch  himself,  either  engaged  in  some 
public  duty  of  the  government  or  in  devo- 
tions to  his  god.  The  fifth  and  last  group 
are  those  representing  animal  figures — notably 
lions  and  bulls — either  singly  or  engaged  in 
combat.  In  scenes  of  the  latter  sort  nature 
is  followed;  for  the  lion  kills  the  bull. 

The  Persian  coins  are  of  great  interest. 
The  designs  are  of  many  varieties  and  subjects. 
Sometimes  the  impression  is  a  simple  medal- 
lion of  the  king,  armed  and  crowned.  On 
one  side  of  some  of  the  coins  the  figures  are 
raised,  and  on  the  other  indented.  The  de- 
sign in  some  cases  is  a  galley;  in  others,  the 
king  driving  his  chariot;  in  others,  a  city. 

Of  the  household  utensils  of  the  Persians 
not  much  is  known.  The  sculptures  represent 
nothing  in  this  line  excej)t  a  few  pieces  of 
royal  furniture.  On  the  walls  of  the  palace 
at  Persepolis  several  censers  are  depicted. 
The  form  of  a  basket  is  also  given,  shaped 
somewhat  like  a  reticule.  Goblets  and  covered 
dishes  are  also  seen  in  the  hands  of  servants 
attending  on  the  banquets.  Those  who  bring 
tribute-money  present  the  same  in  a  kind  of 
bowl  or  basin,  though  these  articles  were  prob- 
ably brought  with  the  tribute  from  some  dis- 
tant province. 

In  the   matter  of  personal  decorations  the 


326 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Persians  seem  to  have  had  the  simple  tastes 
peculiar  to  the  Aryan  race.  The  articles  were 
nearly  all  plain  bands  of  gold.  Such  were 
the  ear-rings,  finger-rings,  and  bracelets.  Col- 
lars were  sometimes  formed  by  twisting  to- 
gether several  bands  of  the  precious  metal, 
but  the  work  displays  not  much  artistic  skill. 
The  hilts  of  swords  were  made  plain,  and 
adapted  merely  to  service,  though  the  shafts 
of  spears  were  sometimes  ornamented  with  a 
knob  representing  an  apple  or  pomegranate. 

In  the  social  and  economic  arts  the  Per- 
sians were  not  celebrated.  In  the  production 
of  fabrics  they  were  greatly  surpassed  by  the 
Babylonians  and  the  Phoenicians.  Nor  was  it 
necessary  that  the  people  of  the  original  king- 


dependent  for  its  finer  fabrics  upon  the  fac- 
tories of  Babylonia  and  Kashmeer  and  Egypt. 
In  scientific  attainments  the  Persians  were 
still  less  distinguished.  The  advance  of  science 
in  any  country  depends  in  a  great  measure 
upon  the  regularity  of  the  recurrence  of  the 
phenomena  of  nature.  In  regions  where 
nature  is  capricious  and  variable  the  apparent 
confusion  and  lawlessness  of  things  perplex 
the  understanding,  and  mythology,  by  ascribing 
a  transcendental  origin  to  things,  better  satisfies 
the  mind  than  natural  science,  which  insists 
on  regularity.  Astronomy,  for  instance,  will 
never  flourish  in  a  land  of  hills  and  forests 
under  a  foggy  atmosphere  and  a  cloudy  sky. 
In   these  natural    conditions    can    be    easily 


ANCIENT  SUSA. 


dom  should  devote  themselves  to  those  indus- 
trial pursuits  which  were  so  assiduously  fol- 
lowed in  the  subject  countries  of  the  Empire. 
The  leadership  of  Western  Asia  was  won  by 
the  swords  of  the  Persian  kings  at  a  time 
when  Bal)ylon,  Tyre,  Sardis,  Borsippa,  Da- 
mascus, and  the  cities  of  India  were  already 
famous  for  their  manufacturing  industries. 
These,  becoming  tributary,  were  glad  to  avert 
the  onsets  of  Persian  armies  by  pouring  their 
treasures  into  Persepolis  and  Ecbatana.  The 
soldiers  of  a  warlike  country  were  not  very 
likely  to  emulate  the  skill  and  industry  of 
weavers  when  they  could  take  for  nothing  the 
product  of  their  looms  and  work-benches.  So 
the  manufactures  of  the  Persians  never  won 
distinction.  Their  home  fabrics  attained  a 
fair  degree  of  excellence ;  but  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  their  goods  were  ever  in  demand  in 
foreign  markets.     The  country  thus  remained 


discovered  the  reason  why  ancient  star-lore 
flourished  in  Egypt  and  Chaldsea  and  lagged 
in  Media  and  Persia.  To  this  must  be  added 
another  cause  found  in  a  difference  of  race. 
The  Semitic  and  Cushite  families  of  men  were 
both  by  nature  and  locality  contemplative  in 
their  habits  of  thought.  The  Aryans,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  aggressive  and  restless,  prone 
to  excessive  activity  by  day  and  profound 
sleep  by  night.  The  determination  of  causes 
and  relations — the  essence  of  science — requires 
observation,  reflection,  experiment — conditions 
foreign  to  the  nature  and  environment  of  the 
Persians.  They  neither  patronized  schools 
nor  esteemed  intellectual  greatness.  While 
learning  flourished  In  many  of  the  provinces 
of  the  Empire,  while  the  schools  of  Borsippa 
and  Miletus  were  hives  of  mental  activity, 
Persia  Proper  neither  founded  institutions  nor 
appreciated  their  importance. 


FEESIA.—3IANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


327 


Chapter  xxx.— Manners  and  customs. 


HAT  kind  of  people  the 
Persians  were  can  be 
easily  determined  from 
their  sculptures.  In  these 
the  national  physiognomy 
and  person  are  so  clearly 
delineated  as  to  leave  no 
doubt.  The  figures  are  sufficiently  numerous 
and  varied  to  satisfy  all  curiosity  respecting 
the  personal  appearance  and  bearing  of  the 
subjects  of  the  Achpemenians.  The  Persian 
face  and  general  type  diflTer  so  markedly  from 
the  representations  of  the  human  form  and 
countenance  as  delineated  in  the  sculptures  of 
Assyria  and  Egypt,  as  to  be  unmistakable 
even  by  amateurs  in  ethnic  peculiarities.  The 
remains  of  Persepolis  also  present  us  with 
many  figures  of  foreigners  done  by  native 
artists,  and  the  truthfulness  of  such  Avork 
furnishes  good  ground  for  belief  that  they 
were  equally — perhaps  more — faithful  in  carv- 
ing the  features  and  form  of  their  own  coun- 
trymen. 

In  stature  the  Persians  were  rather  tall. 
They  differed  not  much  in  form  from  the 
typical  European.  They  were  not  so  heavy 
and  strong-muscled  as  the  Assyrians,  but  sur- 
passed them  in  agility  and  freedom.  Their 
features  were  striking  and  regular.  The  ex- 
pression was  mild,  vivacious,  benignant — in 
no  case  coarse  or  brutal.  The  head  was  high 
and  oval,  and  (if  we  may  credit  Herodotus) 
the  skull  was  much  thinner  than  that  of  other 
peoples.* 

As  far  as  it  is  possible  to  generalize  on 
such  a  subject,  it  may  be  averred  that  the 
Persians  were  witty  and  vivacious.  They 
seem  to  have  had  neither  the  sedateness  of 
Egyptians  nor  the  meditative  habits  of  the 
Babylonians.  Their  sculptures  and  architec- 
ture show  that  they  had  the  artistic  fancy, 
though  in  a  less  degree  than  the  Greeks.     It 

'  The  Father  of  History  accounts  for  this  fact 
on  the  theory  that  the  Persian  skull  was  protected 
by  a  head-dress. 


was,  however,  in  state-craft  and  war  that  the 
intellectual  superiority  of  the  people  was  best 
illustrated.  In  these  respects  the  Persian 
genius  was  conspicuous.  The  ability  of  the 
Acheemenian  kings  in  conducting  the  affairs 
of  a  great  Empire  which  they  had  conquered — 
an  Empire  composed  of  heterogeneous  popu- 
lations widely  scattered  and  speaking  diverse 
languages — can  in  no  way  be  questioned ;  and 
their  warlike  spirit  was  such  as  to  give  them 
for  a  considerable  period  an  unequivocal  as- 
cendency over  all  Western  Asia.  Even  in 
their  great  combats  with  the  Greeks  it  was 
discipline  rather  than  courage  that  gave  to 
the  latter  their  victories. 

What  were  the  literary — especially  the 
poetical — abilities  of  the  ancient  Persians  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing.  It  is  not  likely 
that  in  this  manner  their  imagination  found 
much  relief  or  pleasure.  It  is  true  that  the 
Persian  poet  Firdusi,  who  flourished  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  tenth  century,  has  ascribed 
to  his  countrymen  of  ancient  times  the  posses- 
sion of  sentiments  and  passions  kindled  with 
poetic  fire.  But  this  perhaps  is  like  the 
ascription  of  epic  enthusiasm  to  the  Gael  in 
McPherson's  Ossian — to  be  taken  with  many 
grains  of  allowance. 

In  the  heroic  virtues  the  Persians  were 
hardly  inferior  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
They  believed  that  destiny  pointed  to  them  as 
the  conquerors  of  the  world.  Under  this  in- 
spiration, they  went  to  battle  with  the  rash 
courage  of  crusaders  and  met  death  with  the 
indifference  of  the  Moslems.  It  was  believed 
by  the  great  kings  that  they  ought  to  go  to 
war.  It  was  the  precedent  of  the  Empire  to 
conquer,  and  when  opportunity  was  wanting, 
when  the  energies  of  the  people  seemed  to  be 
turned  to  pursuits  less  daring  and  dangerous, 
the  monarchs  felt  that  the  Achsemenian  star 
was  waning  in  the  heavens.  The  valor  of  the 
Persian  soldiery  will  be  amply  illustrated  in 
the  chapter  on  the  military  and  civil  history 
of  the  nation. 


328 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— TSE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Of  moral  qualities  the  most  conspicuous 
virtue  of  the  Persians  was — as  it  is  of  any 
people  who  possess  it — their  love  of  truth. 
This  trait  in  the  national  character  was  so 
noted  as  to  become  proverbial  in  both  Asia 
and  Europe.  The  praises  of  the  Greek  his- 
torians— themselves  the  literary  exemplars  of 
a  people  who  too  frequently  in  their  conduct 
hovered  along  the  bogs  of  falsehood,  not  to 
say  the  abysses  of  perfidy — are  not  stinted 
with  respect  to  the  sterling  character  of  Per- 
sian truthfulness.  Herodotus  declares  that 
the  three  principal  precepts  of  Persian  educa- 
tion were,  "to  ride,  to  draw  the  bow,  and  to 
speak  the  truth."  The  last  injunction  was  in- 
corporated in  the  national  religion.  Ahura- 
Mazdao  was  known  and  worshiped  as  "the 
Father  of  Truth."  In  the  best  parts  of  the 
Zendavesta  the  practice  of  truth  is  inculcated 
as  the  basis  of  all  conduct  acceptable  to  the 
immortal  gods. 

This  element  of  character  was  all  the 
more  conspicuous  in  the  Persian  race  when 
contrasted  with  the  lying  and  treacherous 
habits  which  were  shamelessly  illustrated  in 
the  career  of  most  of  the  oriental  nations.  It 
was  only  in  the  later  times  of  the  Empire, 
when  the  effects  of  luxury  had  told  disas- 
trously on  the  moral  character  of  the  race, 
that  the  Persians  imbibed  the  habit  of  intrigue 
and  treachery,  and  even  then,  perhaps,  only 
as  employing  the  same  weapons  used  by  their 
enemies.  In  the  early  times  a  rigid  adherence 
to  truth  was  practiced  in  the  affairs  of  life, 
from  the  dealings  of  peasants  and  masons  to 
the  treaties  of  the  king.  Even  a  promise  ob- 
tained on  false  information  or  under  false 
pledges  was  faithfully  observed. 

It  is  said  that  the  Persian  love  of  truth 
was  so  marked  as  to  lead  the  people  to  the 
avoidance  of  debt.  It  was  conceived  that  the 
debtor  was  frequently  placed  in  such  relations 
of  dependence  as  to  encourage  in  him  the 
practice  of  equivocation  and  falsehood.  There- 
fore it  was  better  to  avoid  the  obligation. 
Therefore,  in  the  market-place,  it  was  better 
to  use  few  words  and  plain.  Therefore  it  was 
better,  in  all  manner  of  communication,  to  be 
straightforward  in  speech,  so  that  human  con- 
duct might  be  easily  and  sincerely  fathomed 


to  its  bottom  motives  and  impulses.  It  may 
be  safely  averred  that  in  respect  of  this  high 
species  of  morality  the  earlier  Persians  gave  a 
fairer  example  than  any  other  people  of  the 
ancient  world. 

Combined  with  these  high  traits  of  charac- 
ter were  others  of  a  different  sort.  Like 
most  strong  races,  the  people  of  Persia  were 
given  to  self-indulgence.  Great  strength  and 
great  hunger  are  concomitants  in  human 
character.  If  the  possessor  have  not  learned 
the  lesson  of  restraint,  strength  will  display 
itself  in  violence,  and  hunger  in  excessive 
gratification.  The  hunter  and  the  soldier  are 
not  likely  to  be  reserved  in  the  banqueting 
hall.  The  Persian,  moreover,  bore  his  nature 
on  the  surface.  What  he  was  he  was.  He 
spoke  out  and  acted.  If  he  was  angered  he 
raged.  If  he  was  pleased  he  laughed.  In- 
stead of  that  exterior  calmness  so  noticeable 
in  the  demeanor  of  the  Babylonians,  the  inner 
feelings  and  passions  of  the  Persian  flashed 
out  in  word  and  gesture,  and  his  purposes 
were  known  to  all  observers. 

Another  element  in  the  national  character 
was  its  servility  as  it  respected  the  king  and 
the  court.  This  amounted  to  a  kind  of  abase- 
ment in  the  presence  of  power  quite  incon- 
sistent with  the  otherwise  erect  attitude  of  the 
people.  The  paradox  thus  presented  of  a 
union  in  the  same  race  of  qualities  so  opposite 
as  dignified  self-assertion  and  crouching  ser- 
vility can  only  be  explained  in  the  light  of 
the  age  and  the  then  political  condition  of  the 
world.  At  a  time  when  the  state  was  a  neces- 
sity and  the  king  was  the  state ;  in  an  epoch 
when  those  political  institutions  by  which  in 
modern  times  the  will  of  the  people  finds  so 
easy  an  utterance  had  no  existence  and  could 
have  none,  the  conditions  of  despotism,  with 
its  correlative,  a  servile  spirit,  were  natural 
and  perhaps  inevitable.  Every  age  is  to  be 
judged  by  its  own  criteria,  and  not  in  accord- 
ance with  principles  whose  reign  has  not  yet 
been  ushered  in.  The  government  of  Persia 
was  absolute,  and  the  governed  patiently 
bowed  to  the  political  necessities  of  the  age. 
The  citizen  became  the  sycophant.  The  king 
acted  without  limitation.  Whom  he  would 
he  kept  alive,  and  whom  he  would  he  slew. 


PERSIA.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


S29 


Turning  to  the  outward  usages  and  man- 
ners of  the  Persian  people,  and  beginning 
with  their  customs  in  war,  we  find  them  to  be 
in  close  affinity  with  the  Medes.  Like  the 
latter,  the  Persians  placed  their  chief  reliance 
on  the  infantry  and  cavalry  wings  of  the 
army,  and  paid  little  attention  to  chariots  of 
war/  The  foot  soldier  was  clothed  in  a  close- 
fitting  leathern  tunic,  reaching  to  the  knees 
and  the  wrists.  The  legs  were  tightly  en- 
cased in  trousers,  also  of  leather.  The  feet 
were  covered  with  high  shoes,  which  joined 
the  leggins  at  the  ankles.  The  head  was  pro- 
tected by  a  round  felt  cap,  projecting  in  the 
front  and  risiug  above  the  scalp.  The  waist 
was  bound  with  a  double  girdle,  from  which, 
on  the  right  side,  hung  the  short  Persian 
sword.  The  other  weapons  were  a  spear  and 
a  bow  and  quiver.  The  spear-shaft  was 
about  six  feet  in  length,  and  the  head  was 
flat,  with  a  ridge  on  each  side  down  the 
middle.  The  bow  was  about  four  feet  long, 
and  was  swung  perpendicularly  in  front  of  the 
left  shoulder,  the  cord  being  up  and  down  the 
back.  The  quiver  was  worn  on  the  same 
shoulder,  and  was  filled  with  arrows  made  of 
reeds,  feathered,  and  tipped  with  metal  points. 
Another  weapon  in  use  by  footmen  was  the 
battle-axe,  but  this  is  rarely  shown  in  the 
sculptures.  The  sling  also  is  occasionally 
seen,  besides  being  mentioned  by  Strabo  and 
Xenophon  as  a  part  of  the  Persian  weaponry. 
The  missiles  shot  from  slings  were  pebbles. 

The  defensive  armor  of  a  common  foot 
soldier  was  a  shield  of  wicker-work.  It  was 
in  shape  a  sort  of  half-cylinder,  as  long  as  the 
soldier's  body,  and  set  or  carried  upright 
before  him  in  battle.  From  behind  this  pro- 
tection he  discharged  his  arrows.  Both  He- 
rodotus and  Xenophon  mention  the  coat-of- 
mail  as  a  part  of  the  defensive  armor  of 
Persian  infantry.  It  was  composed  sometimes 
of  metallic  scales  or  plates  arranged  like  those 
of  the  shell  of  an   armadillo,  and  sometimes 

'  Sooner  or  later  every  nation  adapts  its 
weaponry  to  the  field  of  service.  The  war-chariots 
of  antiquity  could  never  have  been  thought  of  in 
a  country  of  hills  and  gorges.  Only  in  the  Meso- 
potamian  plains,  the  Syrian  deserts,  and  the  flat- 
lands  of  the  Egyptian  Delta  could  such  ponderous 
implements  have  come  into  usa 


of  a  quilted   linen  corselet  after  the  style  of 
those  worn  by  the  soldiers  of  Egypt. 

In  the  times  of  the  founding  of  the  mon- 
archy the  weapons  offensive  and  defensive  of 
horsemen  were  almost  identical  with  those  of 
the  foot.  In  the  later  tactics  of  the  Empire, 
however,  a  new  style  was  adopted.  The 
cavalryman  was  armed  with  a  javelin,  and 
this  became  his  principal  weapon  of  attack. 
It  was  a  short,  strong  shaft  of  wood,  barbed 
with  a  point  of  iron.  Each  soldier  carried 
two  of  these  darts,  one  of  which  he  discharged 
in  the  onset  and  retained  the  other  for  the 
encounter.  The  cavaliy  were  also  armed  with 
knives  and  short  swords  like  those  worn  in  the 
other  branch  of  the  service.  In  the  way  of 
defensive  armor  the  horsemen  were  clad  in 
coats-of-mail  and  helmets  and  greaves,  and 
were  thus  protected  at  every  point.  The 
shield  was  for  obvious  reasons  dispensed  with, 
being  a  useless  and  cumbrous  impediment. 

Not  only  the  soldier  himself,  but,  as  only 
second  in  importance,  the  horse  Avhich  he  rode 
was  protected  with  armor.  The  mail  was  of 
the  same  description  as  that  worn  by  the  rider. 
The  horse's  head  was  guarded  by  a  frontlet, 
and  his  neck  and  breast  by  metallic  plates. 
Even  the  legs  were  defended  against  the  mis- 
siles of  the  foe,  so  that  the  whole  animal  was 
as  thoroughly  encased  as  his  master.  Besides 
the  dragoons,  who  constituted  the  main 
branch  of  the  cavalry  service,  there  was  a 
light-horse  wing  to  the  Persian  military  organ- 
ization, the  business  of  which  was  to  skirmish 
with  an  approaching  enemy  or  to  hang  upon 
the  flanks  and  annoy  a  retreating  army. 
Taken  all  in  all,  the  constitution  and  discipline 
of  the  forces  were  such  as  to  secure  rapidity 
of  movement  and  adroitness  of  manoeuver 
rather  than  that  forceful  and  resistless  execu- 
tion which  was  secured  by  the  phalanx  of  the 
Macedonians. 

On  two  great  occasions  in  Persian  history, 
namely,  in  the  battles  of  Cunaxa  and  Arbela, 
the  scythe-bearing  war-chariots  were  effectively 
employed,  though,  as  a  general  rule,  these 
formidable  engines  were  more  terrible  to  the 
imagination  than  to  the  other  senses  of  an 
army.  The  long  curving  blades,  which  pro- 
jected from  the   hubs  of  the  chariot  wheels, 


330 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


were  sufficiently  dangerous  when  they  could 
be  got  against  the  enemy,  but  there  was  the 
rub;  for  what  with  frightened  or  wounded 
horses,  and  what  with  a  chasm  in  the  ground 
or  a  slain  charioteer,  not  much  was  to  be 
apprehended  from  those  military  mowing- 
machines  of  the  ancients.  If  the  battles  of 
antiquity  had  always  been  appointed  to  take 
place  in  the  Babylonian  brick-yards,  and  if 
the  soldiers  had  been  rooted  like  wheat  stalks 
to  the  earth,  then  perhaps  the  execution  of 
the  scythe-bearing  chariots  would  have  been 
equal  to  the  expectancy. 

It  appears,  however,  that  the  chariot  was 
put  to  a  very  rational  and  important  use  in 
the  movements  of  the  Persian  army.  In  such 
vehicles  the  king  (if  he  commanded,  as  was 
generally  the  case)  and  the  princes  of  the 
Empire  had  their  station  in  battle.  The  gen- 
erals and  leaders  of  the  army  were  thus  made 
conspicuous.  A  sudden  impulse  was  no  doubt 
given  to  the  onset  by  the  apparition  of  royalty 
rumbling  by  and  shouting  his  commands  from 
the  chariot  of  Ormazd. 

The  general  idea  of  a  Persian  battle  was  to 
keep  the  best  in  front.  In  the  later  times  of 
the  Empire,  when  war-chariots  were  intro- 
duced, it  was  customary  to  place  them  in  ad- 
vance of  the  rest  of  the  forces.  First  of  all, 
it  was  the  plan  to  send  this  alarming  enginery 
against  the  foe.  In  the  rear  of  the  chariots, 
and  occupying  the  center  of  the  field,  was  the 
main  army  of  infantry.  This  was  arranged 
in  squares,  so  placed  as  to  support  each  other. 
The  front  lines  were  held  by  the  picked  troops 
of  Persia,  they  being  considered  most  valiant. 
The  supports  were  the  less  reliable  soldiery 
of  the  provinces,  foreigners,  auxiliaries.  The 
cavalry  was  arranged  on  the  two  wings,  and 
was  generally  intended  to  operate  on  the 
flanks  of  the  enemy.  In  the  beginning  of  an 
engagement,  the  squares  advanced  to  within 
striking  distance  of  the  adverse  lines.  Here 
there  was  a  halt,  the  Persians  planted  their 
shields  on  the  ground  and  began  a  discharge 
of  arrows  upon  the  foe.  In  the  rear  the 
other  troops  shot  clouds  of  darts  and  other 
missiles  over  the  heads  of  the  front  ranks.  If 
the  enemy's  lines  were  broken,  the  cavalry 
bore  down  on  the  wings  and  completed  the 


discomfiture.  If,  however,  he  stood  courage- 
ously and  came  to  a  conflict  hand  to  hand, 
then  the  Persians  drew  their  swords,  and  in  a 
short  time  either  scattered  their  antagonists 
or  were  themselves  put  to  flight.  When  the 
lines  broke  there  was  generally  a  rout.  There 
was  little  thought  of  regaining  by  valor  or 
strategy  a  lost  battle.  There  seems  to  have 
been  but  a  sorry  notion  of  that  kind  of  cour- 
age which  recovers  itself  and  snatches  victory 
from  defeat. 

The  Persian  kings  depended  mainly  for 
success  upon  superior  numbers.  They  aug- 
mented their  forces  to  the  greatest  possible 
extent.  In  the  battle-field  the  squares  were 
arranged  one  behind  the  other  to  a  great 
depth,  so  that  the  lines  in  front  might  feel 
the  double  impulse  of  support  and  of  actual 
pressure  forward.  Besides  this  strength  of 
the  mass  the  great  numbers  of  the  Persians 
enabled  them  to  spread  beyond  the  wings  of 
any  ordinary  army  that  might  oppose  them, 
and  to  surround  and  close  in  upon  the  flanks 
of  the  enemy.  When  victory  inclined  towards 
the  standard  of  the  king  then  the  cavalry 
became  especially  formidable.  The  dextrous 
Persian  horsemen,  skilled  in  every  species  of 
maneuver,  hovered  in  clouds  around  the  re- 
treating army,  swooping  down  in  perpetual 
onsets,  until  the  enemy  was  completely  worn 
out  and  scattered. 

In  the  matter  of  stratagem  the  Persian 
commanders  exhibited  some  skill.  As  early 
as  the  founding  of  the  Empire,  we  find  Cyrus 
the  Great,  in  his  war  with  the  Lydians,  em- 
ploying an  array  of  camels  merely  to  terrify. 
In  the  front  of  the  plain  of  Arbela,  Darius 
Codomanus  had  the  ground  sown  with  the 
tribulus,  or  three-spiked  iron  ball,  as  a  means 
of  preventing  or  defeating  the  charge  of  the 
Greek  cavalry.  Nor  were  the  usual  ruses 
and  military  devices  for  deceiving  an  enemy 
unknown  or  unpracticed  by  the  great  kings 
and  their  subjects.  In  this  respect,  perfidy 
excepted,  the  Persians  were  like  the  other 
nations  of  the  East. 

It  does  not  appear  that  generalship  was  a 
thing  highly  esteemed,  or  could  be,  under  the 
Achsemenians.  In  an  absolutism  of  the  kind 
presented  by  the  government  of  Cyrus  and 


PERSIA.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


331 


his  successors  it  was  not  possible  for  great 
generals  to  flourish.  They  would  have  stood 
in  the  way  of  the  king.  He  must  himself 
command.  He  must  have  the  glory  of  vic- 
tory. Still  there  was  in  the  Persian  army  a 
great  array  of  officers,  and  these  were  ar- 
ranged as  superiors  and  subordinates,  from 
the  king,  who  was  the  commander-in-chief, 
and  who  was  nearly  always  at  the  head  of  his 
army  in  the  field,  to  the  humblest  captains  of 
the  line. 

Ranking  next  to  the  monarch  in  authority 
were  a  few  high  officers,  eight  or  ten  in  num- 
ber, corresponding  to  the  major-generals  of  a 
modern  army.  After  these  the  highest  rank 
was  held  by  the  satraps  or  provincial  govern- 
ors, who  generally  came  at  the  heads  of 
their  respective  levies  of  soldiers.  The  organ- 
ization of  the  ranks  was  after  the  decimal 
fashion.  The  lowest  officer  commanded  ten 
men.  Ten  of  these  squads  constituted  a  com- 
pany under  a  higher  officer;  and  ten  of  these, 
what  may  be  called  a  legion  ;  and  ten  of  these, 
a  division.  Several  divisions  were  thrown  to- 
gether and  commanded  by  a  general  or  satrap, 
so  that  in  all,  counting  from  the  king,  there 
were  six  ranks  of  subordinate  commanders. 

Such  was  the  scheme  under  which  the 
largest  armies  ever  seen  on  the  fields  of  the 
world  were  organized.  In  times  of  war  every 
nation  in  the  Empire  was  expected  to  furnish 
its  own  contingent  of  troops.  These  came 
each  with  the  peculiar  uniform  and  accou- 
terments  of  his  own  country.  Albeit,  the 
appearance  of  a  Persian  army,  marshaled  in 
squares  ready  for  the  fight,  clad  in  the  various 
military  habits  of  several  scores  of  nations, 
and  bearing  weapons  equally  varied  in  char- 
acter, must  have  been  a  scene  at  once  pict- 
uresque and  imposing.  Here  were  arranged 
nearly  every  variety  of  human  kind,  from  the 
black  Ethiopians  of  the  Upper  Nile  and  the 
savage  Scyths  of  the  North  to  the  fair  and 
well-formed  soldiers  of  Media  and  Persia. 

The  campaigns  of  the  Empire  were  gen- 
erally planned  for  the  spi-ing  and  summer. 
As  far  as  practicable,  the  winter  was  avoided 
as  unsuitable  for  military  operations.  When 
the  army  was  in  the  field,  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence were  carefully  attended  to.     The  ad- 


vance was  made  with  the  baggage  and  com- 
missary in  front.  Between  this  and  the  first 
division  a  space  intervened.  The  main  army 
came  afterwards,  preceded  by  a  guard  of  a 
thousand  horse  aud  a  thousand  foot  and  the 
sun-car  of  Ormazd,  drawn  by  the  sacred 
horses,  and  having  in  it  the  fire  kindled  from 
heaven.  The  emblems  of  the  national  faith 
were  thus  visibly  present  to  the  soldiery,  and 
were  as  well  calculated  as  any  superstitious 
symbols  could  be  to  fire  the  hearts  and  nerve 
the  arms  of  the  host.  Next  came  the  king 
himself,  in  a  car  second  only  in  splendor  to 
that  of  the  sun.  Around  him  were  his  rela- 
tives. Then  followed  another  guard  like  that 
which  went  in  advance,  and  after  this  a  body 
of  ten  thousand  picked  Persians,  known  as 
the  "Immortals."  These  were  infantry,  and 
were  succeeded  by  a  like  number  of  horse. 
Between  this  division  and  the  great  columns 
composing  the  mass  of  the  army  a  space  was 
left  of  four  hundred  yards.  Then  came  the 
great  squares  of  Persians,  Medes,  and  provin- 
cials, gathered  from  all  parts  of  Western 
Asia.  The  army  thus  constituted  was  able  to 
march  about  twenty-five  miles  per  day.  As 
the  advance  continued,  requisitions  were  made 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces  and 
towns  through  which  the  route  lay,  and  many 
a  district  was  completely  exhausted  under  the 
enormous  drain.  Such  was  the  efl^ective- 
ness  of  the  means  employed  to  provision  the 
army  that  the  rash  invasion  of  Ethiopia  by 
Cambyses  furnishes  the  only  example  in  the 
history  of  the  Empire  in  which  disaster  was 
precipitated  by  a  failure  of  supplies. 

In  the  conduct  of  battle  the  Persians  were 
more  humane  than  most  of  the  oriental  peo- 
ples. The  beaten  enemy  was  granted  quarter, 
and  prisoners  were  treated  with  a  fair  degree 
of  consideration.  When  conquests  were  made 
the  rulers  of  the  conquered  provinces  were 
frequently  retained  as  provincial  governors,  or 
in  lieu  of  their  own  countries  were  granted 
other  territories  as  an  appanage.  Sometimes 
captive  princes  were  received  into  favor  at 
the  Persian  court,  where  they  were  given 
residence  and  freedom.  Of  course,  all  these 
favors  were  contingent  upon  the  submission 
of  the  recipients  and  their  loyalty  to  the  new 


332 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


order  of  things.  In  case  of  rebellion,  severe 
punishments  were  meted  out  to  the  insurrec- 
tionists. The  leaders  were  generally  })ut  to 
death  in  some  ignominious  and  cruel  way. 
The  chief  aiders  and  abettors  of  revolt 
were  likely  to  share  the  fate  of  the  principal 
instigators.  It  was  not  often,  however,  that 
the  wrath  of  the  Persian  kings  burned 
so  fiercely  as  to  involve  the  common  people 
of  a  rebellious  province  in  destruction.  In 
one  case,  it  is  said  that  thx'ee  thousand  Baby- 
lonian rebels  suffered  a  wholesale  crucifixion 
at  the  hands  of  Darius.  To  crucify  or  impale 
alive  was  the  usual  penalty  meted  out  to 
traitors  and  rebel  chiefs.  The  people  of  a 
country  engaged  in  revolt  were  frequently 
punished  by  transportation  into  Persia,  where 
they  were  reduced  to  the  condition  of  slaves. 

The  geographical  position  of  Persia  was 
not  such  as  to  suggest  dominion  over  the  seas. 
When  conquest,  however,  had  given  her  su- 
premacy over  several  maritime  states,  and 
had  taught  her  the  vast  importance  of  ruling 
by  sea  as  well  as  by  land,  an  appreciation  of 
nautical  skill  was  produced,  which  exercised  a 
large  influence  on  the  subsequent  history  of 
the  Empire.  It  was  perceived  that  Phoenicia, 
Cyprus,  and  the  islands  of  the  Grecian  archi- 
pelago, owed  their  importance  to  the  conquest 
of  the  sea.  After  the  Persians  acquired  con- 
trol of  the  ]Mediterranean,  it  was  but  natural 
that  they  should  concern  themselves  more 
than  hitherto  with  the  means  of  maintaining 
their  dominion.  To  this  end  the  great  kings 
became  the  builders  of  docks  and  the  patrons 
of  sailors.  The  yards  of  Phoenicia,  Cyprus, 
and  Egypt  became  quickened  under  this  in- 
fluence. Large  fleets  were  built  and  equipped, 
and  the  seamen  of  Persia  became  as  skillful 
as  any  of  that  age. 

Inasmuch  as  naval  warfare  was  a  conspic- 
uous feature  of  the  contests  of  several  of  the 
great  states  of  antiquity,  notably  of  the  Per- 
sians, Greeks,  Romans,  and  Carthaginians,  a 
sketch  of  the  war-vessels  employed  by  them 
will  be  of  interest.  The  standard  ship  of  all 
the  nations  just  mentioned  was  the  trireme,  or 
three-oared  boat,  by  which  is  meant  three 
banks  of  oars.  Several  attempts  were  made 
by  the  ancients,  but  without  marked  success, 


to  extend  the  number  of  benches  and  the  cott 
sequent  capacity  of  the  galley ;  but  the  quad- 
riremes  of  the  Carthaginians  and  the  quinque- 
remes  of  the  Syracusans  were  too  unwieldy 
for  naked  human  strength,  and  were  aban- 
doned in  favor  of  the  trireme.  The  latter 
was  a  ship  of  considerable  size,  requiring  a 
regular  crew  of  two  hundred  men.  Besides 
these  the  vessel  was  capable  of  accommodating 
thirty  marines.  Of  the  crew  one  hundred 
and  eighty  sailors  manned  the  oars,  and  the 
remaining  twenty  attended  to  the  other  service 
of  the  galley.  Each  oarsman  sat  on  a  small 
seat  fixed  in  the  side  of  the  ship,  opposite  the 
port  of  his  oar.  The  oars  in  each  superior  tiei 
were  arranged  obliquely  above  and  behind 
those  of  the  inferior  bank,  and  each  was  fast- 
ened in  the  port  with  a  thong  of  leather. 
In  addition  to  the  propelling  force  of  the 
oars  each  galley  was,  as  a  rule,  provided  with 
a  mast  and  at  least  one  sail.  The  twenty 
membei's  of  the  crew  not  oarsmen  included 
the  captain,  or  (juhernator,  and  his  subordinate 
oflicers  and  assistants.  The  steering  was  ac- 
complished by  means  of  a  rudder  at  the  stern. 
The  vessel  in  its  central  part  was  overlaid 
with  a  deck,  level  with  the  bulwarks,  and  on 
this  deck  the  marines  stood  and  fought. 

The  trireme  was  expected  to  do  service 
not  only  by  bringing  a  company  of  armed  men 
against  a  like  company  of  the  enemy,  but  also 
as  a  ram  to  split  and  run  down  the  opposing 
galleys.  Each  ship  was  armed  with  a  strong 
beak,  called  the  embolus,  projecting  straight 
in  front,  sometimes  above  and  sometimes 
below  the  water-line,  and  mailed  with  a  shoe 
of  iron  or  bronze.  The  beak  was  finished 
above  in  the  likeness  of  the  head  of  some 
animal  real  or  mythological.  The  point  of 
superiority  in  the  naval  tactics  of  the  times 
was  to  drive  this  beak  into  the  sides  of  the 
enemy's  galleys,  and  send  them  and  their  crew 
together  down  to  Neptune.  Besides  the  tri- 
remes, which  constituted  the  body  of  the  Per- 
sian naval  armament,  several  other  varieties 
of  ships,  designed  for  some  special  feature  of 
the  service  were  employed,  but  the  general 
plan  of  them  all  was  that  of  a  galley  pro- 
pelled by  oars. 

An  important  use  to  which  the  vessels  of 


PEESIA.—3IANNEES  AND  CUSTOMS. 


333 


the  Persians  were  sometimes  put  was  that  of 
forming  pontoons  across  rivers  and  arms  of 
the  sea.  The  plan  of  these  boat-bridges  was 
simple.  A  number  of  galleys  were  arranged 
side  by  side,  the  heads  up  stream.  A  short 
space  was  left  between  each  vessel  and  the 
next.  Each  ship  was  securely  anchored,  and 
then  a  transverse  platform  of  timbers  was  laid 
from  bank  to  bank.  Thus  was  constructed  a 
floating  bridge  over  which  the  heaviest  armies 
could  be  transported.  The  prime  importance 
of  structures  of  this  sort  will  fully  appear  in 
the  invasion  of  Greece  by  the  Persians. 

The  fleets  of  the  Empire  were  furnished 
and  manned  almost  exclusively  by  the  sub- 
ject nations.  Each  state  sent  its  contingent 
of  ships.  The  oarsmen  were  a  part  of  the 
equipment.  The  fighting  sailors  who  manned 
the  decks  were  either  Medes  or  Persians,  but 
they  to  whom  was  assigned  the  less  glorious 
task  of  toiling  at  the  oars  were  Phoenicians, 
Egyptians,  Cypriots,  Cilicians,  Pamphylians, 
Carians,  or  Greeks,  according  to  the  nation- 
ality of  the  respective  vessels. 

Passing,  then,  from  the  military  and  naval 
life  of  the  Persian  people  to  their  customs  in 
peace,  let  us  begin  with  his  majesty  the  king. 
The  ruler  of  the  nation  was,  under  the  exist- 
ing theory  of  human  government,  an  absolute 
dictator.  His  absoluteness  was  not  shorn.  Be- 
ing the  representative  of  Ormazd  in  the  earth, 
his  dignity  had  a  celestial  flavor.  His  right 
to  be  king  might  not  be  questioned.  To  look 
askauce  at  royalty  was  to  be  guilty  of  both 
treason  and  impiety.  The  king's  wrath  was 
but  a  reflex  of  the  anger  of  heaven  and  his 
smile  was  the  sunshine  of  the  world.  Every 
thing  pertaining  to  the  person  and  life  of  the 
sovereign  must,  therefore,  be  on  a  scale  of 
magnificence  i^roportionate  to  his  exaltation. 

So  the  king's  dress  was  ample  and  gor- 
geous. The  richest  and  most  brilliant  silk 
was  the  material.  The  royal  garment  was  a 
robe  with  ample  folds  and  hanging  sleeves. 
The  color  was  purple  and  the  embroidery  of 
gold.  Around  the  waist  was  a  girdle,  and 
the  skirts  fell  to  the  ankles.  Under  this  robe 
was  a  tunic,  also  purple  in  color,  but  striped 
with  white.  On  the  monarch's  feet  were  high, 
yellow  shoes,  buttoned  at  the  front  and  taper- 


ing towards  the  toe.  It  was  the  head-dress, 
however,  which  specially  distinguished  the 
king  from  any,  even  the  most  exalted,  of  his 
subjects.  This  consisted  of  a  tiara  or  miter, 
tall  and  cylindrical,  swelling  at  the  top  and 
ending  in  a  circle  broader  than  the  diameter 
of  the  cap.  This  was  the  monarch's  badge  by 
which  alike  by  army  and  court  and  people  he 
was  denoted  and  recognized.  Around  the 
king's  brow  and  at  the  base  of  the  miter  was 
the  royal  circlet,  called  the  diadem.  Besides 
the  tiara  the  monarch  was  also  distinguished 
by  the  golden  scepter  and  the  parasol,  the 
latter  being  carried  either  by  himself  or  an 
attendant.  The  scep- 
ter was  a  tapering 
rod  about  five  feet 
in  length  and  finished 
at  the  smaller  end 
with  a  bulb  in  the 
shape  of  an  apple  or 
pomegranate.  When 
the  king  appeared  in 
public  he  bore  the 
scepter  in  his  right 
hand,  perpendicu- 
larly in  front  of  his 
person. 

In  common  with 
other  princes  and  no- 
blemen the  sovereign 
wore  gold  ornaments 
and  jewels.  His  ear- 
rings were  bands  of  gold  set  with  gems.  His 
wrists  were  adorned  with  bracelets,  and  his 
neck  with  a  twisted  collar.  Besides  these 
decorations  he  wore  a  sword  of  the  usual  short 
pattern,  not  very  elaborate  in  workmanship, 
but  incased  in  a  costly  sheath  of  jasper  or 
lapis-lazuli. 

The  oflicers,  civil  and  military,  who  stood 
next  to  the  royal  person  were  his  charioteer, 
and  five  attendants,  whose  respective  duty  it 
was  to  bear  the  king's  bow,  his  quiver,  his 
stool,  his  parasol,  and  his  fan  and  napkin. 
The  charioteer  wore  no  armor.  He  merely 
managed  the  steeds.  The  bow-bearer  stood 
behind  the  monarch,  holding  the  bow  in  his 
left  hand,  ready  to  be  delivered  to  his  royal 
master.     Next  to  him  stood  the  bearer  of  the 


HEAD  OF  A   PERSIAN  KING, 

From  a  bas-relief. 


334 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


quiver.  The  stool-bearer's  duty  was  to  assist 
the  monarch  as  he  mounted  to  his  seat  in  the 
chariot  or  dismounted  therefrom.  Last  in  the 
list  of  attendants  were  the  bearers  of  the  par- 
asol and  the  fan,  who  were  unarmed  and  had 
their  stations  behind  their  sovereign,  the  one 
to  ward  off  the  sun's  rays  and  the  other  to 
cool  his  brow  with  artificial  breezes  or  to  wave 
away  intruding  flies  from  too  great  familiarity 
with  the  majesty  of  Persia. 

Like  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  the 
Persians  delighted  in  ointments  and  perfumes. 
Frankincense,  myrrh,  cinnamon,  spikenard, 
cassia,  and  various  gums  were  used  in  abun- 
dance to  regale  the  senses  of  the  kings  and 
princes.  Even  on  the  way  to  battle  the  mon- 
arch failed  not  to  take  with  him  an  alabaster 
box  filled  with  fragrant  oils  and  extracts. 
Fiery  Mars  was  thus  made  the  bedfellow  of 
A-donis. 

Apart  from  the  personal  staff  of  the  king, 
the  principal  officers  of  the  court  were  the 
steward  of  the  household,  the  master  of  the 
horse,  the  chief  eunuch,  the  king's  "eyes" 
and  "ears — a  kind  of  honorable  spies,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  find  out  and  report  to  their 
sovereign  all  matters  of  importance — and  the 
royal  secretaries  and  heralds.  A  retinue  of 
less  dignity  included  the  ushers  of  the  palace, 
the  tasters  of  the  king's  food  (forsooth  it 
might  be  poisoned),  the  cupbearers,  the  cham- 
berlains, and  the  musicians.  Then  came  the 
guards,  doorkeepers,  huntsmen,  cooks,  and 
common  servants.  Besides  this  extensive 
array  of  officers  and  attendants  there  were 
nearly  always  resident  at  the  Persian  court  a 
large  number  of  foreign  ambassadors  and  vis- 
iting princes,  together  with  the  king's  rela- 
tives, favorite  nobles,  and  captives  of  high 
rank  who  had  been  received  into  the 
friendship  and  trust  of  the  monarch.  It  is 
said  that  as  many  as  fifteen  thousand  persons 
were  sometimes  entertained  at  the  court,  and 
if  we  may  credit  Herodotus,  the  daily  expense 
of  the  royal  tables  was  four  hundred  talents 
of  silver.  A  thousand  beasts — sheep,  goats, 
oxen,  stags,  asses,  horses,  and  camels — were 
each  day  slaughtered  to  furnish  forth  the 
feast,  and  besides  these  the  feathered  tribes  of 
half  the  world  were  brought  under  contribu- 


tion to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  the  monarch 
and  his  banqueters. 

As  a  general  rule  the  king  himself  ate  and 
drank  apart  from  the  guests  of  the  palace. 
On  ordinary  occasions  he  was  served  in  his 
own  chambers,  but  sometimes  a  favored  few 
were  permitted  to  feast  with  him.  At  the 
banquet  the  monarch  reclined  on  a  gold-em- 
broidered couch,  and  was  served  with  the  richest 
food  and  rarest  wines.  The  guests  were  gen- 
erally seated  on  the  floor — after  the  manner 
of  the  times — and  were  served  with  less  costly 
viands.  People  of  a  lower  rank  were  served 
in  an  adjacent  chamber,  between  which  and 
the  king's  apartments  a  curtain  was  drawn, 
concealing  him  from  view.  On  a  few  state 
days  and  great  festivals  the  sovereign  presided 
publicly  at  the  banquet  of  his  nobles  and  offi- 
cers, and  on  these  rare  occasions  even  vulgar 
eyes  might  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  sovereign 
of  Persia. 

After  the  manner  of  the  East  the  Achse- 
menian  kings  adopted  the  harem  as  a  part  of 
their  domestic  economy.  In  the  hardy  days 
of  Cyrus  and  Cambyses  the  institution  was 
not  so  fully  developed  as  in  later  times. 
AVith  the  early  kings  a  seraglio  of  three  or 
four  wives  and  a  moderate  retinue  of  concu- 
bines was  deemed  sufficient.  Of  these  wives 
one  only  held  the  supreme  place,  and  in  con- 
tradistinction to  the  rest  was  called  the  Queen. 
She  only  was  permitted  to  wear  the  crown, 
and  before  her  all  the  rest  stood  abashed  or 
actually  prostrated  themselves  as  to  royalty. 
It  appears  that  even  down  to  the  overthrow 
of  the  Empire  by  the  Macedonians  this  re- 
deeming feature  of  one  woman  supreme  over 
her  rivals,  and  perhaps  so  in  the  aflJections  of 
the  king,  was  preserved  in  the  social  system 
of  the  Persian  court — the  natural  and  inevit- 
able protest  of  love  over  lust.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  such  queens  as  Atossa,  Amestris, 
and  Statira  retained  through  life  an  honorable 
preeminence  in  the  esteem  of  their  lords,  and 
that  in  their  presence  and  companionship  such 
kings  as  Hystaspis,  Xerxes,  and  Codomanus 
may  have  realized  the  essential  badness  of 
the  system  which  they  had  inherited.  The 
Persian  queen,  however,  never  shared  her 
husband's  authority  :  she  had  influence,  but  no 


PERSIA.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


335 


power.  The  other  wives — who  must  always 
be  selected  from  noble  families — had  the  title 
of  consort,  and  were  thus  in  some  measure 
superior  to  the  miserable  group  of  concubines 
below  them.  It  was,  however,  a  sad  and 
dubious  preeminence,  which  in  its  nature  could 
bring  neither  honor  nor  happiness  to  those 
who  possessed  it. 

One  important  feature  of  the  government, 
as  related  to  the  social  system  of  the  Persians, 
was  the  influence  of  the  Queen-Mother — 
should  there  be  one — in  the  affairs  of  state. 
In  cases  where  the  queen  outlived  her  lord 
she  did  not,  to  be  sure,  after  his  death  inherit 
the  crown.  That  went  to  her  son.  But,  in- 
stead of  being  retired  to  a  position  less  honor- 
able than  that  which  she  had  held  during  the 
king's  life,  she  was  raised  in  dignity  and  in- 
fluence. She  was  given  charge  of  the  Gynse- 
ceum  or  establishment  for  the  women,  and  in 
this  important  office  wielded  an  authority 
over  the  queen,  her  daughter-in-law.  Her 
son,  the  king,  was  as  yet,  in  all  likelihood,  a 
youth,  and  was  by  no  means  from  under  the 
natural  influence  of  his  mother;  so  that  to 
secure  her  interest  and  favor  was  one  of  the 
most  vital  points  in  the  diplomacy  of  courtiers 
and  ambassadors.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
this  ascendency  of  the  Queen-Mother  in  the 
affairs  of  state  and  over  that  native  hot-bed 
of  discontent — the  Gynseceum — was  specially 
conservative  and  salutary. 

The  common  service  of  the  harem  was 
committed  to  the  eunuchs.  Of  these  there 
were  great  numbers  about  the  court.  The 
king's  attendants  were  largely  of  this  class. 
They  were  multiplied  as  the  government  be- 
came elaborate.  From  some  reason  quite  in- 
conceivable in  modern  times,  their  influence 
increased.  They  became  a  directing  power  in 
the  state.  Many  of  them  were  the  king's 
trusted  counselors,  and  were  held  in  high 
honor.  They  had  in  charge  the  education  of 
the  princes  of  the  Empire,  and  several  of 
them  are  said  by  Ctesias  to  have  distinguished 
themselves  as  generals  in  the  field.  They  are 
represented,  however,  as  being  of  an  inti'igu- 
ing  and  ambitious  disposition,  and  to  have 
been  at  the  bottom  of  many  court  broils  and 

■assassinations.     In  spite  of  the  influence  and 
N.— Vol.  I— 21 


distinction  attained  by  this  despicable  class  of 
beings,  it  appears  that  in  one  respect  they 
were  publicly  dishonored:  in  the  sculptures 
of  Persepolis  not  a  single  figure  of  a  eunuch 
occurs.  Neither  they  nor  any  woman — not 
even  the  queen — was  deemed  worthy  of  the 
immortality  of  art. 

The  Persians  recognized  seven  royal — or  at 
least  princely — houses.  The  members  of  these 
constituted  the  nobility  of  the  Empire.  The 
first  of  these  great  houses  was  the  Achse- 
menian,  to  which  belonged  the  great  kings. 
This  family  was,  of  course,  preeminent  over 
all  the  rest.  Each  of  the  princely  houses  had 
its  own  head  or  chief,  and  the  seven  together 
constituted  the  body  known  as  the  "Seven 
Counselors "  of  the  king.  They  had  much 
independent  influence.  Their  right  to  advise 
was  in  virtue  of  their  birth.  They  might 
seek  the  presence  of  the  monarch  at  any  time 
and  in  any  place  except  the  Gynseceum.  At 
public  festivals  they  sat  by  right  next  to  the 
sovereign,  and  in  important  business  of  state 
they  shared  in  some  measure  the  responsibility 
of  the  king's  edicts  and  proclamations — not, 
however,  to  the  extent  of  touching  upon  his 
absolute  and  inalienable  prerogatives. 

The  ceremonial  of  the  Persian  court  was 
formal  and  elaborate.  He  who  would  have 
audience  with  the  sovereign  must  be  intro- 
duced by  the  usher  of  the  royal  household 
and  must  prostrate  himself  before  the  king. 
He  who  came  unannounced  was  subject  to 
death.  The  ct^rpet  which  was  laid  for  the 
monarch's  feet  might  not  be  touched  by  any 
other.  To  sit  down  even  unwittingly  on  the 
throne  was  a  capital  crime.  Robes  which  the 
king  had  worn  might  never  be  put  on  by 
another.  In  short,  every  circumstance  by 
which  the  artificial  dignity  and  elevation  of 
the  sovereign  might  be  heightened  and  main- 
tained was  attended  to  Avith  scrupulous  care. 

On  his  part,  the  monarch  was  equally  bur- 
dened with  etiquette.  He  must,  for  the  most 
part,  live  and  eat  alone.  He  must  not  be 
seen.  He  must  not  walk  beyond  the  walls  of  the 
palace.  He  must  be  infallibly  consistent,  even 
in  inconsistency;  for  no  edict  once  issued 
might  ever  be  revoked.  The  laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians  were  unchangeable. 


336 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Fortunate  was  it  for  the  king  that  the 
rigor  of  precedent  was  sometimes  relaxed  in 
his  favor.  Royal  etiquette  permitted  him  to 
hunt  and  to  play  at  games.  To  the  former 
he  gave  himself  with  enthusiasm.  It  was  the 
pride  of  the  great  Achsemenians  to  be  distin- 
guished in  the  chase.  To  combat  with  a  lion 
was  a  sport  worthy  of  the  king.  To  be  vic- 
torious over  the  fiercest  and  strongest  creatures 
of  the  desert  and  mountain  was  an  act  worthy 
to  be  engraved  in  stone  and  in  the  royal  signet 
with  which  the  edicts  of  authority  were  signed. 
The  favorite  theme  of  Persian  art  is  the  mon- 
arch in  his  chariot,  letting  fly  his  unerring 
arrows  into  the  vitals  of  the  king  of  beasts. 

Tired  of  the  hunt,  the  sovereign  amused 
himself  at  dice.  Not  for  the  game  only,  but 
for  the  wager,  were  the  blocks  thrown  on  the 
royal  board.  Plutarch  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  sometimes  as  much  as  a  thou- 
sand darics  were  staked  on  a  single  throw. 
Favorite  slaves,  eunuchs,  and  women  were 
rafiied  for  and  lost  and  won  in  the  reckless 
excitements  of  the  kingly  gaming-table. 

Persian  royalty  had  no  literaxy  taste  what- 
ever. It  is  doubtful  whether  the  monarch 
was  an  expert  reader.  His  secretary,  how- 
ever, had  the  duty  of  reading  to  him  of  the 
current  affairs  of  the  kingdom  and  the  history 
of  the  past.  The  examples  and  fame  of  pre- 
ceding sovereigns  were  thus  rehearsed  out  of 
a  work  called  the  "Book  of  the  Chronicles 
of  the  Kings  of  Persia  and  Media,"  from 
which  the  reigning  prince  was  expected  to 
learn  the  lessons  of  emulation  and  wisdom.^ 

The  annals  of  the  common  life  of  the  Per- 
sian people  are  meager  and  unsatisfactory. 
The  state  was  every  thing,  and  the  king  was 
the  state.  The  full  light  which  jilayed  upon 
the  throne  was  rarely  turned  to  the  common 
lot.  The  sculptures  are  almost  wholly  devoted 
to  the  illustration  of  royalty  and  its  attendant 
circumstances.  Something,  however,  can  be 
made  out  respecting  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  men  who  composed  the  armies  and 
built  the  cities  of  the  great  kings. 


^  Rehearsals  of  the  deeds  of  the  dead  were 
given  almost  daily  by  the  Egyptian  priests  in  the 
presence  of  the  Pharaoh,  for  whose  benefit  the 
Btory  was  recited. 


The  Persian  people  were  divided  into  ten 
tribes,  of  which  three  appear  to  have  been 
land-owners,  three  agriculturists,  and  four  no- 
mads or  shepherds.  Of  the  land-owning  class 
the  principal  tribe  was  the  Pasargadte.  The 
agricultural  tribes  were  the  Panthial^ei,  Deru- 
siaei,  and  the  Carmanians.  The  nomadic 
classes  were  the  Dai,  the  Mardi,  the  Dropici, 
and  the  Sagartii.  The  lines  between  these 
various  classes  were  not  fixed,  as  in  Egypt, 
by  a  distinction  of  caste,  but  the  various 
tribes  held  to  a  given  method  of  life  after  the 
manner  of  the  clan. 

The  dress  of  the  Persian  common  people 
was  a  cotton  tunic  and  trousers  of  leather.  The 
head  was  covered  with  a  felt  cap  and  the 
waist  was  belted.  High  shoes,  laced  at  the 
front  with  strings,  protected  the  feet.  The 
richer  class  wore  long  robes  with  hanging 
sleeves,  after  the  style  of  the  Medes.  The 
caps  of  the  opulent  were  raised  into  a  tiara, 
their  hands  were  incased  in  gloves,  and  their 
clothing  was  embroidered.  Nobles  generally 
wore  chains  and  collars  of  gold — ^bracelets, 
ear-rings,  and  jewels. 

The  social  life  of  the  commons  was,  like 
that  of  the  noble  and  royal  ranks,  disfigured 
by  the  practice  of  polygamy.  There  was  no 
actual  restriction  as  to  the  number  of  wives. 
To  have  a  numerous  retinue  was  considered 
honorable.  Especially  was  it  a  point  of  dis- 
tinction to  have  large  families  of  sons,  and  he 
who  could  disj)lay  the  greatest  number  some- 
times received  a  premium  from  the  king.  As 
if  the  wives  were  not  enough,  nearly  all  men 
had  as  a  part  of  their  households  a  train  of 
concubines,  and  these  were  generally  foreign- 
ers, Greek  girls  being  preferred. 

The  boys  of  the  Persians  were  educated — 
if  such  a  word  as  education  may  be  properly 
used  of  the  training  systems  of  antiquity — > 
with  great  care.  For  the  first  five  years  the 
child  was  left  with  the  mother  and  her  woman 
attendants.  From  that  time  forth  his  disci- 
pline began.  Before  dawn  he  must  arise  and 
present  himself  in  a  certain  place  before  his 
master.  Here  the  lad  was  exercised  for  a 
certain  number  of  hours  in  running  and 
jumping,  in  shooting  with  the  bow,  in  sling- 
ing stones  and  hurling  the  javelin.     After  two 


PERSIA.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 


337 


years  of  this  preparatory  work  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  horse.     Him  he  must  mount  and 
ride.     On  his  back   he  must  go  to  the  hills 
and  join  in  the  hunt.     He  must  jump  on  and 
off  while  his  steed  is  running.     He  must  dis- 
charge his  arrows  and  darts  while  galloping  at 
full  speed.     He  must  heed  nor  heat  nor  cold. 
He  must  sleep  outdoors  at  night.     He  must 
appease  the   insatiable    stomach    of  boyhood 
with   one   meal   in  two  days.     Sometimes  he 
must  go  to  the  woods  and  fill  himself  as  best 
he    may    with    acorns   and   wild   pears.     All 
stimulating  and  luxurious  food  was  withheld. 
Whatever  conduced   to   hardihood,  to  bodily 
vigor,  to  endurance,  was  sedulously  inculcated. 
In  the  way  of  ornamental   branches  he  was 
taught  to  read.     His  teachers  also  gave  him  a 
modicum  of  morals ;  for  he  must  hear  recited 
some  old  poems  recounting  the  character  and 
exploits  of  certain  gods  and  heroes,  whom  he 
must  revere  and   imitate.     Thus    for    fifteen 
years  the  lad  was  put  through  the  discipline 
appointed  to  youth,  and    then    graduated    a 
horseman  and  soldier.     For  such  was  the  aim 
of   life.     Indeed,    for   five    years    before   his 
graduation  the  Persian  stripling  had  already 
been  enrolled  in  the  army  and  was  liable  to 
the  call  of  the  king. 

The  subjects  of  the  Achsemenians  seem  to 
have  looked  with  as  much  contempt  on  com- 
mercial pursuits  as  did  the  feudal  lords  of  the 
Middle  Ages  on  common  industry.  They 
would  none  of  it.  Such  pursuits  tended  to 
effeminate  the  mind.  Artisans  and  traders 
were  of  no  reputation.  Shops  and  stores 
were  driven  from  the  respectable  parts  of 
towns  and  cities.  Merchants  were  regarded 
as  intriguers  and  liars.  Manufacturers  had 
Ao  character.     True  men — valorous  and  dar- 


ing—did not  degrade  themselves  by  toiling  at 
those  miserable  crafts  by  the  practice  of  which 
the  servile  tribes  enriched  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  their  manhood.— Such  were  the 
dogmas  of  industrial  morality. 

In  the  later  times  of  the  Empire,  luxury 
came  in  like  a  flood— and  folly  came  also. 
Personal  vanity  learned  to  display  itself  in 
the  immemorial  way.  The  lower  eyelids  must 
be  stained,  so  that  the  eyes  should  appear 
large  and  lustrous.  Eunuchs  must  wear  false 
beards  and  mustaches,  and  the  hair  of  the 
dead  must  supplement  the  scanty  work  of 
nature  on  the  vainglorious  skulls  of  fools.  It 
was  high  time  for  the  appearance  of  the 
Macedonian  phalanx. 

The  penal  code  of  the  Persians  was   on  a 
par  with  the  statutes  of  many  modern  coun- 
tries— the  dominant  idea  being  to  kill.     The 
fangs  of  barbarism  have  their  last  roots  in  the 
law-books  of  the  world.     They  are  th^  only 
thing  never  reformed  except   by  revolution. 
The  theory  of  the   barbaric  age  is  that  the 
cure  for  crime  is  punishment.     The  theory  of 
civilization  is  that  penal  measures  are  among 
the  smallest  and  least  salutary  of  all  the  in- 
fluences to  be  employed  in  the  eradication  of 
criminal    passions    and    practices.     In   Persia 
the  penalty  of  death  was  recklessly  inflicted. 
Great   crimes    and    small    misdemeanors  and 
mere  accidents  of  conduct  were  all  indiscrimi- 
nately visited  with  the  extreme  penalty.     To 
this  was  added  cruelty  of  execution.     Some- 
times the  head  of  the  criminal  was  laid  on  a 
flat  stone  and  crushed  with  another.     Some- 
times crucifixion  was   employed.     Sometimes 
the  condemned  was  buried  alive.     The  soul 
of  the  age  was  cruelty,  and  the  heart  of  justice 
a  stone. 


338 


VNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXXI.— LANGUAQE  AND  RELIGION. 


HE  language  of  ancient 
Persia  was  one  of  the 
oldest  forms  of  Aryan 
speech.  It  was  so  nearly 
identical  with  that  of  the 
Medes  as  to  be  regarded 
as  the  same  tongue  with 
merely  dialectical  differences.  After  Sanskrit, 
Persian  presents  the  most  primitive  type  of 
that  great  group  of  languages  beginning  in 
the  songs  of  the  Vedas  and  ending  in  the 
English  book  of  yesterday.  It  is  thus  closely 
allied  with  Latin  and  Greek,  Moeso-Gothic, 
and  Anglo-Saxon.  Accordingly  we  find  that 
the  known  words  in  Old  Persian  are  nearly 
always  found  with  but  little  variation  in  the 
speech  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  per- 
haps in  the  English  of  to-day.  Thus  the 
Persian  brdtar  is  bhrdtar  in  Sanskrit,  frater  in 
Latin,  bruder  in  German,  and  brother  in  Eng- 
lish. The  Persian  diivard  is  dvara  in  Sanskrit, 
thyra  in  Greek,  thure  in  German,  and  door  in 
English.  The  Persian  matar  is  mdtar  in  San- 
skrit, meter  in  Greek,  mater  in  Latin,  mutter 
in  German,  and  mother  in  English.  The  Per- 
sian, pathi  is  panthan  in  Sanskrit,  patos  in 
Greek,  pfad  in  German,  and  path  in  English. 
The  list  might  be  extended  to  many  scores  of 
words  illustrating  with  certainty  the  identity 
of  all  the  Aryan  tongues  and  the  true  place 
of  Persian  as  a  member  of  that  group. 

In  the  declension  of  Persian  nouns  six 
cases  were  employed :  the  nominative,  the 
genitive,  the  accusative,  the  vocative,  the  ab- 
lative, and  the  locative.  The  following  de- 
clension of  the  noun  Mada,  meaning  "a 
Mede,"  may  serve  to  show  the  usual  case  end- 
ings and  forms  of  the  noun : 

SINGULAR.  PLURAL. 

N.  Mada a  Mede.  Madfi Medes. 

G.  Madahy3,    .    .  of  a  Mede.  MadanSm, ....  of  Medes. 

Ac.  Madam,    ...    a  Mede.  Mad§, Medes. 

v.  Mada O  Mede.  MadS O  Medes. 

Abl.  MadS,    ,    .    by  a  Mede.  Madaibish,   ...  by  Medes. 

Loc.  Madaiya,  .    with  a  Mede.  Madaishuva,  .    .  with  Medes. 

There  were  several  varieties  of  declension, 
but   the  above   forms  are  typical  of  the  case 


structure  of  the  language.  Adjectives  fol- 
lowed the  nominal  forms  in  all  particulars. 
The  comparative  and  superlative  degrees  of 
adjectives  were  formed  by  adding  respectively 
the  syllables  tara  and  tavia  to  the  stem  of  the 
positive.  In  rare  cases,  however,  the  super- 
lative was  formed  by  adding  isla  to  the  posi- 
tive stem — another  instance  of  the  radical 
identity  of  Persian  and  English,  the  ida  being 
the  same  as  the  English  ed.  In  counting, 
the  decimal  system  was  employed,  though  the 
value  of  the  digit  did  not  depend  on  its  place, 
as  in  Arabic  numeration,  but  was  absolute, 
as  in  the  Roman  method.  The  personal  pro- 
nouns were  ddam  (I),  mand  (my),  mam  (me), 
via  (with  me) ;  in  the  plural  vayam  (we), 
amakham  (our),  accusative  and  ablative  un- 
known. In  the  second  person  the  forms  were 
tuvam  (thou),  taiya  (thine),  tuvam  (thee), 
tuvam  (O,  thou),  the  plural  forms  being  un- 
known. In  the  third  person,  hauva  (he),  ava 
hya  (his),  avam  (him),  shaiya  (with  him). 

Persian  verbs  had  three  voices  :  the  active, 
the  middle,  and  the  passive.  The  middle 
voice  was  very  nearly  identical  in  its  forms 
with  the  passive.  The  verbal  moods  were  the 
indicative,  subjunctive,  potential,  imperative, 
and  infinitive.  The  tenses  were  the  present, 
the  imperfect,  the  aorist,  and  the  perfect,  the 
place  of  a  future  tense  being  supplied  by  the 
use  of  the  present  subjunctive.  The  verb  to 
be  had  in  the  present  tense  the  following 
forms:  amiya  (I  am),  ahya  (thou  art),  astiya 
(he  is);  plural,  ama/i?/a  (we  are), — (ye  are), 
hatiya  (they  are).  I  ivas,  was  aham,  and  he 
ii<as,  aha.  The  scheme  of  the  other  parts  of 
speech — adverbs,  prepositions,  and  conjunc- 
tions— was  made  out  according  to  the  anal- 
ogies of  the  other  Aryan  languages,  and  the 
general  rules  of  syntax  were  almost  identical 
with  those  of  Latin  and  Greek.' 

The    Persian    alphabet   contained    twenty- 

^  The  absence  of  the  dative  case  in  Persian  and 
other  Hke  pecuUarities  necessitated  departures  not 
a  few  from  the  principles  of  Latin  and  Greek. 


PERSIA.— LANGUAGE  AND  RELIGION. 


839 


three  phonetic  elements,  represented  by  thirty- 
six  characters.  The  system  of  writing  was 
the  cuneiform,  of  which  some  notices  have  al- 
ready been  given  in  the  history  of  Chaldsea. 
Persia  was — and  is — the  native  land  of  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions.  It  appears  that  this 
style  of  writing,  with  characters  made  up  of 
wedges,  was  born  out  of  necessity,  and  the 
necessity  existed  in  the  materials  chosen  in 
certain  countries  to  contain  the  records  of 
their  deeds  and  learning.  The  peculiarity  of 
the  cuneiform  elements  is  their  rectilinear 
character.  They  contain  no  curves.  In  those 
countries  in  which  clay  tablets  and  stone  were 
the  materials  on  which  writing  was  executed, 
curved  lines  would  naturally  be  avoided,  and 
even  in  the  primitive  stages  of  the  art  the 
writer  would  reduce  his  system  to  right-line 
strokes.  Those  nations,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  chose  papyrus  and  parchment,  and  that 
laid  on  the  characters  with  a  pigment,  would 
prefer  the  curve  as  more  beautiful,  and  per- 
haps more  easy  of  execution.  Thus  arose  in 
Assyria,  Media,  Babylonia,  and  Persia  the 
cuneiform  system,  and  in  Greece  and  Rome 
the  oval  style  of  letters. 

All  of  the  extant  specimens  of  Persian 
writing  are  done  in  stone.  The  rock  inscrip- 
tions of  the  times  of  the  Achsemenians  are 
among  the  most  famous  in  the  world.  The 
most  noted  of  these  is  that  executed  on  the 
face  of  the  great  cliff  at  Behistun.  Here,  at 
the  height  of  three  hundred  feet  above  the 
ground,  the  surface  of  the  precipice  was 
smoothed  over  a  great  space.  Pieces  of  stone 
were  fitted  in  in  those  parts  where  there  were 
breaks  and  flaws  until  the  whole  was  reduced 
to  a  perfect  surface.  Then  the  inscriptions 
were  cut  in  the  face  of  the  rock.  The  whole 
was  finally  covered  with  a  silicious  coating  to 
protect  the  work  from  the  action  oi  the  ele- 
ments. The  inscriptions  are  contained  in  five 
great  columns,  the  first  four  having  over 
ninety  lines  each,  and  the  fifth  thirty-five. 
The  story  recorded  is  the  genealogy  of  Darius 
Hystaspis  and  the  annals  of  his  reign — what 
were  the  provinces  of  the  Empire ;  how  the 
king  put  down  rebellions  and  triumphed  over 
his  enemies.  An  effigy  of  the  monarch  him- 
self is  given  in  relief.     He  is  armed   with  a 


bow,  and  his  foot  is  planted  on  the  prostrate 
form  of  an  adversary.  Next  in  importance  to 
the  inscription  here  described  is  that  on  the 
tomb  of  Darius  near  Persepolis.  The  third 
in  extent  is  that  containing  the  further  his- 
tory of  Darius  and  Xerxes,  on  the  face  of  a 
cliff  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Elwend,  near 
Hamadan.  Finally,  may  be  mentioned  a  sec- 
ond inscription  of  Xerxes,  found  near  the 
Persian  town  of  Van. 

The  characters  used  in  the  cuneiform 
writing  are  from  one-sixth  of  an  inch  to  two 
inches  in  length.  They  are  all  chiseled  in  the 
surface  of  stone.  The  Persians  seem  not  to 
have  adopted  the  expedient  of  clay  tablets  to 
be  first  impressed  with  characters  and  after- 
wards burned  to  hardness.  The  work  of  the 
inscriptions  is  all  executed  from  left  to  right, 
after  the  manner  of  all  the  Aryan  nations. 

The  history  of  what  may  be  called  cunei- 
form learning  is  full  of  interest.  The  atten- 
tion of  modern  Europe  was  first  called  to  the 
inscriptions  in  the  year  1618,  when  Garcia  de 
Sylva  Figueroa,  ambassador  of  Philip  III. ,  of 
Spain,  copied  from  the  ruins  of  Persepolis  a 
section  of  cuneiform  writing.  He  even  ven- 
tured the  expression  of  his  belief  that  the 
work  was  actual  writing,  perhaps  in  some 
dead  language.  The  next  traveler  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  inscriptions  was  Pietro  della 
Valle,  an  Italian,  who  in  1622  sent  to  the 
antiquarian  Kircher  a  brick  inscribed  with 
cuneiform  characters.  After  this  it  became 
fashionable  to  bring  or  send  into  Europe  speci- 
mens of  this  curious  work  of  the  East.  More 
than  a  century  elapsed,  however,  before  any 
serious  attempt  to  translate  the  Persic  in- 
scriptions was  made.  In  1767,  the  elder  Nie- 
buhr,  father  of  the  historian,  transcribed  from 
the  ruins  of  Persepolis  and  brought  home  to 
Denmark  a  considerable  portion  of  an  inscrip- 
tion. The  extract  was  published,  and  the 
scholars  of  Europe  began  to  exercise  their 
skill  in  attempts  at  translation. 

Many,  however,  still  denied  that  the  in- 
scriptions were  writing  at  all.  Thomas  Hyde, 
an  eminent  scholar,  declared  them  to  be  mere 
idle  fancies  of  the  Persian  masons  and  archi- 
tects. Professor  Witte,  of  Rostock,  thought 
that  they  were  the  worh  of  worms  I     Some  de- 


340 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


cided  that  the  cuneiform  characters  were  talis- 
manic  signs,  or  perhaps  a  kind  of  symbolism 
understood  by  the  priests.  Others,  in  turn, 
admitting  that  the  work  was  actual  writing, 
pronounced  it  Chinese,  Cufic,  Hebrew,  Sa- 
maritan, and  even  Greek. 

Meanwhile,  the  more  expert  and  patient 
scholars  were  steadily  pursuing  the  line  of 
investigation  marked  out  at  the  first  by  Fig- 
ueroa  and  afterwards  by  Niebuhr.  It  was 
not,  however,  until  September  of  '1802  that 
Professor  Grotefend,  then  but  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  presented  before  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  in  Gottingen  the  first  actual  trans- 
lation of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions.  The  ac- 
curacy of  his  work  was  demonstrated  both 
then  and  afterwards,  and  a  branch  of  univer- 
sity learning  was  founded  on  the  great  dis- 
covery. A  review  of  the  patient  and  ingen- 
ious steps  in  the  process  by  which  at  last 
Grotefend  succeeded  in  unraveling  the  mys- 
tery is  here  forbidden  for  want  of  space. 
His  work  will  be  commemorated  as  long  as 
the  Achsemenian  kings  are  known  in  history. 

As  it  respects  the  religious  system  of  the 
Persians,  much  said  in  the  History  of  Media 
might  here  be  repeated.  The  two  peoples 
were  of  close  relationship  in  race,  and  almost 
identical  in  language  and  religion.  As  al- 
ready said,  the  original  faith  of  the  country 
was  the  nature  worship  of  India,  but  this  did 
not  extend  into  the  period  of  nationality. 
When  the  Medes  rose  to  the  ascendency  of 
Western  Asia,  the  doctrine  of  Magism,  long 
acknowledged  by  the  tribes  whom  they  subju- 
gated, gradually  supplanted  the  purer  beliefs  of 
the  people  until,  as  we  have  seen,  a  chief  cause 
of  that  struggle  which  substituted  the  Persian 
for  the  Median  ascendency  was  the  hostility 
of  Cyrus  and  his  people  against  the  apostasy 
of  the  Medes  from  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 
That  faith  was  the  system  of  reformed  relig- 
ion taught  and  established  by  the  gi'eat  apos- 
tle of  the  Medo-Persic  race. 

Zoroaster,  the  founder  of  this  reformed 
faith,  was  a  native  of  Bactria.  Concerning 
his  career  there  is  much  that  is  still  obscure. 
He  was  the  son  of  Pourushaspa,  who  lived  in 
the  time  of  King  Vistaspa,  in  whom  the 
young   Zoroaster  and    his   doctrines   found  a 


patron  and  friend.  Until  recently  the  King 
Vistaspa,  or  Hystaspes,  has  been  identified 
with  Darius  Hystaspes,  which  identification 
would  place  the  birth  of  the  Bactrian  prophet 
in  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  An  examination 
of  the  Zendavesta,  however,  proves  beyond  a 
doubt  that  the  epoch  of  Zoroaster  must  be 
referred  to  a  period  much  more  remote.  The 
archaic  language  of  the  bible  just  referred  to 
could  never  have  belonged  to  the  times  of 
the  Achsemenian  kings.  So  the  supposed 
identity  of  Vistaspa  and  Hystaspes  had  to  be 
abandoned.^ 

Meanwhile,  closer  historical  investigations 
have  shown  that  Vistaspa  was  the  last  of  the 
line  of  native  princes  ruling  in  Bactria  before 
the  conquest  of  that  country  by  the  Assyrians 
in  B.  C.  1200.  So  the  latter  date  may  be 
taken  as  a  minimum  for  the  epoch  of  Zoroas- 
ter. Careful  critics  have  placed  him  at  a 
period  considerably  more  remote.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  he  flourished  under  the  Kaia- 
nian  princes  of  Bactria,  before  the  Assyrian 
conquest. 

Zoroaster  came  without  supernatural  claims, 
but  his  ministry  was  such  as  soon  to  give  him 
the  reputation  of  being  a  supernatural  per- 
sonage. His  life  was  above  reproach,  devoted 
to  the  great  work  of  introducing  a  truer  and 
purer  faith  among  his  countrymen.  His  re- 
form was  in  the  nature  of  a  protest  against 
the  sensuous  doctrines  and  idolatrous  ceremo- 
nial of  the  prevailing  system.  His  teachings 
are  contained  in  the  Zendavesta — the  bible 
of  the  Iranian  nations.  The  general  effect 
of  his  work  was  to  substitute  the  essence  for 
the  outer  shell  of  religion  and  to  elevate  spirit 
in  the  place  of  form.  Ahura-Mazdao  was  a 
spirit,  and  they  who  worshiped  him  must  do 
so  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  So  taught  the 
prophet  of  Bactria. 

It  was  among  the  hills  of  Persia  that  the 
doctrines  of  Zoroaster  found  their  safest  ref- 
uge. At  a  time  when  Media  under  Astyages 
was  going  rapidly  down  into  the  bogs  of  idol- 
atry, the  hardy  race  of  Persians,  still  uncor- 
rupted  by  luxury  and  by  pageants  appealing 


^  This  for  the  same  reason  that  the  works  of 
Chaucer  are  sufficient  proof  that  their  author  did 
not  flourish  in  the  age  of  Queen  Anne. 


PERSIA.— LANGUAGE  AND  RELIGION. 


341 


to  the  senses,  sustained  the  simple  faith  with 
earnestness  and  zeal.  Monotheism  was  ac- 
cepted. One  God,  over  and  above  nature, 
was  believed  in  and  worshiped.  To  him  was 
ascribed  such  titles  as  the  "Lord  of  Heaven," 
the  "  Maker  of  Heaven  and  Earth."  The  re- 
ligious idea  was  dominant.  Even  in  affairs 
of  state  there  was  a  strict  and  outspoken  rec- 
ognition of  Ahura-Mazdao  as  the  supreme 
ruler  of  the  world.  The  great  kings  prayed 
to  him  as  the  giver  of  life  and  victory. 

Still,  the  lesser  powers  of  nature  were 
recognized  as  divine.  It  was  beyond  the 
genius  even  of  Zoroaster  to  grasp  the  idea  of 
the  absolute  unity  of  the  universe.  It  was 
admitted  that  there  was  a  pantheon  of  minor 
deities.  These  might  properly  be  prayed  to, 
or  appeased  with  sacrifices,  or  adored  in 
worship.  The  unequivocal  supremacy  of 
Ahura-Mazdao  was  the  essential  principle. 
That  being  granted,  it  was  not  impious  to  cry 
out  to  the  lesser  gods. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  at  what  precise 
period  in  Persian  history  the  doctrines  of 
dualism  began  to  gain  a  foothold.  Certain  it 
is  that  they  were  not  of  the  original  system. 
Their  introduction  marks  the  beginning  of 
that  degeneration  which  has  characterized 
every  religion  in  the  world  under  the  refine- 
ments of  theology.  As  already  said  in  the 
History  of  Media,  the  Zoroastrian  priests 
came  by  and  by  to  discriminate  the  evil  pow- 
ers of  nature  from  the  good,  and  unable  to 
realize  the  existence  of  a  higher  law  which 
includes  in  its  beneficence  the  presence  of 
evil  as  a  necessary  element  in  the  problem  of 
the  world,  they  adopted  the  expedient  of  per- 
sonification and  set  up  a  catalogue  of  devils. 
It  was  one  of  the  bad  evolutions  of  depraved 
ingenuity. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  early  Medes,  the 
worship  of  the  Persians  consisted  in  prayers 
to  Ahura-Mazdao  and  the  good  spii'its  who 
assisted  him  in  the  government  of  mankind. 
Another  part  of  the  ceremony  was  the  chant- 
ing of  solemn  gathas,  or  hymns,  in  praise  of 
the  deity.  Sacrifices  were  offered  both  to 
please  and  to  appease  the  majesty  of  heaven, 
and  Soma  was  worshiped  as  the  best  gift  of 
the  gods.     In  yielding  religiously  to  intoxica- 


tion man  entered  into  the  divine  moods  and 
spirit. 

Of  the  Persian  temples  not  very  much  is 
known.  It  is  possible  that  the  square  towers, 
already  described  in  the  chapter  on  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  Achsemenians,  may  have  been 
edifices  for  the  worship  of  the  deities.'  The 
form  of  the  altars  before  Avhich  Ahura-Mazdao 
was  approached  in  prayer  is  determined  from 
the  sculptures  on  the  tombs.  They  had  in 
general  the  shape  of  a  mushroom.  The  bot- 
tom consisted  of  three  diminishing  squares. 
On  these  was  set  a  stone  cube  with  openings 
through  the  center,  and  this  was  surmounted 
with  a  hemispherical  dome.  The  height  of 
the  whole  was  four  or  five  feet. 

Of  living  sacrifices  the  horse,  as  the  noblest 
creature,  was  preferred.  Cattle,  sheep,  and 
goats  were  also  offered,  and  it  is  too  apparent 
that  human  beings  sometimes  bled  before  the 
altars.  Such  sacrifices,  however,  are  said  to 
have  been  rare,  as  they  were  certainly  against 
the  nature  and  spirit  of  the  Zoroastrian  faith. 

Of  idols  properly  so-called  the  Persians 
had  none.  The  Zendavesta  everywhere  de- 
nounces idolatry  as  contrary  to  true  religion. 
Symbols,  however,  were  permitted.  The  most 
popular  emblem  was  that  of  Ahura-Mazdao, 
the  same  being  a  winged  circle,  sometimes 
bearing  a  human  figure  in  the  center.  This 
famous  symbol  is  thought  to  have  been  copied 
from  the  Assyrians,  with  Avhom  it  stood  for 
Asshur.  The  sign  is  seen  occupying  a  prom- 
inent place  in  nearly  all  the  Persian  sculp- 
tures, especially  on  the  face  of  the  rock  tombs 
where  the  kings  were  buried.  At  a  later  date, 
when  the  w^orship  of  Mithra,  the  sun-god,  was 
introduced  from  the  system  of  India,  that 
deity  was  honored  with  a  symbol  of  the  great 
orb  over  which  he  presided,  the  same  being  in 
the  Persian  sculptures  a  plain  disk  and  not-  a 
four-rayed  circle  like  that  seen  on  the  monu- 
ments of  the  Ninevites. 

In  the  account  given  in  Book  Fourth  of 
the  beliefs  of  the  Medes,  mention  has  been 
made  of  the  spirits  of  good  and  evil — the 
ahuras  and  the  devas  of  Iranic  mythology.  On 
one  of  the  old  pillars  at  Pasargadae,  thought 
to  have  been  erected  by  Cyrus  the  Great,  is 

>  See  Book  Sixth,  p.  324. 


342 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


a  colossal  figure  representing  the  Good  Genius 
of  the  Persian  faith,  the  great  angel  Sraosha, 
one  of  the  most  benign  conceptions  found  in 
the  records  of  paganism.  The  figure  is  that 
of  a  man  with  four  wings  outspread  at  the 
shoulders,  his  hands  lifted  before  a  calm,  pure 
face,  as  if  in  the  act  of  conferring  blessings 
from  the  treasury  of  heaven/  Upon  his  head 
rise  the  two  spreading  horns  of  power,  and 
between  these  on  either  side  stands  a  small  mis- 
shapen figure  of  a  human  being.  In  the 
center  of  the  outspread  horns  is  a  complex 
triple  ornament,  evidently  symbolical,  but  the 
sense  not  easily  perceived.  In  many  of  the 
sculptures  quaint  diabolical  figures  are  seen 
representing  the  devas  or  mischievous  imps 
whose  business  it  was  to  torment  human  life 
with  vexations  and  spleen. 

The  belief  in  one  supreme  God  and  the 
detestation  of  the  practices  of  idolatry  were 
the  elements  in  the  Persian  faith  upon  which 
the  strong  religious  sympathy  heretofore  re- 
ferred to  as  existing  between  the  subjects  of 
the  Achsemenians  and  the  Jews  was  founded. 
In  these  respects  the  two  peoples  ran  in  the 
same  channels  of  thought  and  practice,  and 
the  favor  shown  the  Jewish  nation  by  Cyrus 
and  Darius  was  evidently  traceable  to  com- 
munity of  belief. 

By  and  by,  in  the  latter  days  of  the  mon- 
archy, when  vice  and  luxury  had  sapped  the 
heroic  virtues  of  the  first  age  of  Persian 
greatness,  corruptions  came  in,  and  defiled 
the  primitive  faith  of  the  people.  It  was  the 
story  of  Median  apostasy  repeated.  The  old 
Scythic  tribes  inhabiting  the  country  before 
the  conquest  by  the  Persians  had  been  Ma- 
gians.  This  system  had  prevailed  among  the 
barbarous  tribes  of  the  Great  Plateau  before 
the  days  of  Zoroaster,  so  that  the  doctrines 
introduced  by  that  reformer  were  superim- 
posed on  a  basis  of  belief  that  was  ever  ready 
to  rise  up  from  the  beds  of  human  nature  and 
reassert    its    supremacy.      Perhaps    this   sub- 

'  See  Book  Fourth,  p.  219. 


stratum  of  religious  belief,  combined  with  the 
general  social  degeneration  in  the  times  of  the 
later  monarchy,  made  the  purer  doctrines 
of  Zoroastrianism  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the 
more  showy  but  less  substantial  system  of  the 
Magians.  This  change  in  faith,  however,  was 
rather  a  union  or  amalgamation  of  the  two 
systems  than  a  conquest  of  one  by  the  other. 
Henceforth,  till  the  coming  of  Alexander, 
the  leading  doctrines  and  practices  of  both 
Zoroastrianism  and  Magism  were  retained  in 
the  agglomerated  faith  of  the  Persians. 

One  of  the  features  of  this  religious  de- 
generation was  the  introduction  of  the  wor- 
ship of  Mithra,  the  god  of  the  sun,  and  his 
elevation  to  a  rank  equal,  if  not  superior,  to 
that  of  Ahura-Mazdao  himself.  This  innova- 
tion took  place  in  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes 
Mnemou,  and  from  that  date  forth  the  Per- 
sians may  be  said  to  have  been  worshipers  of 
the  sun.  The  change  in  the  national  faith 
was  marked,  as  already  said,  by  the  presence 
of  the  sun-symbol  along  with  that  of  Ahura- 
Mazdao  in  the  sculptures  of  Persepolis. 

The  general  efiect  of  the  modifications  here 
mentioned  was  to  cause  an  approximation  of 
Zoroastrianism  to  the  other  forms  of  religious 
faith  prevailing  in  Western  Asia.  The  cere- 
monials of  Media  and  Persia  were  no  longer 
distinct  in  method  or  purpose.  The  essential 
integrity  and  elevation  of  the  primitive  belief 
were  allowed  to  fall  into  desuetude,  and  the 
religion  of  show  took  the  place  of  the  spiritual 
doctrines  inculcated  by  him  of  Bactria.  Un- 
til this  date  Persia  had  been  a  land  without 
temples.  Now  building  in  honor  of  the  gods 
began  to  be  a  passion,  but  before  time  enough 
had  elapsed  for  the  country  to  be  covered 
with  great  temples  like  those  of  Egypt  and 
Babylonia,  the  Macedonian  conqueror  stood 
at  the  door  and  knocked.  Before  the  day  of 
Arbela,  the  simple  faith  of  the  ancient  people 
had  been  replaced  with  a  system  of  vainglori- 
ous idolatry. 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


343 


CHAPTER    XXXII.— CIVIL  AND    NULIXARY    ANNALS. 


EFERENCES  to  the  Per- 
sian race  are  found  in 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions 
as  early  as  the  reign  of 
Shalmaneser  II. ,  about 
the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century  B.  C.  These  peo- 
ple were  then  located  in  the  south-western  parts 
of  Armenia,  and  had  a  tribal  government  under 
chieftains  who  were  their  leaders  in  war.  The  in- 
scriptions mention  twenty-five  of  such  clans  who 
were  obliged  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Assyrians. 
For  three  reigns  this  relation  of  dependency 
to  the  Ninevite  kings  was  maintained.  The 
tribes  were  even  at  this  early  date  closely 
associated  with  the  Medes,  who  were  regarded 
as  their  kinsmen  and  confederates.  Nearly  a 
century  then  elapsed  before  the  Persians  are 
again  mentioned.  In  the  reign  of  Sennache- 
rib, however,  they  are  a  second  time  heard  of 
in  a  situation  which  implied  a  migration  from 
their  old  haunts  in  Armenia.  It  was  in  the 
district  north-east  of  Susiana,  on  the  very 
borders  of  Persia  Proper,  that  the  tribes  next 
appear.  From  this  locality  they  easily  spread 
into  the  country  where  their  real  historical 
development  began. 

It  was  not  far  from  the  date  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Nineveh  by  Cyaxares  that  the  Per- 
sians grew  into  a  monarchy.  About  the  close 
of  the  seventh  century  B.  C,  they  were  suf- 
ficiently consolidated  to  attract  the  attention 
of  their  neighbors  as  an  independent  power. 
It  was  at  this  date,  as  nearly  as  may  be  de- 
termined, that  AcH^MENES,  founder  of  the 
great  line  of  sovereigns  bearing  his  name, 
ascended  the  throne  of  Persia.  The  scattered 
tribes  were  united  under  one  government, 
and  royalty  was  recognized  as  the  foundation 
of  the  state.  Of  the  deeds  of  Achsemenes 
very  little  is  known.  He  is  celebrated  in  the 
inscriptions  of  Behistun  and  elsewhere  rather 
as  the  father  of  great  monarchs  and  the 
founder  of  the  kingdom  than  for  any  actual 
accomplishments  of  peace  or  war.     As  a  gen- 


eral rule,  however,  a  famous  character  is  not 
born  of  nothing,  and  we  may  safely  conclude 
that  the  builder  of  the  primitive  Persian  mon- 
archy was  one  of  those  barbaric  geniuses  with- 
out whose  agency  the  ancient  world  could 
hardly  have  been  lifted  from  the  quagmires. 

Achsemenes  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by 
his  son  TeIspes,  of  whom  our  information  is 
still  more  limited.  His  importance,  like  that 
of  most  of  the  kings  of  the  world,  seems  to 
have  been  derived  from  his  father  and  his 
descendants.  Of  the  next  two  rulers  the 
names  even  have  not  been  certainly  ascer- 
tained, but  it  is  believed  that  one  of  them 
was  called  Cambyses.  It  appears  that  in  his 
reign  one  event  of  some  importance  occurred, 
the  same  being  an  intermarriage  between  his 
daughter  Atossa  and  the  king  of  Cappadocia. 
This  would  imply  that  considerable  state-craft 
had  been  developed  at  the  Persian  court,  and 
that  the  kingdom  had  grown  to  such  import- 
ance as  to  make  a  marriage  with  one  of  its 
princesses  desirable  to  foreign  rulers. 

Meauwhile,  the  kingdom  of  the  Medes  on 
the  north  had  become  especially  powerful  in 
Western  Asia.  According  to  Herodotus,  the 
Persians  were  subordinated  to  their  kinsmen 
by  conquest  as  early  as  634  B.  C,  and  in 
this  condition  they  remained,  subject  to  the 
exactions  of  a  galling  dependency  until  the 
relations  of  the  two  countries  were  reversed 
by  the  strong  arm  of  Cyrus.  The  authority 
of  the  native  inscriptions,  however,  indicates 
no  such  conquest,  and  it  is  probably  true  that 
the  tributary  relations  of  Persia  to  the  sister 
kingdom  arose  rather  out  of  juniority  and 
kinship  than  out  of  conditions  imposed  by  the 
sword.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  there  was 
a  dependency  of  the  younger  kingdom  upon 
the  elder,  and  that  Persia  down  to  the  time 
of  Cyrus  should  be  regarded  rather  as  a  fief 
of  Media  than  as  an  independent  state.  No 
doubt  the  kings  of  this  period  were  restive 
under  their  subordination,  and  awaited  the  day 
when  their  political  condition  should  be  revo- 


344 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


lutionized.  Their  resentment,  moreover,  was 
constantly  whetted  by  the  enforced  residence 
of  the  heir  apparent  of  the  Persian  crown  at 
the  court  of  the  Median  king.  For  it  was 
one  of  the  conditions  of  the  dependency  that 
the  crown  prince  of  Persia  should  be  retained 
during  his  minority  at  the  Median  capital. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when 
Cambyses,  the  father  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  oc- 
cupied the  throne.  It  was  the  daydawn  of 
Persian  ascendency.  Astyages  was  now  king 
of  Media.  That  power  had  run  a  rapid 
course  up  to  greatness  and  down  to  efferaiuacy. 
Friendly  relations  were  maintained  between 
the  two  kingdoms,  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 
Mandane,  the  daughter  of  Astyages,  was  the 
wife  of  Cambyses  and  mother  of  the  young 
prince  Cyrus,  who,  in  accordance  with  the 
custom,  was  obliged  to  reside  at  the  court  of 
his  grandfather.  Here,  being  a  young  man 
of  genius  and  ambition,  he  became  a  close 
student  of  the  political  condition.  He  saw 
that  Media  was  in  no  condition  to  extend  her 
power  or  even  defend  herself  against  aggres- 
sion. He  saw  that  the  vices  of  Magism  had 
sapped  the  national  faith,  and  that,  as  com- 
pared with  his  father's  hardy  and  virtuous 
government,  there  was  no  longer  any  necessity 
or  even  fitness  for  the  subjection  of  his  coun- 
try to  the  king  of  the  Medes.  He  revolved 
these  things  in  his  mind,  and  was  already 
well  advanced  in  the  concept  of  rebellion 
when  those  fortuitous  circi^mstances  arose  by 
which  the  crisis  was  precipitated.  The  es- 
cape of  Cyrus  from  the  court  of  his  grand- 
father ;  the  efforts  of  the  latter  to  retake  him ; 
the  insurrection  of  the  Persians  in  behalf  of 
their  prince;  the  invasion  of  the  country  by 
Astyages;  the  fierce  battles  which  were 
fought;  the  final  stand  of  the  Persian  army 
on  the  hills  around  Pasargadse;  the  discomfit- 
ure and  rout  of  the  Medes;  the  death  of 
Cambyses,  and  the  undisputed  mastery  of  the 
whole  situation  by  the  victorious  Cyrus, — all 
this  has  been  recounted  in  the  preceding 
pages.  ^ 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  long  before 
this  revolution,  Assyria  had  succumbed  to 
Cyaxares,  who,  with  Nabopolassar  of  Babylon 

^See  Book  Fourth,  pp.  234-2.^tt. 


and  the  king  of  Lydia,  took  Western  Asia 
for  an  inheritance.  By  this  sudden  reversal 
of  the  relations  between  Media  and  Persia — 
by  which  the  former,  with  very  little  resist- 
ance from  the  Medes  themselves,  was  brought 
to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  latter — 
the  Persian  prince  found  himself  suddenly  in 
possession  of  the  leadership  of  the  better  part 
of  Asia.  The  kingdom  became  an  empire. 
The  Aryan  race  obtained  the  mastery  of  the 
great  Semitic  nations  of  Mesopotamia  and  the 
West.  A  solidarity  was  thus  accomplished 
of  all  the  Iranian  peoples  of  the  wide  regions 
beyond  the  Zagros.  The  conditions  for  the 
sudden  development  of  a  great  political  power, 
perhaps  the  greatest  which  the  annals  of  the 
world  had  yet  presented,  were  all  existent, 
and  nothing  was  lacking  which  genius  could 
supply  in  the  ambitious  and  warlike  prince 
under  whom  that  power  was  to  burst  into  lux- 
uriant leafage  and  blossom. 

Cyrus,  the  son  of  Cambyses,  and  founder 
of  the  Persian  Empire,  was  born  about  the 
year  B.  C.  580.  His  birthplace  is  thought 
to  have  been  Ecbatana.  Before  he  was  born 
his  grandfather,  Astyages,  had  ominous 
dreams,  and  gave  orders  that  the  child  should 
be  put  to  death  as  soon  as  born.  A  certain 
Harpagus,  however,  an  officer  in  the  royal 
court  and  a  believer  in  fate,  gave  the  babe  to 
a  herdsman,  who  reared  him  as  his  son. 

Of  course,  the  lad,  being  a  prince  incog- 
nito, ruled  all  his  playfellows.  So  much  for 
natural  selection.  He  gave  orders  that  a  cer- 
tain Mede  should  be  scourged,  and  when  this 
brought  on  difficulty  Cyrus  was  taken  into 
his  grandfather's  presence,  and  by  him  was 
recognized.  It  was  now  too  late  to  kill  the 
royal  scion,  but  the  son  of  Harpagus  was  put 
to  death  as  a  proper  punishment  for  his 
father's  disobedience.  After  this,  Cyrus  re- 
mained at  the  court,  and  before  his  escape 
from  Ecbatana  was  instructed  by  Harpagus 
in  the  rudiments  of  rebellion  and  the  best 
means  of  subverting  the  kingdom  of  the 
Medes.  The  result  has  already  been  narrated. 
The  subsequent  history  of  the  great  king  is  a 
part  of  the  history  of  his  times,  and  will  be 
presented  in  the  following  narrative. 

The  conquest  of  Ecbatana  by  Cyrus  was 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


345 


accepted  by  the  Medes  as  a  matter  of  course. 
The  young  prince  was  already  a  favorite  with 
a  majority  of  the  Median  nobles.  They  who 
in  matters  of  religion  longed  for  a  return  to 
the  simple  faith  of  the  fathers,  hailed  him  as 
a  deliverer  from  national  apostasy.  He  was, 
moreover,  a  grandson  of  the  recent  king,  and 
might,  therefore,  be  regarded  almost  as  the 
rightful  heir  to  the  throne.  Every  circum- 
stance favored  the  peaceable  assumption  by 
him  of  all  the  rights  and  prerogatives  hitherto 
belonging  to  the  kings  of  Media.  Such  was 
the  ready  acquiescence  in  the  new  order  of 
the  peoples  beyond  the  Zagros. 

To  the  Assyrians  the  change  was  only  a 
change  of  masters.  To  them  it  imported 
nothing  that  a  Persian  rather  than  a  Mede 
should  inherit  whatever  was  left  of  the  glory 
of  Nineveh  and  Calah.  So  they  accepted  the 
substitution  of  one  dynasty  for  another  with- 
out any  effort  on  their  part  to  regain  their 
lost  independence.  In  looking  around  the 
horizon,  Cyrus  could  discover  but  one  quarter 
from  which  to  anticipate  the  coming  of  dan- 
ger. This  was  in  the  extreme  North-west. 
In  this  connection,  the  tripartite  division  of 
Western  Asia  by  Cyaxares,  Nabopolassar,  and 
the  king  of  Lydia  will  be  readily  recalled. 
After  the  accession  of  Cyrus,  it  was  this  king- 
dom of  Lydia  which  appeared  to  him  the  only 
power  of  which  he  had  occasion  to  be  appre- 
hensive. It  was,  therefore,  to  this  remote 
country  between  the  Halys  and  the  ^gean 
to  which  the  Persian  king  first  turned  his  at- 
tention. At  this  time  the  Lydian  monarch 
was  Crcesus,  who,  as  we  have  already  seen — 
in  order  to  anticipate  the  movements  of  his 
foe — hastily  sent  an  embassy  to  the  king  of 
Babylonia,  inviting  his  cooperation  against  the 
Persian.  How  that  invitation  was  accepted 
and  became  the  ground  for  the  subsequent  in- 
vasion of  Lower  Mesopotamia  and  the  over- 
throw of  Babylon,  has  already  been  narrated.' 
In  this  place  we  have  to  do  only  with  the 
conquest  of  Lydia  by  the  Persians. 

Croesus  was  not  averse  to  the  war.  His 
father  had  for  a  long  time  withstood  the  as- 
saults of  the  Medes  led  by  Cyaxares,  and  had 
finally,    after    the    skies    were    so    ominously 

'.'^ee  Book  Fifth,  p.  299. 


veiled  at  the  Battle  of  the  Eclipse,  secured 
an  honorable  and  advantageous  alliance  by 
intermarriage  between  his  own  house  and  that 
of  Ecbataua.  Croesus  had  as  little  cause  as 
his  father  to  dread  disaster  in  a  contest  with 
the  Iranians  from  beyond  the  mountains. 
And  so,  without  waiting  to  receive  active  aid 
or  even  assurances  of  aid  from  the  Babylo- 
nians, he  flung  himself  into  a  war  with  Cyrus. 

The  Lydian  king  made  great  preparations 
for  the  conflict.  In  addition  to  the  resources 
of  his  own  kingdom — then  by  far  the  most 
powerful  and  opulent  in  Asia  Minor — he  se- 
cured an  alliance  with  Pharaoh  Amasis  of 
Egypt,  and  also  with  the  oligarchy  of  Sparta. 
Thus  fortified  with  enormous  W'Calth  and  with 
the  support  of  several  of  the  most  powerful 
states  of  the  West,  to  say  nothing  of  expected 
aid  from  Nabonadius  of  Babylon,  he  felt  him- 
self strong  enough  to  confront  even  the  con- 
queror of  the  Medes. 

Cyrus  began  his  work  by  diplomacy. 
Knowing  that  Lydia  had  but  recently  sub- 
dued many  of  the  small  states  between  the 
Halys  and  the  ^gean,  and  learning  that  a 
large  per  cent  of  the  people  of  those  states 
were  of  Greek  descent  and  therefore  of  dispo- 
sitions exceeding  averse  to  despotic  rule,  he 
sent  emissaries  among  them  to  test  their  loy- 
alty to  the  Lydian  king,  and,  if  possible,  to 
foment  insurrections.  At  this  time,  however, 
the  Ionian  Greeks,  who  were  engaged  in  com- 
merce by  land  and  sea,  were  not  especially 
galled  by  the  rule  of  the  easy-going  Croesus, 
and  perceiving  that  war  meant  ruin  to  mer- 
chants, thought  it  not  wise  to  break  their  al- 
legiance ;  and  so  the  agents  of  Cyrus  returned 
to  their  master  with  no  results. 

The  Persian  was  not  discouraged.  Throw- 
ing aside  all  expedients,  he  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  army  and  advanced  rapidly  to  the 
west.  Taking  the  circuitous  route  from  Meso- 
potamia, he  came  by  way  of  Erzerum  into 
that  part  of  Northern  Cappadocia  known 
afterwards  as  the  Kingdom  of  Pontus,  and 
soon  found  himself  on  the  borders  of  his  ad- 
versary's country.  Croesus,  meanwhile,  had 
advanced  to  meet  his  antagonist.  Several 
Cappadocian  towns  were  taken  by  the  Lyd- 
ians,  and  the  two  armies  came  together  in  a 


346 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


district  called  Pteria.  Here  a  hard  battle 
was  fought,  but  night  came  on  without  de- 
cisive results.  On  the  morroAV  the  Persians 
did  not  renew  the  fight;  and  Croesus,  seeing 
that  with  an  inferior  force  he  had  held  his 
own  in  a  whole  day's  battle  against  the  re- 
nowned warrior  of  the  East,  drew  the  false 
conclusion  that  the  Persian  was  overrated, 
that  he  durst  not  renew  the  conflict,  and  that 
no  further  hostilities  need  be  expected  until 
the  following  spring.  For  it  was  already  well 
advanced  towards  winter.  Acting  on  these 
erroneous  deductions,  the  Lydian  monarch  fell 
back  across  the  Halys  and  proceeded,  at  his 
own  capital  of  Sardis,  to  disband  a  large 
part  of  his  troops,  trusting  to  re-collect  them 
in  the  spring  in  time  to  foil  any  attempts  of 
his  adversary. 

Cyrus,  it  appears,  had  foreseen  precisely  the 
course  which  the  Lydian  would  take.  For 
himself  he  had  no  thought  of  allowing  the  in- 
vasion to  lag.  So,  as  soon  as  he  was  informed 
of  the  policy  of  the  king  of  the  Lydians,  he 
pressed  forward,  crossed  the  Halys,  and  came 
with  great  rapidity  into  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Sardis.  Croesus,  though  surprised,  was 
not  dismayed.  He  gathered  the  remnant  of 
his  army,  mostly  native  Lydians,  and  went 
out  to  give  the  Persians  battle.  Cyrus  had 
respect  enough  for  his  antagonist  to  act  with 
extreme  circumspection. 

The  Lydian  cavalry  was  at  this  time  re- 
garded as  the  best  in  Western  Asia ;  so,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  battle,  which  was  fought 
in  the  valley  of  the  Hermus,  but  a  few  miles 
from  the  capital,  the  Persian  king  ordered  a 
line  of  camels  to  be  arranged  in  that  part  of 
the  field  where  they  would  be  opposed  to  the 
Lydian  horse.  The  latter  were  frightened 
into  a  stampede,  but  the  cavalrymen  dis- 
mounted and  fought  on  foot,  and  the  whole 
battle  on  the  side  of  the  Lydians  was  pressed 
with  the  greatest  courage.  The  Persians, 
however,  gained  ground  in  every  part,  and 
after  a  very  hard  conflict  the  Lydians  were 
driven  within  the  walls  of  Sardis.  Here 
Croesus  determined  to  defend  himself  to  the 
last  extreme. 

Cyrus  at  once  began  a  siege ;  for  the  city 
was  walled.     The   Lydians  suflfered  no  great 


alarm,  deeming  the  capital  impregnable. 
Their  courage  was  increased  by  an  unsuccess- 
ful assault  made  by  the  Persians.  Croesus 
sent  messengers  to  the  provincial  states  of  his 
kingdom  and  to  Egypt  and  Babylonia  to  urge 
forward  contingents  and  supplies  to  the  end 
that  the  Persian  king  might  be  overwhelmed. 
After  his  attack  on  the  ramparts  Cyrus  in- 
vested the  city,  and  the  siege  was  progressing 
slowly  when  an  accident  brought  about  what 
valor  had  been  unable  to  accomjDlish.  The 
citadel,  which  occupied  a  part  of  the  defenses, 
was  built  on  the  native  rock,  from  which  in  a 
single  place  a  slope  led  down  with  a  com- 
paratively easy  descent  to  the  plain  outside. 
A  Persian  soldier,  happening  to  see  a  Lydian 
Avhose  helmet  had  fallen  over  the  battlement, 
descend  this  slope  and  return  without  diffi- 
culty, perceived  that  he  and  his  companions 
could  do  the  same,  and  making  a  rush  up  the 
slope,  gained  the  citadel,  cut  down  the  guards, 
and  laid  the  city  at  the  mercy  of  Cyrus. 
Sardis  fell.  Pillage  followed.  Croesus,  about 
to  be  slain,  was  recognized  and  taken  into  the 
presence  of  the  Persian  king.  The  latter  at 
the  fii'st  treated  his  fallen  foe  with  some 
severity,  but  afterwards  received  him  into 
favor.  The  captive  monarch  was  taken  to 
Ecbatana,  where  he  was  given  a  provincial 
government,  or,  at  any  rate,  the  revenues  of 
a  province  for  his  support.  Here,  and  after- 
wards at  Babylon,  he  continued  to  reside  for 
thirty  years,  a  friend  of  his  conqueror  and  of 
his  successor,  Cambyses.  Such  was  the  usage 
of  the  early  Persian  kings,  whose  conduct  on 
the  score  of  humanity  may  be  set  in  happy 
contrast  with  the  ferocious  bloodthirstiness  of 
contemporary  oriental  monarchs. 

As  to  the  kingdom  of  Lydia,  thus  sub- 
verted, it  was  at  once  annexed  to  the  Persian 
dominions.  With  the  capture  of  the  king 
and  capital  all  resistance  ceased,  as  was  usually 
the  case  in  Eastern  conquests.  Cyrus  had  no 
cause  of  spite  against  any  except  those  Ionian 
Greeks  who  had  refused  at  the  suggestion  of 
his  ambassadors  to  break  their  allegiance  to 
Croesus.'    But  the  punishment  of  these  petty 

'  These  circumstances  are  worthy  of  special 
note  as  being  the  first  in  a  long  train  of  events 
involving  the  relations  of  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


347 


Greek  towns  was  not  considered  a  work  of 
sufficient  importance  to  detain  the  king  of 
Persia  in  the  West ;  so,  after  a  delay  of  a  few 
weeks  in  Sardis,  he  set  out  for  his  own  capital, 
having  extended  the  borders  of  his  Empire  in 
a  single  campaign  to  the  shores  of  the  -^gean 
sea. 

On  his  departure  from  the  Lydian  capi- 
tal Cyrus  committed  the  government  of  the 
country  to  a  certain  Tabalus.  Another  Lyd- 
ian, named  Pactyas,  was  intrusted  with  the 
important  duty  of  transferring  the  almost  fab- 
ulous treasures  accumulated  by  Croesus  and 
his  predecessors  to  Ecbatana.  The  work  also 
involved  the  transfer  of  some  of  the  more 
wealthy  and  influential  Lydian  nobles  to  the 
capital  of  the  conqueror.  Scarcely,  however, 
had  this  work  begun  when  an  insurrection 
broke  out  headed  by  Pactyas  himself,  who 
broke  with  the  governor  and  drove  him  into 
the  citadel.  A  large  part  of  the  native  pop- 
ulation, together  with  the  Greek  merchants 
and  traders  of  the  city,  joined  with  Pactyas, 
who  was  able  with  the  treasures  in  his  pos- 
session to  employ  a  large  mercenary  force 
against  Tabalus.  Cyrus,  now  en  route  for 
Ecbatana,  heard  of  the  insurrection,  and  de- 
taching a  strong  body  of  troops  put  them 
under  command  of  Mazares,  a  Median  gen- 
eral, with  directions  to  suppress  the  revolt 
and  restore  order  in  the  lately  conquered 
kingdom.  Mazares  returned  to  Sardis,  but  be- 
fore he  reached  the  city  Pactyas  had  concluded 
that  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor, 
especially  in  a  rebel,  had  given  up  the  at- 
tempt against  Tabalus  and  fled  from  Sardis. 

The  insurrectionists  were  disarmed  and  or- 
der restored  without  difficulty.  Some  of  the 
Greek  towns  whose  citizens  had  espoused  the 
cause  of  Pactyas  were  taken  and  the  people 
sold  as  slaves.  The  rebel  leader  was  hunted 
down  in  the  island  of  Chios.  He  was  sur- 
rendered under  command  of  Mazares,  who 
soon  afterwards  died,  and  was  succeeded  in 
the  government  of  Lydia  by  another  Median 
general,  named  Harpagus. 

Minor  with  the  Persian  Empire,  and  leading 
ultimately  to  those  wars  of  world-wide  fame  in 
which  "all  Asia"  was  precipitated  upon  the 
small  but  heroic  states  of  Greece- 


By  him  a  policy  less  severe  was  adopted 
towards  the  Ionian  towns  of  Asia  Minor.  He 
proceeded  to  reduce  them  to  submission,  but 
in  many  instances  the  inhabitants  were  per- 
mitted to  escape,  and  in  others  the  terms  ex- 
acted were  so  easy  that  the  example  of  sub- 
mission spread  from  city  to  city,  until  not 
only  they  but  the  adjacent  Greek  islands — 
with  the  exception  of  Samos  —  voluntarily 
surrendered,  and  became  tributary  to  the 
Persians. 

In  this  general  establishment  of  the  au- 
thority of  the  Great  King  along  the  shores  of 
the  ^geau,  one  or  two  circumstances  are 
worthy  of  special  note.  Policy  began  to  take 
the  place  of  brute  force.  This  was  illustrated 
in  the  conduct  of  Cyrus  towards  Miletus.  This 
city  had  for  a  long  time  held  out  against  the 
Lydians.  It  had  finally  yielded  to  Croesus 
only  a  short  time  before  he  himself  was  over- 
thrown by  a  greater.  Cyrus  was  quick  to 
recognize  this  course  of  Miletus,  and  the  city 
was  therefore  excepted  when  the  orders  were 
given  to  Harpagus  to  reduce  all  the  Asiatic 
Greeks  to  submission.  The  greatest  of  the 
cities  of  these  people  was  thus  made  a  con- 
spicuous example  of  the  favor  which  was 
likely  to  follow  in  all  cases  to  those  who  stood 
against  the  enemies  of  Persia.  Another  cir- 
cumstance is  the  appearance  at  this  time  of 
wise  statesmanship — at  least  by  suggestion — 
among  the  Greeks  of  the  Ionian  towns — such 
statesmanship  as,  if  adopted,  might  possibly 
have  saved  them,  and  perhaps  even  their 
countrymen  beyond  the  -lEgean  from  the  Per- 
sian scourge.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Thales, 
a  philosopher  of  Miletus,  proposed  that  a 
Greek  Congress,  to  be  constituted  of  repre- 
sentatives from  all  the  coast  towns  of  Asia 
Minor  and  the  littoral  islands,  should  assem- 
ble at  Teos  and  form  a  confederacy,  with  a 
view  to  securing  the  independence  of  each 
and  all.  It  was  nothing  less  than  a  rational 
measure  looking  to  the  establishment  of  Greek 
nationality;  but  the  spirit  of  localism,  which, 
in  some  shape  or  other,  was  the  bane  of  the 
Gre^s  in  all  their  subsequent  history,  was 
already  too  strong  to  be  overcome,  and  the 
suggestion  of  Thales  was  of  little  practical 
effect. 


348 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  the  meantime  Harpagus  continued  his 
conquests.  Forming  a  large  force  of  mercen- 
aries, composed  chiefly  of  the  lonians  and 
^olians,  he  marched  into  Caria  and  easily 
overran  the  country.  The  Greeks  also  of  the 
Dorian  towns  on  the  coast  gave  up  Avitliout  a 
struggle  and  became  tributary  to  the  Persian 
king.  The  Lycians,  however,  in  alliance  with 
the  Caunians,  made  a  stubborn  resistance. 
The  story  of  their  defense  is  one  of  tragic 
heroism.  Overpowered  by  the  superior  forces 
of  Harpagus,  they  retreated  into  their  two 
towns,  Caunus  and  Xanthus,  and  when  these 
could  be  defended  no  longer,  they  applied  the 
torch  to  their  own  homes,  burned  their  wives 
and  children,  and  then  rushing  forth  fell  upon 
their  enemies  and  fought  till  the  last  man 
perished. 

On  reaching  his  own  capital,  after  the  con- 
quest of  Lydia,  Cyrus  immediately  turned  his 
attention  to  the  countries  on  his  eastern  bor- 
ders. Of  these  the  most  important  was  Bac- 
tria.  Inhabited,  like  Media  and  Persia,  by 
people  of  the  Iranic  race,  having  its  own 
traditions  and  history,  famous  as  the  home  of 
Zoroaster,  this  land  had  an  affinity  in  lan- 
guage, customs,  and  population  with  the  best 
parts  of  the  Empire.  During  the  time  of  the 
Median  ascendency  Bactria  had  been  nomi- 
nally dependent  upon  that  power,  but  no 
actual  reduction  of  the  people  to  the  extent 
of  incorporating  them  with  the  other  nations 
subjugated  by  Cyaxares  had  taken  place. 
The  Bactrians  were  brave  and  warlike,  but 
less  skillful  in  tactics  and  discipline  than  their 
invaders.  Cyrus,  however,  in  his  campaign 
against  them,  found  them  a  formidable  foe; 
and  it  was  his  superiority  in  numbers  and 
equipment,  combined  with  the  impetus  of  vic- 
tory which  his  army  had  now  acquired,  rather 
than  naked  valor,  which  led  to  his  success. 
The  Bactrians  were  subdued,  made  their  sub- 
mission, and  were  incorporated  in  the  Empire. 

The  next  campaign — following  immediately 
after  the  Bactrian — was  directed  against  the 
great  nation  of  the  Sacse.  These  multitu- 
dinous barbarians  were  excellent  soldiers,  fight- 
ing desperately  both  on  foot  and  on  horseback, 
wielding  the  bow  and  the  battle-axe  with 
terrible  effect,  wheeling  and  whirling  in  battle 


like  swift  clouds  driven  by  angry  winds.  Men 
and  women  fought  side  by  side  in  the  ranks, 
and  there  was  little  difference  in  the  effective- 
ness of  their  blows  or  courage.  They  came 
into  the  field  a  half-million  strong  to  resist  the 
coming  of  Cyrus.  In  one  terrible  battle  they 
had  some  advantage.  Their  king — Amorges — 
was  taken  by  the  Persians,  but  the  queen — 
Sparethra — took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the 
battle,  which  was  fought  with  such  despera- 
tion that  several  Persian  officers  of  distinction 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Sacse  and  enabled 
them  to  get  back  their  king  by  an  exchange 
of  prisoners.  Nevertheless  the  prowess  of  the 
Persians  proved  too  much  for  the  undisci- 
plined rage  of  the  barbarians,  and  they  were 
overcome.  Like  the  other  tribes,  they  sub- 
mitted to  the  Persian  yoke  and  became  tribu- 
tary to  the  conqueror. 

After  this  success  Cyrus  rapidly  overran 
the  territories  of  nearly  all  those  nations 
which  have  been  described  in  a  preceding 
chajDter  as  provincial  dependencies  of  the 
Empire.  Hyrcania,  Parthia,  Chorasmia,  Sog- 
diana,  Arya,  Sattagydia,  and  Gandaria,  each 
in  turn  fell  before  the  resistless  arms  of  Persia. 
As  far  north  as  the  Jaxartes — on  whose  banks 
a  town  named  Cyropolis  for  generations  bore 
witness  to  the  presence  of  the  conqueror — 
and  as  far  east  as  Afghanistan,  and  southward 
to  Seistan,  the  Persian  king  continued  his 
triumphant  march,  repeating  in  each  province 
the  drama  of  victory.  At  the  close  of  the 
great  campaign  the  whole  vast  region  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  Jaxartes,  on  the  east  by 
the  valley  of  the  Indus,  on  the  south  by  the 
deserts  of  Khorassan,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
Caspian  sea,  had  been  reduced  to  submission 
and  added  to  the  Persian  dominions. 

According  to  the  Greek  historian,  Arrian, 
who  was  Roman  prefect  of  Cappadocia  in  the 
second  century  of  our  era,  the  next  campaign 
of  Cyrus  was  into  Gedrosia.  But  of  this  ex- 
pedition we  have  no  details,  and  the  fact  of 
the  conquest  has  been  called  in  question.  The 
country  of  the  Gedrosians,  however,  was,  in 
the  times  of  Darius  Hystaspis,  a  province  of 
the  Empire,  and  it  must  therefore  have  been 
added  by  himself  or  some  of  his  predecessors, 
most  likely   Cyrus.     Be   this  as  it   may,  the 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


349 


conquest  was  effected  at  some  time  between  the 
reign  of  the  latter  and  that  of  Darius. 

The  period  assigned  to  these  Eastern  cam- 
paigns of  Cyrus  is  thirteen  or  fourteen  years. 
Perhaps  during  these  long-continued  wars  and 
marches  he  returned  at  intervals  to  his  own 
capital.  It  is  probable  that  the  monarch  spent 
many  of  his  winters  either  at  Ecbatana  or 
Pasargadse,  and  thence  with  the  opening  of 
spring  renewed  his  military  operations  after 
the  prevalent  manner  of  the  times.  Thus, 
for  a  long  period,  by  the  constant  occupations 
of  Cyrus  in  the  East,  did  Nabonadius,  king 
of  Babylon,  secure  exemption  from  the  pun- 
ishment which  he  had  provoked  by  his  alliance 
with  Croesus  in  former  yearSo  It  does  not 
often  happen,  however,  that  an  Eastern  king 
allows  his  wrath  to  cool  in  the  case  of  one 
who  has  entered  a  league  against  him,  and  so 
the  vengeance  of  the  Persian  was  procrasti- 
nated rather  than  extinguished.  When  his 
Eastern  wars  were  ended  he  was  already  sixty 
years  of  age,  but  his  ardor  was  not  cooled, 
and  he  now  found  time  to  inflict  on  the  Bab- 
ylonians the  chastisement  long  due  for  their 
defection  and  disloyalty  to  old  traditions  of 
friendship. 

It  was  in  the  year  B.  C.  539  that  the 
Persian  monarch  found  himself  in  readiness 
to  proceed  against  Babylon.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  he  was  delayed  one  winter  in 
Susiana,  as  it  has  been  alleged,  by  the  drown- 
ing of  the  sacred  horses.  Here  it  was,  at  any 
rate,  either  by  design  or  accident,  that  his 
soldiers  became  expert  in  the  use  of  the  spade 
and  learned  how  to  change  the  channels  of 
great  rivers.  In  the  spring  of  the  next  year 
he  resumed  his  march  into  the  Babylonian 
plain,  and  in  the  course  of  that  memorable 
summer  succeeded  in  the  complete  demolition 
of  the  Empire  of  the  Babylonians.  How  the 
great  city  fell ;  how  Nabonadius  was  cooped 
up  in  Borsippa;  how,  foreseeing  the  inevit- 
able, he  surrendered  himself  and  his  people 
to  the  conqueror,  has  already  been  fully  nar- 
rated in  the  preceding  pages.'  With  the  cap- 
ture of  Babylon  there  was  an  immediate  rec- 

'  For  an  account  of  the  capture  of  Babylon  and 
the  establishment  of  Persian  supremacy  in  Meso- 
potamia, see  Book  Fifth,  p.  300. 


ognition  of  the  new  order  of  things  through- 
out Mesopotamia.  Susiana  had  been  already 
subdued.  Syria  and  Palestine  passed  as  a 
matter  of  course  to  the  conqueror.  His  Em- 
pire was  suddenly  enlarged  by  territories 
whose  aggregate  area  was  not  less  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  of  square  miles.  From 
the  Indus  to  the  Mediterranean  there  was  no 
longer  left  a  single  state  able  to  throw  serious 
resistance  or  even  an  interesting  impediment 
in  the  way  of  the  Great  King.  Up  to  this 
time  in  the  history  of  the  world  no  other  had 
ruled  such  vast  dominions.  It  was  the  sudden 
ascendency  of  a  new  family  of  mankind.  For 
fifteen  hundred  years  the  Semites  and  Cushites 
had  dominated  the  best  parts  of  Western  Asia 
and  Africa.  It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  Ar- 
yans to  introduce  their  world-wide  supremacy 
by  the  establishment  of  their  first  great  Em- 
pire. This  collapse  of  the  political  power  of 
the  Semitic  race  involved  a  great  change  in 
the  opinions  and  usages  of  mankind.  It  was 
a  crisis  which  marked  the  downfall  of  an  old 
system  of  religious  faith  which,  variously  in- 
flected, had  prevailed  among  the  Mesopota- 
mian  nations  and  in  various  countries  whose 
people  were  in  race-affinity  with  the  Chal- 
daeans  and  Assyrians.  For  all  this  there  was 
substituted  a  new  set  of  doctrines  and  beliefs, 
in  spirituality  greatly  superior  to  the  old,  in 
philosophy  much  more  accordant  with  right 
reason.  The  ancient  religious  beliefs  of  Bab- 
ylon and  Nineveh  were  impaled  on  the  sword 
of  Cyrus  the  Great  and  held  up  for  a  specta- 
cle ;  and  the  gods  of  the  Babylonian  plain  did 
a  sudden  and  everlasting  obeisance  to  the 
spirit  of  Zoroaster. 

Inside  of  the  borders  of  the  Empire  estab- 
lished by  the  Persian  king  there  was  little  left 
to  engage  his  energies.  On  the  extreme 
south-west  the  little  state  of  Phoenicia  neg- 
lected or  refused  to  acknowledge  the  new  or- 
der by  sending  tokens  of  submission.  It  does 
not  appear,  however,  that  the  mind  of  Cyrus 
was  seriously  disturbed  by  this  act,  which  at 
the  worst  could  occasion  but  little  trouble. 
He  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  combat- 
ing with  enemies  of  larger  growth  that  he 
gave  little  attention  to  the  hostile  attitude  as- 
sumed   by  the    Phoenicians.     It   was    Egypt, 


350 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


rather  than  Phoenicia,  to  which  he  looked  as 
the  next  field  worthy  of  his  talents  and  ambi- 
tion, and  with  a  view  to  aiding  his  interests 
and  plans  in  this  direction  he  adopted  a 
measure  which,  to  say  the  least,  was  as  much 
one  of  statecraft  as  of  religious  preference. 

This  was  the  restoration  to  their  own  country 
of  the  captive  Jews  of  Babylon.  For  seventy 
years  these  exiles  had  toiled  at  the  public 
works  in  and  about  the  great  city.  In  the 
latter    part   of  this   period   the   rigor  of  the 


come  out  from  Jewry  were  now  dead,  but  the 
enthusiasm  and  gratitude  of  their  children 
were  easily  awaked  at  the  prospect  of  a  return 
to  the  abandoned  altars  of  their  fathers;  and 
the  edict  of  emancipation  issued  by  Cyrus 
was  hailed  with  delight  by  the  people,  who, 
under  the  leadex'ship  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
returned  to  Palestine  and  began  the  work  of 
rebuilding  Jerusalem. 

While    the    invasion    of  Egypt   was   stiU 
postponed  by  Cyrus,  his  attention  was  called 


THE  REBUILDING  OF  JERUSALEM. 


Babylonians  had  relaxed,  and  the  servile  race 
had  found  some  favor  in  the  eyes  of  their 
masters.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  later 
Babylonian  kings  had  more  than  once  con- 
templated restoring  the  Jews  to  their  own 
land.  This  idea  was  adopted— though  for 
different  reasons — by  Cyrus,  who  perceived 
that  such  an  act  would  assure  the  establish- 
ment of  a  friendly  nation  on  the  immediate 
borders  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  direct  line  of 
march  which  he  must  take  in  case  of  an  inva- 
sion of  that  country.  All  but  a  few  of  the 
generation    who    seventy    years    before    had 


by  the  turbulence  of  certain  barbarian  nations 
to  the  other  extreme  of  his  empire.  It  is  not 
impossible  that  there  Avas  that  in  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  king  which  led  him  to  prefer  cam- 
paigns against  the  half-savage  races  of  the 
Great  Plateau  rather  than  war  with  the  luxu- 
rious peoples  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  South- 
west. At  any  rate,  instead  of  engaging  in  a 
war  with  Egypt,  he  began  a  march  to  the 
north-east  for  the  purpose  of  chastising  the 
wild  tribes  of  that  region,  who  had  grown  in- 
solent by  immunity.  The  particular  people 
to  be  punished  were,  according  to  Herodotus, 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


351 


the  Massagetse,  who  had  their  haunts  beyond 
the  Jaxartes;  but  according  to  Ctesias,  the 
race  against  which  the  campaign  was  directed 
was  a  nation  called  the  Derbices,  dwelling 
next  to  India.  The  stories  of  the  results  of 
the  war  that  ensued  are  also  contradictory. 
The  account  of  Herodotus  is,  that  in  a  great 
battle  with  the  Massagetse  Cyrus  was  at  first 
victorious,  but  that  afterwards  he  was  defeated 
and  slain,  his  body  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  barbarians,  by  whom  it  was  treated  with 
shameful  indignity.  The  story  told  by  Ctesias 
is  that  the  Derbices  were  assisted  by  the  In- 
dians, who  furnished  them  with  soldiers  and 
elephants.  In  a  hard  fought  battle  Cyrus 
was  defeated  and  mortally  wounded.  In  a 
second  engagement,  however,  the  Persians 
rallied,  and,  with  the  help  of  the  Sacse,  over- 
came the  enemy  and  compelled  them  to  sub- 
mit. All  accounts  agree  that  Cyrus  lost  his 
life.  As  to  his  body,  that  certainly  was  re- 
covered from  the  foe,  even  if  it  ever  fell  into 
their  hands;  for  the  tomb  of  the  great  con- 
queror remains  at  Pasargadse  unto  the  present 
day.  His  reign  lasted  for  twenty-nine  years, 
his  death  occurring  in  the  year  B.  C.  529. 
His  exit  from  power  and  from  the  world  is 
wrapped  in  that  strange  obscurity  which  has 
veiled  the  final  passage  of  so  many  of  the 
celebrities  of  history. 

The  reign  of  Cyrus  the  Great  marked  an 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  world. 
The  transformation  from  pure  orientalism  to 
half-rational  methods  of  government  began 
from  this  time,  and  was  in  some  degree  trace- 
able to  the  character  of  Cyrus.  He  was  a 
man  of  genius,  essentially  warlike,  little  satis- 
fied with  the  vocations  of  peace.  In  courage 
and  energy  he  was  without  a  rival  among  the 
raonarchs  of  the  age  he  lived  in.  His  judg- 
ment was  unerring,  his  foresight  equal  to  any 
emergency,  his  humanity  far  above  the  spirit 
of  his  times.  His  conduct  was  frequently 
marked  by  charitable  features,  for  which  we 
should  look  in  vain  in  many  modern  heroes. 
Whether  in  himself,  considered  as  general  and 
king,  or  in  his  surroundings,  which,  as  always 
happens,  were  determined  in  their  moral  tone 
by  his  own  example,  he  rises  in  character  far 
above  any  other  monarch  of  his  own  epoch, 

A. — Vol.   T 22 


perhaps  above  any  Asiatic  king  who  ever  sat 
on  a  throne.  The  epithet  of  "Great"  which 
he  fairly  won  may  be  defended  and  reaffirmed 
before  the  bar  of  history. 

One  of  the  chief  influences  shed  forth  from 
the  reign  of  Cyrus  was  the  birth  of  Persian 
art.  The  simple  but  massive  structures  at 
Pasargadse  were  among  the  best  fruits  of  that 
strength  and  energy  which  diffused  itself  on 
every  hand.  It  was  the  Doric  era  in  Persian 
architecture.  The  added  glories  of  the  great 
palaces  of  the  successors  of  C3ncus  at  Persep- 
olis  were  but  the  natural  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  what  was  begun  at  Pasargadse. 

Like  a  prudent  king,  Cyrus  settled  the 
succession  in  the  monarchy.  It  was  ordained 
that  the  crown  should  descend  to  Cambyses, 
the  eldest  son  of  the  king.  In  this  respect 
Cyrus  was  less  embarrassed  than  his  successors, 
for  he  had  eschewed  polygamy  and  limited 
himself  to  but  one  wife.  By  her  he  had  five 
children,  two  sons  and  three  daughters.  The 
second  son  was  named  Smerdis,  and  to  him 
the  king  assigned  the  independent  government 
of  several  provinces.  In  this  circumstance 
was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  civil  and  social 
broils  that  ensued,  and  of  the  revolution 
which  finally  cost  his  family  the  throne  of  the 
Empire. 

For  no  sooner  was  Cyrus  dead  and  Cam- 
byses established  in  authority  than  the  latter 
became  jealous  of  his  brother  Smerdis  to  the 
extent  of  issuing  a  secret  order  that  he  should 
be  put  to  dea'.h.  The  bloody  edict  was  ful- 
filled, but  all  knowledge  of  the  fact  was  care- 
fully concealed.  Only  the  king  and  a  few 
confederates  knew  of  the  crime  that  had  been 
committed. 

Having  thus  freed  himself  from  the  dan- 
gers of  rivalry,  and  taken  Nemesis  into  his 
confidence,  Cambyses  was  ready  to  undertake 
what  his  father  had  contemplated — the  con- 
quest of  Egypt.  It  was  now  a  quarter  of  a 
century  since  Pharaoh  Amasis,  by  his  alliance 
with  Croesus,  had  given  mortal  offense  to  Cy- 
rus. But  the  Lydian  king  was  now  resident 
at  the  capital  of  the  Empire,  and  was  held  in 
favor  with  Cambyses  himself;  so  it  seemed 
malapropos  to  dig  up  a  difficulty  on  the  score  of 
an  extinct  quarrel  between  Persia  and  Lydia. 


352 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  king,  therefore,  sought  some  new  occa- 
sion. He  sent  an  embassy  to  Egypt  and  made 
demands  that  Amasis  should  give  him  his 
daughter  for  a  wife.  The  demand  was  com- 
plied with,  and  for  a  while  Cambyses  thought 
himself  in  possession  of  an  Egyptian  princess ; 
but  he  soon  learned  that  he  had  been  made 
the  victim  of  a  vile  fraud,  for  the  girl,  after 
the  manner  of  human  nature,  told  him  that 
she  was  only  a  princess  by  proxy,  not  being 
the  daughter  of  Amasis  at  all.  That  crafty 
ruler  had  sent  an  Egyptian  damsel  named 
Nitetis  to  personate  his  daughter  in  the 
Persian  palace. 

Cambyses,  however,  was  not  displeased  at 
the  "outrage,"  for  the  transaction  gave  him 
the  very  opportunity  which  he  sought  to  settle 
old  scores  and  new  grievances  together.  He 
accordingly  began  elaborate  preparations  for 
the  invasion  of  Egypt.  In  order  to  secure  a 
safe  passage  through  the  Syrian  deserts  he 
made  treaties  with  the  Arab  chiefs  and  secured 
their  friendship.  He  saw  that  in  a  war  with 
the  Egyptians  a  naval  armament  would  be  in- 
dispensable, and  to  secure  this  in  the  distant 
Mediterranean  was  a  work  of  the  greatest 
difficulty.  The  king,  however,  opened  nego- 
tiations with  the  Phoenicians,  whom  by  alter- 
nate threats  and  bribes  he  induced  to  furnish 
fleets  for  the  desired  purpose.  The  island  of 
Cyprus  was  also  seduced  from  her  loyalty  to 
Egypt,  and  led  into  a  contribution  of  ships 
and  sailors.  The  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor, 
both  Ionian  and  ^olian,  entered  the  league, 
and  placed  a  large  naval  force  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Persian  king.  So,  after  four  years  of 
preparation,  in  B.  C.  525,  Cambyses  began 
his  invasion.  Advancing  by  way  of  the 
Mediterranean  coast,  he  came  to  PELUsroM, 
where  the  Egyptians  had  come  out  to  con- 
front him.  Here  a  decisive  battle,  in  which 
fifty  thousand  are  said  to  have  fallen,  was 
fought,  and  the  Persians  were  completely  vic- 
torious. The  Egyptians  beat  a  hurried  re- 
treat to  Memphis,  and  shut  themselves  within 
the  fortifications. 

Meanwhile,  the  combined  fleets  of  Phoenicia, 
Cyprus,  and  the  Greek  cities  had  dispersed 
the  Egyptian  armament,  so  that  by  the  time 
Cambyses     appeared     before     Memphis    the 


allied  fleet  had  taken  possession  of  the  Nile, 
and  Psametik,  who  at  this  juncture  suc- 
ceeded his  father,  Amasis,  on  the  throne,  was 
rigorously  blockaded  both  by  land  and  water. 
Nevertheless  the  resistance  was  stubborn.  The 
Greek  mercenaries  in  the  pay  of  the  Egyptians 
long  and  stoutly  defended  the  city ;  but  Per- 
sian persistence  triumphed  in  the  end,  and  the 
capital  of  the  Pharaohs  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Cambyses.  The  captive  Psametik  was 
treated  with  the  usual  consideration  shown  to 
princely  prisoners,  and  was  not,  for  the  time, 
wholly  deprived  of  power.  ^ 

As  soon  as  the  downfall  of  Egypt  was 
known,  the  petty  states  bordering  on  the  Nile 
valley  at  once  sent  in  their  submission.  Thus 
did  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  Libyan  desert 
and  the  more  distant  colonies  of  Barca  and 
Cyrenaica.  In  all  the  regions  immediately 
adjoining  the  scene  of  his  recent  conquests 
there  was  none  to  furnish  Cambyses  with 
occasion  for  further  war.  But  the  passion 
which  he  had  inherited  from  his  father  could 
not  be  satiated,  and  he  began  to  scan  the 
horizon  for  new  fields  in  which  to  display  hia 
powers.  There  were  in  Africa  at  this  time 
three  countries  besides  those  already  subju- 
gated, which  appeared  to  the  Persian  worthy 
of  his  arms.  These  were  Carthage  in  the 
west,  the  Oasis  of  Amun  in  the  distant 
desert,  and  Ethiopia  in  the  south.  If  these 
were  reduced  to  submission,  then  all  Africa 
would  be  under  the  sway  of  Persia,  as  much 
as  Western  and  Central  Asia.  What  his 
father  had  done  with  the  wild  tribes  between 
the  Jaxartes  and  Khorassan,  Cambyses  would 
do  with  the  nations  of  the  unknown  south- 
west. Three  great  campaigns  were  accord* 
ingly  planned  by  the  conqueror ;  one  against 
Carthage,  one  against  the  Oasis  of  Amun, 
and  the  third  against  Ethiopia.  In  the  prose- 
cution of  the  first  he  was  thwarted  at  the  very 
outset  by  an  unexpected  difficulty.  The  Phoe- 
nicians refused  to  participate  in  the  Cartha- 
ginian expedition  on  the  grounds  that  Car- 
thage was  a  Phoenician  colony,  and  that  they 


^  For  a  further  account  of  the  capture  of 
Memphis  by  the  Persians  and  the  conversion  of 
Egypt  into  a  province  of  the  Empire,  see  Book 
First,  p.  71. 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


358 


could  not  be  expected  to  make  war  upon  their 
own  kinsmen  and  friends.  Without  the 
cooperation  of  the  fleet  the  campaign  was  an 
impossibility,  for  no  march  to  such  a  distance 
with  the  desert  on  the  left  and  the  sea  on  the 
right,  could  be  conducted  without  a  constant 
resort  to  ships  for  necessary  supplies.  So  the 
attack  on  Carthage  had  to  be  postponed  or 
wholly  given  up.  But  the  expedition  against 
Amun  was  immediately  undertaken.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  this  oasis  was  the  seat  of 
the  worship  of  the  god  Amun,  held  in  such 
high  esteem  by  the  Thebans,  and,  indeed,  by 
all  the  hierarchy  of  Egypt.  To  overthrow 
this  shrine  and  altar,  and  to  substitute  therefor 
the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Zoroastrianism, 
seemed  to  Cambyses  a  necessary  part  of  the 
work  by  which  Persia  and  Persian  institutions 
should  become  predominant  in  all  the  world. 
So  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men  was  organ- 
ized at  Memphis  and  dispatched  against 
Amun.  But  Amun  was  regardful  of  his 
ancient  rights.  The  Libyan  sands  were  blown 
up  in  a  terrific  storm,  and  the  Avhole  army 
was  buried  alive.  Not  a  man  was  left  to 
carry  the  news  to  Cambyses  how  nature  had 
fought  for  Africa. 

These  checks  and  disasters  angered  rather 
than  dismayed  the  Persian  monarch.  With 
the  residue  of  his  forces,  he  now  undertook 
in  person  the  subjugation  of  Ethiopia.  The 
march  lay  across  the  Nubian  desert.  It  was 
more  serious  business  than  the  crossing  of 
those  Syrian  wastes  with  which  the  kings  of 
Western  Asia  were  all  familiar.  The  Persian 
had  not  advanced  far  until  he  began  to  be 
distressed  by  failure  of  provisions.  The  far- 
ther he  went  the  more  straitened  became 
his  condition.  To  go  forward  was  irretrieva- 
ble ruin;  to  return  was  humiliation  and  dis- 
grace. Necessity  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of 
retreat.  Without  striking  a  blow  Cambyses 
staggered  back  across  the  desert,  and  was  glad 
to  find  himself  again  in  Egypt  with  the  sur- 
vivors of  his  ill-advised  expeditions. 

The  Egyptians — especially  the  priests — 
were  quick  to  see  what  they  regarded  as  the 
«mens  of  hope  in  these  disasters  of  their  op- 
pressor. To  the  people  the  haggard  king  and 
his  hungfy  forces  seemed  now  but  an  army 


of  shreds  and  patches.  The  gods  of  Africa 
were  evidently  in  a  revival.  Wherefore  the 
priests  proceeded  to  declare  a  new  incarnation 
of  Apis,  and  the  people,  in  accordance  with 
immemorial  usage  on  such  occasions,  broke 
forth  in  a  jubilee.  Meanwhile,  political  sedi- 
tion was  at  work.  Psametik  himself,  who 
until  now  had  retained  the  government — of 
course,  under  direction  of  his  conqueror — was 
detected  in  treasonable  intrigues.  The  Egyp- 
tian princes  were  mostly  engaged  in  the  same 
dangerous  business,  and  the  priests  were  eager 
to  set  fire  to  the  insurrection.  But  the  Per- 
sian lion,  who  had  come  back  half-starved 
from  the  Nubian  desert,  was  still  a  lion,  and 
he  soon  taught  them  the  folly  of  supposing 
him  an  ass.  He  seized  Psametik  and  put 
him  to  death.  The  nobles  who  had  conspired 
with  him  were  also  slain.  The  priests  were 
scourged  until  their  sacred  backs  were  bloody. 
The  new  Apis,  in  all  his  royal  calfhood,  was 
ordered  to  be  brought  into  the  presence  of 
Cambyses,  who  ran  him  through  with  his 
sword.  The  festival  of  the  incarnation  was 
abolished  by  an  edict.  Every  tradition  of  the 
hierarchy  was  openly  insulted.  The  king  tore 
open  the  sacred  sarcophagi,  and  handled  the 
royal  mummies  with  as  much  contempt  as  if 
they  had  been  pieces  of  decayed  wood.  He 
went  into  the  holy  places  in  the  temples  of 
Memjihis,  and  made  faces  at  the  image  of 
Phtha.  His  insulted  godship  was  then  taken 
down  and  burned.  The  Egyptians  quailed  be- 
fore the  angry  monarch,  whose  vehement 
character  they  had  underestimated,  and  all 
symptoms  of  rebellion  immediately  disap- 
peared. There  is  little  doubt,  however,  that 
the  wrath  of  the  king  was  in  the  long  run  an 
impolitic  as  well  as  an  uu-Persian  display  of 
passion,  and  that  the  subsequent  disquietude 
and  disloyal  spirit  of  the  Egyptians  was  in 
some  degree  traceable  to  the  severity  with 
which  their  first  foolish  defection  was  visited. 
For  a  series  of  years,  however,  all  spirit  of 
resistance  disappeared,  and  Egypt,  without 
complaint,  assumed  a  provincial  position  in 
the  great  Empire. 

As  soon  as  quiet  was  completely  restored 
on  the  Nile,  Cambyses,  in  the  year  B.  C.  522. 
set  out  on  his  return  to  Persia.     He  had  pro- 


354 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ceeded  as  far  as  Syria  when  the  most  startling 
news  reached  him  from  his  own  capital.  A 
herald  suddenly  dashed  into  the  camp  and 
made  open  proclamation  that  Cambyses  was 
dethroned,  and  demanded  submission  of  all 
loyal  Persians  to  Smerdis,  the  king,  the  son 
of  Cyrus.     For    the   moment  Cambyses  was 


must  be  an  impostor ;  but  he  could  not  be  de* 
nounced  as  such  without  betraying  the  crime 
of  the  king.  Even  should  Cambyses  now 
proclaim  the  truth,  he  would  not  be  believed ; 
for  his  assertion  would  be  accepted  as  the  fic- 
tion and  lie  of  a  falling  coward.  It  was  sug- 
gested by  Prexaspes  that  the  impostor  was  a 


CAMBYSES  KILLS  THE  APIS. 
Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


utterly  confounded,  not  knowing  whether  his 
brother  was  really  alive  or  whether  another 
had  assumed  his  character.  It  happened, 
however,  that  Prexaspes,  the  Persian  noble- 
man to  whom  the  assassination  of  Smerdis  had 
been  intrusted  years  before,  was  with  the 
army,  and  by  him  the  king  was  reassured  that 
the  perfidious  deed  had  really  been  accom- 
plished.    He  who  now  impersonated  Smerdis 


certain  Gomates,  a  Magus,  to  whose  brother 
Cambyses,  in  departing  for  Egypt,  had  com- 
mitted the  government  of  his  palace — and 
this  conjecture  proved  to  be  correct;  but  it 
availed  the  king  nothing  who  or  what  he  was 
who  had  seized  his  throne.  In  the  sore  dis- 
tress and  desperation  of  the  case,  the  Persian 
king,  with  the  rash  impetuosity  of  his  nature, 
determined  to  put  himself  beyond  the  reach 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


355 


of  conspirators.  He  drew  his  sword  and 
plunged  it  into  his  side.  The  wound  was 
mortal,  and  in  a  few  days  he  expired.  The 
silent  Nemesis  had  settled  her  account. 

The  character  of  Cambyses  is  strongly  con- 
trasted with  that  of  his  father.  The  latter 
preserved  to  his  death  the  confidence  of  his 
army  and  country.  The  former  was  never 
entirely  secure  with  either.  His  unsuccessful 
campaigns  in  Africa  tarnished  his  reputation 
as  a  general,  and  the  loyalty  of  his  troops 
in  the  hour  of  the  great  crisis  may  well  be 
doubted.  He  was  subject  to  extremes  of 
passion,  and  when  aroused  was  capable  of  any 
cruelty.  In  his  private  life  he  is  represented 
to  have  been  of  a  cold  and  haughty  temper, 
little  conducive  of  personal  esteem.  His 
name,  moreover,  is  stained  with  the  practice 
of  revolting  vices  and  the  perpetration  of 
dark  crimes.  Under  the  influence  of  a  vile 
passion  he  married  his  own  sister,  and  he  pro- 
cured his  brother's  assassination.  In  the  Per- 
sian inscriptions  he  is  described  by  epithets 
indicating  the  low  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held  by  his  countrymen.  Nor  were  the  Greek 
historians  more  careful  of  his  memory.  He 
remained  true  to  the  national  religion,  and  it 
is  believed  that  an  element  in  his  despair  was 
the  belief  that  both  his  army  and  his  country- 
men at  large  were  infected  with  the  vices  of 
Magism  to  the  extent  of  making  hopeless  any 
struggle  which  he  might  make  to  dethrone  the 
usurper  Gomates. 

To  the  impostor  the  death  of  the  king  was 
so  far  all  that  could  be  desired.  That  event 
freed  himself  from  the  greatest,  but  not  the 
only,  peril  which  confronted  him.  He  still 
had  a  difficult  and  dangerous  part  to  play. 
There  was  the  liability  to  detection.  There 
were  his  mutilated  ears ;  for  Cyrus  the  Great 
had  cut  off  those  members  for  the  pei'petration 
of  a  crime.  There  was  the  religious  im- 
broglio ;  for  he  was  the  tool  of  the  Magians, 
who  through  him  hoped  to  secure  in  Persia, 
as  they  had  done  in  Media,  the  establishment 
of  a  system  in  which  there  was  some  chance 
for  a  priesthood  to  display  itself  This  fea- 
ture of  the  usurpation  had  to  be  kept  well  in 
the  background,  both  by  the  managers  and 
the  beneficiary ;  for  it  was  not  safe  for  either 


to  do  more  than  chuckle  in  private  over  the 
prospect  of  a  religious  revolution. 

Under  conditions  such  as  these,  conspira- 
tors generally  adopt  the  ruse  of  advancing 
some  popular  measure  which  shall  distract  at- 
tention from  the  real  purposes  to  be  promoted. 
Gomates  and  his  Magian  counselors  accord- 
ingly began  their  government  by  issuing 
edicts  for  the  remission  of  all  tributes  and 
military  service  for  the  space  of  three  years. 
These  were  measures  calculated  to  give  great 
satisfaction,  especially  in  the  provinces,  where 
the  danger  of  insurrection  was  to  be  most  ap- 
prehended. As  a  second  step  in  the  direction 
of  allaying  discontent,  the  Pseudo-Smerdis — 
for  by  that  name  is  he  generally  known — took 
to  wife  all  the  widows  of  Cambyses.  This 
was  a  popular  but  dangerous  proceeding,  for 
some  of  these  ex-wives  of  the  late  king — cer- 
tainly Atossa — were  acquainted  with  the  real 
Smerdis,  and  might  therefore  be  expected  to 
reveal  the  imposture.  To  prevent  this  a  new 
rule  was  adopted  for  the  harem  by  which  the 
inmates,  who  had  hitherto  associated  freely 
within  the  Gynreceum,  were  now  isolated, 
each  being  strictly  ordered  to  remain  in  her 
own  apartments.  All  communication,  both 
within  and  without,  was,  as  to  the  women  of 
the  seraglio,  positively  interdicted.  By  these 
measures  the  conspirators  hoped  to  trammel 
up  the  consequences  of  the  audacious  business 
which  they  had  in  hand. 

It  is,  however,  in  the  nature  of  crime  to 
betray  itself.  Brief  immunity  gives  a  longer 
rein.  Gomates,  encouraged  by  temporary 
success  and  instigated  by  the  impatient  Ma- 
gians, soon  set  about  the  work  of  the  religious 
revolution.  He  ordered  the  temples  of  the 
Zoroastrians  to  be  destroyed  and  their  rites  to 
be  discontinued.  Everywhere  the  Magi  ap- 
peared as  the  representatives  of  religion.  The 
adherents  of  the  old  system  were  for  the 
time  overawed.  In  Media  the  change  was, 
of  course,  accepted  with  favor,  and  in  the 
provinces  with  indiflference.  What  to  them 
was  a  change  from  Ahura-Mazdao  to  the  gods 
of  Sun,  Earth,  Water,  and  Air?  As  for 
them  their  own  local  altars  and  petty  deities 
had  been  abolished  long  ago ;  so  the  war  of 
the  great  gods  worshiped  by  conquerors  con- 


S56 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


cerned  them  not  at  all.  Only  in  Persia  was 
there  danger  of  insurrection  against  the  meas- 
ures which  Gomates  advanced  with  ever- 
increasing  boldness. 

Meanwhile  suspicions  began  to  be  blown 
abroad.  There  were  many  who  recalled  the 
dying  declarations  of  Cambyses  to  the  effect 
that  the  self-asserting  Smerdis  was  an  impos- 
tor. The  sudden  change  in  the  management 
of  the  seraglio,  and  more  particularly  the  se- 
clusion of  the  king  himself,  who  neither  went 
beyond  the  palace  walls  or  permitted  himself 
to  be  seen  within  them,  added  to  the  growing 
belief  that  all  was  not  well  with  the  state. 
In  the  minds  of  all  those  who  were  faithful 
to  Zoroastrianism  there  was  still  greater  cause 
for  suspicion  in  the  religious  treason  of  the 
secreted  monarch,  which  was  such  as  no  true 
Achsemenian  ever  could  have  been  guilty  of. 
Still  the  unseen  beast  might  be  a  lion,  and 
for  a  while  rebellion  smouldered. 

After  a  season,  however,  rumor  spread  her 
wings.  There  were  mutterings  in  various 
quarters  portending  an  outbreak.  At  first 
these  were  suppressed,  and  a  few  leaders  ot 
discontent  were  put  to  death.  Soon,  however, 
the  ' '  Seven  Princes  "  of  the  Empire  took  secret 
counsel  regarding  the  condition  of  affairs,  and 
it  was  resolved  that  the  impostor  in  the 
palace  should  be  overthrown  at  all  hazards. 
As  a  leader  of  the  daring  business  Darius, 
one  of  the  Princes,  son  of  Hystaspes,  who 
was  a  Persian  noble  of  lineal  descent  from 
Achsemenes,  was  chosen.  He  had  himself — 
if  we  trust  his  great  inscription  on  the  rocks 
of  Behistun — a  clear,  even  indisputable  title 
to  the  crown  in  case  of  the  failure  of  the  line 
of  Cyrus.  Even  in  the  life-time  of  that  king 
Darius  had  been  recognized  as  of  the  blood 
royal,  and  had  been  under  suspicion  of  enter- 
taining designs  on  the  crown.  Now  that 
Smerdis  was  killed  and  Cambyses  had  killed 
himself,  there  was  an  open  road  for  a  legiti- 
mate Achsemenian  to  the  throne  of  the 
Empire. 

On  arriving  at  the  capital  Darius  became 
the  soul  of  the  conspiracy.  He  and  his  fel- 
lows organized  a  select  band,  and  were  on  the 
eve  of  assaulting  the  palace  when  Gomates 
took  the  alarm  and  fled.     He  was  pursued  to 


Sictachotes,  in  Media,  where  he  had  taken 
refuge  in  a  fort.  This  was  entered  by  Darius 
and  his  followers,  and  the  impostor  was  sur- 
rounded and  slain.  A  number  of  his  adhe- 
rents, who  had  sought  refuge  with  him  in  the 
fort,  shared  his  fate.  The  head  of  the  usurper, 
with  the  indisputable  proof  of  his  pernicious 
career  written  in  the  stumps  of  his  ears,  was 
cut  off  and  borne  away  by  the  insurgents, 
who  exhibited  it  everywhere  as  at  once  the 
cause  and  the  justification  of  their  bloody 
deed.  There  was  a  general  uprising,  and  each 
one  felt  warranted  in  cutting  down  the  first 
Magus  whom  he  met.  Until  nightfall  there 
was  a  massacre,  but  the  destruction  of  life 
was  not  renewed  on  the  morrow.  An  edict 
was,  however,  issued  that  henceforth  the  anni- 
versary of  the  death  of  Gomates  should  be 
observed  as  a  solemn  festival,  during  which 
none  of  the  Magian  caste  should  venture 
forth  under  penalty  of  losing  his  life. 

DARros  ascended  the  throne  without  oppo- 
sition. He  took  care  to  claim  the  Achseme- 
nian descent,  and  thus  secured  himself  against 
any  hostility  on  the  part  of  zealous  adherents 
of  the  house  of  Cyrus.  In  entering  upon  his 
reign  some  additional  guarantees  of  good  gov- 
ernment were  given,  though  these  were  merely 
concessions  of  privileges  and  prerogatives  to 
the  great  princes  who  had  recently  helped  him 
to  the  throne.  Among  these  pledges  was  that 
which  gave  to  each  prince  the  unrestricted 
right  to  enter  the  palace  and  have  interviews 
with  the  king.  Another  stipulation  was  that 
the  royal  wives  should  henceforth  be  chosen 
from  the  families  of  the  Seven  Princes,  and 
from  them  only.  In  addition  to  these  guar- 
antees it  was  specially  conceded  to  Otanes,  one 
of  the  princes,  that  he  and  his  successor  at 
the  head  of  his  house  should  be  exempt  from 
kingly  interference,  and  should  be  annually 
honored  with  a  present  from  his  sovereign. 

The  bottom  principles  in  the  recent  civil 
broils  in  Persia  had  been  essentially  religious. 
To  this  subject  the  new  monarch  at  once  turned 
his  attention.  The  Zoroastrian  temples  were 
rebuilt  and  the  old  rites  re'instituted.  In  pro- 
portion as  favor  was  thus  shown  to  the  ancient 
faith  the  innovations  of  Magism  were  carefully 
eradicated.     The  general  policy  of  Cyrus  wag 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


357 


adopted  in  the  government,  and  the  impre?sion 
was  thus  sought  to  be  made  that  the  revo- 
lution was  really  a  restitution  of  the  old 
Hgime. 

During  the  reign  of  the  Pseudo-Smerdis  the 
Jews  of  the  West  had  had  trouble.  The  re- 
building of  their  ancient  temple,  which  had 
been  begun  under  the  edict  of  Cyrus,  had,  on 
the  petition  of  the  Samaritans,  been  ordered 
to  cease.  After  the  accession  of  Darius  the 
enemies  of  the  Jewish  people  attempted  to 
secure  a  continuance  of  the  injunction,  but 
the  king  not  only  renewed  the  concessions 
made  by  Cyrus  but  actually  opened  the  royal 
store-houses  to  furnish  the  means  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  work  in  Jewry. 

The  religious  attitude  of  Darius  was  at 
once  his  strength  and  his  weakness.  In  Per- 
sia Proper  the  actions  of  the  king  in  suppress- 
ing Magism  met  with  general  favor,  and  the 
same  was  true  in  Bactria  and  the  north-east. 
But  in  other  parts  of  the  Empire,  especially 
in  Media,  the  reverse  was  true.  In  countries 
where  Magism  had  come  to  be  preferred  to 
the  doctrines  of  Zoroaster,  there  was  profound 
though  silent  hostility  to  the  religious  revolu- 
tion. In  this  the  seeds  of  discontent  were 
plentiful.  The  circumstances,  moreover,  un- 
der which  Darius  had  obtained  the  crown 
were  such  as  to  suggest  the  possibility  of 
other  successful  conspiracies.  In  the  distant 
parts  of  the  Empire  the  full  force  of  the  im- 
posture of  Gomates,  and  the  full  justice  of 
the  Seven  Princes  in  rebelling  against  him, 
would  not  be  felt,  and  Darius  would  be  re- 
garded merely  as  an  insurgent  who  had  won 
the  throne  by  audacity.  The  re'imposition 
of  tribute  and  of  military  service  by  the  new 
king — things  necessary  to  an  actual,  but  not 
necessary  to  a  factitious,  monarch — tended  to 
disaffection. 

All  these  reasons,  and  others,  combined  to 
launch  Darius  and  his  government  on  a  sea 
of  troubles.  Almost  immediately  after  the 
new  regime  was  established  a  series  of  rebel- 
lions broke  out,  which  rolled  wave  after  wave 
through  well-nigh  the  whole  extent  of  the 
Empire,  and  involved  in  their  suppression  the 
persistent  efforts  of  the  king  for  a  period  of 
six  years.     Even  the  home  government  was 


shaken  by  a  revolt,  which  was,  however, 
easily  quieted  by  force. 

The  most  serious  of  the  insurrections  were 
in  Susiana,  Babylonia,  Media,  Assyria,  Ar- 
menia, Parthia,  Hyrcania,  Margiana,  Sagartia, 
and  Sacia.  In  all  of  these  countries  rebellion 
followed  rebellion  like  a  succession  of  explo- 
sions, and  at  times  much  more  than  half  of 
the  entire  Persian  dominions  were  in  revolt. 
If  Darius  had  been  a  prince  subject  to  alarms, 
or  if  he  had  been  wanting  in  expedients 
backed  by  great  persistence,  he  would,  in  all 
probability,  have  been  overwhelmed.  But  he 
faced  his  insurgent  provinces  with  true  cour- 
age, and  ultimately  showed  himself  the  master. 

The  rebellions  in  Susiana  and  Babylonia 
broke  out  at  about  the  same  time.  Rightly 
judging  the  Babylonian  insurrection  to  be  the 
more  important,  the  king  at  once  proceeded 
to  put  down  the  rebels  in  that  country. 
They  were  led  by  a  certain  Nebuchadnezzar, 
who  showed  himself  as  the  son  of  Nabonadius, 
the  last  king  of  Babylon.  Under  the  prestige 
of  a  great  name,  the  insurgent  hoped  to 
throw  off  the  Persian  yoke  and  reestablish 
the  independence  of  his  country.  An  army 
was  organized  under  his  lead  and  advanced  to 
the  Babylonian  frontier  on  the  Tigris.  Here 
Darius  found  his  rebellious  subjects  posted  on 
the  river  bank,  the  stream  defended  by  their 
boats.  But  the  king  crossed  in  their  faces 
and  drove  them  away  in  a  rout.  He  pursued 
Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  direction  of  Babylon. 
The  latter  made  another  stand  on  the  Eu* 
phrates,  but  was  again  defeated  and  driven 
with  the  remnant  of  his  forces  into  the  capi- 
tal. The  city  was  soon  surrendered  and  the 
rebellion  ended.  The  specter  who  called 
himself  Nebuchadnezzar  was  taken  and  put 
to  death. 

On  his  departure  in  person  against  the  in- 
surgent army  in  Babylonia,  Darius  had  dis- 
patched a  part  of  his  forces  to  suppress  the  re- 
volt in  Susiana.  These  had  already  achieved 
some  successes  before  news  came  of  the  king's 
victories  over  the  Babylonians.  The  Susi- 
anian  rebellion  had  been  instigated  by  an 
aspirant  named  Atrines,  who  also  claimed 
royal  honors  and  purposed  the  reestablishment 
of  the    old    monarchy.     But    this   ambitious 


358 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


leader  was  overthrown  and  captured  by  the 
troops  sent  against  him.  He  was  sent  to 
Darius,  now  marching  in  person  against  the 
Susianians,  and  by  him  was  put  to  death.  A 
new  rebel,  however,  took  his  place,  with  even 
more  lofty  pretensions.  He  called  himself 
Martes,  and  had  it  given  out  that  he  was  a 
descendant  of  the  ancient  kings.  His  pre- 
tensions were  soon  extinguished ;  for  the  king 
was  now  free  from  the  peril  of  the  Babylonian 
revolt,  and  Martes  was  seized  by  the  Susi- 
anians, terrified  at  the  approach  of  their  sov- 
ereign, and  by  them  was  put  to  death  before 
the  king's  arrival. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  North,  the  three  great 
states  of  Media,  Assyria,  and  Armenia  had 
revolted,  and  were  making  common  cause 
against  Darius.  At  the  head  of  the  rebellion 
was  Xathrites,  a  Mede,  who  was  proclaimed 
king.  He,  like  the  other  insurgents  of  his 
time,  claimed  royal  descent,  representing  him- 
self as  a  great-grandson  of  Cyaxares.  His 
claim  was  recognized  not  only  by  the  Medes, 
but  also  by  the  Assyrians  and  Armenians, 
who  acknowledged  him  as  their  sovereign. 
Here,  then,  was  an  affair  of  the  most  alarm- 
ing proportions. 

Darius  now  established  his  court  at  Baby- 
lon. Thence  he  sent  forth  his  generals  to 
test  the  strength  of  his  antagonist.  The  main 
army  was  put  under  the  command  of  Hy- 
darues,  one  of  the  Princes  who  had  helped 
Darius  to  the  throne.  He  advanced  into 
Media,  while  Dadarses,  with  another  division, 
was  sent  against  the  Armenians,  and  Vomises 
against  the  Assyrians.  All  three  armies  had 
hard  battles  with  the  insurrectionists,  and  in 
some  of  the  engagements  the  forces  of  the 
king  were  worsted,  but  the  rebels  were  finally 
and  completely  subdued.  Xathrites  fled 
towards  Parthia,  but  was  taken  and  brought 
to  Ecbatana,  where  Darius  had  him  dread- 
fully mutilated  and  chained  to  the  door-posts 
i0f  the  palace.  After  some  days  of  suffering 
he  was  crucified.  The  Avhole  North  was 
speedily  overrun  by  the  king's  armies  and 
taught  the  bitter  lesson  of  experience. 

The  revolts  in  Parthia,  Hyrcania,  and 
Sagartia  were  less  important  and  were  easily 
quelled.      The   terror   excited    by  the    Great 


King's  successes  and  by  the  severe  measures 
adopted  by  him  against  those  who  defied  his 
authority,  was  borne  on  the  wings  of  Rumor, 
and  was  of  itself  sufficient  in  most  instances 
to  deter  the  tempted  from  the  rashness  of  re- 
bellion. In  one  instance  there  was  a  domestic 
insurrection.  While  Darius  was  absent  in 
Parthia,  another  impostor,  a  second  Smerdis 
redivivus,  appeared  and  claimed  the  throne. 
The  remnant  of  the  Magi  were  ready  for  any 
thing.  A  party  of  adherents  gathered  around 
the  pretender,  who  took  the  field  and  en- 
deavored to  win  by  force  as  well  as  fraud. 
But  he  was  soon  overwhelmed  by  the  Persian 
army,  which  could  not  be  seduced  from  its 
loyalty,    and    was    captured     and    crucified. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  in  Per- 
sia, a  second  rebellion  had  broken  out  in 
Babylonia.  A  certain  Aracus  who,  like  the 
preceding  impostor,  styled  himself  "  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, son  of  Nabonadius,"  raised  the 
standard  of  revolt,  and  gathered  around  him 
the  malcontents  of  the  kingdom.  A  force 
was  sent  against  him  by  Darius,  and  he  was 
soon  taken  and  put  to  death.  With  his  over- 
throw there  seems  to  have  been  an  end  of 
turbulence,  and  the  king  found,  for  the  first 
time  since  his  accession,  an  opportunity  to 
turn  his  attention  to  other  matters,  not,  how- 
ever, until  he  had  compassed  the  killing  of 
the  governor  of  Sard  is  for  some  disloyal  con- 
duct, and  procured  the  death  of  the  Egyptian 
Pharaoh  for  daring  to  put  his  image  on  the 
coins  of  the  Empire. 

The  monarch,  as  soon  as  quiet  was  every- 
where restored,  gave  himself  to  grave  ques- 
tions of  statecraft.  The  occurrence  of  rebel- 
lions and  the  heterogeneous  character  of  the 
nations  composing  the  Empire,  led  him  to 
consider  the  feasibility  of  reconstructing  the 
whole  frame  of  government,  to  the  end  that 
tranquillity  might  henceforth  be  the  rule  and 
revolt  the  exception  in  the  history  of  his 
country. 

The  first  object  proposed  by  Darius  was 
the  establishment  of  uniformity  throughout 
the  Empire  by  the  institution  of  a  govern- 
ment by  satrapies.  The  satrapy  was  either  a 
certain  district  specially  organized  as  a  pro- 
vincial department,  or  one  of  the  many  petty 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


359 


states  over  whicli  the  new  order  was  extended. 
The  governor,  or  satrap,  with  his  attendant 
officers,  was  in  every  case  to  hold  a  like  rela- 
tion to  his  sovereign,  but  the  people  over 
whom  he  ruled  were  permitted  to  retain  their 
local  institutions  of  language,  law,  and  cus- 
tom. The  satrap  was  in  all  cases  appointed 
by  the  king,  and  was  removable  at  his  pleasure. 
He  was  charged  with  the  collection  of  the 
taxes,  the  maintenance  of  order,  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  laws.  He  was  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  sovereign,  and  might  insti- 
tute— indeed  was  expected  to  institute — a 
court  similar  to  that  of  the  Empire,  but  less 
elaborate.  The  satrap  had  his  retinue  of 
councilors,  eunuchs,  guards,  and  servants.  He 
had  his  harem  organized  and  managed  after 
the  example  set  by  the  king.  He  had  his 
court  ceremonial  and  edicts,  all  intended  to 
do  locally  and  on  a  small  scale  what  the  Great 
King  did  with  pomp  and  pageantry.  The 
office  was  one  which  in  its  very  nature  was 
subject  to  the  grossest  abuses.  Since  the 
chief  duty  of  the  satrap  was  to  collect  and 
forward  to  his  master  certain  revenues  and 
tributes,  and  since,  that  done,  the  king  was 
not  likely  to  look  carefully  into  the  matter  of 
assessments  and  taxes,  a  vast  opportunity  was 
given  for  peculation,  and  most  of  the  satraps 
availed  themselves  thereof  to  heap  up  enor- 
mous treasure.  Neither  the  property  nor  the 
honor  of  the  provincials  had  any  guaranty 
against  the  rapacity  of  the  local  governors. 

The  hardships  to  which  the  people  of  the 
satrapies  were  subject  were  increased  by 
the  military  system  which  was  adopted.  The 
army  of  the  Empire  was  composed  almost 
exclusively  of  Medes  and  Persians.  The 
troops  were  quartered  at  various  places  in  the 
satrapies,  each  fort  and  stronghold  being  thus 
occupied  by  a  foreign  soldiery,  who  cared 
nothing  for  the  locality  in  which  they  were 
established.  The  number  of  satrapies  into 
which  the  Empire  was  divided  varied  at  dif- 
ferent times  from  twenty  to  thirty.  In  a  few 
instances,  as  in  Cilicia,  Paphlagonia,  and 
Phoenicia,  the  native  rulei'S  of  the  country 
were  retained  as  a  kind  of  concession  to  the 
old  system,  or  perhaps  a  necessary  compromise 
with  the  spirit  of  the  people. 


As  to  Persia  Proper,  her  condition  was 
exceptional.  Over  her  no  governor  was  ap- 
pointed. The  home  kingdom  was  under  the 
immediate  jurisdiction  of  the  king.  Nor  were 
any  regular  taxes  assessed  against  the  people 
of  Persia ;  they,  on  the  contrary,  making 
voluntary  contributions  when  the  king  passed 
through  the  country. 

One  of  the  principal  advantages  derived 
from  the  new  order  was  the  substitution  of  a 
system  of  regular  taxation  for  the  method  of 
special  levies  and  contributions  which  had 
hitherto  prevailed.  The  aggregate  amount 
obtained  under  the  new  regime  was,  from  the 
system  introduced  in  the  assessments  and  col- 
lections, much  greater  than  the  sums  derived 
from  the  old  manner  of  special  levy.  The 
annual  amount  assessed  to  each  satrapy  va- 
ried according  to  the  wealth  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  productions  of  the  province.  The 
poorer  satrapies  paid  an  annual  tribute  of  a 
little  over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
better  class  were  assessed  to  the  extent  of 
about  a  million  and  a-quarter  dollars ;  while 
the  richest — India — was  obliged  to  pay  as 
much  as  five  million  dollars  annually !  Some- 
times the  levy  was  made  in  Icind.  Egypt  was 
assessed  to  be  paid  in  corn ;  Media,  in  mules, 
sheep,  and  horses ;  and  Babyldnia  was,  at  least 
in  one  instance,  required  to  meet  a  levy  of 
five  hundred  boy  eunuchs! 

The  chief  danger  to  which  the  satrapial 
government  was  exposed  was,  of  course,  the 
liability  of  treason  and  conspiracy  on  the  part 
of  the  governor.  The  avoidance  of  this  peril 
seems  to  have  received  a  large  share  of  the 
king's  attention.  The  difficulty  was  met  by 
the  establishment  of  a  system  of  checks  among 
the  royal  officers.  Of  these  there  were  three 
in  each  satrapy  directly  amenable  to  the 
king.  These  were  the  satrap  himself,  the 
military  commandant  of  the  district,  and  the 
secretary.  The  first  was  the  administrative 
officer  of  the  government ;  the  second  was  re- 
sponsible for  his  division  of  the  army ;  and 
the  duty  of  the  third  was  to  keep  the  mon- 
arch constantly  informed  of  the  state  of  affiiirs 
in  the  provinces.  He  was  called  the  "  King's 
Eye"  and  the  "King's  Ear,"  and  it  was  not 
the  smallest  part  of  his  work  to  see  and  hear 


360 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  first  indications  of  disloyalty  on  the  part 
of  his  fellow-officials,  the  governor  and  the 
commandant.  It  will  readily  be  seen  that 
officers  thus  checked  and  watched  at  every 
turn  would  have  but  a  small  margin  of  op- 
portunity for  plotting  mischief  against  the 
state. 

Besides  this  counterpoise  and  purposely- 
contrived  jealousy  of  the  provincial  officers, 
the  king  sent  annually  into  each  satrapy  a 
trusted  legate  of  his  own,  armed  with  power 
and  accompanied  by  a  sufficient  number  of 
troops  to  revolutionize  the  local  government 
should  he  detect  therein  any  thing  inimical 
to  the  king's  majesty.  In  addition  even  to 
this  safeguard,  and  as  if  to  make  assurance 
doubly  sure,  the  satrapial  officers,  that  is,  the 
three  principals  in  the  government,  were  ap- 
pointed, as  far  as  practicable,  from  the  king's 
own  kinsmen,  and  were  generally  intermarried 
with  the  daughters  of  the  princely  houses  of 
the  Empire. 

Another  measure  instituted  by  Darius, 
having  direct  reference  to  his  scheme  of  gov- 
ernment, was  the  establishment  of  post-houses 
and  post-roads  between  the  different  parts  of 
the  Empire  and  the  capital.  The  stations 
were  founded  at  a  distance  from  each  other 
equal  to  the  space  which  a  horse  was  estimated 
to  be  able  to  travel  at  full  gallop  without 
breaking.  At  each  post  was  placed  a  relay 
of  couriers  and  swift  steeds,  by  which  a  mes- 
sage could  be  transmitted,  even  from  remote 
provinces,  almost  on  the  wings  of  the  wind. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  system 
of  coinage  instituted  by  the  Great  King. 
His  name  of  Darius  has  furnished  to  the  vo- 
cabulary of  the  world  the  term  Daric,  given 
to  the  coins  of  the  Empire.  The  gold  daric 
weighed  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  grains 
Troy,  and  the  silver,  two  hundred  and  thirty 
grains.  The  value  of  the  first,  therefore,  was  a 
little  over  five  dollars,  and  of  the  second  about 
sixty  cents.  Thus  was  the  second  period  in 
the  reign  of  Darius  devoted  to  the  promotion 
cf  peace  and  stable  government,  as  the  first 
had  been  to  the  suppression  of  rebellion. 

After  nine  years  devoted  thus  to  affairs  of 
state,  the  king  again,  in  B.  C.  507,  took  up 
arms,    this  time  for   the   enlargement  of  his 


territories.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Cyrus 
had  extended  by  conquest  the  eastern  bor- 
ders of  the  Empire  to  the  valley  of  the  Indus. 
The  ambition  of  Darius  now  contemplated  the 
addition  of  both  the  Punjab  and  Sinde  to  his 
dominions.  He  accordingly  undertook  in  per- 
son the  reduction  of  the  gorgeous  East.  The 
expedition  was  entirely  successful,  and  a  vast 
region,  rivaling  the  valley  of  the  Nile  in  fer- 
tility and  the  Sacramento  in  auriferous  de- 
posits, was  added  to  the  kingdoms  won  by  his 
great  predecessor.  Having  thus  reached  a 
natural  barrier  on  the  east,  the  frozen  regions 
on  the  north,  the  sea  on  the  south,  there 
remained  for  the  arms  of  Persia  no  other 
passage  to  fame  than  the  gateway  of  the  West. 

There  lay  the  Hellespont,  across  which  the 
shores  of  Europe  were  easily  discerned  with 
the  naked  eye.  All  Asia  Minor  was  now  an 
integral  part  of  the  Empire.  The  Persian 
banner  was  thus  advanced  to  the  coast  line  of  ■ 
the  -^gean.  Now  came,  too,  the  episode  of  s 
Democedes,  the  Greek  physician,  who,  taken 
prisoner  at  Sardis,  had  been  sent  as  a  slave  to 
Susa.  There  he  attracted  the  attention  of 
Darius,  whose  crippled  foot  he  healed.  After- 
wards he  cured  the  queen,  Atossa,  and  by  her 
intercession  was  permitted  under  a  Persian 
escort  to  depart  to  his  own  country.  Thus 
was  brought  back  to  Darius  full  accounts  of 
the  countries  as  far  west  as  Italy.  The  king's 
mind  was  inflamed  with  the  prospect,  and  he 
would  have  immediately  set  out  for  a  Euro- 
pean invasion  but  for  the  presence  in  the  far 
North-west  of  that  ancient  scourge,  the  Scyth- 
ians. He  felt  it  necessary,  or  at  any  rate 
desirable,  to  overawe  this  savage  race  before 
undertaking  a  work  so  vast  as  that  which  he 
contemplated  in  the  West.  Accordingly  he 
organized  an   expedition  against  the  Scyths. 

He  crossed  the  Euxine ;  penetrated  Thrace ; 
passed  the  Danube ;  traversed  a  vast  area  of 
country;  struck  terror  into  the  barbarians 
rather  by  numbers  and  display  than  by  battle, 
and  returned  in  safety  to  his  capital.  In  re- 
turning, however,  he  left  in  Thrace  a  division 
of  eighty  thousand  men  under  the  command 
of  Megabazus,  with  orders  to  subdue  that 
country  to  the  authority  of  Persia.  The  gen- 
eral was  successful  in  the  discharge    of  his 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


361 


duty,  and  carried  his  conquest  from  the  Pro- 
pontis  to  the  borders  of  Macedonia.  An 
embassy  was  sent  into  the  latter  country  to 
demand  earth  and  water,  the  usual  tokens  of 
submission,  and  Amyntas,  the  king,  acceding 
to  the  request,  became  a  vassal  of  Persia. 
Alexander  the  Great  will  hereafter  avenge 
the  humiliation  of  his  country. — Thus  was 
gained  an  Asiatic  foothold  on  the  soil  of 
Europe. 

After  his  return  to  Susa,  Darius  dismissed 
for  a  while  his  designs  of  conquest  in  the 
West,  and  gave  himself  to  the  work  of  adorn- 
ing his  capital.  While  engaged  in  this  work, 
however,  news  came  of  a  revolt  which  was  the 
immediate  precursor  of  one  of  the  most  heroic 
episodes  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  Greek 
towns  of  the  Ionian  and  ^olian  confederacies 
along  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor  had,  in  common 
with  the  rest  of  the  world,  fallen  under  the  dom- 
ination of  Persian  governors.  These  rulers  were 
generally  despotic  and  odious  to  the  people. 
They  were  regarded  as  foreign  tyrants,  and 
were  associated  in  the  public  mind  with  Darius 
and  his  government :    they  were  a  part  of  it. 

At  this  time  the  governor  of  Miletus  was 
Histiseus,  who  had  accompanied  the  king  on 
his  Scythian  campaign.  He  it  was  who  had 
guarded  the  bridge  over  the  Danube  unheeding 
the  solicitations  of  treason,  and  had  thus  se- 
cured for  his  master  those  distant  parts.  With 
some  of  the  Persian  governors,  however,  he 
had  quarreled,  and,  being  wronged  by  them, 
took  sides  with  the  anti-Persian  party  in  the 
city.  His  son-in-law,  Aristagoras,  also  a 
prominent  leader  in  Miletus,  advanced  the 
daring  project  of  throwing  off  the  Persian 
yoke.  The  Ionian  and  ^olian  cities  were  in- 
duced to  join  in  the  enterprise.  An  embassy 
was  sent  to  Athens  as  the  mother  city  of 
Miletus,  and  she  promised  to  her  sorrow  to 
furnish  a  contingent  of  twenty  ships.  Eretria 
was  also  solicited,  and  agreed  to  furnish  five 
ships.  Only  the  austere  Sparta  would  promise 
nothing, 

Aristagoras  returned  to  Miletus,  and  in  a 
short  time  it  was  determined  to  strike  out 
boldly  and  attack  Sardis,  the  capital  of  Asia 
Minor.  With  singular  audacity  the  Greeks 
proceeded  against  the  city  and  took  it  at  the 


first  onset.  Artaphernes  shut  himself  up  in 
the  citadel.  The  assailants  began  to  plunder 
the  accumulated  treasures,  especially  those  at 
the  shrine  of  Apollo.  A  fire  broke  out,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  city  was  laid  in  ashes. 
The  news  of  the  daring  exploit  spread  every- 
where, and  a  general  uprising,  which  would 
have  been  impossible  in  any  other  than  a  com- 
munity of  Greeks,  followed  along  the  whole 
coast. 

It  was,  however,  a  deed  of  rashness  rather 
than  bravery.  Darius  hurried  his  forces  to 
the  West,  and  the  petty  principalities  gave 
way  before  vindictive  leadership  and  weight 
of  numbers.  Cyprus,  which  had  been  gained 
by  the  Greeks,  was  retaken.  The  Carians 
were  overcome  after  a  brave  resistance.  One 
after  another  the  Ionian  and  -^olian  towns 
went  down  before  the  onslaughts  of  the  Per- 
sians. Aristagoras  took  to  flight.  Miletus 
was  the  last,  as  she  had  been  the  first,  of  the 
rel)el  cities.  She  made  a  stubborn  defense. 
The  remnants  of  the  Greek  armaments  as- 
sembled to  her  aid,  but  were  defeated  by  the 
Persian  fleet.  The  city  fell.  Her  people 
were  seized  and  carried  away  to  the  shores  of 
the  Persian  Gulf.  What  might,  under  saga- 
cious and  unwavering  leadership,  have  been  a 
permanent  recovery  of  independence  by  the 
Asiatic  Greeks,  had  ended  in  smoke  and 
vapor.  Besides,  there  were  the  insults  of 
Athens  and  Eretria  still  to  be  avenged  by  a 
king  whose  memory  rarely  failed  him  in  such 
matters.  For  fear,  however,  that  vengeance 
might  slumber,  a  secretary  was  employed  to 
repeat  each  morning  in  the  monarch's  ear, 
"Sire,  remember  Athens." 

The  king  remembered  Athens.  Determin- 
ing to  proceed  at  once  against  that  city,  he 
appointed  Mardonius,  his  son-in-law,  com- 
mander of  the  expedition,  which  was  to  press 
forward  by  way  of  Thrace,  Macedonia,  and 
Thessaly  into  Greece.  As  a  measure  prepara- 
tory to  the  campaign,  and  designed  to  secure 
beyond  all  contingency  the  loyalty  of  the 
Greek  towns  on  the  Asiatic  coast,  Darius 
now  granted  to  these  that  very  freedom  for 
which  they  had  fought  in  the  recent  revolt, 
dismissed  the  tyrants  which  had  oppressed 
them,  and    conceded    to    them    the  right   of 


362 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


democratic  government.  For  the  king  knew 
well  that  such  a  measure  would  give  employ- 
ment to  the  factious  temper  of  the  Greek 
leaders  in  Ionia  and  ^olia,  and  distract  their 
attention  wholly  from  the  affairs  of  their 
countrymen  in  the  West. 

As  soon  as  this  change  in  the  government 
of  the  coast  towns  had  been  effected,  Mardonius 
began  his  advance  through  Thrace.  At  first, 
opposition  melted  before  him.  Thasos,  with 
its  rich  mines,  was  taken.  Macedonia  was 
obliged  to  acknowledge  her  tributary  relation 
to  the  Empire.  Every  thing  seemed  to  indi- 
cate the  speedy  reduction  of  the  whole  country 
to  complete  submission.  But  while  the  Per- 
sian fleet  was  rounding  Mount  Athos  a  violent 
storm  arose  and  sent  three  hundred  triremes 
and  twenty  thousand  soldiers  to  the  bottom. 
This  disaster  was  immediately  followed  by  a 
successful  onset  made  by  the  Brygi,  a  tribe  of 
Thracians  dwelling  between  the  Strymon  and 
the  Axius.  These  half-barbarians  fell  upon 
the  Persian  land  forces  by  night,  killing  many 
and  wounding  the  general.  But  the  veteran 
Mardonius,  by  no  means  dismayed,  followed 
his  assailants  and  compelled  them  to  submit. 
The  injury  done  to  the  fleet,  however,  was  so 
great  that  the  main  object  of  the  expedition 
had  to  be  abandoned:  the  Persians  retreated 
into  Thrace  and  thence  into  Asia  Minor. 

Still  Darius  remembered  Athens.  Within 
two  years  a  second  great  army  was  organized 
and  put  under  command  of  Datis  and  Arta- 
phernes.  In  B.  C.  490  they  set  out  to  ac- 
complish what  Mardonius  had  failed  to  do. 
Avoiding  the  dangerous  route  by  way  of 
the  promontory  of  Athos,  the  expedition 
sailed  directly  across  the  ^gean,  and  passing 
through  the  Cyclades  came  at  once  upon  the 
objects  of  its  vengeance.  Eretria  was  taken 
and  leveled  to  the  ground.  Then  came  the 
turn  of  Athens.  Meanwhile,  Miltiades,  gov- 
ernor of  the  Thracian  Chersonesus,  who  had 
accompanied  Darius  on  his  expedition  against 
the  Scythians,  and  afterwards  broken  with 
the  king  by  taking  sides  with  the  revolted 
Ionian  cities,  was  chosen,  with  nine  other 
polemarchs,  to  protect  Athens  against  the 
Persians.  With  great  skill  he  gained  over 
his  colleagues  to  agree  to  a  battle.     The  plain 


of  Marathon  was  selected,  and  here  where  the 
mountains  look  on  the  sea  was  fought  that 
first  battle  that  gave  freedom  and  immortality 
to  the  Greek  race.  The  Persians,  notwith- 
standing they  outnumbered  the  Greeks  ten  to 
one,  having  two  hundred  thousand  men,  while 
their  opponents  could  muster  but  twenty  thou- 
sand, were  disastrously  beaten  and  hurled  back 
in  a  broken  rout  upon  Asia.* 

Still  Darius  remembered  Athens.  He  im- 
mediately began  preparations  on  a  gigantic 
scale  for  subjugation  of  the  audacious 
Greeks.  For  three  years  the  whole  energies 
of  the  Empire  were  devoted  to  the  organiza- 
tion and  equipment  of  a  force  sufficiently 
great  to  overwhelm  not  only  Greece  but  the 
whole  of  Europe.  Never  before  in  history 
had  such  stupendous  measures  been  taken  to 
secure  the  subjugation  of  a  belligerent  people. 
When,  however,  the  preparations  were  nearly 
completed,  a  revolt  broke  out  in  Egypt,  and 
the  attention  of  the  Persian  king  was  thus 
for  the  time  distracted  by  the  necessities  of  a 
double  field  of  war.  His  energies,  however, 
rose  with  the  emergency.  He  determined  to 
lead  one  army  in  person,  and  send  the  other 
under  trusted  generals  to  put  down  all  opposi- 
tion. But  on  the  eve  of  these  great  move- 
ments, the  king,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his 
age  and  the  thirty-sixth  of  his  reign,  fell  sick 
and  died ;  and  the  unfinished  work  of  revenge 
and  subjugation  was  left  to  Xerxes,  his  son 
and  successor  on  the  throne  of  the  Empire. 
Thus  ended  the  career  of  Darius  Hyspastis, 
noted  both  in  peace  and  war  as  one  of  the 
greatest  sovereigns  of  the  ancient  world. 

Xerxes  was  not  the  king's  eldest  son,  but 
Artabazanes,  the  eldest,  was  not  "born  in 
the  purple,"^  and  so  the  crown  descended  to 
Xerxes,   the   son   of   Atossa,   he   being   born 

'  It  is  deemed  best  to  reserve  the  full  account 
of  the  Grjeco-Persian  wars  for  the  following  Book, 
devoted  to  the  History  of  Greece.  It  is  believed 
that  the  more  plentiful  sources  of  information  ac- 
cessible from  the  Greek  side  of  the  conflict,  and 
indeed  every  circumstance  would  indicate  that  the 
fuller  narrative  of  the  great  struggle  should  be 
recited  from  the  Athenian  point  of  view. 

2 "  Born  in  the  purple"  signifies,  in  the  civil 
polity  of  ancient  Persia,  that  the  prince  to  whom 
the  phrase  is  applied  was  born  after  his  father's 
I   accession  to  the  throne. 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


363 


after  his  father  acceded  to  the  throne.  The 
new  sovereign  was  not  slow  to  take  up  and 
prosecute  his  father's  unfinished  Avork.  His 
preference,  however,  was  to  punish  Egypt 
rather  than  to  conquer  Greece.  It  is  not  im- 
possijjle  that,  if  left  to  himself,  he  would  have 
abandoned  the  Grecian  war  altogether;  but 
his  advisers  soon  brought  him  to  see  that  sheer 
political  necessity  and  a  decent  respect  for  the 
honor  of  his  country  required  him  to  subjugate 
the  impudent  states  of  Greece.  So  it  was  de- 
termined to  carry  forward  with  all  dispatch 
the  purposes   of  Darius. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  in  B.  C.  485, 
a  revolt  broke  out  in  the  province  of  Bab- 
ylonia, which  had  to  be  suppressed  before 
even  Egypt  could  be  reduced  to  submission. 
Zopyrus,  the  Babylonian  satrap,  in  attempting 
to  maintain  order,  was  overthrown  and  killed 
by  the  insurgent  populace ;  but  Megabyzus, 
his  son,  was  soon  restored  to  authority,  and 
Babylon  paid  the  penalty  by  suffering  a  sack 
and  the  plunder  of  her  great  temple.  The 
king,  as  soon  as  this  insurrection  was  disposed 
of,  proceeded  into  Egypt  and  quickly  over- 
threw his  rebellious  subjects,  punishing  the 
leaders  and  increasing  the  tribute  of  the 
country.  This  being  accomplished,  he  at  last 
found  himself  ready  to  proceed  against  the 
Greeks. 

It  requii'ed  four  years  of  preparation, 
however,  before  every  thing  was  deemed  in 
readiness  for  the  invasion.  The  failures  of 
the  preceding  expeditions  had  forewarned  the 
Persian  against  the  dangers  that  had  precipi- 
tated them.  It  was  seen  that  a  sufficient 
force  could  not  be  conveyed  directly  across 
the  -^gean.  Xerxes  must  rely  upon  his  army 
rather  than  his  navy,  and  yet  the  latter  would 
be  necessary  in  full  force.  A  land  march 
around  the  long  coast  line  of  Thrace  and 
Macedonia  would  be  the  only  feasible  method 
of  pouring  Persia  upon  Greece  in  overwhelm- 
ing power.  So  this  route  was  chosen.  All 
the  satraps  of  the  Empire  were  ordered  to 
prepare  their  contingents  of  men  and  ships, 
and  were  stimulated  by  promises  of  immense 
rewards  to  them  who  sent  to  the  rendezvous 
the   finest  and  best  armed  quotas  of  troops. 

To  the  states  on  the  coast  was  committed 


the  work  of  equipping  the  navy,  which  was  to 
consist  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  triremes 
and  three  thousand  galleys  of  smaller  size. 
Storehouses  were  established  on  the  proposed 
line  of  march,  and  these  were  filled  with  un- 
told supplies  of  corn.  Still  greater  in  magni- 
tude was  the  work  of  cutting  in  twain  with  a 
ship-canal  the  isthmus  which  held  Mount 
Athos  to  the  mainland,  which  enterprise  was 
deemed  essential  to  the  passage  of  the  ships 
from  the  Strymonic  into  the  Signitic  gulf. 
Besides  this,  the  Hellespont  was  to  be  again 
spanned  with  a  bridge  of  boats,  as  it  had 
been  by  Darius  in  his  campaign  against  the 
Scyths.  The  bridge  of  Xerxes,  however,  was 
much  greater  than  that  built  by  his  father. 
It  w^as  built  double — that  is,  of  two  rows  of 
boats,  over  which  was  laid  the  immense  wooden 
structure  of  the  bridge  proper.  The  whole 
was  covered  with  earth  and  brush-wood,  form- 
ing a  solid  causeway  from  shore  to  shore,  de- 
fended on  each  side  by  bulwarks.  When  the 
work  was  nearly  completed  a  storm  arose, 
broke  the  cables,  and  swept  the  structure 
away.  For  this  piece  of  inefficiency  on  the 
part  of  the  builders  and  of  impudence  on  the 
part  of  the  elements,  the  former  were  put  to 
death  and  the  latter,  in  their  representative, 
the  sea,  were  properly  scourged. 

At  last,  in  the  spring  of  481  B.  C,  the 
march  began.  Forty-nine  nations  were  mar- 
shaled under  their  respective  banners.  The 
army  numbered  eighteen  hundred  thousand 
men  !  Of  these  there  were  eighty  thousand 
cavalry  and  twenty  thousand  charioteers  and 
camel-riders.^  Each  contingent  was  armed 
and  equipped  after  the  fashion  of  the  country 
whence  it  came.  Each  had  its  own  com- 
mander and  its  own  place  in  the  advance. 
The  whole  army  was  broken  into  three  great 
divisions.  The  front  column  consisted  of 
about   one-half  of    the   contingents   and    the 


1  The  method  of  counting  the  host,  as  given  by 
Herodotus,  is  interesting  and  amusing.  Ten  thou- 
sand men  were  first  counted  and  huddled  closely 
together.  Around  this  compact  mass  a  wall  was 
built  to  the  height  of  a  man's  waist-  The  space 
was  then  emptied  and  successively  filled  until  the 
whole  army  had  been  measured.  It  was  found 
that  the  infantry  filled  the  inclosure  a  hundred 
and  seventy  times. 


364 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— TEE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  next  division  was  com- 
posed exclusively  of  Persian  soldiers,  in  the 
midst  of  whom  the  king  had  his  place, 
with  the  sacred  emblems  of  authority  and  re- 
ligion. Next  to  the  royal  person  was  the 
famous  cohort  of  ten  thousand,  called  the 
"Immortals."  The  third  column  was  made 
up  of  the  other  half  of  the  contingents  fur- 
nished by  the  provinces  and  states  of  the 
Empire. 

The  march  was  from  Susa  to  Sardis,  from 
Sardis  to  Abydos.  At  the  latter  place  a 
throne  was  erected  on  an  eminence,  from 
which  the  king  surveyed  the  country,  the  sea, 
and  the  army.  It  was  such  a  sight  as  was 
never  before,  never  afterwards,  witnessed  by 
any  potentate  of  the  earth.  Herodotus  relates 
that,  as  the  pageant  passed  before  the  mon- 
arch, he  remarked  pathetically  to  Artabanes 
that  in  a  few  years  not  a  man  of  the  immense 
host  would  be  alive.  The  lesson  of  mortality 
rushed  over  him,  and  he  gave  way  to  tears. 

The  Hellespont  was  crossed  in  safety,  the 
passage  requiring  seven  days  and  nights.  The 
king,  having  first  prayed  and  cast  a  golden 
goblet  into  the  sea,  went  in  advance,  amid 
myrtle  boughs  and  clouds  of  incense.  Then 
came  the  "Immortals,"  and  then  the  endless 
stream  of  soldiers.  The  march  now  lay 
through  Thrace.  For  some  distance  the  ad- 
vance was  through  territories  already  subject 
to  the  king,  and  no  opposition  was  met.  The 
country  for  a  great  distance  on  either  hand 
was  eaten  up.  The  first  trouble  was  in  the 
district  between  the  Strymon  and  the  Axius, 
where  it  is  said  that  droves  of  lions  came 
down  out  of  the  mountains  and  killed  and  ate 
many  of  the  camels.  At  Pieria  a  halt  was 
made,  and  the  king  sent  ambassadors  to  all 
the  states  of  Greece,  except  Sparta  and 
Athens,  demanding  earth  and  water  as  tokens 
of  submission.  Nor  was  it  believed  that  any 
would  dare  refuse. 

The  replies  were  favorable  from  a  large 
number  of  the  states,  but  others  refused. 
The  march  was  accordingly  renewed,  and  con- 
tinued without  molestation  to  the  Pass  of 
THERMOPYLiE.  Here,  between  Callidromus 
and  the  sea,  was  a  long,  narrow  defile,  which 
had  been  selected  by  the  Greeks  as  aflfbrding 


them  the  most  advantageous  point  of  defense 
on  the  whole  line  of  the  Persian  advance. 
Here  were  collected  the  forces  of  Sparta  and 
Athens,  and  of  a  few  other  states  that  had 
determined  to  stand  or  fall  with  their  county- 
men.  The  whole  body  numbered  nine  thou- 
sand men.  They  were  under  the  polemarch 
Leonidas,  of  Sparta.  His  own  band  num- 
bered only  three  hundred  men;  but  there 
were  seven  hundred  Lacedemonians,  one  thou- 
sand Phocians,  one  thousand  Locrians,  seven 
hundred  Thespians,  and  four  hundred  Thebans, 
all  of  whom  were  first-class  soldiers,  skilled  in 
the  best  discipline  of  the  Greeks.  These  took 
possession  of  the  pass  and  awaited  the  onset. 

After  a  four  days'  pause  the  Persians  ad- 
vanced. The  vanguard  was  beaten  back. 
The  Medes  and  Cissians  were  sent  into  the 
defile  and  were  repulsed.  The  Immortals  were 
sent  forward  and  were  cut  to  pieces.  For  two 
days  assault  after  assault  was  made  upon  the 
invincible  Greeks,  but  to  no  avail.  On  the 
third  night,  however,  the  Persians  discovered 
a  path  over  the  mountains,  gained  the  lower 
end  of  the  pass,  hemmed  in  all  of  the  heroes 
except  those — the  larger  number — who,  re- 
ceiving the  news,  had  preferred  to  save  them- 
selves by  flight.  The  Spartans  and  some 
others  remained.  They  attacked  the  enemy 
in  front,  but  were  pressed  back  into  the  nar- 
rowest part  of  the  defile.  Here  they  fought 
till  the  last  man  was  killed.  Twenty  thousand 
of  the  enemy  had  fallen,  and  Xerxes  had  had 
a  taste  of  the  coming  banquet. 

As  the  invading  army  proceeded  into 
Greece,  the  Persian  fleet  kept  along  the  coast 
as  far  as  the  island  of  Euboea.  Here  in  three 
sea-fights,  on  three  successive  days,  the  Greeks, 
with  an  armament  of  only  two  hundred  and 
seventy-one  ships,  held  their  own  against  their 
enemy.  The  Athenian  fleet  fell  back  to  Sala- 
Mis,  where  it  took  a  position  in  the  strait 
between  that  island  and  the  shore.  From 
this  place  it  was  proposed  to  retire,  but  the 
strategy  of  Themistocles  prevailed,  and  the 
Persians  having  blockaded  the  strait  above 
and  below,  that  famous  battle  was  fought  of 
which  an  account  will  be  given  in  a  subse- 
quent Book.^     The  enormous  armament  of  the 

'See  Book  Eighth  p.  550. 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


365 


Persians  was  beaten  and  scattered  to  the  winds. 
Five  hundred  ships  were  sunk.  The  sea  for 
miles  around  was  covered  with  broken  galleys 
and  fragments  of  the  general  ruin. 

Xerxes,  who  had  watched  the  battle,  fore- 
saw the  end,  and  fled  for  Asia.  His  retreat 
was  hastily  made  to  the  Hellespont,  where  he 
found  his  magnificent  bridge  swept  away  by  a 
storm,  and  was  glad  to  cross  to  Abydos  in  an 
open  boat.  Mardonius  was  left  behind  in 
Greece  with  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
men  to  renew  in  the  following  spring  the  work 
of  subjugation  which  thus  far  had  wrought 
the  other  way. 

In  the  following  year,  B.  C.  480,  Mar- 
donius returned  to  the  task.  With  the  open- 
ing of  spring  he  marched  from  Thessaly  into 
Attica,  and  took  possession  of  Athens.  Here 
he  tried  diplomacy,  and  was  about  to  succeed 
when  Sparta,  who  had  been  disaffected,  re- 
appeared as  the  ally  of  the  Athenians.  Con- 
tingents rapidly  poured  in  from  the  other 
states  until  the  combined  army  of  the  Greeks 
numbered  one  hundred  and  eight  thousand 
men.  Mardonius  had  now  three  times  that 
number.  The  two  great  forces  met  in  a  death 
struggle  on  the  memorable  field  of  Plat^a, 
where  the  discomfiture  of  the  Persians  was  so 
complete  and  overwhelming  as  to  destroy  at 
once  and  forever  all  thoughts  of  renewing  the 
contest  by  the  enemies  of  Greece.^  The  tre- 
mendous avalanche  which  had  rolled  with 
such  crushing  weight  upon  the  devoted  com- 
monwealths of  the  Hellenes  had  melted  into 
vapor,  and  the  skies  were  as  blue  as  before. 

In  a  short  time  after  the  battle  of  Platsea, 
Thrace,  Macedonia,  and  Pteonia  recovered 
their  independence,  and  the  borders  of  the 
Persian  Empire  were  contracted  to  the  ^gean 
and  the  Hellespont.  Not  only  did  the  Greeks 
beat  back  the  invasion,  but  they  followed  up 
their  advantage  and  recovered  and  restored  to 
independence  all  the  islands  of  the  Propontis 
and  the  ^gean,  which  had  hitherto  belonged 
to  Persia.  They  landed  a  force  on  the  coast 
of  Asia  Minor,  defeated  sixty  thousand  Per- 
sians at  Mycale,  and  destroyed  the  remnants 
of  the  fleet  which  had  escaped  from  Salamis. 

^  For  full  account  of  the  battle  of  Platsea,  see 
Book  Eighth,  pp.  553,  554. 


Nor  is  it  to  be  questioned  that  if  the  Greek 
states  had  stood  together  in  the  great  cause 
of  emancipation  and  had  resolutely  followed 
up  with  blow  on  blow  the  work  they  had 
begun,  the  whole  of  the  Greek  confederations 
on  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor  would  have  been 
liberated  from  foreign  domination.  Political 
dissensions,  however,  prevailed  among  the 
Grecian  commonwealths,  and  the  extension  of 
freedom  stopped  with  the  Cyclades. 

After  the  subsidence  of  his  ill-fated  wars, 
Xerxes  abandoned  himself  to  his  court.  It 
was  a  licentious  turmoil,  which  ended  pres- 
ently in  tragedy.  The  seraglio  system  had 
begun  to  bear  its  evil  fruits  in  the  destruction 
of  virtue  and  the  establishment  of  intrigue 
and  blood-cruelty.  Xerxes  himself  had  been 
but  once  married;  but  instead  of  the  lawful 
abandonment  of  the  harem  he  entered  into 
criminal  relations  with  the  princesses  of  his 
court,  thus  provoking  the  jealous  rage  of  the 
queen,  Amestris.  A  band  of  enemies  thus 
arose  around  him,  and  finally  a  conspiracy 
was  formed,  whose  leaders,  Artabanes  and 
Aspamitres,  entered  the  king's  chamber  and 
murdered  him.  He  had  reigned  for  twenty 
years,  and  though  the  Empire  under  his  do- 
minion had  suffered  little  positive  reduction, 
yet  great  disasters  had  lowered  the  reputation 
of  the  Persian  arms,  and  social  and  domestic 
broils,  ending  in  assassination,  had  disgraced 
the  annals  of  the  nations. 

Of  the  three  sons  of  Xerxes,  the  eldest, 
Darius,  was,  at  the  instigation  of  Artabanes 
and  on  the  false  charge  of  having  killed  the 
late  king,  put  to  death  by  the  youngest,  Ar- 
taxerxes.  The  other  son,  Hystaspes,  who 
held  the  office  of  satrap  of  Bactria,  and  was 
absent  from  the  court,  Avas  unable  to  prevent 
either  the  crime  of  his  brother's  death  or  the 
usurpation  of  Artaxerxes,  who  at  once,  B.  C. 
465,  took  the  throne.  Hystaspes,  taking  up 
arms  to  maintain  his  own  right  to  the  Empire, 
was  overthrown  in  two  battles  by  the  forces 
of  Artaxerxes. 

Five  years  after  the  death  of  Xerxes 
another  revolt  broke  out  in  Egypt.  The 
leaders  were  a  Libyan  chief  named  Inarus  and 
a  native  Egyptian  named  Amyrtacus.  To 
their  aid  came  an  Athenian  fleet  of  two  hun- 


366 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


dred  vessels,  and  the  Persians  were  defeated 
in  several  engagements.  Memphis  was  taken 
by  the  insurgents  and  held  until  the  arrival 
of  a  large  Persian  army  under  Megabyzus, 
who  overwhelmed  the  rebels,  retook  Memphis, 
and  destroyed  the  Athenian  fleet.  Inarus  was 
crucified. 

Athens,  smarting  under  her  reverse,  equipped 
another  fleet  of  two  hundred  sail  and  sent 
it  under  Cimon  against  Cyprus,  a  dependency 
of  Persia.  He  began  a  siege  of  Citium,  but 
died  soon  afterwards,  and  the  siege  was  aban- 
doned. The  fleet  then  sailed  to  Salamis,  and 
there  falling  in  with  a  Phoenician  squadron  of 
three  hundred  ships,  captured  or  dispersed  the 
whole.  Artaxerxes,  alarmed  at  the  condition 
of  affairs,  sought  peace,  and  the  same — known 
as  the  "Peace  of  Callias" — was  agreed  to  on 
condition  that  Cyprus  should  remain  to  the 
king,  but  that  all  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia 
Minor  should  be  granted  their  freedom.  The 
Mediterranean  was  divided  by  a  line  running 
north  and  south  through  Phaselis.  Persian 
war-ships  should  not  pass  to  the  west  of  that 
line,  or  Greek  ships  to  the  east.  Thus  after  a 
struggle  of  fifty  years  (from  B.  C.  499  to 
449)  was  ended  the  first  great  conflict  between 
the  Greeks  and  the  Persians. 

A  short  time  after  the  conclusion  of  peace 
the  tranquillity  of  the  Empire  was  broken  by 
a  revolt  in  Syria.  The  leader  was  that  same 
Megabyzus  who  had  recently  suppressed  the 
insurrection  in  Egypt.  Against  his  positive 
promise  the  rebel  Inarus  had  been  put  to 
death  by  the  king.  Megabyzus  was  incensed 
and  took  up  arms  in  his  own  satrapy,  and 
the  ■  revolt  was  so  successful  that  Artaxerxes 
was  presently  obliged  to  treat  with  the  insur- 
gents, and  to  grant  them  honorable  terms  of 
reconciliation.  It  was  the  first  time  since  the 
days  of  Cyrus  that  the  majesty  of  Persia  had 
been  successfully  defied  by  a  provincial  gov- 
ernor— a  fatal  precedent  for  the  future  of 
the  Empire. 

In  the  years  that  followed  the  treaty  of 
peace  with  the  Greeks  there  were  several 
petty  rebellions,  but  none  of  them  of  a  mag- 
nitude to  endanger  the  general  tranquillity. 
Samos  took  up  arms  in  440,  on  account  of 
the  bad  faith  of  the  satrap  of  Sardis,  but  was 


soon  pacified.  The  provinces  of  Lycia  and 
Caria,  under  the  leadership  of  Zopyrus,  raised 
the  standard  of  insurrection,  and  some  of  the 
Greek  states  were  on  the  eve  of  lending  aid 
to  the  insurgents,  but  were  prevented  from 
doing  so  by  local  dissensions  among  themselves. 
Artaxerxes  saw  with  satisfaction  that  the  po- 
litical broils  of  Greece  were  sufficient  to  pre- 
vent any  formidable  aggression  from  that 
quarter.  The  Lycians  and  Carians,  left  with- 
out support,  were  soon  brought  into  sub- 
mission. 

Artaxerxes  was  without  great  strength  of 
character.  His  mother,  Amestris — she  of  the 
evil  mind — and  Amytis,  his  sister,  exercised 
an  undue  influence  in  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment. The  administration  was  thus  in  a 
good  measure  given  up  to  spite  and  caprice. 
The  king  himself  was  of  a  gentle  and  unwar- 
like  disposition,  and  was  incapable  of  great 
actions  either  in  the  field  or  court.  No  con- 
quests for  the  enlargement  of  the  Empire 
were  planned,  no  important  expeditions  un- 
dertaken, during  his  reign.  He  occupied  the 
throne  for  twenty-four  years,  and  dying  in 
B.  C.  425,  left  his  crown  to  his  only  legiti- 
mate heir,  Xerxes  II.,  son  of  the  queen 
Dampasia. 

There  were,  however,  seventeen  other  sons 
of  the  late  king,  who  had  for  their  mothers 
various  concubines  belonging  to  the  court. 
Some  of  these  were  ambitious,  and  one  of 
them,  named  Sogdianus,  taking  advantage  of 
the  half-drunken  condition  of  Xerxes  at  a 
feast,  murdered  him,  only  forty-five  days  after 
his  accession.  The  assassin  took  the  throne, 
but  in  a  few  months  another  half-brother, 
named  Ochus,  following  the  bloody  method 
of  Sogdianus,  killed  him  and  took  the  throne 
under  the  title  of  Darius  Nothus.  He  had 
held  the  satrapy  of  Hyrcania  during  the  life 
of  Artaxerxes,  and  had  married  his  aunt, 
Parysatis,  a  daughter  of  Xerxes  the  Great. 
By  her  he  had  a  son,  Arsaces,  afterwards 
known  as  Artaxerxes  II.  The  reign  of 
Nothus  lasted  for  nineteen  years  (B.  C.  426- 
407),  and  was  almost  wholly  occupied  with 
rebellions  in  the  satrapies  and  imbroglios  with 
the  Greeks.  The  first  insurrection  was  raised 
by  his  brother,  Arsites,  and  that  same  Mega- 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


367 


byzus  who  had  been  previously  at  the  head 
of  the  Syi'ian  revolt.  For  a  while  the  insur- 
gents, aided  by  a  large  force  of  Greek  mer- 
cenaries, were  successful,  and  not  until  these 
foreign  auxiliaries  had  been  corrupted  with 
Persian  gold  were  the  king's  forces  able  to 
reduce  the  rest  to  submission.  Terms  were 
granted  to  Arsites,  but  the  queen  induced  the 
king  to  break  his  word  of  faith,  and  the  rebel 
brother  was  put  to  death. 

The  next  insurrection  broke  out  in  Lydia. 
Pissuthnes,  the  satrap  of  that  province,  was  a 
member  of  the  royal  family.  With  the  re- 
accumulated  wealth  of  Sardis,  he  hired  a 
large  contingent  of  Greeks,  who  were  now 
known  to  be  the  best  soldiers  in  the  world — 
unconquerable  save  by  bribery.  This  was  the 
weapon  now  employed  against  them.  Tissa- 
phernes,  the  Persian  general  who  was  sent 
against  them,  used  the  gold  of  his  master, 
and  Lycon,  the  Greek  commander,  yielded  to 
the  temptation,  went  over  with  his  men  to 
the  king,  and  left  the  rebellious  satrap  to  the 
mercy  of  the  winds.  Again  were  terms  of 
surrender  granted,  only  to  be  violated  when 
Pissuthnes  was  taken  a  prisoner  to  Susa, 
and  executed  in  defiance  of  all  honor.  Soon 
afterwards,  however,  Amorges,  a  son  of  Pis- 
suthnes, renewed  the  struggle,  and  was  able 
to  hold  out  against  Tissaphernes  for  several 
years. 

Meanwhile,  the  commonwealth  of  Athens 
had  been  engaged  in  her  great  and  disastrous 
campaign  against  Sicily.  In  that  island  she 
had  suffered  an  overthrow  so  complete  as  to 
leave  her  prostrate.  When  the  knowledge  of 
this  ruin  of  the  ancient  rival  of  his  country 
was  borne  to  Darius  he  at  once  ordered  the 
satraps  Tissaphernes  and  Pharnabazus  to  begin 
the  exaction  of  tribute  from  the  Greek  cities 
of  Asia  Minor  as  of  old.  This  edict  Avas  in 
direct  violation  of  the  Peace  of  Callias,  but 
Persian  faith  was  dead,  and  the  action  was 
regarded  as  a  matter  of  course.  To  produce 
dissension  among  the  Greeks  themselves  a 
tempting  offer  was  made  to  Sparta,  and  by 
her  accepted,  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with 
Persia.  She  who  at  Thermopylae  had  cut 
down  her  thousands  now  leagued  herself  with 

the  foes  of  liberty. 

N. — Vol.  I — 23 


Thus  a  new  war  broke  out  between  the 
Persians  and  the  Greeks.  But  it  was  no 
longer  necessary  for  Darius  and  his  successors 
to  bear  down  with  immense  armaments  upon 
the  West,  since  either  Athens  or  Sparta — em- 
bittered by  their  own  long  continued  interne- 
cine strife — could  always  be  secured  against 
the  other  by  bribery.  The  court  of  Susa  was 
able  to  gain  and  to  maintain  among  the  powers 
of  Greece  an  ascendency  which  was  not  seri- 
ously impaired  until  the  petty  states  of  that 
distracted  country  went  down  before  the  am- 
bition of  Alexander.  Such  was  the  condition 
of  affairs  during  the  latter  years  of  the  reign 
of  Darius  Nothus.  That  monarch  died  in 
the  year  B.  C.  407,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Arsaces  with  the  title  of  Artaxerxes  II.  He 
had  not  been  "born  in  the  purple,"  and  his 
right  to  the  throne  was  to  that  extent  en- 
dangered. 

Before  the  death  of  the  late  king,  the 
question  of  the  succession  had  been  raised  by 
Parysatis,  the  queen,  who  preferred  her  younger 
son,  Cyrus.  This  preference  was  intensified 
by  the  fact  that  this  prince  had  been  born 
after  his  father  became  king,  and  was,  there- 
fore, under  the  old  precedent,  the  rightful 
heir.  Nevertheless,  Darius  named  Artaxerxe8 
for  his  successor  and  the  latter  became  king, 
not,  however,  until  his  life  had  been  at- 
tempted by  Cyrus  on  the  day  of  coronation. 

The  latter  was  arrested  and  was  about  to  be 
put  to  death,  but  his  mother  interceded  for 
him  and  he  was  sent  away  to  his  satrapy  in 
Asia  Minor,  burning  for  revenge.  He  im- 
mediately began  the  organization  of  a  body 
of  Greek  mercenaries,  for  the  ostensible  pur- 
pose of  making  war  on  the  Pisidians  of  tne 
Western  Taurus,  but  with  the  real  object  of 
killing  his  brother,  the  king,  and  taking  the 
throne  of  Persia. 

By  various  maneuvers  and  subterfuges  he 
succeeded  in  collecting  eleven  thousand  Greek 
soldiers.  He  put  himself  at  the  head  of  this 
army,  which  was  soon  augmented  by  two 
thousand  additional  Greeks  and  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  provincials  gathered  from 
his  satrapy,  and  began  his  advance  from  Sar- 
dis through  Lydia  and  Phrygia.  Tissaphernes, 
in  the  meantime,  had  carried  the  tidings  to 


368 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  AXCIEXT  WORLD. 


Susa  and  given  tlie  alarm  to  the  king,  who 
readily  perceived  that  he  was  the  object  of  the 
expedition.  It  was  not,  however,  until  Cyrus 
had  penetrated  Cilicia  that  the  mask  was 
thrown  off  and  his  real  intentions  divulged  to 
the  soldiery. 

The  Greeks  at  first  refused  to  proceed,  but 
were  gradually  won  over  to  the  project.  The 
advance  was  resumed,  and  after  a  twenty-nine 
days'  march  from  Tarsus  the  army  reached 
Thapsacus,  on  the  Euphrates.  The  river  was 
forded,  but   not    until    the  Greeks  had  again 


recovered  himself,  and  put  his  army  in  array 
of  battle.  Within  three  hours  after  the  first 
sight  of  the  Persian  host  was  caught,  the  con- 
flict began.  The  Greek  auxiliaries  were 
placed  on  the  right  center,  and  were  the  main 
dependence  of  Cyrus  in  the  battle.  The 
forces  of  Artaxerxes  were  so  vast  as  to  out- 
flank the  invaders  on  both  wings,  but  Cyrus 
2:)revented  this  by  resting  his  right  against  the 
river.  The  Greeks  began  the  fight  by  singing 
a  psean  to  Zeus  and  then  charging  the  foe. 
The    Persians    gave    way   before   them.     The 


BATTLE  OF  CUNAXA. 


been  stimulated  with  a  promise  of  additional 
pay.  The  course  now  lay  down  the  left  bank 
of  the  Euphrates,  and  after  thirty-three  days 
Cyrus  came  within  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  of  Babykm,  where  the  first  traces  of  the 
enemy  were  seen.  After  that  the  advance 
was  made  each  day  with  slowness  and  caution. 
In  the  meantime,  Artaxerxes,  fully  aroused, 
had  raised  a  force  of  nine  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  was  advancing  to  the  onset.  At 
last  the  two  armies  came  in  sight  on  the 
famous  field  of  Cunaxa.  Cyrus  had  believed 
that  his  brother  Avas  fleeing  before  him,  and 
came   near   being  surprised;    but  he   quickly 


scythe-bearing  chariots  were  turned  by  their 
frightened  horses  upon  their  own  ranks.  For 
three  miles  the  Greeks  scattered  all  before 
them.  In  the  center,  meanwhile,  Cyrus  en- 
gaged his  foe  and  gained  some  advantages. 
Finally  a  charge  was  made  against  the  six 
thousand  horsemen  who  composed  the  body- 
guard of  the  king,  and  they  were  put  to 
flight.  In  the  confused  struggle  in  this  part 
of  the  field  Cyrus  discerned  at  a  distance  the 
form  of  his  brother,  and  shouting  out,  "Ton 
ANDRA  HORo"  (I  See  the  man),  made  a  rash 
plunge  in  that  direction  to  cut  him  down. 
But  before  he  could  reach  Artaxerxes  he  was 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


36& 


himself  struck  with  a  javeliu  and  slaiu.  As 
the  whole  question  was  merely  whether  his 
life  or  that  of  the  king  should  bleed  on  the 
altar  of  fraternal  vengeance,  the  fight  was 
virtually  decided.  The  provincial  forces  that 
made  up  the  body  of  Cyrus's  army  broke  and 
fled.  But  the  Greeks  stood  fast,  and  thoug-h 
their  captains  were  soon  inveigled  into  a  con- 
ference and  treacherously  killed,  they  began 
to  recede  in  good  order,  with  the  hojpe  of 
reaching  their  own  country. 

Now  it  was  that  the  famous  "  Retreat  of 
the  Ten  Thousand  "  began,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Xenophon.  The  hosts  of  the  Per- 
sians hung  upon  their  flanks  and  rear,  but 
discipline  and  courage  kept  their  myriads  at 
bay,  and  after  untold  hardships  and  a  march 
of  many  hundred  miles  through  Mesopotamia 
and  the  mountainous  regions  of  Armenia  to 
Trapezus  on  the  Euxine,  the  heroic  Greeks  at 
last  came  in  safety,  and  by  their  exultant  cry 
of  "  The  sea!  the  sea  !"  gave  proof  to  after 
times  of  the  valor  and  fortitude  of  their  race.^ 
The  mercenaries  who  had  thus  aided  Cyrus 
in  his  attempt  on  the  throne  w^ere  mostly 
Spartans.  Their  conduct  gave  grounds  to  the 
king  for  going  to  war  with  their  country;  for 
their  country  would  not  disavow  what  its 
soldiery  had  done.  For  six  years  (B.  C.  399- 
394)  a  desultory  conflict  was  carried  on  be- 
tween the  satraps  of  Lydia  and  Phrygia  on 
the  one  side  and  Sparta  on  the  other.  In  the 
year  B.  C.  393  a  league  was  formed  by  Argos, 
Thebes,  Athens,  and  Corinth,  which  compelled 
the  Spartans  to  withdraw  from  foreign  com- 
plications and  defend  themselves  at  home.  In 
ihe  straitened  condition  of  their  oligarchy 
they  undertook  and  were  finally  able  to  secure 
the  establishment  of  peace.  The  general  pro- 
posal was  that  all  of  Asia  should  go  to  the 
Persians,  and  that  all  of  the  Greek  islands 
and  states  should  be  free.  For  six  years  the 
negotiations  were  pending,  but  finally,  in 
B.  C.  387,  the  terms  were  acceded  to  by  all  the 
parties  and   the    "Peace  of  Antalcidas"  was 

'  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  exi>loit  of  these 
Ten  Thousand  Greeks  in  penetrating  to  the  heart 
ol  the  Persian  Empire  and  then  returning  in 
safety,  furnished  Alexander  with  a  precedent  for 
his  conquest. 


established.  In  the  mean  time  a  revolt  broke 
out  in  Cyprus,  led  by  the  Greek  governor 
Evagoras,  who  beat  off  the  forces  sent  against 
him  and  achieved  a  nominal  independence. 
In  the  remaining  years  of  the  reign  of  Arta- 
xerxes  a  series  of  rebellions  occurred  in  the 
outlying  provinces,  the  existence  of  which 
and  the  success  of  some  indicated  as  clearly 
as  daylight  the  moribund  condition  of  the 
Empire. 

After  a  long  reign  of  forty-six  years  Arta- 
xerxes  died,   and   was  succeeded   by  Ochus, 
who,  with  the  connivance  and  aid  of  Parysatis, 
had  first  cleared  the  field  of  claimants  by  the 
murder  of  all  his  brothers  and  rivals.     The 
bloody  road  by  which  he  went  to  the  throne 
was  not  more  bloody  than  the  scepter  which 
he  wielded.  '  As  soon   as  he  was  king  he  in- 
stigated a  series  of  murders  by  which  nearly 
all  the  princes  and  a  large  number  of  prin- 
cesses were   destroyed.     The  next   matter  to 
which  he  turned  his  attention  was  the  recon- 
quest  of  Egypt,  which   now   for   about   fifty 
years  had  held  a  nominal  independence.     Al 
the  head  of  a  great  army  Ochus  marched  intc 
the  Nile  valley,  Avhere  he  was  met   and  sig- 
nally  defeated    by  the   Pharaoh    Nectanebo. 
Immediately  after  this  a  revolt  broke  out  in 
Phoenicia,  and  the  ancient  city  of  Sidon  re- 
covered her   independence.      But   Ochus,   in 
the  midst  of  what  seemed   universal  dismem- 
berment,  was    undismayed.     He    reorganized 
an  immense  army,  consisting  of  three  hundred 
and  thirty  thousand  men,  and  again  advanced 
into  Egypt.     This  time  Nectanebo  was  routed 
in  a  series  of  battles,  and  was  finally  driven 
into  Ethiopia.     Sidon  w^as  also  besieged.     All 
who  came  out  to  ask  for  terms  were  put  to 
death.       Finally,     in     the    wretchedness    of 
despair,  the  remaining  forty  thousand  people 
set  fire  to   their  own  houses  and  perished  in 
the  flames.    Ochus  coolly  sold  the  ashes  of  the 
city  to  a  company  of  adventurers,  who  hoped 
to  gather  from   the   ruin  the  gold  and  orna- 
ments of  the  people.     Such  w^as  the  vindic- 
tive energy  and   relentless   severity  of  Ochus 
that  the  terror  of  his  name  spread  throughout 
the  Empire  and   raised  the  king  to   the  pin- 
nacle of  autocratic  power.     Rebellions,  for  the 
time,  became  few  and  far  between. 


870 


UNIVERSAL  EIBTORY.-TIIE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  AXXALS. 


371 


It  was  at  this  eiJoch  iu  the  history  of  Persia 
that  her  attention  was  first  directed  to  Mace- 
DONLA..  That  State  was  rapidly  rising  to  in- 
fluence in  the  West,  and  the  king  directed 
his  governors  to  take  steps  to  check  her  prog- 
ress. An  army  was  sent  into  Thrace,  in  B.  C. 
340,  to  help  to  sustain  the  independence  of 
that  kingdom  against  the  Macedonians,  and 
succor  was  given  to  the  people  of  Perinthus, 
then  besieged  by  Philip.  But  the  career  of 
Ochus  was  near  an  end.  In  B.  C.  338  he 
was  poisoned  by  a  conspirator  named  Bogoas, 
who  set  up  Akses,  one  of  the  king's  sons,  and 
slew  all  the  rest — thus  hoping  to  be  virtually 
monarch  himself.  But  very  soon  Arses  began 
to  show  signs  of  restiveuess  and  courage,  and 
he  and  his  children  were  all  in  turn  assassin- 
ated. Bogoas,  who  thus  acquired  a  kind  of 
character  of  king-maker,  next  elevated  Codo- 
MANUS,  a  remote  member  of  the  royal  house, 
to  the  throne.  He  took  to  himself  the  title 
of  Daeius,  In  this  same  year  (B.  C  336), 
PhUip  of  Macedon  was  assassinated  by  Pau- 
sanias,  and  the  crown  of  that  country  de- 
scended to  the  youthful  Alexander.  Thus,  at 
the  same  time,  in  two  distant  counti'ies,  were 
established  in  power  two  foemen  who  should 
presently  contend  for  the  mastery  of  the 
world. 

The  story  of  the  growth  of  the  Macedonian 
power  and  the  hurling  of  that  power  like  a 
thunderbolt  upon  the  effete  kingdoms  of  Mes- 
opotamia will  1)6  fully  narrated  in  the  Eighth 
Book.^  For  the  present  it  may  suffice  to  re- 
count from  the  Persian  side  the  tragic  end  of 
the  great  Empire  of  the  Achcemenians.  Per- 
sonally considered,  Darius  Codomanus  was  one 
of  the  best  of  the  whole  line  of  kings  who 
swayed  the  destinies  of  his  country.  His  ap- 
pearance on  the  stage,  however,  was  at  an 
epoch  when  fate  was  against  him.  At  the 
very  time  of  his  accession  a  division  of  the 
Macedonian  army  had  already  been  landed  by 
Philip  on  the  Asiatic  coast.  But  for  the 
death  of  the  king  of  Macedonia  the  disasters 
of  Persia  must  have  sooner  come,  nor  borne 
less  heavily.  The  assassination  of  Philip  gave 
a  brief  respite  to  Darius,  who,  however,  little 
improved  the  interval  with  measures  to  repel 

'  See  Book  Ninth,  pp.  616-6fi3. 


the  threatened  invasion.  It  was  doubted 
whether  the  youthful  Alexander  could  even 
maintain  himself  in  Europe,  to  say  nothing 
of  an  Asiatic  conquest.  But  when  it  was  seen 
that  a  greater  than  Philip  was  come,  then  the 
king  made  such  preparations  as  he  could  to 
stop  the  avalanche.  A  numerous  fleet  was 
manned  and  equipped.  Large  bodies  of  troops 
were  sent  from  beyond  the  Euphrates  to  the 
frontiers  of  Asia  Minor.  Mercenaries  were 
hired.  Agents  were  dispatched  into  the  Greek 
states  to  stir  up  revolts.  The  Hellespontine 
Greeks  were  organized  in  the  pay  of  Persia, 


DARIUS  CODOMANUS  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  ISSU3. 

After  the  Fresco  in  Pompeii. 

and  were  put  under  the  command  of  Memnon 
of  Rhodes,  an  able  general. 

By  these  measures  some  brief  advantages 
were  gained  on  the  Hellespont,  nor,  for  the 
time,  did  the  movements  of  Alexander  excite 
serious  apprehensions.  So  in  the  beginning 
of  his  expedition,  in  the  spring  of  B.  C.  334, 
his  passage  into  Asia  was  not  disputed.  His 
force  consisted  of  thirty  thousand  foot  and 
five  thousand  horse.  With  this  small  but 
compact  and  well-disciplined  army  he  ad- 
vanced to  Mysia  without  opposition.  The 
Persians  were  first  arrayed  in  his  pathway  at 
the  Granicus,  a  small  stream  between  Abydos 
and  Dascyleiura.  With  forty  thousand  mea 
advantageously  posted  on  the  opposite   bank 


pi;illl!lllllllll!iil'.;!'.!':!;!ir''"'"     •^fe^^Jw J  ^'^ii^^  'K'^£.  '^Vr.,1  <    \\\\ 


PERSIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


375 


they  awaited  the  coming  of  the  Macedonian, 
who  gladly  caught  a  first  sight  of  his  Asiatic 
adversaries,  and  immediately  charged  through 
the  stream  and  up  the  bank  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy.  The  battle  was  stubbornly  contested, 
especially  by  the  Greek  mercenaries  in  the 
Persian  army.  But  the  Macedonians  carried 
the  field,  slaying  more  than  one-half  of  the 
whole  opposing  force.  Alexander  himself 
displayed  an  almost  reckless  daring,  and  was 
slightly  wounded  in  the  battle.  The  Mace- 
donian dead  numbered  scarely  more  than  a 
hundred. 


At  the  head  of  this  force,  in  the  spring  of 
B.  C.  333,  the  king  set  out  from  Babylon,  ad- 
vanced first  to  Sochi,  and  thence  to  Issus,  on 
the  gulf  of  the  same  name.  He  thus  attained 
a  position  somewhat  in  Alexander's  rear;  for 
the  latter  had  been  sick  at  Tarsus,  and  was 
unable  to  act  with  celerity  in  the  early  season. 
Nevertheless,  he  immediately,  on  hearing  the 
place  of  his  adversary,  turned  about  and  ad- 
vanced upon  him. 

Darius,  in  the  mean  time,  had  become  im- 
patient and  set  out  from  Issus  to  find  the 
Mncedoniaus;  but  he  had  only  to  advance  a 


THE   BATTLE    OF    ISSUS. 
From  a  Fresco  in  Pompeii. 


All  of  Asia  Minor  now  lay  open  to  the 
conqueror.  Lydia,  Ionia,  Caria,  Lycia,  Pam- 
phylia,  Pisidia,  and  Phrygia  were  successively 
overrun,  and  all  of  the  great  cities  from  Mile- 
tus to  Gordium  fell  into  his  hands.  At  the 
last  named  city  he  established  his  winter- 
quarters  and  awaited  the  coming  of  spring. 
A  single  campaign  had  laid  Asia  Minor  at 
his  feet. 

Meanwhile,  Memnon,  the  general  upon 
whom  Darius  chiefly  depended,  died,  and  the 
king  was  driven  to  act  merely  on  the  defens- 
ive. He  determined,  however,  to  meet  his 
antagonist  well  to  the  west,  and  organized  a 
vast  army  of  nearly  a  half-million  of  men. 


short  distance  to  find  the  objects  of  his  search. 
In  November  the  two  armies  met  on  the 
banks  of  the  Pinarus,  but  the  battle  takes  its 
name  from  Issus. 

The  conflict  was  begun  by  Alexander. 
From  the  beginning  it  was  seen  that  the  Per- 
sians feared  the  long  spears  of  the  Macedoni- 
ans; but  the  cavalry  of  Darius  fought  with 
great  bravery,  as  did  also  the  Greek  merce- 
naries in  the  right  wing  of  the  army.  Alex- 
ander himself  with  the  right  and  the  right 
center  charged  the  Persian  infantry  in  his 
front  and  routed  them  with  great  slaughter. 
The  cavalry,  seeing  the  defeat  of  the  foot, 
also  broke  into  flight,  and  the  Greek  auxilia- 


374 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ries  were  beaten  clown.  The  result  was  a 
complete  and  overwhelming  victory  for  Alex- 
ander, who  now  grew  confident  of  his  ability 
to  take  the  Persian  Empire  with  a  Macedo- 
nian phalanx.  The  losses  of  Darius  in  the 
battle  of  Issus  have  been  placed  as  high  as 
one  hundred  thousand  men,  while  that  of  the 
Macedonians  amounted  to  no  more  than  nine 
hundred  and  fifty  in  killed  and  wounded! 
To  this  disparity  must  be  added  the  loss  of 
the  king's  mother,  wife,  and  sister,  who  were 
captured  by  Alexander. 

The  contest,  however,  was  not  yet  decided. 
The  resources  of  the  Empire  were  so  vast  as 
not  to  be  exhausted  by  a  single  overthrow. 
It  was,  moreover,  Alexander's  plan,  as  soon  as 
he  had  inflicted  a  signal  defeat  upon  the  main 
army  of  Persia,  to  turn  about  into  Phoenicia 
and  reduce  that  country  and  Egypt  before 
proceeding  to  Babylon.  He  thus  purposed, 
by  briuging  all  the  countries  from  Syria  to 
Libya  under  his  sway,  to  leave  no  disturbing 
elements  behind  him  when  he  should  continue 
his  march  to  the  East.  The  great  conquests 
of  the  son  of  Philip  in  the  countries  skirting 
the  Mediterranean,  his  triumphant  progress  to 
the  south-west,  his  penetration  to  the  Oasis  of 
Amun,  and  his  return  into  Asia  Minor  pre- 
paratory to  his  final  struggle  with  Darius,  will 
be  properly  considered  in  the  History  of  the 
Macedonian  ascendency.^  These  movements 
occupied  a  period  of  twenty  months,  so  that 
the  summer  of  B.  C.  331  arrived  before  the 
conflict  was  renewed  for  the  dominion  of  Asia. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Persian  king  made 
great  preparations  for  the  renewal  of  hostili- 
ties. First,  however,  he  tried  what  negotia- 
tion could  accomplish  by  sending  two  embas- 
Bies  to  the  conqueror.  To  the  first,  which 
requested  peace  and  the  surrender  of  the 
king's  family,  now  held  prisoners,  Alexander 
replied  haughtily,  demanding  either  an  abdi- 
cation of  Darius  in  his  favor  or  else  that  the 
monarch  would  come  forth  and  fight  it  out. 
To  the  other  proposition  which  was  made  to 
the  Macedonian  while  he  was  engaged  in  the 
siege  of  Tyre,  and  which  embraced  the  giving 
of  ten  thousand  talents  for  the  restitution  of 
the  royal  family,  the  surrender  to  Alexander 

'  See  Book  Ninth,  pp.  629-651. 


of  all  the  countries  west  of  the  Euphrates, 
and  his  reception  of  Statira,  the  king's  daugh- 
ter, in  marriage,  he  answered  still  more  con- 
temptuously. The  countries  were  his  already. 
When  he  wanted  the  ten  thousand  talents  he 
would  take  them.  If  he  desired  to  marry  the 
daughter  of  Darius  he  would  do  so  as  soon  as 
he  pleased.  The  Persian  was  a  fool  to  ofler 
him  what  he  already  possessed.  So  it  only 
remained  to  fight  and — be  beaten. 

The  whole  Empire  was  laid  under  contri- 
bution for  the  final  conflict.  Twenty-five  na- 
tions furnished  large  contingents  of  troops. 
More  than  a  million  of  men  were  gathere(? 
under  the  king's  standards.  For  once  a  field 
of  battle  was  deliberately  selected.  In  the 
heart  of  ancient  Assyria,  about  thirty  milea 
from  Nineveh,  in  a  vast  plain  as  level  as 
the  lowlands  of  Mesopotamia,  in  every  way 
adapted  for  the  advantageous  operations  of  a 
great  mass  of  men,  and  especially  for  the  evo- 
lutions of  the  scythe-bearing  war-chariots, 
Darius  marshaled  his  hosts.  The  plain  was 
improved  with  special  respect  to  the  battle. 
Every  impediment  was  taken  away.  Finally, 
in  all  that  quarter  from  which  the  Macedo- 
nian cavalry  must  make  their  charge,  the 
ground  was  sown  with  spiked  balls  of  iron  to 
cripple  the  enemy's  horses.  Such  was  the 
field  of  Arbela. 

On  came  Alexander  from  his  campaign  in 
Egypt.  He  advanced  through  Syria,  crossed 
the  Euphrates,  traversed  Mesopotamia,  and 
entered  Assyria  without  resistance.  It  was 
now  October  of  B.  C.  331.  Darius  carefully 
occupied  his  chosen  position.  The  scythe- 
bearing  chariots  were  placed  in  front.  Then 
came  the  Scythian,  Bactrian,  Armenian,  and 
Cappadocian  cavalry.  After  these  were  the 
great  masses  of  infantry,  arranged  in  two 
wings,  and  after  all,  the  Babylonian  reserve 
massed  in  the  rear.  The  king  took  his  post  in 
the  center  and  awaited  the  onset.  About  him 
were  arranged  body-guards  of  archers  and 
cavalry,  and  a  troop  of  elephants  mounted 
and  directed  by  their  Indian  masters. 

Alexander  went  into  the  conflict  with  great 
care.  From  deserters  he  learned  the  exact 
disposition  of  his  enemy's  forces.  On  the 
margin    of   the   battle-field    he    paused    over 


P:ERSIA.— CIVIL  AXD  MILITARY  AXNALS. 


:375 


ALEXANDER  DISCOVERS  THE  BODY  OP  DARIUS. 


376 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


night,  counseling  his  generals,  and  reconnoi- 
tering  the  grounds  occupied  by  Darius.  His 
own  forces  consisted  of  forty  thousand  foot 
and  seven  thousand  horse — these  against  a 
million!  Light-armed  troops  were  deployed 
by  the  Macedonian  to  operate  against  the 
Persian  chariots.  Then  came  the  heavy  lines 
of  battle.  Alexander  commanded  the  right ; 
Parmenio,  the  left.  In  beginning  battle  the 
conqueror  charged  diagonally  across  the  field 
and  greatly  disconcerted  the  Persians.  Darius 
ordered  his  chariots  into  battle ;  but  the  char- 
ioteers were  soon  brought  down  by  the  agile 
skirmishers,  and  the  few  vehicles  which 
reached  the  battle-lines  were  allowed  to  pass 
through  without  harm  only  to  be  overthrown 
in  the  rear.  Alexander,  meanwhile,  had 
reached  the  Persian  flank,  and  discovering  a 
gap  in  the  left  wing,  he  plunged  into  it  like 
an  avalanche.  He  soon  fought  his  way  into 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Darius,  and  himself 
hurled  a  lance  which  brought  down  the  king's 
charioteer.  The  cry  at  once  spread  that  Da- 
rius was  slain.  Then  came  the  rout.  The 
lines  broke.     The  banner  of  the  Empire  hung 


suspended  for  a  moment ;  then  fluttered ;  then 
fell  never  to  rise.  The  king  fled  to  Arbela.' 
The  field  was  a  turmoil  of  struggling,  flying 
cohorts.  The  remnants  of  the  Persian  host 
rolled  across  the  Zab ;  but  before  they  reached 
safety  on  the  other  side,  the  Macedonians 
had  destroyed  three  hundred  thousand  men ! 
The  victory  was  overwhelming,  astounding, 
the  very  crack  of  doom  to  that  great  power 
which  had  so  long  overshadowed  Western 
Asia.  Darius  was  pursued  to  Arbela,  thence 
through  Rhagse  to  the  Elburz  mountains,  and 
thence  to  the  deserts  of  Parthia.  Here  he 
was  assassinated  by  Bessus,  the  satrap  of  Bac- 
tria.  He  was  discovered  by  Alexander  in  a 
dying  condition  by  the  roadside.  He  asked 
for  a  cup  of  water,  thanked  the  giver,  and 
died.  And  with  him  died  the  Empire  of  the 
Persians.  The  body  of  the  dead  monarch  was 
sent  by  Alexander  to  Persepolis,  where  it  was 
honorably  buried  in  the  tombs  of  the  kings. 


'  The  great  battle  which  takes  the  name  of 
Arbela  was  fought  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
Zab,  at  the  little  village  of  Gaugamela,  and  should 
have  been  so  named. 


\mk  ^mm\\\}. 


PARTHIA. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII— THE  COUNTRY. 


fiY  the  events  recorded  iu 
the  preceding  Book  the 
reader  has  been  made 
fully  aware,  not  only  of 
the  existence,  but  of  the 
prowess  and  enterprise  of 
the  Hellenic  race  out  of 
the  West.  The  conflict  wliich  he  has  been 
considering,  terminating  in  utter  disaster  to 
the  Persian  Empire  at  Arbela,  was  a  crisis  in 
the  affairs  of  two  great  peoples  having  the 
same  ethnic  derivation.  The  Macedonians 
were  one  of  the  European  developments  of 
that  same  family  whose  fecundity  on  the 
plateau  of  Iran  gave  us  the  Persians.  Hav- 
ing seen  the  result  of  the  struggle  between 
the  two  races,  we  might  here  at  once  transfer 
our  station  to  the  West,  to  follow  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  Hellenic  tribes  into  nationality, 
from  nationality  to  conquest,  and  from  con- 
quest to  decadence. 

Thus  far  in  the  present  volume  we  have 
pursued  tliis  suggestive  method,  tracing  the 
coui'se  of  one  people  until  its  conflict  w'ith 
another  people  has  led  us  naturally  to  consider 
the  history  of  the  latter.  Thus  the  conquest 
of  Egypt  by  the  Persians  carried  the  reader's 
attention,  first  of  all,  from  the  valley  of  the 


Nile  to  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  The  con- 
quest of  ancient  Chaldsea  by  the  Assyrians 
next  drew  his  interest  from  the  south  to  the 
north,  from  Babylon  to  Nineveh.  Then  came 
the  conquest  of  Assyria  by  the  Medes,  which 
carried  the  inquirer  beyond  the  Zagros,  and 
made  him  acquainted,  for  the  first  time,  with 
the  warlike  representatives  of  the  Aryan  race. 
His  attention  was  next  recalled  by  the  revival 
of  the  Babylonian  Power  until  what  time 
Persia  forced  her  way  across  Mesopotamia,  and 
subdued  the  larger  part  of  Western  Asia.  The 
history  of  this  Persian  Empire  we  have  just 
considered,  and  the  suggestion  of  its  close 
would  carry  us  naturally  in  the  wake  of  the 
conquerors  to  Macedonia  and  the  Grecian  Isl- 
ands. This  direction  we  shall  indeed  pres- 
ently folloAV  ;  but  before  the  final  transfer  of 
our  historical  position  from  Asia  to  Europe — 
before  descending  from  this  Iranian  plateau  to 
view  the  astonishing  development  of  the  an- 
cient Hellenic  tribes  in  their  archipelago  and 
on  the  main-laud  of  Greece — it  remains  to  con- 
sider the  peculiar  history  of  an  Empire  Avhich 
sprang  up,  and  at  length  occupied  the  place 
of  Persia  on  the  highlands  of  Western  Asia. 
This  Empire  is  Parthia.  Its  consideration 
in  this  connection  is  difficult.     The  Parthian 

(377) 


378 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Power  did  not  reach  its  climax  until  after  the 
successors  of  Alexander  the  Great  had  quar- 
reled and  fought  themselves  into  silence.  The 
Empire  then  extended  throughout  the  period 
which  covered  the  entire  decline  and  extinc- 
tion of  the  Grecian  commonwealths,  and  lay 
alongside  in  time  with  the  development  of 
the  later  Republic  and  Empire  of  Rome, 
Of  the  dominions  of  the  latter,  Parthia  was 
destined  to  constitute  the  tkus-far  on  the  East. 
Against  the  Parthian  arrows  in  the  far  East 
not  even  the  Roman  legions  could  prevail.  The 
strong  men,  the  wild  warriors  of  Central  Asia, 
held  the  legionaries  at  bay,  or  buried  them  by 
multiplied  thousands  in  the  desert.  In  time, 
therefore,  the  consideration  of  Parthia  before 
the  history  of  Greece  and  Rome  is  a  derange- 
ment of  historical  relations ;  but  in  place  the 
narrative  must  be  given  here.  The  reader 
will  therefore  retain  his  jioint  of  observation 
on. the  Great  Plateau,  and  note  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Parthian  Empire  down  to  the 
beginning  of  the  second  century  of  our  Era, 
before  transferring  his  station  to  Macedonia 
and  the  Hellenic  peninsula. 

The  relations  of  the  Parthian  Empire  with 
Persia  were  remarkable,  but  not  without  prec- 
edent. We  have  seen  Babylonia  revived  from 
the  grave  of  ancient  Chaldsea.  We  have 
seen  the  Persians  themselves  flourishing  in  the 
land  of  the  Medes.  We  shall  hereafter  see 
many  examples  of  the  upspringing  of  a  new 
national  growth  from  the  roots  of  the  fallen 
tree  of  some  old  nationality.  In  the  present 
instance  Parthia  may  be  said  to  have  come 
forth  from  the  ruins  of  Persia.  The  Parthians 
had  long  existed  as  a  distinct  people,  subject 
to  Persian  authority.  It  was  reserved  for 
them,  by  their  greater  vitality,  to  survive  the 
wreck  of  the  other  Iranian  nations,  to  expand 
over  the  ruins  of  the  Alexandrian  conquests, 
to  establish  a  true  Empire,  and  to  defend  it 
through  several  revolutionary  epochs,  until 
the  drama  of  Ancient  History  was  closed,  and 
that  of  Modern  History  begun.  It  might  al- 
most be  said  that  the  Parthian  Power  has 
never  ceased  until  the  present  time,  and  that 
the  Persian  Shah  is  the  living  representative 
of  Arsaces  I. 

At  the  beginning,  then,  it  will   be  proper 


for  us  to  consider  briefly  the  Country  of  ancient 
Parthia  and  the  territories  subsequently  in- 
cluded in  the  Empire.  This  will  be  followed 
by  a  view  of  the  people  and  their  civilization  ; 
after  which  the  narrative  of  their  civil  and 
militai-y  career  will  be  given  to  the  beginning 
of  the  third  century  of  our  era.  The  dis- 
tinction must  be  borne  in  mind  between  the 
Province  of  Parthia  proper  and  the  Imperial 
country  ruled  by  the  great  kings  during  the 
last  century  of  the  ancient  epoch.  Parthia 
Proper  may  be  said  to  have  corresponded  with 
tolerable  exactitude  to  the  modern  province 
of  Khorassau.  The  position  and  extent  of  the 
country  can  be  noted  by  the  reader  by  a 
simple  reference  to  a  map  of  the  Persian  Em- 
pire of  the  present  time.  The  country  no\t 
includes  the  districts  of  Damaghan,  Sharud, 
Sebzawar,  Nishapur,  Meshed,  Shebri-No,  and 
Tershiz.  The  length  from  east  to  west  is 
about  three  hundred  miles,  and  the  extreme 
width  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  The  area 
is  thirty-three  thousand  square  miles,  being  a 
little  greater  than  that  of  Ireland  in  Europe, 
or  the  State  of  Indiana  in  America. 

The  position  of  Parthia  may  be  defined  in 
general  geographical  terms  as  lying  about  mid- 
way between  the  south-eastern  borders  of  the 
Caspian  and  the  northern  shore  of  the  Arabian 
sea.  The  country  had  on  its  western  side  the 
province  of  Hyrcania,  but  the  latter  was  gen- 
erally included  under  the  common  name  of 
Parthia.  To  the  east  and  north  lay  Margiana, 
and  to  the  south  and  west  Sagartia  and  Sar- 
augia.  On  the  south-east  the  country  was 
bounded  by  ancient  Arya — a  name  significant 
to  all  the  Indo-European  peoples.  The  reader 
will  already  have  noted  that  Parthia  as  here 
defined  is  not  far  removed  from  the  primitive 
seats  of  those  tribes  out  of  whose  fecund  loins 
all  the  great  races  of  Europe  and  America 
have  been  ultimately  derived. 

Of  the  general  character  of  Parthia  Proper, 
and  of  the  surrounding  regions,  sufiicient  has 
already  been  said  in  the  description  of  the 
same  countries  in  connection  with  Media  and 
Persia.  The  mountain  region  extending  east- 
ward in  a  chain  from  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  Caspian,  branches  out  into  many  ranges 
in   the    Parthian  territory ;    and    from    these 


PARTHIA.—THE  COUNTRY. 


879 


brooks  aud  rivers  descend  into  the  plains, 
furnishing  a  fair  supply  of  Avater.  The  soil  is 
tolerably  fertile,  and  the  climate  marked  with 
those  particular  vicissitudes  under  which  the 
energies  of  the  human  race  are  best  developed. 
It  is  probable  that  the  flora  and  fauna  of 
modern  Khorassan  fairly  represent  the  vegeta- 
ble and  animal  life  of  the  ancient  country. 

It  is  sufficient  to  note  the  great  contrast  be- 
tween the  region  which  we  are  considering 
and  the  deserts  north  and  south.  The  man 
of  antiquity  may  have  well  regarded  Parthia 
with  delight  on  his  escape  from  the  sandy 
waste  on  either  hand.  The  primitive  tribes, 
roaming  at  will  through  groves  of  pine,  through 
sloping  lands  covered  with  walnut,  ash,  and 
poplar,  by  river  banks  lined  with  the  Avillow 
and  mulberry,  may  have  Avell  chosen  this  coun- 
try in  preference  to  any  that  they  had  found, 
and  pledged  their  lives  aud  barbarian  resources 
to  its  defense.  Nor  could  the  winters,  extend- 
ing from  October  to  April,  severe  in  snow  and 
freezing,  prevail  to  destroy  the  preference  of 
the  first  Parthiaus  for  the  country  of  their 
choice. 

The  situation  was  favorable  for  the  devel- 
opment of  an  ancient  State,  and  the  character 
of  the  people  conduced  strongly  to  that  end. 
We  have  seen  how  primeval  man  at  the  first 
chose  the  alluvial  valleys  and  lowlands  about  the 
estuaries  of  great  rivers  ;  but  the  second  choice 
of  position  was  those  upland  regions  whose 
beauty  of  situation  and  abundant  resources 
invited  the  first  tribes  to  rest  and  settlement. 
In  this  respect  Parthia  may  be  regarded  as 
most  attractive.  In  addition  to  the  general 
fruitfulness  of  the  country — its  production  of 
the  native  cereals  and  berry  fruits  of  the  forest 
and  river  banks — the  region  might  well  be 
selected  for  the  desert  defenses  on  either  side. 
Nature  has  provided  for  the  races  of  men  many 
natural  bulwarks,  but  none  superior  to  a  waste 
of  desert  sand.  It  is,  therefore,  likely  that  for 
long  ages  before  the  first  authentic  annals,  the 
country  here  described  was  peopled  by  adven- 
turous and  Avarlike  tribes.  That  they  did  not 
multiply  and  develop  at  an  early  epoch  into  a 
great  State  must  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that 
agriculture  was  not  suggested  with  sufficient 
emphasis  to  provoke  the  energies  of  the  race. 


A  mixed  life  contained  the  summary,  and  for 
a  long  time  limited  the  activities,  of  the  prim- 
itive Parthiaus.  But  the  mixed  life  signifies 
a  sparse  and  somewhat  fluctuating  population, 
and  this  is  unfavorable  to  the  early  develop- 
ment of  social  and  political  power. 

We  have  thus  far  considered  only  the  orig- 
inal province  of  Parthia  Proper,  and  not  the 
character  of  the  countries  which  Avere  brought 
under  the  Parthian  sway  in  the  times  of  the 
Empire.  We  are  not  here  concerned  to  note 
the  political  and  historical  development,  but 
only  the  territorial  extension  of  the  primitive 
kingdom.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  hard  after 
the  decline  of  the  Persian  power  came  the 
rise  of  Parthia  and  the  expansion  of  her  do- 
minions north,  south,  east,  and  west.  The 
reader  will  not  have  failed  to  detect  the  name 
of  Parthia  in  several  paragraphs  of  Persian 
history.  The  country  Avas  included  for  a  long 
time  within  the  dominions  of  the  Achaemenian 
kings,  and  constituted  no  mean  part  of  the 
Empire  of  Cyrus  and  his  successors.  There 
were  times,  as  Ave  shall  hereafter  see,  when 
the  native  force  of  the  Parthian  race  asserted 
itself  against  the  Persian  rule,  and  more  than 
one  rebellion  gave  token  of  Avhat  might  be 
expected  as  soon  as  the  Persian  Power  should 
suflTer  from  foreign  violence  or  fail  from  in- 
herent Aveakness. 

That  event  at  length  arrived,  Avhen  near 
the  close  of  the  fourth  century  B.  C.  the 
Son  of  Philip,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preced- 
ing Book,  ground  under  his  heel  not  only  the 
Mesopotamian  countries,  but  all  the  dominions 
of  the  Great  Plateau  aud  beyond  to  the  river 
Indus.  It  thus  happened  that  Parthia  had, 
first,  her  historical  relations  Avith  the  Persian 
Empire  ;  afterwards,  with  the  Empire  of  Alex- 
ander and  its  divisions ;  and  lastly,  Avith  the 
military  governments  established  by  the  Ro- 
mans out  of  the  far  West. 

But  Ave  are  here  to  note  merely  the  exten- 
sion of  territory  which  came  to  the  Parthians 
by  Avar  and  conquest.  This  territorial  expan- 
sion first  included  the  adjacent  countries  of 
Chorasraia,  Margiana,  Arya,  Sarangia,  Sagartia, 
and  Hyrcania.  The  provinces  and  kingdoms 
known  by  these  names  were,  as  we  shall  here- 
after see,  OA'errun  and  subdued  by  the  armies 


380 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  the  Parthian  kings,  and  were  added,  one 
by  one,  to  their  dominions.  The  process  of 
physical  growth  was  coincident  with  the  re- 
verse process  of  decay  on  the  part  of  the 
Persians,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Romans,  in  the 
countries  of  Central  Asia. 

The  province  of  Chorasmia  bounded  Parthia 
Proper  on  the  north,  and  consisted  of  a  low- 
lying  plain  between  the  Parthian  mountains 
and  the  ancient  river  Oxus.  As  we  have  in- 
dicated above,  this  was  for  the  greater  part  a 
desert  region,  capable  of  supporting  only  the 
wild  tribes  of  Tura  with  their  flocks.  It  is 
believed  that  to  the  present  day  the  nomadic 
habit  of  life  has  prevailed  with  all  the  suc- 
ceeding nations  that  have  occupied  the  country. 
Nor  is  it  wonderful  that  the  sparse  peoples  of 
such  a  district  should  have  been  conquered 
with  ease  by  the  warlike  Parthians. 

The  country  of  Margiana  was  sometimes 
considered  as  a  distinct  kingdom,  and  some- 
times as  a  province  of  Bactria.  The  region 
lay  to  the  north-east  of  Parthia,  and  included 
a  much  more  favorable  district  than  might  be 
found  in  Chorasmia.  The  river  Margus  carried 
verdure  and  plenty  on  its  banks,  and  its  waters 
were  diverted,  in  both  ancient  and  modern 
times,  by  channels  and  canals  and  dykes, 
extending  for  many  miles  from  the  pi'incipal 
stream.  Strabo  has  given  us  an  account  of 
the  fertility  of  this  region,  and  of  the  extraor- 
dinary fruitfuluess  of  the  vine,  bending  with 
rich  clusters  on  the  banks  of  the  Margus. 

Next  among  the  provinces  touching  Par- 
thia, and  lying  on  the  eastern  border  of  that 
country,  was  Arya,  the  little  district  which  in 
the  fate  and  vicissitude  of  things  has  preserved 
to  modern  times  the  name  of  our  ancestral  race. 
This  province  embraces  the  ancient  valley  of 
Herat.  The  country  is  mountainous,  limited 
in  area,  not  populous,  easily  subdued  by  the 
more  powerful  Parthians  in  the  time  of  their 
warlike  greatness. 

Next  in  our  progress  to  the  south  we  find 
the  province  of  Sarangia,  greater  in  extent 
than  Arya,  but  hardly  stronger  in  develop- 
ment. Here  dwelt  the  desert  barbarians  called 
the  Sarangse.  The  region  was  one  of  alternate 
hills  and  plains,  not  wholly  waste,  having  a 
few  small   rivers   flowing  in    a    south-westerly 


direction.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  primi- 
tive Sarangians  were  a  people  of  great  force, 
either  in  war  or  in  peace,  and  their  country 
was  in  course  of  time  easily  absorbed  in  the 
Parthian  Empire. 

Still  skirting  the  latter  country  in  a  south- 
westerly direction,  we  come  to  the  larger  State 
of  Sagartia — larger,  but  at  the  same  time  more 
inhospitable,  less  capable  of  supporting  a  great 
population.  The  ancient  tribes  were  men  of 
the  desert,  living  after  the  manner  of  Bedouin 
Arabs,  subsisting  for  the  most  part  by  the 
capture  of  such  animals  as  nature  had  as- 
signed to  the  sandy  waste.  The  disposition  of 
the  ancient  people  was  more  warlike  than  that 
of  the  tribes  inhabiting  Sagartia  and  Saran- 
gia ;  but  their  armies  were  never  sufficiently 
strong  to  compete  in  battle  with  the  Parthian 
horsemen. 

We  now  complete  the  circuit  on  the  west 
with  the  province  of  Hyrcania.  As  we  have 
said  above,  this  coilntry  was  at  times  included 
under  the  common  name  of  Parthia.  It  had 
the  same  geographical  and  climatic  character 
with  the  latter  country.  It  was  traversed 
through  its  major  diameter  by  two  valleys 
lying  between  mountain  ridges  of  considerable 
elevation.  The  country  was  well  wooded  and 
fairly  watered.  In  this  respect  Hyrcania 
rivaled  the  better  parts  of  Parthia  in  excel- 
lence of  tree-growth  and  vegetable  products. 
It  was  said  to  be  a  land  abounding  in  shrubs 
and  green  slopes  and  flowers — fruitful  in  many 
things,  pleasing  to  the  eye,  abounding  in  the 
creatures  of  the  chase.  The  country  has  been 
represented  in  both  ancient  and  modern  times 
as  especially  prolific  in  animal  life.  The  trav- 
eler, as  far  back  as  the  times  of  Strabo,  was 
pleased  with  the  prospect.  In  area  the  province 
was  considerably  inferior  to  Parthia  Proper. 
Of  all  the  bordering  regions  of  the  latter 
country,  Hyrcania,  however,  was  the  most  in- 
teresting and  important.  It  has  been  urged 
by  Rawlinson  and  other  competent  critics  of 
the  situation,  that  the  place  and  character  of 
both  the  country  and  people  of  Parthia  were 
favorable  to  the  expansion  of  political  power 
and  the  establishment  of  a  widely  extended 
rule  over  the  surrounding  nations. 

We  have  now  considered  briefly  the  extent 


382 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— TEE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


and  nature  of  those  countries  immediately  sur- 
rounding the  original  Parthian  kiugdom,  but 
have  by  no  means  included  in  the  description 
the  wide  range  of  countries  beyond — countries 
included  in  the  times  of  Mithridates  in  the 
Parthian  Empire.  Ou  the  north-east  we  have 
first  of  all  the  extensive  country  of  Bactria. 
In  different  ages  this  region  has  been  variously 
defined.  In  general,  the  country  so  named 
was  bounded  on  the  south  and  south-east  by 
the  mountains  of  Hindu  Kush  ;  ou  the  north 
by  the  Oxus;  on  the  west  by  Chorasmia  and 
Margiana.  In  the  times  of  the  Parthian  as- 
cendency, however,  Bactria  extended  north- 
ward far  beyond  the  Oxus  Proper  to  the 
northern  branch  of  that  river,  skirting  the 
mountain  range  which  defined  the  southern 
limit  of  Scythia.  The  country  had  much  of 
the  same  character  with  Margiana  and  Cho- 
rasmia, but  was  less  of  a  desert,  more  of  a  hill 
country,  especially  toward  the  east.  The  tri- 
angular apex  of  Bactria  lying  among  the 
mountains  under  the  meridian  of  74°  east 
from  Greenwich,  marked  the  uttermost  limit 
of  the  Parthian  dominion  on  the  side  of  India. 
It  suffices  to  say  that  the  country  for  a  long 
time  resisted  the  ambitions  of  the  Parthian 
kings,  and  it  was  near  the  close  of  the  second 
century  B.  C.  before  it  was  included  in  their 
dominions. 

On  the  south  of  the  country  just  described, 
bordered  on  the  west  by  Arya  and  Saraugia, 
was  the  small  province  of  Arachosia,  another 
mountain  region  of  similar  character  to  Bac- 
tria, but  less  severe  in  climate.  It  was  watered 
by  the  river  Etymandrus  and  its  tributaries, 
reaching  far  into  the  highlands  on  the  north- 
east. The  country  here  described  occupied 
the  southern,  as  Bactria  occupied  the  northern, 
slopes  of  the  Hindu  Kush.  The  province  ex- 
tended through  about  four  meridians  of  longi- 
tude, and  was  nearly  square,  marking  the 
extreme  south-eastern  limits  of  the  Parthian 
Empire. 

Following  the  boundary  of  that  great  do- 
minion to  the  south-west,  we  come  to  the  two 
countries  of  Sacastaua  and  Carraania,  the  first 
lying  south  of  Sarangia  and  almost  Avholly 
desert  in  character.  Carmania  is  also,  in  its 
northern    part,    a    desert    waste,    and    on    its 


southern  border  next  to  Gedrosia,  a  mount- 
ainous region.  Indeed,  the  whole  of  the  two 
countries  just  mentioned  were  in  ancient  times, 
as  they  are  at  present,  as  little  attractive  and 
as  poorly  adapted  to  civilization  as  almost  any 
region  of  Central  Asia. 

On  the  west,  however,  we  come  to  the 
country  of  Persis,  or  Persia  Proper,  lying 
along  the  gulf  of  the  same  name,  a  region  of 
hills  and  streams  and  pleasant  prospects.  We 
have  here  reached,  against  the  sea,  the  south- 
ern limit  of  the  Parthian  Empire,  at  its  greatest 
estate,  in  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  inter- 
esting regions  of  the  whole.  Persia  has  been 
already  described,  not  only  in  its  narrower, 
but  in  its  imperial  extent ;  nothing  need  here 
be  added  as  to  the  physical  characteristics  and 
possibilities  of  the  country.  So  also  of  both  the 
Medias,  the  Magna,  and  the  Atropatene.  These 
have  been  amply  described  in  a  former  Book. 

On  the  south  and  west  of  these  great  and 
important  countries,  but  still  included  in  the 
Parthian  dominion,  lay  Babylonia  and  all  the 
Mesopotamian  countries,  bounded  by  the  Eu- 
phrates on  the  west.  Here  were  Susiana, 
Assyria,  Adiabene,  and  all  the  regions  as  far 
north  as  the  Armenian  mountains.  The 
country  of  Armenia  was  also  included  in  the 
Empire  of  Mithridates,  but  here  we  reach  the 
ultimate  limits  of  that  Empire  on  the  west. 
Viewing  it  as  a  whole,  we  find  it  extending 
from  the  extreme  western  deflection  of  the 
Upper  Euphrates,  in  longitude  38°  30'  east  to 
the  meridian  of  74°  in  the  Hindu  Kush.  The 
northernmost  limit  was  .on  the  Oxus,  a  little 
above  the  parallel  of  42°  N.,  and  the  extreme 
southern  boundary  on  the  Persian  gulf  under 
the  parallel  27°  30'  N.  The  whole  extent 
from  east  to  west  was  hardly  less  than  fifteen 
hundred  miles,  and  the  greatest  breadth  from 
north  to  south  about  four  hundred  miles.  The 
geographical  area  was  not  far  from  450,000 
square  miles,  being  about  co-extensive  with 
the  area  of  the  modern  Persian  Empire. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that 
the  two  dominions — Ancient  Parthia  and 
Modern  Persia — coincided  in  their  bounda- 
ries. A  glance  at  the  two  maps  will  enable  the 
reader  to  note  how  diflferent  were  the  limits  of 
the  ancient  Empire  from  those  of  its  modern 


PARTHIA.— PEOPLE  AND  ARTS. 


883 


representative.  We  do  not  here  dwell  further 
upon  the  physical  characteristics  and  natural 
potency  of  the  countries  held  under  a  single 
sway  by  Mithridates,  for  the  reason  that  the 
game  have  already  been  amply  considered  in 


the  preceding  histories  of  Babylonia,  Assyria, 
Media,  and  Persia.  We,  therefore,  pass  at 
once  to  the  consideration  of  the  Parthians  as 
a  people,  their  institutions,  general  character 
and  manner  of  life  and  government. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV.— PEOPIvE  AND  ARTS. 


HE  ethnic  origin  of  the 
Parthian  race  has  not 
been  well  determined.  It 
would  appear  that  their 
arrival  in  Central  Asia 
was  somewhat  later  than 
the  incoming  of  many 
other  peoples  into  that  region  of  the  world. 
Doubtless  the  Chaldseans,  the  Assyrians,  the 
Medes,  and  even  the  Persians,  antedated  by 
several  centuries — many  centuries  in  the  case 
of  the  older  of  these  nations — the  arrival  of 
the  Parthians  in  their  ancestral  seats. 

We  are  here  close  to  one  of  the  great 
ethnic  problems  with  which  the  student  of 
history  is  confronted  in  the  beginning  of  his 
inquiry.  The  question  is  no  less  than  that  of 
the  origin  of  the  Aryan  family  of  men.  His- 
tory is  able  to  trace  backwards  the  movements 
of  the  Aryan  peoples  to  the  region  of  the 
Bactrian  Highlands,  but  beyond  that  all  is 
mist  and  thick  darkness.  Did  the  Aryans 
come  from  some  other  region  afar? — some 
country  in  which  they  were  associated  with 
the  Semitic  or  Hamitic  family  of  men  ?  The 
answer  is  not  apparent.  We  are,  therefore, 
led  to  begin  with  the  development  and  migra- 
tions of  the  Aryan  tribes  from  the  region  of 
their  primitive  settlements  without  the  solution 
of  the  fundamental  problem. 

Parthia  was  not  far  from  the  Aryan  nidus. 
We  may  safely  ascribe  the  origin  of  the  people 
to  the  same  source  with  that  of  the  Persians 
and  the  Medes.  Of  a  certainty  the  Parthians 
were  strongly  discriminated  from  the  peoples 
just  mentioned.  They  had  more  of  the  Tu- 
ranian character — fewer  of  the  well-known 
characteristics  of  the  Indo-Europeans  as  illus- 
trated in  the  Hellenic  and  Roman  races.  So 
N.— Vol.  1—24 


strongly  marked  were  the  distinctions  just  re- 
ferred to,  that  many  inquirers  have  been  disposed 
to  regard  the  Parthians  as  having  a  Scythic 
origin.  Arrian,  among  the  ancients,  declares 
his  belief  in  such  a  derivation.  It  can  not  be 
doubted  that  there  were  relations  between  the 
Parthians  through  the  tribes  of  Chorasmia  with 
the  Scyths  beyond  the  Oxus.  It  must  be  ob- 
served that  race  distinctions  fade  away  some- 
what along  the  border  lines  where  two  families 
of  mankind  fret  and  roll  together.  Modern 
history  furnishes  a  hundred  examples  of  such 
obliteration  of  ethnic  features  along  the  bound- 
aries of  States  and  nations. 

It  was  doubtless  so  in  antiquity,  but  even 
in  a  stronger  measure.  At  a  time  when  society 
was  unsettled,  when  the  tribal  state  had  not 
yet  given  place  to  fixedness  of  residence,  there 
was  more  frequent  mixing  and  interweaving 
along  the  selvages  of  races  than  even  in 
modern  times.  These  circumstances  may  serve 
to  explain  the  presence  of  Scythic  elements 
among  the  ancient  Parthians.  So  that  natural 
and  ethnic  causes  may  be  found  sufficient  in 
number  and  character  to  account  for  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  Greek  and  Roman  story-tellers 
who  were  wont  to  classify  the  Parthians  with 
the  Scythic  race. 

We  may  agree  that  at  the  time  of  the  great 
invasion  of  all  central  and  Western  Asia  by 
the  Scythian  barbarians,  a  larger  amount  of 
their  work  and  influence  remained  in  Parthia 
than  in  the  other  countries  which  they  con- 
quered. The  Parthian  language  shows  un- 
mistakably a  Scythic  infection — just  as  English 
bears  indubitable  evidence  of  the  Norman 
conquest.  The  Parthian  vocabulary  had  in  it 
a  large  addition  of  Scythic  words,  and  the 
civil  and  military  habits  of  the  people  were 


384 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


modeled,  to  a  considerable  extent,  after  those 
of  the  Turanian  barbarians.  There  are  at  the 
present  time  certain  Teutonic  peoples  in 
Europe  upon  whom  the  Slavs  have  made  a 
like  impression,  insomuch  that  their  race  char- 
acter might  be  mistaken  by  even  a  critical 
observer.  How  much  the  more  may  such  a 
mistake  be  expected  in  the  case  of  an  ancient 
people  modified  by  a  foreign  influence !  We 
must  conclude  that  the  Parthians,  along  with 
the  Bactrians,  Chorasmians,  Hyrcanians, 
Medes,  and  Persians,  belonged  to  the  common 
family  to  which  the  name  Aryan  has  been 
assigned. 

The  life  of  the  Parthian  people,  however, 
Lad  much  the  aspect  of  that  of  the  peoples 
beyond  the  Oxus.  This  is  to  say  that,  like  the 
Tartar  and  the  Turcoman  tribes  of  a  later  day, 
the  Parthians  were  nomadic  in  habit,  spending 
the  greater  part  of  their  time  on  horseback  and 
abroad.  The  Roman  historians,  as  late  as  the 
time  of  the  conflict  of  the  Consular  armies  with 
the  Parthian  cavalry,  were  struck  with  aston- 
ishment at  the  manners  of  a  people  who  trans- 
acted the  larger  part  of  their  business  and  at- 
tended to  all  duties  and  avocations,  even  to 
eating  and  drinking,  while  mounted  on  their 
horses.  It  should  not  be  forgotten,  however, 
that  much  of  the  same  disposition  was  shown 
by  the  Persians,  and  the  student  might,  if  he 
would,  trace  this  aspect  of  Turanian  life  far 
into  Asia  Minor,  and  even  into  Europe.  In 
other  particulars  also  the  Partliians  revealed 
their  innate  sympathy  with  nomadic  manners. 
There  was  little  fixedness  of  settlement,  at  least 
until  a  late  date,  in  the  Parthian  ascendency. 
The  old  habit  of  hunting,  of  riding  abroad,  of 
gratifying  the  passion  for  rapid  transit  from 
scene  to  scene,  continued  to  prevail,  and  at 
length  gave  form  to  the  organization  and  tactics 
of  the  Parthian  army. 

It  was  such  a  people  as  these  that  Cyrus 
the  Great  met  and  conquered  in  the  early  years 
of  his  aggressive  career.  The  nation  was  in- 
corporated as  one  of  the  satrapies  of  the  Per- 
sian Empire,  and  remained  in  that  dependence 
until  what  time  the  cohorts  of  Alexander,  ris- 
ing from  the  West,  shattered  the  Achsemenian 
Dynasty  and  reduced  it  to  its  original  elements. 
But  of  the  historical  development  and  varying 


vicissitudes  of  the  Parthian  race  we  shall 
speak  moie  fully  hereafter. 

As  usual  with  men  of  antiquity,  the  re- 
ligious life  of  the  Parthians  presented  many 
interesting  features,  and  revealed  no  small  part 
of  the  national  character.  We  are  here,  geo- 
graphically and  ethnically  speaking,  not  far 
from  the  primitive  seat  of  one  of  the  great  re- 
ligions of  .mankind.  Zoroaster  was  a  Bactrian. 
We  have  already  seen  how  the  faith  and  doc- 
trine which  he  formulated  and  taught  spread 
among  the  races  of  the  Great  Plateau  and  be- 
came organic  in  the  Zendavesta. 

The  teachings  of  the  great  prophet  were 
accepted  by  the  Achsemenian  kings,  and  were 
imposed  by  them  as  a  State  religion  upon  the 
subject  nations  of  the  Persian  Empire.  Among 
these  was  Parthia.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  tribal  faith  and  practice  of  the  old  Par- 
thians, they  accepted  the  religion  of  their  con- 
querors, not  only  in  its  early  singleness  but  in 
its  subsequent  dualistic  deyelopment.  The 
wild  warriors  of  the  Parthian  plain  came  to- 
believe  in  Ahura-Mazdao  as  the  fountain  of 
all  Good,  and  in  Ahriman  as  the  source  of 
all  Evil. 

We  have  had  occasion,  in  a  former  chapter, 
to  trace  the  rise  of  this  belief  and  its  evolution 
among  the  Iranic  peoples.  It  was  from  this 
source  that  Dualism  as  a  principle  of  philo- 
sophic belief  made  its  way  to  the  West,  became 
interfused  with  the  speculations  of  the  Western 
nations,  and  at  last  intertwined  itself  with  the 
opinions  and  practices  of  the  leading  people* 
of  modern  times.  But  it  must  be  allowed  that 
dualism — the  division  of  the  universe  into  the 
two  parts  of  good  and  evil  and  the  creation 
of  a  hierarchy  of  the  Powers  set  against  each, 
other  in  perpetual  warfare,  involving  the  lives 
and  actions  of  men — is  a  natural  growth  pe- 
culiar to  the  human  mind  at  a  certain  epoch  of 
its  career.  We  have  seen  such  phenomena  in 
the  valley  of  the  Nile,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates,  and  in  the  highest  activity  on  the 
Iranian  plateau.  We  shall  hereafter  see  traces 
of  the  same  thing  in  the  mercurial  intellect  of 
the  Greeks,  in  the  heavier  cogitations  of  the 
Romans,  and  in  the  dreams  of  the  Teutonic 
barbarians  in  their  forest  solitudes.  But  among 
all  peoples,  the  races  now  under  consideration 


PARTHIA.— PEOPLE  AND  ARTS. 


386 


■were  most  active  in  the  development  of  such  a 
belief  and  in  its  dissemination,  Zoroaster  was 
the  abstract  and  chronicle  of  the  religious 
opinions  and  philosophical  speculations  of  the 
peoples  among  whom  he  appeared.  The  Par- 
thians  took  his  system  and  entertained  it  dur- 
ing their  period  of  ascendency.  Indeed,  in 
nearly  all  respects  they  became  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Persians  who  had  preceded  them. 

But  in  the  hands  of  the  Parthians,  as  in 
the  hands  of  the  Persians,  the  Zoroastrian  sys- 
tem suffered  deterioration.  It  went  at  length 
into  the  form  of  Magism  and  idolatry.  It  were 
difficult  to  say  to  how  great  an  extent  the 
idolatrous  aspect  of  the  Magian  cult  was  the 
result  of  the  revival  of  the  ancient  polytheistic 
instincts  of  the  race.  Perhaps  a  part  of  the 
degeneration  may  be  attributed  to  this  cause, 
and  part  to  the  rise  of  a  priesthood.  Here 
the  history  of  Parthia  could  but  repeat  the 
common  story  of  the  mischief  always  done, 
the  havoc  always  wrought  with  a  national  re- 
ligion when  it  falls  into  the  hands  of  a  priest- 
hood. Then  it  is  that  superstition,  selfishness, 
folly,  the  pride  of  caste,  and  the  ambition  of 
power  begin  to  take  the  place  of  the  religious 
fervor  which  marks  the  earlier  stages  of  devel- 
opment. Henceforth  the  history  of  religion 
becomes  a  history  of  forms  which  by  their 
growth  and  inflection  quench  the  glow  that 
dwelt  in  the  spirits  of  the  primitive  prophets. 

The  Parthians  fell  under  the  dominion  of 
these  influences.  The  Magi  soon  became  a 
powerful  caste  in  the  State.  Fire,  as  the  em- 
blem of  the  sun,  and  perhaps  the  emblem  of 
life,  became  the  object  of  superstitious  adora- 
tion. The  elements  of  nature  were  held  in 
sacred  awe.  Rivers  were  worshiped,  as  were 
many  other  parts  of  the  material  world.  The 
superstitions  which  we  have  noted  in  the  case 
of  the  Persians  revived  among  the  Parthians. 
The  dead  might  not  be  buried,  but  must  rather 
be  exposed  on  high  in  the  tops  of  towers,  where 
the  bodies  might  be  devoured  by  the  birds  of 
the  air.  After  the  lapse  of  a  long  time  the 
bones  might  be  gathered  and  deposited  in 
tombs.  The  sacred  fire  must  be  kept  burning 
by  the  priests.  In  short,  the  whole  ritual  of 
Magism  must  be  performed — the  ceremonies  of 
the  faith  perpetuated   by  the  people.     Under 


such  conditions,  the  Magi  at  one  time  became 
especially  powerful.  They  were  members  of 
the  National  Council,  under  the  Parthian  kings, 
and  were  as  haughty,  arrogant,  and  arbitrary 
as  they  and  their  class  have  always  been  in 
their  despotism  over  society. 

At  length,  however,  Magism  fell  into  a  de- 
cline. The  high  priests  lost  their  hold  upon 
the  Government.  It  would  appear  that  a  sort 
of  original  paganism  revived,  which  may  well 
remind  one  in  its  manifestation  of  the  beliefs 
and  practices  prevalent  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tiber  and  in  the  German  woods.  The  Sun 
became  the  principal  object  of  Parthian  wor- 
ship. After  him  the  Moon  was  adored  as  the 
divinity  of  night.  We  might  almost  transfer 
and  adapt  in  this  connection  the  celebrated 
chapter  of  the  Sixth  Book  of  the  Caesarian 
Commentaries,  wherein  Julius  describes  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Teutonic  nations.  The  prevail- 
ing principle  was  that  those  objects  of  nature 
only  were  fit  to  be  worshiped  by  the  aid  of 
which  men  were  manifestly  benefited.  The 
system  was  thus  virtually  devoid  of  specula- 
tion. The  Sun  did  good  to  men.  Therefore 
the  Sun  might  well  be  worshiped.  On  a  lower 
plane  we  find  the  common  beliefs  of  the  Aryan 
nations  in  minor  divinities  and  spirits  by  whom 
the  smaller  affairs  of  life  were  controlled  and 
guided.  There  were  genii  of  the  day-time, 
genii  of  the  night,  genii  of  the  hearthstone, 
the  spirits  of  the  fathers,  and  the  Larvae  of  the 
earth.  The  system  in  its  last  estate  was  not 
essentially  different  from  that  of  the  Pagan  na- 
tions of  Europe. 

The  men  of  Alexander  took  with  them  into 
the  East  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  Hellenic 
Aryans.  The  name  of  the  Olympian  Zeus 
was  heard  in  Babylon,  in  Seleucia,  in  Ctesi- 
phon,  in  Ecbatana,  in  Persepolis,  in  Hatra, 
and  in  Bactra.  Wherever  the  Greek  cities 
were  planted,  there  the  mythology  of  the 
West,  with  its  ample  inflections,  was  founded. 
This  invasion  of  Zoroastrianism  and  Magism 
the  Parthians  seem  not  to  have  resented. 
As  a  general  fact  the  Aryan  religions  have 
been  tolerant ;  those  of  Shem  have  refused  to 
know  other  than  themselves.  The  same  prin- 
ciple was  illustrated  when  the  Romans  became 
the  conquerors  of  the  East.    They  also  carried 


386 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


their  religious  system,  such  as  it  was,  to  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates  aud  far  beyond. 

Ah'eady  before  this  time  Judaism  had  been 
propagated  by  several  means  in  the  Aryan 
countries.  At  a  still  later  period,  when  Rome 
was  converted  to  Christianity,  the  new  faith 
was  carried  under  the  protection  of  the  eagles 
to  the  uttermost  limits  of  the  Empire.  It 
were  impossible  to  say  to  what  extent  these 
foreign  religious  influences  permeated  Parthia 
and  brought  her  people  under  their  sway. 
Already  at  the  time  of  the  primitive  apostles, 
Parthian  Christianity  had  become  a  fact ;  and 
St.  Luke  enumerates  the  Parthiaus  along  with 
the  Medes  and  Elamites  among  the  strangers 
:gathered  in  Jerusalem.  All  this  would  indi- 
cate on  the  part  of  the  Parthian  raonarchs  the 
same  tolerant  spirit  which  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  were  wont  to  show  to  alien  systems 
•of  religion. 

One  of  the  chief  forms  of  activity  among 
the  Parthians  was  war.  It  is  from  their  mili- 
tary character  that  the  race  is  best  known  to 
the  world.  Long  before  the  close  of  the  An- 
cient Era  the  name  of  this  people  was  heard  as 
far  west  as  Rome — and  generally  with  terror. 
They  it  was  doubtless  whom  Horace  had  in 
view  under  the  name  of  Medii  in  the  Secular 
Hymn : — 

Now  by  the  sea  and  on  the  land,  the  Mede 

Fears  the  strong  squadrons  and  the  axe  of  Rome ; 

Now  the  late  haughty  Scythian  doth  plead 
For  mild  resj^onse — and  men  of  India  come. 

The  reader  may,  therefore,  well  be  surprised 
to  note  the  fact  that  this  most  warlike  nation, 
whose  fiarce,  wild  cavalry  swept  like  flying 
clouds  across  the  deserts  of  the  Great  Plateau, 
had  no  fixed  military  establishment — no  stand- 
ing army.  It  appears,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
Parthians,  by  their  disposition  and  habit  of 
life,  constituted  what  may  be  called  a  natural 
soldiery.  There  Avere  two  branches  to  the 
Parthian  service,  the  cavalry  and  the  foot. 
But  the  first  was  the  important  part.  Indeed, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  the  Parthian  infantry 
was  of  much  value  in  the  field.  It  was  upon 
the  cavalry  that  the  kings  relied  for  victory; 
and  the  reliance  was  not  misplaced. 

In  time  of  war  the  Parthian  monarch 
called  upon  his  vassals  to  bring  forth  each  his 


quota  of  warriors  for  the  field.  It  appears 
that  the  constitution  of  Parthian  society  was 
essentially  feudal.  The  vassal  was  bound  to 
his  suzerain  in  the  matter  of  military  service. 
He  must  call  out  his  retainers  and  slaves,  see 
to  their  equipment  and  mounting,  bring  them 
to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  command  them 
in  battle.  It  was  thus  that  the  army  was 
made  up  of  bands  of  warriors  drawn  from  the 
various  districts  after  the  manner  of  the  Cru- 
saders. But  a  common  enthusiasm  pervaded 
the  whole,  and  there  was  no  lack  of  unity  in 
the  general  command.  This  was  reserved  for 
the  king  in  person,  and  for  his  generalissimo, 
called  the  Surena. 

The  latter  may  be  regarded  as  the  head 
baron  of  the  country.  The  oflftce  which  he  held 
hereditary  in  his  family.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  even  the  king  could  displace  him 
from  the  position  in  which  he  was  fixed  by 
heredity  and  custom.  The  same  was  in  great 
measure  true  of  the  other  vassals.  Each  com- 
manded in  his  own  right,  aud  held  his  place 
at  home  and  in  the  field  in  virtue  of  what  may 
be  called  the  Parthian  constitution. 

Looking  at  the  organization  of  the  army, 
we  find  a  heavy-horse  and  a  light-horse  con- 
tingent. The  first  was  the  main  branch  of  the 
service.  This  wing  was  undoubtedly  the  finest 
cavalry  of  the  ancient  world.  The  warriors 
were  armed  in  mail  as  to  their  bodies,  the  scale- 
armor  of  iron  and  steel  descending  as  low  as 
the  knees,  well  made  and  strong,  polished  to 
brightness,  capable  of  resisting  any  of  the  or- 
dinary missiles  of  the  battle-field.  On  the  head 
was  a  helmet,  also  burnished,  heavy,  and  well 
made.  The  arms  and  the  legs  were  free,  as 
they  must  needs  be  in  fighting  from  the  horse. 

The  weapons  of  these  Parthian  dragoons 
were  bows  and  arrows  and  a  spear.  All  these 
were  long  aud  strong.  The  arrow  was  shot 
with  such  violence  that  its  flight  was  said  to 
be  invisible  from  its  rapidity,  and  scarcely  any 
armor  of  the  enemy  could  protect  the  wearer 
from  its  fall.  The  spear  was  equally  fatal, 
being  thrust  with  a  violence  which  frequently 
impaled  two  warriors  with  a  single  blow.  The 
horseman  also  carried  a  short  sword,  which  in 
close  quarters  he  drew  and  used  with  fearful 
eflfect.     The  horses  of  the  dragoons,  like  their 


PARTHIA.— PEOPLE  AND  ARTS. 


387 


riders,  wore  a  scale  armor  iu  battle,  having 
the  same  adjusted  to  their  heads,  necks,  and 
breasts.  The  light-horse  carried  "bows  and  ar- 
rows, but  were  unarmored,  and  bore  no  spears. 
The  value  of  this  wing  depended  upon  its 
dexterity.  Horsemen  of  this  class  hovered 
within  bow-shot,  discharging  their  arrows  with 
great  rapidity,  wheeling  to  right  and  left,  at- 
tacking the  flank,  and  raauoeuvering  in  such 
manner  as  to  confuse  the  enemy. 

The  supply-train  of  the  Parthian  army  was 
furnished  by  a  caravan  of  camels  laden  Avith 
provisions  and  military  accoutrements.  It  has 
been  noted  that  the  Parthians,  advancing  to 
battle,  always  carried  an  abundance  of  arrows, 
so  that  literal  showers  of  these  missiles  might 
be  rained  upon  the  enemy.  The  attack  was 
made  with  the  utmost  spirit.  So  far  as  strat- 
egy was  concerned,  the  same  consisted  in  de- 
ceiving the  enemy ;  in  bringing  him  into  un- 
favorable situations ;  in  cutting  off  supplies;  in 
taking  advantage  of  any  temporary  confusion 
that  might  occur,  and  finally  in  the  furious 
charge  directly  on  the  line.  This  mode  of  at- 
tack was  like  a  thunder-gust  which  expended 
itself  with  the  onset.  When  the  flying  squad- 
rons came  within  reach  of  the  adverse  lines, 
they  began  to  rain  upon  them  a  terrible  dis- 
charge of  arrows,  which  was  kept  up  inces- 
santly until  the  actual  shock  of  combat,  when 
the  spears,  and  finally  the  swords,  were  used. 
It  was  the  expectation  by  this  means  to  break 
everything  into  confusion  and  sweep  the 
enemy  from  the  field.  But  if  the  charge  was 
firmly  met,  the  battle  generally  continued  for 
but  a  few  minutes  after  the  shock,  when  the 
Parthians  would  turn  to  flight. 

This,  however,  was  a  deceptions  movement, 
intended  to  draw  the  enemy  into  pursuit. 
The  dragoons,  as  well  as  the  light-horse,  merely 
scampered  out  of  reach,  and  immediately 
formed  anew.  If  the  foe,  unacquainted  with 
this  manoeuver,  should  chance  to  follow,  and 
offer  by  the  break  of  the  lines  or  other  for- 
tuitous circumstances  any  advantage,  the  onset 
would  be  immediately  renewed  by  the  Par- 
thians in  a  second  charge  like  the  first.  This 
manner  of  battle  was  on  the  whole  especially 
effective.  It  is  probably  true  that  in  the 
whole  vast  circle  of  victory  and  Imperial  con- 


quest the  Roman  legions  never  met  anywhere 
on  the  frontiers  of  the  world  a  more  dangerous 
enemy  than  was  this  same  Parthian  army. 
Hereafter  we  shall  show  in  many  details  of 
campaign  and  battle  the  results  of  the  doubt- 
ful contests  waged  by  Rome  with  the  mailed 
dragoons  of  Parthia.  The  fact  has  been  cited 
that  in  the  six  great  campaigns  made  by  the 
Mistress  of  the  World  into  the  countries  be- 
yond the  Euphrates  she  was  obliged  in  no  fewer 
than  five  to  yield  the  palm  to  her  skillful  and 
courageous  antagonist. 

Several  additional  facts  connected  with  the 
Parthian  method  of  warfare  may  be  cited  as 
of  interest  to  the  general  reader.  The  Par- 
thians avoided  all  military  movements,  par- 
ticularly battle,  in  the  night.  Perhaps  the 
management  of  cavalry  in  the  darkness  is  at- 
tended with  greater  peril  and  difficulty  than 
are  consequent  upon  the  evolutions  of  in- 
fantry. Moreover,  the  Parthians  did  not  em- 
ploy fortifications,  either  for  their  camp  or  in 
the  field.  For  the  rest,  superstition  may  have 
had  something  to  do  with  that  feature  of  the 
tactics  which  required  the  withdrawal  of  the 
army  at  nightfall  to  a  considerable  distance, 
and  the  total  avoidance  of  battle  or  further 
movements  until  the  morrow. 

For  reasons  of  a  similar  character  the 
winter  was  avoided  as  unsuited  to  campaign- 
ing. We  may  readily  perceive  that  the  sum- 
mer season,  as  in  all  other  countries  and 
conditions,  would  be  regarded  as  a  favorable 
time  for  those  rapid  and  headlong  movements 
upon  which  the  success  of  Parthian  warfare 
especially  depended.  It  was  noted,  moreover, 
by  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in  their  conflicts 
with  the  Parthians,  that  the  latter  could  en- 
dure heat  and  deprivation  of  water  much  better 
than  themselves — a  circumstance  which  gave  a 
not  inconsiderable  advantage  to  the  warriors 
of  the  East. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  latter  were  weak 
in  all  operations  pertaining  to  sieges  and  in- 
vestments. In  the  nature  of  the  case,  the 
Parthian  cavalry  were  unable  to  carry  a  forti- 
fied position.  They  appear  to  have  been  al- 
most ignorant  of  the  machinery  and  appliances 
necessary  to  a  siege.  The  Romans,  therefore, 
were  comparatively  safe   in   the  fortified  sta- 


388 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


tions  which  they  established  on  the  eastern 
borders  of  the  Empire.  But  they  coukl  never 
be  completely  at  rest  in  such  situations ;  for 
their  supplies  were  constantly  endangered 
by  the  ceaseless  vigilance  of  the  Parthian 
horsemen.  Whenever  communications  could 
be  cut  off,  it  became  simply  a  question  of 
time  when  the  Romans  must  come  forth  and 
take  the  hazards  of  the  open  field  in  a  move- 
ment towards  the  base  of  supplies.  Such  re- 
treats were  nearly  always  fatal.  The  Par- 
thians,  whenever  they  perceived  a  movement 
of  the  kind,  were  on  the  alert.  Xo  straggler 
henceforth  escaped.  On  both  wings  and  the 
rear  of  the  receding  army  a  cloud  of  warriors 
might  be  seen  hovering  in  the  horizon,  and  a 
single  misstep  of  the  retreating  forces  was  suf- 
ficient to  effect  their  ruin. 

Another  feature  of  the  Parthian  warfare 
was  the  absence  of  chariots  and  vehicles  of  all 
kinds.  Those  who  could  not  ride  must  walk. 
In  general,  it  might  be  said  that  the  whole 
force  was  mounted  on  either  horses  or  camels. 
In  rare  instances  members  of  the  royal  house- 
hold, the  women  and  others,  were  borne  after 
the  army  in  chariots.  Sometimes  the  ponder- 
ous bulk  of  an  elephant  was  seen ;  but  this 
generally  marked  the  presence  of  the  monarch 
or  the  generalissimo.  These  important  per- 
sonages were  sometimes  made  conspicuous,  as 
well  as  secure,  by  having  their  station  on  the 
backs  of  trained  elephants.  In  rare  cases 
camels  were  used  by  the  cavalry  in  actual 
battle ;  but  the  Greeks  and  Romans  learned 
that  these  beasts  could  be  easily  disabled  by 
sowing  tribuli,  or  ii*on  stars,  in  the  way  of  their 
spongy  feet. 

In  the  Parthian  manner  battle  was  made 
with  as  much  noise  as  possible.  The  army 
was  accompanied  with  its  musicians,  or  clamor- 
makers,  who  in  time  of  the  onset  beat  upon 
metal  drums,  which  resounded  over  the  plains, 
and  was  answered  by  the  wild  shouts  of  the 
horsemen  as  they  rushed  to  the  onset.  The 
charge,  as  we  have  said,  was  at  full  speed. 
The  oncoming  of  the  flying  squadrons  was  so 
rapid  that  they  seemed  to  the  Romans  to  rise 
out  of  the  earth.  As  soon  as  the  charge  had 
broken  upon  the  legions,  the  horsemen,  if  un- 
successful, fled,  as  we  have  seen  ;  but  in  doing 


so  fired  backwards.  Nor  were  the  enemy  able  to 
perceive  any  diminution  in  the  shower  of  arrows 
until  the  receding  column  was  out  of  reach 

Out  of  the  nature  of  things  war  brings 
cessation,  and  finally  armistice  and  treaty. 
These  things  require  formalities.  Since  war 
was  the  mood  of  antiquity,  rules  for  formal  in- 
tercourse between  belligerents  were  devised  at 
an  early  day.  The  Parthians  had  a  well-regu- 
lated ceremonial  of  the  field  and  for  military 
conferences.  It  was  the  custom,  when  they 
desired  to  confer  with  an  enemy,  to  go  forward 
in  full  sight  with  unstrung  bows.  This  signi- 
fied a  desire  to  communicate  with  the  enemy. 
The  right  hand  was  stretched  out  towards  the 
opposing  camp,  to  signify  the  wish  for  a  parley. 
When  the  preliminaries  of  the  conference  had 
thus  been  arranged,  the  formal  representatives 
of  the  two  powers  were  wont  to  come  together 
on  some  neutral  ground,  as  on  a  bridge  span- 
ning some  boundary  stream,  and  there  discuss 
the  terms  of  settlement.  Under  such  circum- 
stances treaties  were  made.  Nor  could  it  be 
said  that  the  Parthians  were  less  faithful  in 
the  observance  of  stipulations  to  which  they 
had  agreed  than  were  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
From  the  former  of  these  peoples,  who  in  the 
times  of  Alexander  had  established  them- 
selves and  planted  their  civilization  in  many 
cities,  old  and  new,  throughout  the  East,  the 
Parthians  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the 
Greek  tongue,  and  this  for  several  centuries 
was  used  as  the  medium  of  civil  and  military 
intercourse  between  them  and  the  nations  of 
the  West. 

It  were  a  mistaken  view  of  the  subject  to 
consider  the  Parthian  administration  in  the 
times  of  the  Empire  as  a  government  of  bar- 
barous principles  and  methods.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  became  as  well  refined  as  the  contem- 
poraneous governments  which  had  in  the 
meantime  been  established  by  the  European 
Aryans.  The  forms  of  intercourse  were  regu- 
lar and  enlightened.  Embassies  were  sent  by 
the  Parthian  monarchs  to  foreign  courts,  and 
such  were  received  in  turn  at  the  Parthian 
capitals.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  times  to 
send  by  the  hands  of  international  commis- 
sioners presents  from  king  to  king  as  seemed 
befitting  to  the  age  and  condition.     In  none 


A 


PARTHIA.— PEOPLE  AND  ARTS. 


389 


of  these  respects  were  the  Parthian  raouarchs 
less  scrupulous  than  their  contemporaneous 
sovereigns  in  the  West.  The  intercourse  be- 
tween Phraates  IV.  and  the  Emperor  Augus- 
tus was  conducted  as  between  monarch  and 
monarch  of  equal  rank.  Ambassadorial  court- 
esies were  common,  aud  without  disparage- 
ment to  the  kiugs  of  the  Ea,st.  The  usual 
methods  of  maintaining  international  faith 
wei'e  observed.  Oaths  were  made  and  pledges 
given  after  the  manner  of  antiquity.  The  giv- 
ing and  taking  of  hostages  was  one  of  the 
commonest  means  of  securing  good  faith  and 
the  fulfillment  of  agreements.  It  happened 
on  several  occasions  that  members  of  the  Par- 
thian royal  family  were  freely  sent  to  Rome 
in  pledge  of  the  fidelity  of  the  king  to  his 
stipulations  with  the  Western  Empire. 

If  from  the  consideration  of  war  we  turn  to 
the  peaceful  aspect  of  life  and  look  at  the  king 
and  his  court,  we  shall  find  m-uch  of  interest 
and  instruction.  True,  we  are  constrained  for 
the  most  part  to  consider  the  aspect  of  this 
Toyal  life  in  the  East  through  a  glass  darkly; 
for  its  manner  has  been  mostly  narrated  by 
the  historians  of  Greece  and  Rome  and  Jewry. 
The  Parthians  were  not  themselves  a  literary 
people,  and  but  few  original  sources  of  infor- 
mation are  at  our  command.  First  of  all,  we 
may  refer  to  the  national  amusement,  which 
was  hunting.  After  war  it  would  appear  that 
the  next  highest  source  of  interest  and  excite- 
ment among  the  people,  whether  of  noble  or 
of  common  rank,  was  the  attack  on  wild  beasts. 
We  have  seen  this  trait  of  character  already 
displayed  in  Assyria  and  Persia.  Nor  is  it 
needed  that  we  should  return  to  antiquity  to 
find  a  similar  passion  in  full  activity.  Nearly 
€very  people,  indeed,  on  its  advance  from  half- 
barbarity  to  civilization  has  found  gratification 
in  the  pursuit  and  killing  of  wild  animals.  In 
the  first  intent  the  wild  beast  takes  the  place 
of  the  enemy.  Its  blood  is  typical  of  his. 
The  fall  of  the  boar  under  the  arrow's  flight 
or  spear-thrust  of  the  pursuer  is  next  in  the 
scale  of  delight  to  the  fall  of  the  enemy  in 
battle. 

Parthia  abounded  in  wild  beasts.  On  the 
Assyrian  borders  the  lion  was  found.  Hyr- 
cania  was  the  native  lair  of  tigers  so  fierce  that 


"Hyrcanian"  became  an  epithet  descriptive  of 
the  most  dangerous  species  of  that  animal. 
Leopards  and  bears  also  abounded.  The  Par- 
thian hunters  followed  these  animals  into  their 
haunts,  and  exposed  their  lives  in  the  contest. 
In  course  of  time,  however,  when  the  Empire 
was  established,  pleasure  and  excitement  were 
sought  in  a  manner  more  artistic  and  less  dan- 
gerous. Then  were  constructed  the  great  parks, 
called  by  the  Eastern  nations  "Paradises," 
wherein  animals  taken  from  the  forests  were 
loosed,  to  live  and  propagate  their  kind  under 
the  dominion  of  half-natural  conditions.  Here 
the  artificial  hunt  was  made.  The  king  and 
his  companions  traversed  the  paradise,  raised 
the  wild  beast  from  his  covert,  pursued  and 
smote  him  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient 
chase  in  the  wild  and  desert. 

We  may  glance  at  the  appearance  of  the 
king  when  he  went  forth  as  a  hunter.  On 
such  occasions  he  wore  a  short  cloak,  of  which 
we  find  examples  on  the  monuments  and  coins. 
A  helmet  protected  his  head,  and  in  his  hand 
he  carried  the  strong  bow  with  the  double 
curve,  the  animal  tendon  for  a  thong,  and  the 
swift  arrow  against  which  nothing  alive  might 
stand.  Like  his  countryman,  the  monarch 
went  on  horseback.  His  person  was  orna- 
mented in  barbaric  fashion  with  jewels  and 
gold.  His  horse  wore  trappings  of  the  same 
splendid  fashion  with  the  king's  garments,  and 
the  attendants  were  only  less  gorgeous  in  their 
apparel,  less  haughty  in  manner,  than  the  mon- 
arch himself. 

At  the  Court  another  fashion  prevailed. 
Here  a  long  robe,  like  that  of  the  Persian  and 
Median  nobles,  was  worn  by  the  king.  The 
insignia  of  royalty  were  hung  about  his  neck. 
A  diadem  circled  his  forehead,  and  his  ears 
supported  rings  and  jewels.  Like  her  consort, 
the  queen-in-chief,  preeminent  above  the  harem, 
proud  in  her  ascendency  over  hundreds  of 
concubines  which  the  law  granted  to  the  sov- 
ereign, adorned  herself  in  a  manner  equally 
splendid.  She,  as  well  as  he,  received  the 
title  of  Divine.  She,  like  the  king,  wore  a 
diadem  and  sometimes  a  tiara.  Not  often, 
however,  was  she  permitted,  under  the  custom 
of  the  race,  to  obtrude  herself  into  public 
affairs.     More  than  those  of  any  other  of  the 


390 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Aryan  peoples  were  the  social  and  domestic 
habits  of  the  Parthians  conformed  to  the  man- 
ners of  the  Orient.  Polygamy  was  the  law 
of  the  laud.  The  harem  was  the  expression 
of  the  social  system  in  its  ultimate  analysis. 
All  women  except  the  characterless  crowd  of 
Hetoerce,  dancers,  and  the  like,  who  followed 
in  the  wake  of  the  army,  were  secluded  from 
sight.  They  must  hide  themselves  like  the 
women  of  Shem.  They  must  be  veiled,  that 
their  faces  be  not  seen  by  men.  With  men 
they  must  not  converse,  except  with  their  hus- 
bands in  the  harem.  The  sexes  were  sepa- 
rated at  the  domestic  meal  and  at  the  public 
banquet.  The  care  of  the  harem  was  intrusted 
to  eunuchs,  after  the  manner  already  described 
in  the  history  of  Persia. 

We  have  already  remarked  upon  the  small 
intellectual  development  of  the  Parthian  peo- 
ple, as  shown  in  the  absence  of  litei'ature  and 
art.  Their  learning  proceeded  as  far  as  the 
mastery  of  their  own  tongue  and,  in  the  best 
days  of  the  Empire,  a  very  general  acquire- 
ment of  Greek.  It  appears  that  the  Parthian 
kings  and  their  subjects  were  quick  to  discover 
the  superiority  of  the  language  of  the  men  of 
Alexander,  and  were  not  long  in  adopting  it, 
at  least  as  the  speech  of  their  higher  inter- 
course. Greek  was  introduced  as  the  official 
language.  The  Parthian  coins  bore  Greek  in- 
scriptions, and  that  tongue  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  used  for  several  centuries  in  all  the  im- 
portant intercourse  between  the  Parthians  and 
the  Western  nations. 

Beyond  this  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
subjects  of  Phraates  and  Mithridates  were  able 
to  progress.  Of  science  they  knew  not  even 
the  rudiments.  Their  interpretation  of  nature, 
in  so  far  as  they  were  curious  to  know  the 
laws  of  phenomena,  was  purely  mythological. 
Of  sculpture  they  knew  but  little,  and  of  paint- 
ing perhaps  nothing  at  all.  This  is  to  say, 
that  of  the  higher  forms  of  pictorial  art  they 
were  ignorant,  except  by  incidental  intercourse 
with  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  In  these  re- 
spects the  Parthian  race  was  in  striking  analogy 
with  the  Medes  and  Persians,  whose  want  of 
genius  in  the  particulars  here  referred  to  has 
been  noted  by  many  critics  and  historians. 

The  activities  of  the  Parthians  were   thus 


physical  rather  than  intellectual.  They  lacked 
altogether  the  imaginative  and  speculative  dis- 
position of  the  Greeks,  and  indeed  of  all  the 
European  Aryans.  The  civilization  which  they 
established  was  material  in  the  highest  degree. 
The  nation  was  not  without  great  force,  great 
outward  activity,  and  inner  energy;  but  the 
poetic  dream,  the  imaginative  flight,  the  art- 
istic concept,  were  things  unknown,  even  in  the 
highest  development  to  which  the  Parthian  peo- 
ple could  attain. 

In  an  architectural  way  the  achievements- 
of  the  Parthians  were  more  creditable.  It  is. 
in  architecture  that  physical  energies,  com- 
bined with  the  lower  forms  of  ideality,  find 
their  best  expression.  We  have  several  in- 
stances in  history  of  peoples  who  succeeded 
in  reaching  a  fair  degree  of  architectural  work 
without  attaining  to  poetry  and  art.  In  its- 
higher  manifestations  architecture,  of  course, 
becomes  ideal.  It  expresses  at  the  last  the 
imaginative  powers  of  the  human  mind,  and 
is  only  secondary  in  rank  to  sculpture  and 
painting.  But  in  its  lower  forms  it  is  the 
most  material  of  all  the  arts.  Thus  far  the 
Parthians  were  able  to  proceed  in  the  human 
evolution,  and  no  farther. 

As  a  rule  the  Asiatic  Aryans  have  not 
been  great  builders.  We  have  seen  how  small 
a  thing  the  Medes  transmitted  to  after  times 
as  it  respects  their  architectural  achievements. 
The  Persians,  under  the  Achsemenian  kings, 
rose  to  a  higher  level  of  structural  ability. 
In  the  preceding  Book  the  reader  has  been 
made  acquainted  with  the  palaces  and  temples 
of  Persepolis,  and  of  one  or  two  other  of  the 
principal  Persian  cities.  But  even  here  we 
fail  to  note  the  splendor  and  abundance  of 
Assyria,  to  say  nothing  of  Egypt  and  Greece. 
On  the  Great  Plateau  the  energies  of  humaa 
life  have  always  been  expended  in  forms  of 
action  different  from  those  of  closely  crowded 
and  permanent  societies  like  those  of  the  val- 
leys of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile. 

Parthia  was  not  rich  in  temples  or  palaces 
or  tombs.  This  is  true  particularly  of  the 
Parthian  kingdom  in  the  earlier  times,  before 
the  expansion  of  the  nation  had  resulted  in 
the  establishment  of  a  great  dominion.  The 
old  kings  and  the  primitive  nobility  were  bar- 


I 


PARTHIA.— PEOPLE  AND  ARTS. 


391 


baric  in  their  habits  and  manners,  caring  little 
for  fixedness,  and  not  much  for  visible  splendors. 
The  consideration  of  the  building  methods  and 
results  in  the  country  is  attended  with  difficul- 
ties from  the  historical  changes  to  which  it 
was  subject.  The  determination  of  the  age 
of  a  given  ruin  is  uncertain  ;  so  that  the  in- 
quirer may  not  well  ascertain  whether  the 
Avork  has  been  done  by  the  ancient  race,  in 
the  Greek  period,  under  the  Arsacidse,  or 
under  the  subsequent  Sassanians.  It  is  the 
architecture  of  the  Arsacidse  only  which  we 
should  regard  as  truly  Parthian  in  its  charac- 
ter. The  remains  of  those  structures  which 
were  made  subsequent  to  the  year  226  A.  D., 
must  be  regarded  as  the  work  of  a  later  period. 
Kawlinson  has  determined  the  time  in  which 
the  true  national  building  was  effected  as  cov- 
ering about  two  centuries ;  namely,  the  first 
and  second  of  our  era.  But  we  must  remem- 
ber that  the  works  remaining  to  us  of  this 
period  were  merely  the  highest  development 
of  a  kind  of  building  which  had  been  culti- 
vated for  several  preceding  centuries. 

The  unfixedness  of  Parthian  society  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  fact  that  the  seat  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  not  established  at  any  one  city, 
but  was  transferred  from  place  to  place,  ac- 
cording to  the  preference  of  the  monarch. 
There  were  thus  several  Parthian  capitals, 
among  which  there  was  little  preeminence. 
At  the  time  when  the  Empire  was  at  its  great- 
est expansion,  the  city  of  Hatra  was  perhaps 
the  most  centralized  and  important  place  of 
residence  for  the  Great  Kings.  It  is  from  the 
ruins  of  this  old  metropolis  that  we  are  best 
able  to  gather  an  adequate  idea  of  the  ancient 
architecture  of  the  country.  By  the  Greeks 
the  city  was  called  Ctesiphon.  It  was  situ- 
ated on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tigris,  over 
against  Seleucia,  the  capital  of  the  Seleucidse, 
where  the  successors  of  Alexander  for  awhile 
established  themselves.  Ctesiphon  was  built 
by  the  Parthians  across  the  river  from  the 
Greek  capital,  and  at  length  grew  into  a  place 
of  importance.  With  the  decline  of  the  Greek 
power  in  Asia,  Seleucia  shrank  away,  while 
the  Parthian  city  was  improved  and  enlarged. 

The  founding  of  this  Hatra  is  assigned  to 
Vardanes  ;  not  the  monarch  of  that  name,  but 


another,  whose  history  has  not  been  deter- 
mined. It  appears  that  the  city  flourished 
greatly  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Parthian  Em- 
pire, but  declined  with  the  dominion  of  which 
it  constituted  one  of  the  principal  ornaments,, 
only  to  be  revived  at  a  subsequent  period  by 
the  Sassanian  kings.  In  the  year  232  A.  D. , 
when  the  Roman  Emperor  Severus  overran 
the  country,  the  prisoners  out  of  Ctesiphon 
were  estimated  at  a  hundred  thousand. 

We  are  here  concerned,  however,  with  the 
character  of  the  architecture  of  the  Parthian 
period.  Hatra  had  the  novel  characteristic? 
of  being  circular  in  form.  The  city  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  wall,  thick   and   strong,  about 


PLAN  OF  HATRA. 

three  miles  in  circumference,  and  a  true  circle 
in  form.  The  rampart  was  built  of  cut  stone, 
strengthened  with  bastions  at  intervals  of  a 
hundred  and  seventy  yards.  Outside  of  the 
wall  was  a  ditch,  broad  and  deep,  and  beyond 
this  was  a  mole,  or  agger,  drawn  around  after 
the  manner  of  the  ancients.  We  thus  see 
that  at  the  time  of  the  Parthian  ascendency 
the  building  arts  and  military  expedients  of 
the  West  had  been  introduced  to  the  extent 
of  making  the  capital  city  easily  defensible 
against  a  powerful  enemy.  The  nomadic  in- 
stincts of  the  race  had  stooped  to  the  adoption 
of  those  rational  means  by  which  cities  are 
protected  from  assault. 

From    north    to    south    across    the    circle 
formed  by  the  great  wall,  and  constituting  an 


392 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


arc  thereof,  was  a  river  channel  passing 
through  and  furnishing  water  to  the  inhab- 
itants. Perhaps  the  course  of  the  stream  had 
been  artificially  rectified,  as  the  antiquarian 
has  found  it  to  be  a  right  line  through  the 
midst.  In  this  respect  the  city  was  not  unlike 
Babylon,  receiving  the  river  thi'ough  the  wall 
on  the  one  side  and  permitting  its  outflow  on 
the  other.  There  was  thus  formed  two  seg- 
ments, a  greater  and  a  smaller,  within  the 
<;ircle  of  the  wall.  In  the  smaller  and  eastern 
division  were  the  burial-grounds  of  the  people, 
while  the  residence  portion  occupied  the  greater 
division  west  of  the  stream.  Here  were  placed 
the  public  buildings,  the  palaces  of  the  king 
and  his  officers  and  nobles,  and  whatever 
temples  the  religious  system  of  the  country 
<iemanded. 

All  these  structures  have  in  great  measure 
gone  down  to  dust;  but  enough  remains  to 
give  the  antiquarian  a  correct  idea  of  the 
whole.  The  ruins  have  been  explored  by 
Layard,  Fergusson,  Ainsworth,  and  Ross,  with 
the  same  general  result  as  to  the  character  of 
the  ancient  buildings  of  the  city.  Special  at- 
tention has  been  directed  to  a  large  edifice 
standing  near  the  center,  and  considered  to 
have  been  the  palace  of  the  king,  with  perhaps 
an  adjoining  temple.  Around  the  whole  was 
a  wall  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  having 
the  respective  dimensions  of  seven  hundred 
and  eight  hundred  feet.  The  wall  was  of  cut 
stone,  and  was  strengthened  at  frequent  inter- 
vals with  bastions  like  those  found  in  the 
outer  rampart  of  the  city.  Within  this  in- 
•closure  were  two  courts,  the  first  being  open 
and  free  from  architectural  remains,  and  the 
■second  containing  the  ruins  of  the  two  edifices 
to  which  we  have  just  referred. 

It  is  believed  that  the  larger  of  the  two,  so 
far  as  the  ground  plan  was  concerned,  was  the 
less  important  and  imposing.  It  has  been 
•conjectured  that  this  division  of  the  general 
structure  was  intended  as  a  residence  for  the 
king's  guard,  the  minor  officers,  and  servants 
of  the  court.  The  second  building  appears  to 
have  been  the  royal  residence.  It  consisted — 
as  has  been  determined  by  the  ruins — of  seven 
principal  halls  lying  parallel,  opening  to  the 
east.     Three  of  these  were  of  larger  and  four 


of  smaller  dimensions.  All  were  arched  or 
vaulted.  The  smaller  halls  were  thirty  feet 
in  depth  and  twenty  feet  in  width,  and  the 
height  was  thirty  feet.  The  larger  halls  had 
a  depth  or  length  of  ninety  feet,  were  thirty- 
five  feet  in  breadth  and  sixty  feet  in  height. 
Into  these  vaulted  and  elongated  chambers 
light  was  admitted  from  the  eastern  openings, 
which  are  supposed  to  haVe  been  closed  Avith 
curtains  in  the  times  of  occupancy. 

The  observer  standing  in  front  of  the  struc- 
ture would  see  a  fagade  of  cut  stone  well  laid 
in  a  great  wall  from  right  to  left,  pierced  by 
seven  archways,  resembling  very  much  the 
entrances  to  stone  viaducts,  tunnels,  or  the 
under  arches  of  bridges,  such  as  we  see  in 
modern  architecture.  These  arched  halls  con- 
stituted the  great  apartments  of  the  palace. 
They  were  ornamented  within,  and  at  the 
further  extremity  terminated  in  smaller  rooms, 
which  were  doubtless  the  sleeping  chambers  of 
the  occupants.  In  the  fagade,  considerable 
skill  was  shown  by  the  stone-cutters  and 
builders.  The  seven  arches,  three  of  greater 
and  four  of  smaller  dimensions,  were  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  give  a  pleasing  efl^ect.  The  arches 
were  sprung  from  sculptured  pilasters,  bearing 
spirited  figures,  some  real  and  some  mytholog- 
ical in  character.  In  one  place  a  female  form, 
floating  in  air,  was  represented  in  a  way  to 
remind  the  beholder  of  the  more  elegant 
figures  thus  suspended  in  the  mural  decora- 
tions of  Pompeii.  In  several  places  heads 
were  carved  in  the  stone,  particularly  in  the 
keystone,  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  the  Parthian 
workmen,  but  by  no  means  devoid  of  art. 

The  side  walls  of  the  arched  halls  within 
were  relieved  by  square  pilasters  rising  from 
the  floor  to  the  spring  of  the  vault.  In  this 
part  much  ornamental  work  was  done.  There 
were  capitals  and  ovals  and  peculiar  carvings 
of  several  varieties,  especially  in  the  line  of 
the  cornice.  Here  again,  on  the  capitals  of 
the  pilasters,  were  found  human  heads  and 
mythological  creatures,  some  of  which  were 
truly  remarkable  in  character,  and  without 
likeness  among  any  other  known  sculptures. 
It  has  been  noticed,  moreover,  by  antiquarians 
that  the  figures  in  question  were  all  marked 
by  a  striking  quality  of  spfrit  And  activity — a 


PARTHIA.— PEOPLE  AND  ARTS. 


393 


certain  airiness  of  life  almost  jocose  in  its  ex- 
pression. 

A  close  examination  of  the  struc- 
ture here  before  us  has  led  to  the  be- 
lief that  the  first  story,  now  remaining 
in  ruins,  was  surmounted  by  a  second 
and  perhaps  a  third  story  of  nearly  the 
same  height,  but  of  different  character 
from  the  first.  In  these,  of  course,  the 
arched  openings  would  be  wanting, 
their  place  being  taken  by  windows 
or  apertures  not  unlike  what  we  should 
expect  in  a  modern  building.  Some 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  construct  restora- 
tions of  the  palace,  giving  the  full 
fagade  of  about  three  hundred  feet 
from  right  to  left,  and  a  height  of  three 
stories.  Nor  is  it  improbable  that  the 
conjecture  fairly  represents  to  the  eye 
the  true  outline  of  the  ancient  edifice. 
And  in  this  we  may  not  forbear  to  note 
the  close  resemblance  of  the  restora- 
tion to  the  well-known  appearance  of 
the  projection  of  a  great  railway  station 
in  Europe  or  America.  The  arches  in 
the  first  story  correspond  to  the  open- 
ings for  the  tracks,  and  the  second  and 
third  stories  above  are  not  unlike  the 
superstructure  of  our  stations  for  pas- 
sengers. 

We  have  already  remarked  that  at 
the  bottom  or  further  end  of  the  great 
halls  were  arranged  the  apartments  of 
actual  occupation.  Research  has  shown 
among  these  the  usual  division  between 
those  assigned  to  the  men  and  those 
occupied  by  the  women.  It  is  in  evi- 
dence that  the  arrangements  in  this 
respect  were  strictly  Oriental,  the  aim 
being  to  prevent  the  free  intercourse  of 
the  men  and  the  women  of  the  court. 

Something  has  already  been  said  of 
the  adjacent  structure,  to  which  anti- 
quarians have  assigned  the  ofiice  of 
a  temple.  It  is  not  certainly  known 
that  such  was  the  use  of  the  edifice. 
The  ground  plan  shows  a  square  of 
about  forty  feet  in  each  dimension.  It  appears 
that  the  building  was  surrounded  through  its 
whole  extent  by  a  hall  or  passage-way,  which 


was  vaulted  after  the  manner  of  the  halls  in 
the  palace.     Two   windows  were  so  set  as  to 


^;^ 


admit  the  light  into  the  passage.  The  door- 
way bore  a  frieze  which  exhibited  some  of  the 
finest  work  which   the  Parthian  chisels  were 


394 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


able  to  produce.  As  to  the  interior  apart- 
ment, that  also  was  of  a  vaulted  form  above, 
and  dimly  lighted  by  a  single  aperture.  It 
has  been  noted  that  the  main  apartment  within 
was  devoid  of  ornamentation,  and  from  this 
fact  the  conjecture  has  been  principally  formed 
that  the  room  was  devoted  to  religious  worship. 
The  severe  spii'it  of  the  Iranians  did  not  per- 
mit the  religious  thought  to  be  distracted  from 
the  contemplation  of  the  unseen  by  the  inter- 
position of  material  forms. 

The  present  sketch  may  serve  as  an  outline 
of  building  at  its  best  estate  among  the  Par- 
thians.  While  the  race  may  not  by  any 
means  be  compared  in  its  structural  abilities 
with  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  or  the  Egyptians, 
it  may  well  be  likened  to  the  Persians  and 
Susianians.  The  work  which  we  have  here 
described  was  on  the  whole  substantially  and 
well   done.     The   building   material — a  gray- 


members  of  a  given  family  or  kindred.  The 
work  is  plain  and  solid.  The  subterranean 
apartments  are  of  a  peculiar  bell-shape,  widen- 
ing to  the  bottom  somewhat  after  the  manner 
of  the  modern  cistern.  Such  underground 
rooms  are  carefully  walled  with  stone  well 
laid,  plain,  and  substantial.  It  is  quite  likely 
that  the  vaults  were  used  as  a  receptacle  for 
the  bones  collected  from  the  towers  of  the 
dead,  where,  as  already  explained,  the  flesh  of 
the  bodies  had  been  plucked  away  and  de- 
voured by  the  birds  of  the  air. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  burial,  in  the 
proper  sense,  came  at  length  to  be  practiced 
by  the  Parthians.  We  may  well  infer  that 
the  notions  of  the  Babylonians  were  to  some 
extent  adopted  by  the  Parthian  people  of  the 
times  of  the  Empire.  At  all  events  coffins  are 
found  not  wholly  dissimilar  to  those  of  the 
ancient    Chaldees,    but    there    is   a    sufficient 


PARTHIAN  SLIPPER  COFFIN. 


brown  limestone — was  selected  of  the  proper 
quality,  and  was  handled  with  skill.  The 
cutting  was  done  with  great  exactitude.  No 
mortar  or  cement  has  been  found  in  any  of  the 
walls.  It  would  appear  that  the  builders  re- 
lied wholly  upon  perfect  work  by  the  chisel 
for  the  fitting  and  juxtaposition  of  the  ma- 
terials. Like  the  builders  of  Egypt  and  Baal- 
bec,  they  relied  upon  the  accuracy  of  the  line 
and  the  perfection  of  the  work  rather  than  on 
the  uncertain  and  dubious  expedient  of  mortar. 
We  have  already  remarked  that  the  smaller 
segment  within  the  circular  wall  of  Hatra  was 
for  the  most  part  a  necropolis.  The  surface  of 
this  part  is  marked  with  many  small  structures, 
square  as  to  their  shape,  built  of  stone,  but 
long  since  fallen  into  ruins.  It  can  hardly  be 
doubted  that  they  were  the  sepulchres  of  the 
Parthian  citizens  dwelling  across  the  river.  In 
general,  the  foundations  are  about  twenty  feet 
square,  but  are  sometimes  larger.  Doubtless 
each  structure  marks  the  resting-place  of  the 


variation  from  the  type  to  indicate  a  change 
of  use  and  manner.  Instead  of  the  so-called 
"dish-cover"  vessel,  the  Parthians  employed 
Avhat  is  known  as  the  "slipper"  coffin,  so 
named  from  its  resemblance  in  shape  to  a 
slipper.  Such  boxes  were  of  earthenware,  a 
blue-green  in  color,  and  glazed  and  orna- 
mented in  the  way  of  finish.  They  are  found 
of  all  lengths,  from  three  to  six  feet,  are  not 
untasteful  in  form,  and  are  perhaps  among  the 
most  durable  sarcophagi  ever  invented. 

The  antiquary,  by  careful  examination, 
has  found  near  the  foot  of  the  box  an  aperture 
evidently  designed  for  the  escape  of  the  gases 
generated  in  putrefaction.  As  for  the  princi- 
pal opening,  that  was  closed  over  the  face  of 
the  dead  with  a  lid,  which  was  no  doubt 
hermetically  sealed  in  its  place.  The  small 
art  of  the  Parthians  sought  expression  on  the 
coffin-lid,  which  was  not  infrequently  adorned 
with  figures  either  suggestive  of  the  life  and 
manners  of  the  dead  or  emblematical  of  some 


FARTHIA.— PEOPLE  AND  ARTS. 


895 


are    sufficient    to 


of  those  -wavering  hopes  wherewith  the  living 
of  all  ages  have  beguiled  themselves  in  the 
presence  of  death. 

We  have  come  in  this  connection  to  the 
consideration  of  such  in- 
different Art  as  the  Par- 
thians  were  able  to  pro- 
duce. We  have  seen  how 
unfavorable  on  the  whole 
the  country  was  for  an 
artistic  development,  and 
how  little  genius  for  re- 
production of  forms  and 
images  the  Parthian  race 
possessed.  The  remains 
of  this  people,  however, 
show  a  certain  degree  of  aesthetic  perception, 
and  a  corresponding  measure  of  artistic  achieve- 
ment. First  of  all,  we  may  mention  the 
terra-cotta  statuettes  which  are  found  in  the 
ruins  of  the  Parthian  cities.  Some  of  these 
Loftus  has  described  with  his  usual  care.  The 
Parthian  artist  seems  to  have  preferred  the  re- 
cumbent posture  in  the  subject  of  his  work. 
One  effigy  represents  a  warrior  reclining  at  a 
banquet.  He  wears  his  helmet,  his  coat  of 
mail,  and  his  greaves.  There  is  evidently 
much  truthfulness  in  the  delineation.  Female 
figures  are  represented  according  to  the  fitness 
of  things.  The  figure  is  draped,  and  the 
face  veiled  after  the  manner  of  the  East.  In 
some  instances,  however,  it  appears  that  the 
infection  of  Western  art  had  reached  to  Iran, 
for  examples  have  been  found  in  which  a  por- 
tion of  the  person  and  the  lower  limbs  are 
nude. 

From  these  attempts  at  the  representation 
of  the  highest  existing  form,  namely,  the  body 
of  man,  we  may  pass  to  the  consideration  of 
utensils.  These  were  to  a  certain  extent  of 
artistic  outline  and  finish.  The  vases  and  jars, 
water-jugs  and  lamps,  of  the  Parthian  people 
were  of  terra-cotta,  and  were  sufficiently  well- 
formed  to  merit  praise  even  in  a  modern  col- 
lection of  such  objects.  In  general,  the  same 
were  modeled  after  the  Babylonian  pattern, 
being  produced  on  the  potter's  wheel,  and 
hardened  by  the  heat  of  the  furnace.  It  may 
be  noted  in  this  connection  that  the  larger 
part   of  the  pottery  recovered  from  the  Par- 


thian period  has  been  found  in  the  sepulchral 
vaults,  where,  no  doubt,  food  and  drink  were 
placed  by  the  hand  of  that  superstitious  af- 
fection which  was  stretched  out  by  all  the  an- 


PAETHIAN  VASES,  JUGS,    AND  LAMPS. 

cient  peoples  over  the  burial-place  of  the 
departed. 

From  utensils  we  may  pass  to  personal 
decorations.  These  were  many,  and  not  in- 
elegant. We  have  already  referred  to  the 
triple  necklaces  worn  by  the  kings  and  queens, 
and  doubtless  by  the  nobility.  The  diadems 
of  royal  personages  were  adorned  with  jewels. 
Ear-rings  and  finger-rings  appear  to  have  been 
generally  worn  by  both  men  and  women. 
Beads  and  bangles  were  of  the  fashion,  as  were 
also  armlets,  wristlets,  anklets,  and  the  like. 
The  toes  were  ofteu  adorned  with  rings.  In 
the  manufacture  of  ornaments  the  Parthian 
smiths  employed  the  precious  metals,  as  also 
copper  and  brass.  Another  kind  of  personal 
ornament  much  in  vogue,  especially  among 
the  nobility,  was  the  band  of  gold  which 
was  made  to  depend  from  caps  and  mitres 
in  the  style  of  modern  ribbons.  The  infer- 
ence of  great  personal  pride  may  be  deduced 
from  the  universality  of  adornments  for  the 
person. 

It  is  the  decision  of  antiquaries  that  not 
more  than  a  half  dozen  authentic  examples  of 
Parthian  bas-reliefs  have  been  recovered. 
From  these  the  opinion  of  the  modern  reader 
must  be  formed  relative  to  the  extent  and 
character  of  Parthian  sculpture.  On  the  Rock 
of  Behistun  one  of  these  examples  is  found. 
It  consists  of  a  procession  of  figures  moving  in 
one  direction,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of 
the  procession  on  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon. 
Some  of  the  figures  are  on  foot,  but  the  rest 
are  mounted,  and  are  riding  with  lance  at  rest, 


396 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


evidently  in  the  charge  of  battle.  In  one  part 
a  flying  figure  appears,  which  is  thought  to 
represent  Farae  or  Victory.  The  attitude  of 
both  men  and  horses  is  spirited,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  work,  before  the  decay  which 
has  come  through  centuries  of  exposure  to  the 
elements,  was  of  a  high  order  of  artistic  merit. 
It  has  been  observed,  however,  that  there  are 
discrepancies  in  the  design,  as  for  instance,  the 
circlet,  or  diadem,  which  Flying  Fame  holds 
over  the  head  of  the  warrior  is  altogether  too 
large,  being  suflBcient  to  cover  his  whole  figure ! 


another  example  of  such  art  is  that  of  a 
mounted  hunter  engaged  in  conflict  with  a 
bear.  His  spear  is  at  the  animal's  throat. 
His  horse  rises  and  the  bear  rears  on  his  hind 
legs  for  the  final  struggle.  The  work  is  rudely 
done,  but  the  design  is  true  to  nature  and 
marked  with  much  spirit.  The  figure  on 
horseback  presents  a  wonderful  beard,  curled 
into  a  puff  surrounding  all  the  lower  part  of 
the  face,  and  balanced  behind  with  a  cor- 
responding protuberance  of  the  hair.  The 
bear  much  resembles   an  American  grizzly  iii 


HUNTER  KILLING  A  BEAR. 


But  this  is,  as  Hamlet  might  say,  to  consider 
the  question  "  too  curiously." 

Other  bas-reliefs  have  been  discovered  in 
various  places.  A  favorite  subject  was  the 
horse  and  the  man.  One  work  of  great  value 
and  merit  represents  a  INIagus,  or  High  Priest, 
in  the  oracular  attitude.  At  his  right  hand  is 
the  cone  burr.  He  is  in  full  robe  of  ofiice. 
He  wears  a  mitre  that  might  almost  have 
suited  one  of  the  mediaeval  Popes.  His  hair  is 
worn  long,  and  is  cui'iously  done  into  a  broad 
puff'  extending  laterally  on  both  sides  at  the 
back  of  the  neck  as  far  as  the  shoulders.    Still 


his  form  and  attitude,  and  the  hunter  seems  U 
be  clad  as  a  man  of  the  arctic  regions. 

On  the  whole,  however,  and  to  sum  up  re- 
sults, it  might  almost  be  said  that  the  Parthiana 
were  a  people  wholly  inartistic  in  taste  and 
habit.  No  doubt  a  single  Greek  town  of  the 
second  or  third  class,  in  the  times  of  the  Hel- 
lenic ascendency,  exhibited  a  larger  range  of  art 
work,  whether  of  the  chisel  or  the  brush,  than 
did  the  whole  Empire  of  Mithridates  spread- 
ing through  many  lauds,  from  the  little  prin- 
cipality of  Osrhcene  in  the  upper  bend  of  the 
Euphrates  to  the  summits  of  the  Hindu  Kush. 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


397 


CHAPTKR  XXXV.— CiVIIv  AND  NlILITARY  ANNALS. 


its  we  have  said  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  the  tribal 
history  of  the  Parthiaus 
is  lost  iu  the  mist  and 
distance.  Nor  need  the 
reader  of  the  present  age 
cultivate  the  anxious 
spirit  relative  to  the  origin  of  the  migrations 
and  the  wild  nomadic  life  of  a  primitive  peo- 
ple so  far  removed  in  time  and  place  from  all 
the  interests  of  the  world  that  now  is.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  Parthians  were  little  known 
to  the  Semitic  peoples,  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  the  name  is  not  found  in  the  He- 
brew Scriptures. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  Aryan  or- 
igin of  the  Parthian  people  and   the  probable 


intermixture  with  them  of  the  Scyths.  Their 
first  emergence  into  historical  view  is  in  con- 
nection with  the  story  of  the  Persian  Empire 
at  that  juncture  when  the  Pseudo-Smerdis  at- 
tempted by  false  pretensions  to  gain  possession 
of  the  throne.  The  narrative  of  that  inter- 
esting episode  in  Persian  history  has  already 
been  presented.  At  the  time  of  the  conspiracy 
the  Parthians  revolted  and  upheld  the  cause- 
of  Smerdis  against  Darius  Hystaspis  until" 
what  time  both  they  and  the  Pretender  were- 
put  down. 

From  this  circumstance  we  learn  that  at 
this  time — namely,  in  521  B.  C. — Parthia  was 
a  province,  or  satrapy,  of  the  Persian  Empire. 
It  appears,  indeed,  that  Hystaspes,  father  of 
Darius  the  Great,  held  the  office  of  satrap  of 


PARTHIAN  WARRIORS. 


398 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Parthia  at  the  time  of  the  Smerdiau  revolt. 
He,  of  course,  supported  the  claims  of  his  son, 
as  did  also  the  majority  of  the  other  princes. 
But  the  Parthians,  in  league  with  many  from 
the  adjacent  provinces  in  the  North,  strove  to 
overturn  the  throne,  suffering  severe  reverses 
in  the  field,  losing  in  a  single  engagement,  ac- 
cording to  the  reckless  estimates  of  antiquity, 
about  eleven  thousand  men.  Thus  much  may 
be  gathered  from  the  inscriptions  on  the  Rock 
-of  Behistun. 

We  thus  arrive  at  the  existence  of  Parthia 
as  a  division  of  the  Empire  of  the  Persians. 
After  their  suppression  and  punishment  for 
revolt  in  the  interest  of  Smerdis,  the  Par- 
thians accepted  Darius,  and  remained  loyal  to 
the  succeeding  Achsemenian  kings.  Their 
history  becomes  the  common  history  of  Per- 
sia down  to  the  time  when  the  complication, 
existing  for  more  than  a  century  between  the 
Great  Kings  and  the  commonwealths  of  Greece, 
was  cut  by  the  sword  of  Alexander. 

It  is  not  needed  in  this  connection  to  review 
the  work  of  the  Conqueror  as  he  passed  from 
Europe  into  Asia  and  traversed  that  continent 
i;hrough  a  distance  of  two  thousand  miles. 
Persia  was  now  in  the  ascendant  over  all  the 
East.  Her  dominion  was  accepted  by  many 
peoples  and  nations.  Alexander,  by  the  acute- 
ness  of  his  genius,  perceived  that  his  object- 
ive point  was  the  court  of  Babylon,  that  the 
overthrow  of  Darius  would  be  a  universal 
victory,  and  that  the  subject  nations  would, 
with  the  master  stroke,  fall  asunder  and  ac- 
cept himself  instead. 

The  event  was  as  the  expectation.  Arbela 
ended  all.  With  the  life  of  Darius  Avent  out 
the  dynasty  and  the  whole  cycle  of  ideas 
which  it  represented.  True,  Alexander  deemed 
it  important  to  continue  his  expeditions  north, 
south,  and  east,  until  the  subject  nations  were 
taught  by  ocular  demonstration  the  futility  of 
opposition  to  his  will.  One  of  his  campaigns 
was  directed  against  Bactria.  In  the  prosecu- 
tion of  this,  passing  from  the  Tigris  to  the 
hostile  country,  he  must  needs  traverse  Par- 
thia. But  it  does  not  appear  that  the  Par- 
thians had  refused  to  accept  the  results  of  Ar- 
bela. Little,  perhaps  nothing,  is  said  of  any 
resistance  on  their  part  to  the  Conqueror's  prog- 


ress. To  them,  as  to  so  many  others,  the 
event  was  but  a  change  of  masters. 

The  reader  of  the  present  age  is  many  times 
astonished  at  the  rapid  and  spectacular  trans- 
formations of  antiquity — this  for  the  reason 
that  he  does  not  apprehend  the  civil  and  so- 
cial condition  of  the  ancient  world.  The  Per- 
sian Empire,  for  instance,  was  not  closely 
enough  bound  in  its  parts  to  constitute  a 
Staatenbund,  much  less  a  consolidated  union 
of  nations.  Each  satrap  was  a  feudatory, 
holding  loosely  under  his  suzerain.  To  strike 
down  the  latter  was  to  break  the  nexus  of  the 
whole,  and  to  deliver  the  provinces  back  to 
local  independence.  But  the  condition  was 
such  that  the  establishment  of  another  nexus 
was  easy,  if  not  necessary. 

Thus  for  two  centuries  we  contemplate 
Parthia  as  a  satrapy  of  the  Persian  Empire, 
and  then  behold  its  transference  to  the  Son 
of  PhilijD  and  his  successors.  It  is  sufficient 
to  note  in  this  connection  that  the  country  of 
Parthia  proper  was,  under  the  Persian  kings, 
at  first  associated  for  governmental  purposes 
with  Chorasmia,  Sogdiana,  and  Arya.  In  the 
second  stage  Parthia  was  bound  up  with  Hyr- 
cania  into  a  single  province,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  two  were  held  as  one  at  the  time  of 
the  conquest  of  the  Empire  by  the  Macedo- 
nians. By  that  event  Parthia,  without  other 
serious  changes,  was  subjected  to  a  Greek  ad- 
ministration under  officers  appointed  at  the 
first  by  Alexander  himself,  and  afterwards  by 
his  successors. 

In  order  to  follow  the  history  of  the  coun- 
try we  are  obliged  in  this  place  to  enter  again 
that  distracted  epoch  which  succeeded  the  death 
of  Alexander  the  Great.  We  shall  hereafter, 
when  we  come  to  narrate  with  particularity 
the  partition  of  the  world  among  the  Greeks, 
describe  the  wars,  the  tumults,  and  the  trans- 
formations by  v/hich  the  quadripartite  division 
of  Asia,  Eastern  Europe,  and  South-eastern 
Africa  was  effected.  For  the  present  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  present  an  outline  of  that  part  of 
the  field  with  which  the  destinies  of  Parthia 
are  concerned.  The  four  Powers  to  which  we 
have  just  referred — as  determined  by  war  and 
compromise  among  the  successors  of  Alexan- 
der— were  Macedonia,  Egypt,  Asia  Minor,  and 


PARTHIA— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


399 


Syria.  The  last  named  was  misnamed ;  for 
the  dominion  so-called  had,  at  first,  but  little 
respect  to  Syria  Proper.  Ou  the  contrary,  it 
included  all  of  the  Alexandrian  conquests  in 
South-western  Asia.  It  was  by  far  the  most 
extensive  and  important  part  of  what  had 
been  taken  by  the  Son  of  Philip ;  and  it  is 
with  this  so-called  Kingdom  of  Syria  that  we 
are  here  concerned^ 

Considered  from  the  style  of  dynasty  estab- 
lished over  it,  the  same  was  known  as  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Seleucid^,  so  named  from 
Seleucus  Nicator,  founder  of  the  line  of  sov- 
ereigns referred  to.  As  for  Seleucus,  he  had 
not  at  the  division  of  the  Empire  received  a 
portion,  but  he  was  at  length  appointed  satrap 
of  Babylon,  and  from  that  position  soon  rose 
to  preeminence  in  the  East.  In  this  relation 
he  served  under  Antigonus,  to  whom  the  King- 
dom of  Syria  had  been  given.  But  having 
aroused  the  jealousy  of  the  king,  Seleucus  fled 
to  Egypt,  and  put  himself  for  a  season  under 
the  protection  of  Ptolemy.  At  length  the 
Greek  monarchs  of  the  three  western  divisions 
of  the  Macedonian  Empire  banded  against  the 
king  of  Syria.  When  this  confederacy  was 
formed,  Seleucus  first  recovered  his  office  as 
satrap  of  Babylon,  and  in  that  relation  joined 
the  Western  monarchs' with  his  forces  on  the 
field  of  Ipsus.  It  was  by  the  battle  so  named 
that  the  subsequent  destinies  of  Western  Asia 
were  for  a  long  time  determined.  A  new  di- 
vision, being  a  modification  of  that  already  in 
existence,  was  made  by  the  victors,  and  Seleu- 
cus received  for  his  part  all  of  the  Asiatic  con- 
quests which  had  been  achieved  by  Alexander, 
with  the  exception  of  Lower  Syria  and  Asia 
Minor. 

No  sooner  had  this  result  been  achieved 
than  Seleucus  was  able  to  look  around  and 
view  with  complacency  his  dominions.  These 
included  Upper  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  parts  of 
Cappadocia  and  Phrygia,  Assyria,  Media,  Baby- 
lonia, Susiana,  Persia  Proper,  Carmania,  Sa- 
gartia,  Hyrcania,  Parthia,  Bactria,  Sogdiana, 
Arya,  Zarangia,  Arachosia,  Sacastana,  Gedro- 
sia,  and  the  hither  parts  of  India — and  to 
these  was  presently  added  Armenia  on  the 
west.  The  Imperial  realms  here  defined  in- 
cluded a  million  two  hundred  thousand  square 
N.— Vol.  1—25 


miles,  from  which,  after  deducting  the  waste 
and  desert  parts,  about  eight  hundred  thousand 
square  miles  of  valuable  and  fertile  territory 
remained. 

It  now  devolved  upon  Seleucus  to  choose 
his  capital  and  organize  his  Government.  In 
this  connection  the  cities  of  Mesopotamia,  fa- 
mous in  ancient  story,  would  naturally  suggest 
themselves.  There  on  the  Lower  Euphrates 
was  Babylon,  which  Alexander  himself  had 
preferred  as  the  seat  of  his  dominion.  On  the 
Upper  Tigris  was  Nineveh,  or  the  site  of  Nine- 
veh, equally  well  situated  for  a  capital  of  em- 
pire. For  a  short  season  the  former  was 
chosen ;  but  Seleucus  for  some  reason  wearied 
of  Babylon,  and  determined  to  build  a  capital 
of  his  own.  For  this  he  chose  a  site  about 
forty  miles  distant  to  the  north-east,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Tigris,  and  there  laid  the 
foundations  of  Seleucia,  which  soon  sprang  into 
importance  and  grandeur  as  the  seat  of  central 
interest  for  all  of  South-western  Asia. 

Here  then  was  founded  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Seleucidse,  under  auspices  favorable  to  perma- 
nence and  grandeur.  But  it  was  not  long 
until  Seleucus  made  the  fatal  mistake  of  aban- 
doniug  the  position  which  he  had  so  well  chosen 
in  Mesopotamia  and  seeking  another  and  less 
favorable  capital  in  the  far  south-west,  on  the 
border  of  his  Empire. 

It  would  appear  that  Alexander  and  his 
successors  fought  against  the  law  of  nature  in 
their  attempt  to  carry  European  institutions 
backwards  across  Asia.  There  is  certainly  an 
irresistible  cosmic  force  which  draws  men  to 
the  West.  The  historical  drama  constantly 
shifts  its  scene  in  the  direction  of  the  setting 
sun.  There  was  doubtless  a  time  in  the  past 
when  Babylon  itself  was  a  young  and  progress- 
ive municipality  in  the  West.  A  large  part 
of  ancient  history  is  concerned  with  the  pro- 
cesses and  vicissitudes  by  which  the  central 
energies  of  human  power  were  transferred  from 
Babylon  to  Rome,  just  as  a  large  part  of  Mod- 
ern History  has  covered  the  details  of  the 
movement  from  Rome  to  London.  There  is 
something  in  nature,  there  is  something  in  man, 
there  is  much  in  the  correlations  of  man  and 
nature,  which  propel  civilization  in  the  direc- 
tion indicated  and  makes  it  almost  impossible 


400 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


to  replant  eastward  the  aggressive  societies  and 
institutions  of  the  West. 

The  men  of  the  Alexandrian  epoch  found 
it  so.  Perhaps  no  valid  reason  could  have 
been  assigned  by  Seleucus  for  yielding  his 
vantage  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  and  trans- 
ferring his  seat  of  government  to  Antioch,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Orontes.  Whatever  may  have 
been  his  motive,  the  policy  was  fatal  to  the 
maintenance  of  a  European  dominion  in  South- 
western Asia.  The  king,  by  the  removal,  re- 
associated  himself  with  the  contentious  and 
contending  successors  of  Alexander  in  Mace- 
donia, Egypt,  and  Asia  Minor.  He  was  at 
once  rein  vol  ved  with  them  in  those  wars  which 
were  destined  to  continue  until  what  time  the 


must  sooner  or  later  lose  him  all  his  Eastern 
provinces.  Alexander  had,  against  the  preju- 
dices of  his  own  countrymen,  adopted  th& 
policy  of  uniting  the  ruling  classes  and  native 
princes  of  the  East  with  himself.  He  had 
encouraged  to  a  great  extent  among  his  officers^ 
and  men  the  formation  of  marriage  unions  and 
other  alliances  by  which  the  conquered  peoples- 
might  come  to  regard  their  interests  as  identi- 
fied with  those  of  the  Conqueror.  He  had 
deliberately  called  to  his  aid  the  princes  of 
the  subject  Asiatic  provinces,  reappointed  them 
to  their  places,  conferred  honors  upon  them^ 
and  made  them  secure  under  his  authority. 
While  this  policy  had  left  behind  much  bitter- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  adventurers  who  had 


I.  SELEUCUS  I.  (Nicator)  B.  C.  280. 
2    ANTIOCHUS  I.  (Soter),  261. 
3.  ANTIOCHUS  II.  (Theos),  246. 


4.  Seleucus  II.  (Callinicus),  226. 


Antiochus  Hierax. 


5.  Seleucus  III.  (Ceraunus),  223. 


6.  ANTIOCHUS  III.  (The  Great),  187. 


DYNASTY 
OF    THE   SELEUCIDi^. 

EXPLANATION: 
Kings  numbered  in  order  of  succession, 

tl.us,  1.2.3.  etc. 

Regular  Jescent  indicated  thus . 

Doubtful  or  spurious  descent,  thus 

Arabic  numbers  after  names  indicate 

date  of  death  or  dethronement. 


7.  Seleucus  IV.  (Philopator),  175.       8.  Antiochus  IV.  (Epiphanes),  164. 

10.  Demetrius  I.  (Soter),  150.  j 

! 9.  Antiochus  V.  (Eupator),  162.  11.  Alexander  Balas,  145. 

12.  Demetrius  II.  (Nicator),  125.       14.  Antiochus  VII.  (Sidetes),  128.  13.  Antiochus  VI.  (Theos),  142. 


16.  Antiochus  IX.,  95. 
18.  Antiochus  X.,  83. 


15.  Antiochus  VIII.    17.  Seleucus  V.,    20.  Demetrius  III.,  21.  Antiochus  XII.,  69. 
(Grypus),  %.                        94.                               88.  | 

I  22.  Antiochus  XIII.,  65. 
19.  Antiochus  XI.,  83. 


Mistress  of  the  World  should,  from  her  seat 
on  the  Tiber,  stretch  out  her  scepter  over  all. 

But  we  are  here  concerned  rather  with  the 
actual  course  of  events  than  Avith  speculative 
views  concerning  them.  The  withdrawal  of 
the  cajiital  of  the  East  from  Seleucia  to  An- 
tioch left  the  Asiatic  nations  without  the  visible 
presence  of  the  master.  It  left  them  to  the 
suggestion  of  conspiracy,  revolt,  and  independ- 
ence. Worst  of  all,  it  left  them  to  the  domi- 
nation of  corrupt  satraps,  who  resumed  the 
manners  and  methods  of  the  past,  extorting 
from  the  subject  peoples  whatever  might  be 
gained  by  excess  and  tyranny. 

For  Seleucus  had  in  the  meantime  com- 
mitted   another    administrative    error,   which 


hoped  to  revel  in  all  the  spoils  of  conquest — 
while  it  had  in  many  instances  alienated  the 
home  Government  of  Macedonia — it  had  nev- 
ertheless secured  to  the  Conqueror  the  regards,, 
the  confidence,  and  even  the  aflfection  of  peo- 
ples and  races  whom  he  could  not  otherwise 
have  bound  sincerely  to  his  interests. 

At  the  first  his  successors  followed  in  a 
feeble  and  uncertain  way  the  policy  of  their 
great  leader.  But  their  weakness  and  cupidity 
soon  prevailed,  and  they  began  to  promote  Eu- 
ropeans in  the  place  of  native  princes.  This 
method  was  fatally  adopted  by  Seleucus  on  his 
withdrawal  to  Antioch.  He  set  Greeks  in 
authority  over  the  Asiatics,  as  if  to  say  that 
his  security  in  the  East  depended  upon  Euro- 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


401 


pean  rather  than  Asiatic  support.  It  may 
be  doubted  whether  his  governors  themselves, 
chosen  henceforth  from  the  small  European 
contingent,  were  more  loyal,  more  devoted  to 
the  king  than  would  have  been  the  native  no- 
blemen of  Asia;  and  as  for  the  subject  peo- 
ples, all  sympathy  between  themselves  and 
their  rulers  must  at  once  have  been  destroyed. 

We  thus  see  the  head  of  the  Syrian  king- 
dom of  the  Greeks  establishing  himself  in 
leisure  aud  pleasure  at  Antioch,  little  legardiug 
the  concerns  of  the  East.  The  Mesopotamian 
countries  and  all  beyond  were  left  in  charge 
of  their  European  governors.  Seleucus  him- 
self gave  his  attention  to  Western  affairs,  in- 
terfering in  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor,  according 
to  the  caprice  of  the  day.  Seleucus  reigned  un- 
til the  year  B.  C.  280  when  he  was  assassinated 
at  Lysimachia.  He  left  his  crown  to  his  son 
Antioch  us  I.,  called  Soter,  second  of  the 
Seleucid  princes.  The  latter  pursued  the  same 
policy  with  his  father,  and  became  involved  in 
the  same  troubles.  The  administration  of  the 
East  was  continued  in  the  same  manner,  was 
attended  with  the  same  dangers,  and  that  of 
the  West  was  distracted  with  like  quarrels 
and  battles,  until,  after  the  space  of  nineteen 
years,  Autiochus  Soter  was  slain  by  a  Gaul,  in 
a  conflict  near  Ephesus. 

The  crown  next  descended  to  Antiochus 
II.,  surnamed  Theos,  who,  during  the  ten 
years  of  his  reign,  was  engaged  in  almost  con- 
stant warfare  with  Asia  Minor  and  Egypt. 
The  history  of  all  three  reigns,  covering  the 
period  from  the  accession  of  Seleucus,  in  B.  C. 
301,  to  the  death  of  Antiochus  Theos,  in 
B.  C.  250,  has  a  common  feature — that  of 
neglect  of  the  East  aud  needless  complication 
with  the  affairs  of  the  West. 

During  this  period,  the  old  kingdom  of 
Parthia,  reduced  for  centuries  to  subordination, 
first  to  Persia,  afterwards  to  the  successors  of 
Alexander,  lay  in  comparative  obscurity.  But 
the  time  had  now  arrived  for  an  emergence 
by  rebellion  into  light  and  life  and  action. 
At  this  epoch  the  actual  history  of  Parthia  as 
an  independent  power  begins.  All  the  rest  is, 
as  it  were,  the  setting  of  the  picture.  From 
this  time  forth  the  movement,  first  toward  free- 
dom, and  then  to  greatness,  is  rapid  and  direct. 


The  administration  of  Antiochus  the  Di- 
vine was  of  precisely  the  kind  to  furnish 
the  opportunity  aud  the  suggestion  of  a  revolt. 
About  six  years  before  the  conclusion  of  his 
reign,  Theodotus,  or  Diodotos,  the  Greek 
satrap  of  Bactria,  perceived  in  the  distance 
between  himself  and  Antioch  and  in  the  ef- 
feminate administration  of  the  king  the  hint 
of  successful  rebellion.  He  accordingly  at 
once  threw  off  the  yoke,  gave  himself  the  title 
of  BaslJeus,  and  entered  upon  an  independent 
administration.  Thus  did  Bactria  lead  the 
way  in  renouncing  the  sovereignty  which  had 
been  accepted  since  the  Alexandrian  conquest. 
It  appears  that  Antiochus  had  neither  the  am- 
bition nor  the  courage  to  chastise  his  rebellious 
governor,  and  Theodotus  was  accordingly  per- 
mitted to  take  his  undisturbed  course  to  inde- 
pendence. 

The  example  was  contagious.  The  neigh- 
boring satrapies  felt  the  shock  of  the  Bactrian 


COIN  OF  THEODOTUS. 


revolution,  and  soon  adopted  a  similar  method. 
Parthia  was  the  first  to  follow  in  the  wake  of 
the  neighboring  revolt.  In  this  country,  how- 
ever, the  movement  took  on  a  wholly  different 
character.  In  Bactria  the  revolution  could 
hardly  be  said  to  be  national.  The  Greek 
governor  was  simply  permitted  to  raise  him- 
self to  the  rank  and  title  of  king;  but  in 
Parthia  the  revolt  had  a  different  source. 
Here  the  spring  of  action  was  a  national  sen- 
timent against  the  rule  of  the  Europeans  in 
any  form.  The  feeling  was  against  the  Greek 
Dynasty  in  toto,  so  that  instead  of  following 
the  lead  of  the  governor  in  making  himself 
independent  of  Antiochus,  the  Parthians  rose 
against  the  governor  himself,  and  the  whole 
system  of  foreign  domination  which  he  repre- 
sented. 

The  circumstances  and  details  of  the  revolt 
have  been  differently  told  by  different  authors. 
It  has  been  narrated  that  a  certain  Arsaces — 


402 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


which  name  the  leader  of  the  revolution  cer- 
tainly bore — appeared  out  of  Bactria,  from 
which  country  he  had  fled  from  the  jealousy 
of  Theodotus.  Coming  into  Parthia,  he  in- 
duced the  people  to  accept  him  for  their  leader 
in  a  rebellion  against  their  own  Greek  gov- 
ernor. Successful  in  this,  he  was  made  king 
of  Parthia  and  founder  of  the  dynasty. 
Another  account  says  that  Pherecles,  satrap 
of  Parthia  under  Antiochus  the  Divine,  of- 
fered an  insult  to  Arsaces,  who,  according  to 
this  tradition,  Avas  a  native  Parthian,  son  of 
Phriapites,  and  that  he — Arsaces — and  his 
brother  Tiridates  drew  five  of  their  fellow- 
noblemen  into  a  conspiracy  and  slew  the 
satrap.  This  done,  the  people  were  easily  in- 
duced to  rise  and  throw  off"  the  foreign  domi- 
nation altogether.  They  then  chose  Arsaces 
for  their  king.  Still  another  account  makes 
Arsaces  to  have  been  a  Scythian  of  the  nation 
called  the  Dahee,  who  came  by  hostile  invasion 
into  Parthia,  overthrew  the  Greek  government, 
and  made  their  leader  king. 
It  is  sufficient  for  historical  pur- 
poses to  say  that  the  rebellion 
against  the  Greeks  was  led  by 
a  patriot  named  Arsaces,  who 
com  OF  ARSACES  I.  ^.^^  pgrhaps  of  Scythian  extrac- 
tion ;  that  the  foreign  officers  were  expelled  ; 
that  the  pride  of  the  nation  was  gratified  by 
the  success  of  the  insurrection ;  and  that  its 
leader  was  made  king  of  Pai'thia,  with  the 
title  of  Arsaces  I.  These  events  are  assigned 
to  the  year  B.  C.  256,  but  some  have  moved 
the  event  forward  to  250,  being  the  year  of 
the  death  of  Antiochus  Theos. 

The  accession  of  Arsaces  and  the  founding 
of  the  Parthian  monarchy  were  not  wholly 
peaceful.  The  expulsion  of  the  Greeks  from 
the  country — the  suppression  of  their  in- 
fluence— was  not  of  easy  accomplishment. 
The  Greek  capital,  Hecatompylos,  built  by 
Alexander,  had  been  peopled  in  the  first  place 
by  Macedonians  and  other  men  out  of  the 
West.  These  and  their  descendants  would, 
out  of  the  nature  of  things,  resist  the  revolu- 
tion and  strive  to  regain  their  ascendency. 
The  party  of  the  late  government,  great  or 
small,  would  follow  the  counter-revolution. 
Arsaces,  therefore,  had   to  make   battle    with 


the  malcontents,  and  to  put  them  down  by 
force  of  arms.  Nor  was  he  able  to  give  per- 
fect quiet  to  the  kingdom  before  his  death, 
which  came  by  a  spear-thrust  in  the  side,  in 
the  year  B.  C.  247. 

The  crown  descended  to  Tiridates,  brother 
of  the  late  king.  But  he  took  for  his  title 
Arsaces  II.,  and  is  generally  referred  to  by  that 
name.  It  appears  that  the  name  Arsaces  was 
at  once  adopted  as  the  designative  title  of  the 
Dynasty,  which  is  thus  known  in  history  as 
the  Arsacid^e.  It  remained  for  the  second 
king  of  this  great  house  to  promote,  establish, 
and  defend  the  kingdom  planted  in  Aveakness 
and  uncertainty  by  his  brother.  His  reign 
lasted  for  over  thirty  years,  during  which  time 
Arsaces  II.  fully  justified  the  expectations  of 
his  country.  The  boundaries  of  Parthia  were 
enlai'ged.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  monarchy 
that  so  strong  a  character  was  at  its  head,  for 
scarcely  was  the  king  established  in  power 
until  all  of  his  energies  and  resources  were 
needed  to  protect  the  nation  from  conquest. 
It  was  at  this  juncture,  namely,  in  B.  C.  245, 
that  Ptolemy  Euergetes,  of  Egypt,  warlike 
and  ambitious,  led  an  ai'my  into  Asia,  entered 
the  kingdom  of  Syria,  overthrew  Seleucus 
Callinicus  in  battle,  captured  Antioch,  and  then 
made  an  expedition  into  Mesopotamia — as 
though  he  would  recover  the  whole  Empire  of 
Alexander.  The  major  countries  in  his  path 
yielded  with  little  resistance.  Babylonia,  Su- 
siana,  Assyria,  Persia,  and  Media  went  down 
successively  before  the  invader.  Indeed,  the 
restoration  of  the  Asiatic  dominion  was  com- 
plete, with  the  exception  of  Bactria  and 
Parthia. 

Tiridates  thus  found  his  kingdom  threat- 
ened by  a  new  conqueror,  between  whom  and 
himself  an  unequal  contest  must  be  waged — 
on  his  own  side  for  existence,  and  on  the 
side  of  Ptolemy  for  Empire.  But  destiny  had 
prepared  a  different  event.  "While  Ptolemy 
was  engaged  in  rapidly  reconstructing  the 
power  which  Seleucus  had  permitted  to  go  to 
wreck,  his  attention  was  suddenly  recalled  to 
Egypt.  In  that  country  a  rebellion  had 
broken  out,  and  the  king  was  obliged  to  hurry 
back  to  Africa,  lest  his  losses  at  home  might 
be  greater  than  his  gains  in  Asia.     The  great 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


403 


campaign  which  he  had  made  with  so  much 
apparent  success  became,  historically  consid- 
ered, a  campaign  and  nothing  more.  The 
countries  which  he  had  conquered  regained 
their  independence  Avith  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Egyptian  army,  and  South-western  Asia 
resumed  her  former  aspect. 

But  the  lesson  of  the  expedition  was  not 
lost  on  Tiridates.  He  could  but  observe  with 
what  ease  the  countries  through  which  Ptolemy 
had  passed  had  been  subdued.  The  wings  of 
his  own  ambition  fluttered  at  the  prospect. 
Why  should  not  a  Parthian  king  make  suc- 
cessful warfare  in  the  neighboring  countries? 
He  accordingly  organized  an  army,  marched 
into  Hyrcania,  overran  the  district,  and  added 
it  to  his  own  dominion.  This  was  an  act  of 
direct  aggression  on  the  kingdom  of  Syria. 
Hyrcania  was  a  satrapy  of  that  Power,  and 
Seleucus  Callinicus  must  either  yield  ignobly 
to  the  aggression,  or  else  fight  for  the  recovery 
of  the  province.  Thus  were  prepared  the 
antecedents  of  a  conflict  between  the  Parthians 
on  the  one  side  and  the  Graeco- Asiatic  kings 
on  the  other,  which  was  destined  to  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  Romans,  and  by  them  perpetuated 
for  several  centuries. 

For  the  moment,  however,  Callinicus  was 
unable  to  attempt  the  punishment  of  his 
enemy.  The  king  of  Syria  had  a  brother, 
Antiochus  Hierax,  who  troubled  his  dominions 
in  the  West  and  paralyzed  the  powers  of  the 
kingdom.  But  at  length  an  accommodation 
was  reached  between  the  two  brothers,  and 
Callinicus  found  himself  ready  for  his  eastward 
expedition.  It  appears  that  by  this  time  the 
Parthian  cavalry  had  diffiised  a  wholesome 
fear  of  itself  throughout  South-western  Asia. 
At  all  events  the  Syrian  king  deemed  it  pru- 
dent to  approach  the  enemy  with  the  support 
of  an  ally.  He  accordingly  drew  the  king 
of  Bactria  into  a  league  with  himself  against 
Parthia — a  thing  most  unnatural  and  most 
dangerous  to  the  latter  kingdom. 

Callinicus  then  advanced  to  the  conflict, 
which  Tiridates  was  not  well  able  to  enter. 
Courage  was  not  wanting,  but  an  adequate 
force  to  contend  with  the  combined  armies  of 
Syria  and  Bactria.  The  Parthian  king  found 
it  necessary  to  recede  before  the   enemy,  and 


to  fall  back  into  Scythia,  beyond  the  Oxus. 
Parthia  was  penetrated  by  the  foe,  and  it  ap- 
peared superficially  that  the  independence  of 
the  country  was  at  an  end.  At  this  juncture, 
however,  Theodotus  died,  and  the  crown  de- 
scended to  his  son,  more  patriotic  than  his 
father.  Tiridates  succeeded  in  detaching  the 
new  king  of  Bactria  from  the  unnatural 
league,  and  brought  him  into  alliance  with 
himself.  The  situation  was  so  changed  by 
this  event  that  Tiridates  was  able  to  meet 
Callinicus  in  the  field.  A  decisive  battle  was 
fought,  in  which  the  Syrian  army  was  routed 
and  driven  from  the  country. 

This  success  was  perhaps  the  critical  event 
in  the  early  history  of  the  Parthian  Kingdom. 
It  was  regarded  by  the  people  as  the  definitive 
achievement  of  independence.  The  day  of  the 
battle  became  the  day  of  the  nation,  and  was 
commemorated  after  the  manner  which  peo- 
ples in  all  ages  have  adopted  in  preserving 
and  transmitting  the  story  of  their  liberty. 
Nor  was  the  efl^ect  of  the  victory  to  be  disre- 
garded as  it  respected  the  other  countries  of 
Asia.  The  final  delivery  of  Parthia  by  suc- 
cessful battle  from  the  dominion  of  the  Greek 
Kingdom  of  Syria  was  an  example  to  the  other 
Asiatic  States.  It  showed  that  the  successors 
of  Alexander,  in  so  far  from  being  invincible, 
might  be  repelled  by  valor  and  constrained  by 
overthrow  to  confine  themselves  to  the  borders 
of  the  Western  seas.  Henceforth  the  discern- 
ing eye  might  discover  the  unmistakable  symp- 
toms of  the  coming  of  a  native  Asiatic  Empire 
in  the  place  of  the  vast  dominion  established 
by  the  Son  of  Philip. 

The  critical  events  to  which  we  have  just 
referred  happened  about  the  year  237  B.  C. 
The  purposes  of  Callinicus  after  his  defeat  and 
expulsion  may  not  be  well  discovered ;  but  the 
difficulties  in  his  own  dominions  were  so  great 
as  to  confine  his  attention  henceforth  to  his 
home  aflPairs.  Hierax  was  again  an  insui-gent, 
and  with  him  the  king  had  to  decide  the  issue 
by  force.  Parthia,  delivered  from  apprehen- 
sion, was  left  to  pursue  her  own  course,  and 
Tiridates  employed  the  remainder  of  his  reign, 
full  twenty  years  in  duration,  in  consolidating 
and  establishing  the  kingdom. 

By  this  time  the  Parthians  had  departed  in 


401 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  national  evolution,  from  the  ancient  bar- 
baric type,  and  had  learned  to  avail  themselves 
of  approved  methods  of  defense.  Instead  of 
trusting  henceforth  to  the  wild  and  audacious 
charges  of  their  cavalry,  they  began  to  fortify 
the  country  against  the  possible  recurrence  of 
such  invasions  as  that  of  Callinicus.  Several 
positions  of  importance  were  converted  into 
fortifications  and  intrusted  to  regular  garrisons 
for  defense.  The  king  is  himself  represented 
by  Justin  and  other  authors  as  active  in  these 
enterprises.  Among  other  works  which  he 
promoted  was  the  building  of  a  new  capital. 
We  may  well  believe  that  Hecatompylos  was 
not  wholly  a  pleasant  seat  of  government  for 
the  first  of  the  Arsacid  princes.  The  place 
had  been  built,  as  we  have  said,  by  Alexander. 
Jt  was  a  Greek  city.  It  represented  the 
European  domination — a  thing  which  had  now 
become  hateful  to  the  nation.  The  tradition 
•of  such  a  city  was  in  the  way  of  a  peaceful 
native  administration.  The 
suggestions  of  the  place  were 
against  the  existing  order,  and 
the  king  sought  to  escape  from 
these  surroundings  and  to 
transfer  his  government  to 
the  new  city  of  Dara,  which 
he  founded  and  promoted  as  the  Parthian 
capital. 

For  some  reason,  however,  the  enterprise 
was  not  wholly  successful.  It  is  not  certain 
that  Tiridates  ever  succeeded  in  removing  the 
Government  to  his  new  city.  If  so,  the 
transfer  was  of  brief  duration.  AVe  may  con- 
jecture that  the  Hecatompylonians,  seeing  the 
Government  about  to  slip  away  from  them, 
found  it  to  their  interest  to  become  more  loyal 
to  the  existing  order — less  Greek  and  more 
Parthian  in  their  sympathies.  It  is  possible, 
moreover,  that  there  was  an  equalization  of 
forces.  Even  the  Saxons  of  England  were 
not  wholly  proof  against  the  refinement,  the 
culture,  the  graceful  speech  and  manners  of 
the  Normans.  Though  they  succeeded  in  ab- 
sorbing their  conquerors,  they  were  them- 
selves, in  a  measure,  absorbed  in  turn.  The 
Greeks  were  the  Normans  of  Parthia.  With 
them  were  culture,  artistic  taste,  elegant 
speech,  fancy  and  wit.     These  things  are  lov- 


COIN    OF 
ARTABANUS  I. 


able,  even  in  our  enemies.  Our  hatred  of  the 
foreigner  yields  somewhat  to  our  liking  for  his 
ways.  Women  more  than  men  are  subject  to 
this  infection.  Probably  the  Parthian  prin- 
cesses and  ladies  of  high  rank  had  found  in 
the  Greek  residents  of  Hecatompylos  a  mere 
graceful  and  charming  folk  than  their  own 
brothers  and  lovers.  At  any  rate  the  Greek 
attraction  finally  prevailed  over  the  repelling 
forces,  and  Hecatompylos  was  retained  as  the 
future  capital  of  Parthia. 

It  was  about  the  year  214  B.  C.  that 
Tiridates,  second  of  the  Arsacidse,  died,  leav- 
ing the  crown  to  his  son  Artabanus  I.  He 
also  was  an  Arsaces,  being  the  third  of  that 
title.  By  this  time  Seleucus  Callinicus  had 
also  rendered  his  account,  transmitting  his 
throne  to  Antiochus  III.,  his  second  son.  The 
latter  inherited  the  local  troubles  with  which 
the  reign  of  his  father  had  been  distracted. 
Scarcely  had  he  taken  the  crown  when 
Achseus,  one  of  his  governors,  rose  in  rebellion, 
and  civil  war  again  ensued  in  Syria. 

By  this  time  the  Parthian  kings  had  learned 
to  be  observant  of  the  course  of  afllairs  in  the 
West  and  the  South-west,  and  to  take  advantage 
of  any  circumstance  which  might  favor  the  de- 
velopment of  their  own  kingdom.  Artabanus 
I.  was  of  this  mood.  Perceiving  that  the 
king  of  Syria  had  as  much  as  he  could  attend 
to  in  his  home  dominions,  the  Parthian  planned 
the  conquest  of  Media.  This  ancient  State, 
now  fallen  into  decay,  lay  open  to  invasion, 
and  Artabanus  undertook  its  conquest.  He 
carried  a  vigorous  campaign  into  the  country, 
where  he  seems  to  have  been  received  with 
little  hostility.  He  made  his  way  to  Ecbatana, 
took  the  city,  completed  the  conquest,  and 
added  Media  to  his  dominion.  For  the  mo- 
ment it  appeared  that  a  great  kingdom  or  Em- 
pire was  about  to  be  projected,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Arsacidse. 

But  Antiochus  III.  could  not  well  permit 
his  great  dependencies  in  the  East  to  be  torn 
away  without  an  effort  for  their  recovery. 
As  soon  as  he  could  bring  affairs  to  quiet  in 
Upper  Syria,  he  gathered  a  large  army  and 
set  out  for  Mesopotamia.  The  event  showed 
that  the  king  was  not  incapable  of  great  am- 
bition.    Passing   rapidly    beyond    the    Tigris 


PARTHIA— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


405 


•and  the  Zagros  mountains,  he  entered  Media, 
recovered  the  capital,  restored  the  Syrian  au- 
thority, and  then  moved  forward  against  Par- 
thia  itself.  In  doing  so,  he  had  to  traverse 
the  Iranian  desert,  a  region  almost  wholly 
without  water.  Upon  this  circumstance  Arta- 
banus  relied  to  keep  his  enemy  at  bay.  He 
kept  detachments  of  cavalry  in  the  desert  in 
front  of  the  Syrian  army,  with  orders  to  fill 
up  or  poison  the  wells  upon  which  Antiochus 
must  depend  for  water.  But  the  progress  of 
the  latter  could  not  be  stayed.  Hyrcania  was 
entered  and  its  cities  taken.  The  Parthians 
now  confronted  the  enemy,  but  were  unable 
to  check  his  course.  They  adopted  the  expe- 
dient, however,  of  keeping  out  of  his  way 
until  what  time  the  Syrian  king,  wearied  with 
campaigning  against  a  foe  whom  he  could  not 
strike  down,  consented  to  peace. 

It  is  thought  that  Artabanus  agreed  to  co- 
operate with  the  Syrian  monarch  in  a  war 
with  Bactria.  That  country,  the  reader  will 
remember,  had  also  become  independent. 
Euthydemus,  the  king,  had  shown  himself  able 
to  defend  the  country.  Nor  did  he  shrink 
from  the  invasion  of  his  dominions  by  Anti- 
ochus. It  is  probable  that  Artabanus  was  se- 
cretly in  sympathy  with  the  Bactrian  king  in  the 
struggle  that  ensued  with  Antiochus.  At  any 
rate,  Euthydemus  was  able  to  uphold  the  for- 
tunes of  his  country  until  the  Syrian  king,  see- 
ing the  impossibility  of  restoring  the  Eastern 
Empire  by  war,  withdrew  from  the  country, 
leaving  both  Parthia  and  Bactria  to  follow  their 
own  course  of  development.  It  would  seem  that 
Antiochus  scarcely  regarded  himself  as  a  victor 
in  his  Eastern  wars,  for  the  conditions  of  peace 
which  he  conceded  to  those  who  had  opposed 
him  were  such  as  follow  a  drawn  battle  rather 
than  a  conquest. 

It  would  appear,  however,  that  Parthia  was 
considerably  weakened  by  the  struggle  through 
which-,  she  had  passed.  The  history  of  the 
kingdom  becomes  for  many  years  obscure. 
The  remainder  of  the  reign  of  Artabanus  was 
of  little  importance  in  a  national  sense.  At 
least  the  ancient  historians  have  passed  over 
the  closing  years  of  the  third  century  B.  C, 
as  though  they  were  marked  by  no  stirring 
•event  from  the  side  of  Parthia.     In  Bactria  the 


case  was  somewhat  diflTerent.  We  may  infer 
that  this  kingdom  was  not  so  severely  pun- 
ished in  the  war  with  Syria  as  was  Parthia. 
At  any  rate,  the  remaining  years  of  Euthy» 
demus,  and  of  his  son  and  successor  Demetrius, 
were  marked  in  Bactrian  history  as  a  period 
of  advancement  and  prosperity.  Historically 
considered,  the  forces  were  at  this  time  bal- 
ancing between  the  two  kingdoms  as  to  which 
should  finally  take  the  lead  in  the  restoration 
of  the  Asiatic  Empire  under  native  princes. 

We  may,  therefore,  say  no  more  in  this 
connection  than  that  the  subsequent  reign  of  his 
son,  named  Peiapatius,  otherwise  ArsacesIV., 
was  more  obscure  than  that  of  his  predecessor. 
The  single  fact  remains  that  he  occupied  the 
throne  from  B.  C.  196  to  181.  The  epoch  was 
in  one  sense  important,  for  it  was  at  this  time 
that  the  period  in  history  assigned  to  the  suc- 
cessors of  Alexander  the  Great  comes  to  a 
close.  In  the  year  196  B.  C.  the  Roman 
Proconsul,  Titus  Quinctius  Flaminius,  made 
his  appearance  at  the  Isthmian  games,  at  Cor- 
inth, and  proclaimed  the  protectorate  of  the 
Western  Republic  over  Greece.  It  was  the 
end  of  Hellenic  independence,  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end  of  all  those  divisions  of  po- 
litical power  which  had  been  established  in  the 
East  by  the  Macedonians.  Since  it  was  from 
the  latter  that  Parthia  had  most  to  fear,  and 
since  these  were  now  to  be  completely  over- 
whelmed by  Rome,  Ave  may  note  the  time  as 
the  crisis  from  which  the  Parthian  Empire 
and  ascendency  were  to  begin.  It  thus  hap- 
pened that  in  the  obscurity  of  the  reign  of 
Priapatius  the  antecedents  were  preparing  of 
a  great  dominion  for  his  successors. 

We  may  here  make  a  brief  pause  and  digres- 
sion for  the  purpose  of  noting  the  condition  of 
affairs  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  former 
dominions  of  Alexander  the  Great.  If  the 
Macedonian  governors  had  not  been  able  to 
hold  their  authority  over  the  Asiatics  in  the 
meridian  of  Parthia  and  Bactria,  what  shall 
we  say  of  their  inability  in  the  Indus  valley  ? 
There  lay  the  great  region  of  the  Punjaub, 
cut  off  from  all  dictation  of  the  West  and 
from  all  support  by  the  Europeans.  The  will 
of  the  Conqueror  had  indeed  been  suflScient  to 
hold   the    countries  of   Afghanistan   and  the 


406 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Upper  Indus  in  subjection,  but  not  so  the  will 
of  his  successors. 

The  native  Indian  princes,  like  those  of  the 
Great  Plateau,  soon  revolted,  and  regained 
their  independence.  Among  these  a  king  called 
Chandragupta  arose  and  established  a  dominion 
in  the  Punjaub  fit  to  be  called  a  kingdom. 
Already  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century 
B.  C. ,  when  Seleucus  Nicator  made  his  great 
expedition  into  the  East,  he  found  Chandra- 
gupta reigning  over  the  countries  between  the 
two  great  rivers  of  India.  Nor  was  it  deemed 
advisable  by  the  Macedonians  to  enter  into  a 
war  with  him  for  the  recovery  of  the  country. 
The  Indian  prince  was  left  in  authority  under 
treaty  stipulations  defining  the  extent  of  the 
Indian  Kingdom.  Nearly  a  century  went  by, 
and  Antiochus  IIL  crossed  Asia  on  his  expe- 
dition to  the  East.  But  on  approaching  India 
he  also  made  a  pause,  and  renewed  with  the 
successors  of  Chandragupta  the  treaty  of  Se- 
leucus. Amicable  relations  were  established 
between  the  Syrian  Kingdom  and  the  far  East, 
and  gifts  were  interchanged  between  the  mon- 
archs  in  the  manner  of  ancient  royalty. 

But  these  things  were  displeasing  to  the 
king  of  Bactria.  It  was  little  agreeable  to 
his  feelings  to  be  overspanned  by  so  wide  an 
arch  as  that  between  Antioch  and  the  Pun- 
jaub. Euthydemus  determined  to  break  this 
far-reaching  connection  between  the  East  and 
the  West,  and  himself  made  war  on  India. 
After  him  Demetrius,  the  succeeding  Bactrian 
king,  took  up  the  cause.  He  carried  a  vic- 
torious array  into  Afghanistan,  and  afterwards 
into  India.  On  the  River  Hydaspes  he  built 
the  city  Euthymedeia,  long  known  in  ancient 
geography.  He  established  his  supremacy  in 
the  countries  dominated  by  his  arms ;  and  the 
historian  of  the  day  might  well  have  been 
on  tiptoe  to  witness  the  further  expansion  of 
the  Bactrian  power  into  a  universal  Asiatic 
Empire. 

This  period,  however,  covered  the  climax. 
The  Bactrian  ascendency  could  reach  no 
higher.  It  is  believed  that  the  success  of  the 
kingdom  in  the  times  of  Euthydemus  and 
Demetrius  was  correlated  with  the  unsuccess 
of  Parthia  at  the  same  epoch.  It  may  have 
been  that  the  Parthian   kings  of  the  period 


were  unable  to  do  more  than  to  maintain  the 
status  in  qxio  until  what  time  the  nation  might 
revive  from  the  effects  of  the  Syrian  war,  and 
until  Bactrian  ambition  should  run  its  course. 

We  may  pass  at  once  from  the  unknown 
reign  of  Arsaces  IV.  to  that  of  his  son  and 
successor  Phraates  I.,  otherwise  Arsaces  V. 
The' latter  acceded  to  power  in  the  year  B.  C. 
181,  and  his  coming  marked  an  epoch  of  re- 
vival in  the  fortunes  of  the  kingdom.  It  were 
difficult  to  say  how  much  under  such  circum- 
stances is  due,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  re- 
newal of  spirit  among  the  people,  and  how 
much  on  the  other  should  be  attributed  to  the 
ambition  of  the  monarch.  Neither  is  available 
to  any  great  extent  without  the  aid  of  the 
other.  Of  a  certainty  an  ancient  king  could 
not  of  himself  make  a  successful  war.  Equally 
certain  it  is  that  an  ancient  people,  accus- 
tomed to  the  forms  of  monarchy,  used  to  re- 
ceive mandates,  and  to  look  to  its  head  for 
orders  and  inspiration,  could  not  make  suc- 
cessful war  without  the  leadership  of  a  com- 
petent king. 

In  this  case  we  may  assume  that  the  people 
of  Parthia  had  recovered  from  their  period  of 
depression,  and  that  Phraates  was  ambitious 
of  conquest.  At  all  events  he  began  his  reign 
by  making  war  on  the  Mardi.  These  were  a 
mountain  people  living  in  the  fastnesses  of  the 
Elburz  range — a  kind  of  Swiss  of  the  sub- 
Caspian  hills.  Their  position  was  almost  in- 
accessible, and  their  spirit  the  spirit  of  mount- 
aineers. We  may  perceive,  moreover,  that 
Phraates  was  much  at  fault  in  making  his 
first  war  from  his  inability  to  use  the  Parthian 
cavalry  in  the  country  which  he  must  pene- 
trate. Nevertheless,  the  invasion  of  Mardia 
was  successful.  The  tribe  was  conquered  and 
combined  with  the  Parthians. 

The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  the 
authority  of  the  kings  of  Antioch  still  nomi- 
nally extended  to  the  borders  of  Parthia  and 
Bactria.  Any  movement  of  the  Parthian 
king,  therefore,  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own 
territory  was  aggressive,  and  might  well  pro- 
voke the  hostility  of  the  Seleucid  monarch. 
The  latter  at  this  time  was  Seleucus  IV.,  sur- 
named  Philopator.  At  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest of  the  Mardians  by  Phraates,  the  Syrian 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


407 


monarch  was  deeply  involved  with  Rome. 
The  shadow  of  that  colossal  power  had  already 
fallen  on  Greece  and  Egypt  and  the  East.  It 
was  therefore  out  of  the  question  for  the  king 
of  Syiia,  whatever  may  have  been  his  resent- 
ment, to  proceed  against  the  Parthian  King- 
dom in  punishment  for  its  aggression.  Per- 
haps the  loss  of  the  country  of  the  Mardi  was 
not  much  regarded.  The  great  Powers  of 
Western  Asia  were  nearly  all  established  on 
the  plain.  The  massive  peoples  which  were 
wielded  by  the  kings  of  Mesopotamia,  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  of  Syria  were  adjusted  to  the  low- 
lands, to  the  alluvial  countries,  and  knew  not 
how  to  deal  with  mountain  tribes  any  more 
than  the  ostrich  understands  the  eyrie  of  the 
eagle.  So  the  Mardi  were  permitted  to  go  to 
the  conqueror. 

Phraates,  gratified  with  his  success,  soon 
made  a  bolder  move.  It  would  appear  that 
he  was  able  to  consider  geography  in  its  rela- 
lations  with  political  development.  It  hap- 
pened that  his  point  of  view  took  in  easily 
one  of  the  critical  positions  of  Asia.  The 
Greek  writers  have  dwelt  with  much  interest 
on  the  celebrated  pass  called  the  Caspian 
Gates.  We  have  already  had  occasion,  in  the 
histories  of  Media  and  Persia,  to  refer  to  this 
famous  gap  left  by  nature  between  the  mount- 
ains on  the  one  hand  and  the  desert  on  the 
other.  In  modern  geography  the  place  is 
designated  as  the  Pass  of  Girduni  Sudurrah. 
It  is,  in  a  word,  the  gateway  between  Ar- 
menia, Media,  and  Persia  on  the  one  side,  and 
Turkistan,  Khorassan,  and  Afghanistan  on  the 
other.  Nor  is  there  any  other' way  by  which 
convenient  or  even  practicable  passage  between 
the  East  and  the  West  can  be  found.  The 
situation  seems  almost  to  have  been  contrived 
as  a  military  expedient  in  the  strategy  of  the 
Asiatic  nations. 

For  here  the  Elburz  mountains  stretch  their 
impassable  barrier  from  the  Caspian  on  the 
north  to  the  desert  regions  of  the  Great  Pla- 
teau on  the  south.  At  the  termination  of  the 
range  in  this  direction  a  spur  projects  to  a 
considerable  distance  desertward,  as  if  to  ex- 
tend the  barrier  beyond  the  natural  limit. 
This  mountain  spur  is  broken  from  the  prin- 
cipal   range    in    such    manner    as    to    make 


human  transit  possible,  but  hardly  practicable 
through  the  northern  gap.  At  the  lower  ex- 
tremity, however,  where  the  offshoot  abuts 
against  the  desert,  stand  the  so-called  Caspian 
Gates.  The  approach  from  either  side  seems 
to  be  absolutely  barred  by  the  mountain  wall, 
but  an  army  winding  carefully  along  finds  a 
narrow  and  unobstructed  pass  from  Media 
Rhagiana  on  the  west  into  the  country  of  the 
ancient  Sagartians  on  the  east. 

The  importance  of  the  Caspian  Gates  was 
well  known  to  the  ancients.  Phraates  per- 
ceived it.  Having  conquered  the  Mardi,  he 
next  turned  his  attention  to  Media  Rhagiana ; 
for,  could  he  but  succeed  in  conquering  that 
country,  he  could  gain  possession  of  the  western 
entrance  to  the  Gates,  and  thus  be  able  to  bar 
henceforth  the  progress  eastward  of  a  Syrian 
army.  The  enterprise  was  one  of  hazard.  It  was 
undertaken  by  Phraates  by  transferring  a  part  • 
of  the  tribe  of  the  Mardi  into  the  open  country 
westward  from  the  Gates.  The  movement 
was  successful.  Phraates  and  his  Parthians 
made  their  way  through  the  pass  and  overran 
at  least  a  portion  of  Media  Rhagiana.  The 
country  west  of  the  Gates  was  occupied  by 
Parthian  garrisons,  and  the  strategic  position 
was  secured  by  Phraates.  His  reign,  however, 
was  not  marked  by  any  other  important 
events.  He  wore  the  crown  for  only  seven 
years,  dying  in  B.  C.  174. 

Thus  far  the  dynasty  had  been  tolerably 
regular  as  to  the  descent  of  the  crown.  Tiri- 
dates  is  reckoned  as  the  brother  of  the  first 
Arsaces.  The  succession  was  then  to  the  son 
and  to  the  son's  son.  With  the  death  of 
Phraates,  however,  the  crown,  in  accordance 
with  the  purpose  of  the  late  king,  was  trans- 
mitted to  his  brother  Mithridates,  as  against 
the  claims  of  his  own  son.  It  is  probable  that 
Mithridates  had  been  a  strong  stay  of  the 
monarchy  during  the  late  reign.  Phraates  had 
honored  himself  with  the  title  of  Philadelphus, 
which  Avould  indicate  his  reliance  upon  his 
brother.  If  we  are  to  judge  by  results  the 
lateral  transmission  of  the  crown  was  beneficial 
in  the  highest  degree,  for  we  here  come  to  the 
sudden  rise  of  Parthia  to  the  rank  and  char- 
acter of  an  Empire. 

More  than  any  other  name  among  Parthian 


408 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


monarchs  is  that  of  Mithridates  kuown  to  the 
peoples  of  the  West.  Those  historians  who 
are  willing  to  allow  to  individual  agency  the 
general  results  which  in  the  aggregate  go  by 
the  name  of  History,  have  been  wont  to 
ascribe  to  Mithridates  the  place  among  his 
countrymen  which  the  same  writers  assign, 
each  in  his  respective  sphere,  to  Alexander  and 
Csesar.      More  properly  we  may   regard   this 


dinary  as  to  impress  itself  strongly  upon  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  whose  historians  have 
done  tolerable  justice  to  the  builder  of  the 
Parthian  Empire. 

The  conditions  of  success,  however,  had  been 
prepared  for  Mithridates  before  his  coming. 
The  state  of  South-western  Asia  and  Eastern 
Europe  was  now  favorable,  as  it  had  not  been 
before,  to  the  construction  of  a  great  political 


ARSACES. 


1.  Arsaces  I.,  B.  C.  247. 


2.  TiRIDATES  I.,   214. 

3.  Artabanus  I.,  196. 

4.  Priapatius,  181. 


5.  Phraates  I.,  174. 


6.  Mithridates  I.,  136. 
7.  Phraates  II.,  127. 


8.  Artabanus  II.,  124. 

9.  Mithridates  II.,  89. 

10.  Mnasciras,  76. 

11.  Sanatrceces,  67.  (?) 
12.  Phraates  III.,  60. 


DYNASTY 
OF   THE   ARSACID;E. 

EXPLANATION: 

Kings  numbered  in  order,  thus,  1,2,3.  etc. 

Regular  descent  indicated  thus . 

Doubtful  descent  Indicated  thus 

Arabic    numbers    after  names    indicate 
date  of  death  or  dethronement. 


13.  Mithridates  III.,  55. 


14.  Orodes  I.,  37. 


15.  Phraates  IV.,  2. 


~ i 1 1 

17.  Orodes  II.,  13.    19.  Artabanus  III.,  42.    23.  Vonones  II.,  52. 


18.  Vonones  I.,  16.    Rhodaspes.    16  Phraataces,  12  A.  D.      21.  Gotarzes,  51.    Artabanus.    22.  Vardanes,  46. 
Mithridates.     20.  Tiridates  II.,  35.  i 1 — 


24.  VOLAGASES  I.,  78. 


Tiridates. 


Pacorua. 


25.  Pacorus,  108. 


Exedares. 


Parthamasiris. 


26.  Chosroes,  130. 

27.  volagases  ii.,  149. 

28.  VOLAGASES  III.,   191. 

29.  VOLAGASES  IV.,  209. 


.30.  Artabanus  IV.,  226. 


Volagases. 


sixth  representative  of  the  Arsacid  Dynasty 
as  the  personal  expression  of  the  historical 
growth  and  purpose  of  the  Parthian  nation  in 
his  age.  To  him  undoubtedly  great  abilities  and 
great  ambitions  must  be  ascribed.  His  cour- 
age and  .strength  were  equally  manifested  in 
civil  administration  and  in  war.  His  reign, 
covering  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years,  is  the 
most  important  and  interesting  of  Parthian 
history.     His  career  as  a  ruler  was  so  extraor- 


power  on  the  scene  of  what  had  been  the 
Persian  Empire.  In  the  first  place,  the  con- 
dition of  Bactria  invited  the  Parthians  to 
achieve  what  the  neighboring  kingdom  had 
not  been  able  to  accomplish — the  consolidation 
of  Asia.  True,  the  Bactrian  kings  had,  as  we 
have  seen,  aspired  to  dominion.  They  had  put 
out  their  hands  by  conquest  over  the  East  to 
the  extent  of  grasping  the  country  as  far  as 
Upper  India.     They  had  also  crossed  the  Pare- 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


409 


pamisus  Mountain  chain  to  the  south,  and 
had  brought  Arya,  Sarangia,  and  Arachosia 
under  their  sway. 

Eucratidas  was  now  the  king  of  Bactria.  It 
appeared  that  during  his  reign  the  full  polit- 
ical and  military  energies  of  his  people  had 
been  put  forth,  and  that  victory  and  organi- 
zation could  go  no  further  under  the  Dynasty 
of  Euthydemus.  A  great  difficulty  existed  in 
holding  in  one  even  the  countries  already 
brought  into  union.  The  student  of  history 
will  not  have  failed  to  note  among  the  ancient 
nations  to  what  an  extent  a  mountain  barrier 
was  a  bar  to  the  political  unity  of  the  peoples 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  chain.  At  the  time  of 
which  we  speak  it  was  found  difficult  to  hold 
together  the  nations  lying  on  the  south  and  the 
north  of  the  Paropamisus  While  Eucratidas 
was  absorbed  with  the  work  of  unifying  the 
Southern  races,  the  Northern  races  rose  agaiust 
him.  There  the  Scythians  made  invasions, 
and  the  nomadic  life  reasserted  itself  in  rebell- 
ion. Turning  his  attention  to  these  distrac- 
tions, the  king  soon  found  that  the  tribes  of 
the  South  were  not  to  be  trusted  in  his  ab- 
sence. Thus  between  the  two  the  energies  of 
Eucratidas  were  wasted,  and  the  kingdom 
vexed  with  disunion  and  war. 

In  the  direction  of  Syria  there  was  equal 
confusion.  The  great  dominion  established  by 
Seleucus  was  gradually  receding  and  contract- 
ing around  Antioch.  Even  in  those  foreign 
parts  still  dependent  upon  the  Seleucid  king 
there  was  a  loosing  of  the  bands  wherewith 
they  were  bound  to  the  center.  At  this  time 
Seleucus  Phllopator  had  become  king  and  had 
involved  himself  in  foreign  wars.  Now  it  was 
that  Ccele-Syria  became  an  object  of  conten- 
tion between  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Seleucidse. 
It  was  said  that  Antiochus  the  Great  in  giving 
his  daughter  Cleopatra  to  Ptolemy  V.,  had 
promised  to  dower  her  with  Coele-Syria,  which 
would  have  transferred  the  country  to  Egypt. 
The  reigning  Seleucus  also  found  cause  of 
quarrel  and  war  with  the  Grecian  section  of 
the  Alexandrian  Empire  and  with  Armenia, 
now  in  revolt  against  himself.  Of  a  certainty 
a  prince  thus  distracted  by  serious  conflicts  on 
three  sides  of  his  dominions  was  in  no  condition 
successfully  to  resist  a  determined   movement 


for  nationality  among  the  Asiastics  beyond 
the  Tigris. 

It  thus  happened  that  Mithridates  found 
on  his  accession  to  power  a  fair  field  for  his 
ambitions.  He  found  Eucratidas,  his  Bactrian 
rival,  involved  in  a  war  on  the  side  of  India. 
This  circumstance  seemed  to  invite  the  Par- 
thian to  his  first  aggression.  He  led  an  army 
into  the  adjacent  parts  of  Bactria,  and  seized 
the  two  provinces  of  Turiua  and  Aspionus. 
It  is  believed  that  by  this,  his  first  successful 
foreign  campaign,  the  king  of  Parihia  possessed 
himself  of  the  regions  out  of  which  the  Scythic 
elements  of  the  Parthian  nation  had  been  de- 
rived. A  source  of  disturbance  was  thus  cut 
off,  and  its  fountain  drawn  up  by  absorption. 
The  king  made  himself  secure  in  his  conquest, 
and  then  wheeled  about  towards  Media.  We 
have  seen  how  the  latter  province  had  already 
been  partly  taken  away  from  the  Syrian  kings. 
But  the  latter  still  held 
their  sway  over  Media 
Magna,  and  it  was  against 
this  district  that  Mithri- 
dates now  advanced. 

The  Syrian  crown  at 
this  time  had  descended 
to  Antiochus  Eupator, 
a  mere  youth,  incapable 

of  affairs.  The  kingdom  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  regent  Lysias ;  but  his  energies  were 
for  a  while  exhausted  in  a  war  with  the 
Jews.  At  the  court  also  he  found  opposition 
in  the  designs  of  a  certain  Philip,  who,  as  the 
teacher  of  Eupator,  claimed  the  right  of  con- 
trolling the  boy-king's  actions  and  policy. 
Civil  war  broke  out  until  what  time  Philip 
was  overthrown  and  slain.  By  this  time 
Prince  Demetrius,  a  cousin  of  Seleucus,  laid 
claim  to  the  throne  in  virtue  of  their  common 
descent.  Demetrius  had  been  given  by  one 
of  the  former  Seleucids  as  a  hostage  to  Rome. 
His  youth  was  spent  in  the  city  of  the  Tiber. 
At  length  he  made  his  escape  from  Italy,  re- 
turned to  Syria,  headed  a  revolution  against 
his  cousin,  and  gained  the  throne. 

It  was  during  this  confused  and  confusing 
condition  of  affairs  that  Mithridates  threw  his 
army  upon  the  Medes.  It  was  of  little  avail 
that  the  Syrian  claim  to  the  dominion  of  the 


COIN  OF  MITHRIDATES  I. 


410 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


country  was  asserted.  Even  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  invasion  the  Median  tribes  had 
become  virtually  independent.  Indeed,  the 
spirit  of  the  people  was  a  more  serious  ob- 
stacle to  the  ambitions  of  Mithridates  than 
was  the  Syrian  army.  The  details  of  the  war 
with  Media  have  not  been  preserved,  but  the 
general  result  was  manifested  in  the  transfer 
of  Media  Magna  to  the  Parthian  king.  Per- 
haps the  condition  of  the  country  thus  sub- 
jugated was  not  greatly  changed.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  same  prince  who  had  ruled 
under  the  king  of  Syria  was  retained  in  office 
by  Mithridates  as  his  representative  among 
the  subject  people. 

It  was  now  evident  that  the  king  of  Parthia 
was  about  to  begin  his  career  as  Imperial  con- 
queror. Such  premonitions  are  always  alarm- 
ing to  the  surrounding  peoples.  Whoever 
plays  the  part  of  Alexander  or  Caesar  has  a 
hard  struggle  at  the  outset.  It  is  only  after  a 
period  of  victory,  when  the  volume  of  con- 
quest begins  to  roll  on  by  its  own  momentum 
that  the  conqueror  rides  majestically  on  the 
rising  wave.  In  the  present  instance  the 
Hyrcanians  took  the  alarm  and  set  themselves 
against  the  Parthian  king.  The  latter  was 
now  ready  for  any  emergency,  and  made  haste 
to  advance  against  the  hostile  nation.  The 
Hyrcanians  sought  to  induce  the  Medes  and 
the  Mardian  mountaineers  to  join  them  in  the 
war,  but  their  efforts  were  unavailing.  Hyr- 
cania  was  thus  exposed  without  support  to  the 
wrath  of  Mithridates,  who  soon  succeeded  in 
reducing  the  province  to  submission.  Thus  in 
at  least  three  directions  the  Parthian  monarch 
stretched  his  cords  and  strengthened  his  stakes. 

Scarcely  had  these  movements  been  ac- 
complished when  a  revolt  broke  out  in  Ely- 
ma'is.  It  is  believed  that  the  prince  or  king 
of  this  country  had  already  made  himself  in- 
dependent of  the  Syrian  monarchy  before  his 
war  with  Mithridates.  The  latter  now,  for 
the  first  time,  had  opportunity  to  test  his  abil- 
ities as  leader  of  an  army  in  a  truly  foreign 
war.  Thus  far  he  had  contended  with  nations 
whose  dominions  bordered  on  Parthia.  Now 
he  was  obliged  to  lead  his  forces  to  a  distance 
through  a  desert  country,  and  meet  the  Ely- 
maeans  in   battle.     But  the  event  was   auspi- 


cious to  the  Parthian,  who  overran  Elymais 
and  added  it  to  his  dominions.  This  successful 
campaign  had  thrown  him  between  Persia  and 
Babylonia.  It  was  not  likely  that  a  victorious 
monarch  would  fail  to  make  the  most  of  his 
advantageous  position.  It  appears  that  both 
the  Persians  and  the  Babylonians  recognized 
the  peril  of  their  situation,  and,  perceiving  the 
weakness  of  the  ties  by  which  they  were  bound 
to  Antioch,  deemed  it  prudent  to  cast  in  their 
lot  with  the  conqueror.  It  thus  happened  that 
an  extensive  region  in  the  South-west,  includ- 
ing the  Babylonian  plain  and  the  whole 
country  eastward  to  the  Carmanian  desert, 
was  added  by  a  single  campaign  to  what  may 
now  be  called  the  Parthian  Empire. 

A  period  of  more  than  twenty  years  was 
occupied  by  Mithridates  in  these  wars.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  of  this  time  the  Syrian  kings 
had  been  unable  to  disentangle  themselves 
from  their  troubles  in  the  West  and  give  at- 
tention to  the  Eastern  revolution.  Nor  had 
the  king  of  Bactria  found  opportunity  or  dis- 
position to  attempt  the  recovery  of  what  had 
been  lost  by  conquest.  The  attention  of  Eu- 
cratidas  had  been  constantly  occupied  with 
troubles  and  revolts  on  the  side  of  India.  He 
was  thus  obliged  to  assent  to  the  loss  of  his 
western  provinces  to  his  rival.  It  would  seem 
that  the  two  kings,  one  pressing  his  way  to- 
wards the  Indus  and  the  other  towards  the 
Babylonian  plain,  had  come  to  amity  and 
common  purposes.  But  to  a  part  of  the  Bac 
triau  nation  this  concord  with  Parthia  was 
distasteful.  Prince  Heliocles,  son  of  the  Bac- 
trian  monarch,  represented  the  discontent, 
and  sought  to  recover  from  Parthia  the  lost 
provinces.  Believing  that  his  father,  the 
king,  was  in  the  way  of  his  ambitions,  he 
secured  his  taking  oif  by  violence,  and  seized 
the  crown  for  himself  This  he  did  with  the 
evident  purpose  of  going  to  war  with  Mith- 
ridates. 

But  the  latter  was  on  the  alert.  Perceiving 
the  designs  of  his  antagonist,  the  Parthian 
king  turned  into  Bactria,  quickly  overthrew 
Heliocles,  subverted  the  kingdom  as  to  all  its 
western  provinces,  and  added  them  to  his 
Empire.  He  then  carried  his  victorious  arms 
to  the  east,  forcing  the  Bactrian   monarch  to 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


411 


the  mountains,  and  compelling  him  and  his 
successors  to  accept  henceforth  the  restricted 
region  adjacent  to  Upper  India.  Thus  between 
the  years  B.  C.  163  and  140  were  the  widely- 
extended  countries  of  South-western  Asia  re- 
stored by  revolt  and  war  to  Asiatic  domina- 
tion. The  drama  as  a  whole  was  virtually  a 
restoration  of  the  Persian  Empire  under  the 
auspices  of  Parthia.  Of  the  extent  and  char- 
acter of  the  Imperial  territories  we  have  already 
given  an  account  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  pres- 
ent Book.  The  Imperial  domain  now  consisted 
of  at  least  twelve  provinces,  and  embraced  an 
area  but  little  less  than  five  hundred  thousand 
square  miles  in  extent.  It  only  remained  for 
Mithridates  to  consolidate,  organize,  and  de- 
fend the  countries  and  nations  that  had  fallen 
under  his  sway. 

As  for  foreign  violence,  little  was  to  be 
feared  except  from  the  side  of  the  kingdom 
of  Syria.  Doubtless  the  reigning  princes  at 
Antioch  had  been  deterred  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century  from  invading  the  East  by  the 
distractions  of  the  West.  Doubtless  the  news 
of  Eastern  rebellions,  wars,  conquests,  and 
transformations  smote  dismally  on  the  ears  of 
the  Syrian  kings.  Doubtless  the  loss  of  their 
revenues  was  to  them  a  source  of  extreme 
annoyance  and  discomfort.  But  the  struggles 
of  the  rulers  around  the  eastern  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  from  the  Libyan  desert  to  the 
Grecian  archipelago,  were  sufficient  to  keep 
the  Syrian  mouarchs  from  any  efl^brt  at  the 
recovery  of  their  provinces.  We  have  seen 
how  the  Eegent  Lysias  and  the  teacher  Philip 
contended  for  the  mastery  of  the  government 
and  the  young  king  of  Antioch  ;  how  Deme- 
trius Soter  came  from  Rome  and  took  the  king- 
dom, and  how  Syria  was  obliged  to  contend 
with  Egypt  for  the  recovery  of  the  territory 
given  away  with  the  first  Cleopatra. 

At  length  the  crown  of  what  remained  of 
the  Syrian  monarchy  descended  to  Demetrius 
II.,  a  prince  not  without  ambition.  Reaching 
a  lull  in  the  Western  wars  he  cast  his  eyes  to 
the  East,  and  about  the  year  140  B.  C. 
planned  an  expedition  for  the  recovery  of  the 
fortunes  of  his  house  by  war.  Mithridates 
had  not  found  everything  comformable  to  his 
will  in  the  administration  of  the  new  Empire. 


Among  the  conquered  Bactrians  there  were 
mutterings,  discontent,  incipient  rebellions. 
In  all  the  countries  which  he  had  conquered 
were  Greek  cities  planted  either  by  Alexander 
himself  or  by  his  successors.  These  seats  of 
power  and  influence  had  been  built  up  by  im- 
migration from  Europe.  Thither  had  come 
thousands  of  Greeks  and  Macedonians  from 
the  European  main-land,  from  the  archipelago, 
and  from  Asia  Minor.  These  had  increased, 
multiplied,  expanded.  They  had  become  the 
intellectual  class  throughout  all  South-western 
Asia.  They  had  taken,  in  marriage  or  in 
illicit  relations,  the  choice  princesses  of  the  Asi- 
atics. There  had  thus  appeared  a  large  and 
influential  Grieco-Asiatic  element  in  the  popu- 
lation. 

On  the  whole,  the  sympathies  of  this  class 
were  hostile  to  the  Parthian  ascendency. 
Through  a  hundred  and  seventy  years  the 
Seleucid  kings  had  held  sway,  real  or  nomi- 
nal, over  the  countries  this  side  of  India. 
Even  the  Asiatics,  pure  and  simple,  had  be- 
come at  last  accustomed  to  the  European  and 
Syrian  dominations.  All  of  these  conditions, 
sympathies,  and  tendencies  had  to  be  overcome 
and  reversed  by  Mithridates  before  his  Im- 
perial rule  could  be  accepted  with  cordiality  by 
the  diverse  peoples  whom  he  had  conquered. 

It  thus  came  to  pass  that  when  Demetrius 
II.  entered  upon  his  war  with  Parthia,  he  was 
assisted  somewhat  by  the  social  and  political 
condition  of  Asia.  He  began  his  campaign 
under  favorable  auspices,  making  his  way  first 
into  Babylonia,  where  he  received  the  submis- 
sion of  the  country.  It  will  be  understood 
by  the  reader  that  the  peoples  of  these  Asiatic 
dominions  had  little  choice  among  their  mas- 
ters. They  could  therefore  be  delivered  from 
hand  to  hand  as  merchandise  of  the  mart. 
But  Demetrius  now  began  to  encounter  op- 
position. The  Bactrian  cavalry  was  in  his 
front.  He  was  able,  however,  to  continue 
his  advance  and  to  win  several  battles  be- 
yond the  Mesopotamian  rivers.  Elymais  was 
overrun  and  temporarily  recovered  to  the 
Syrian  monarchy.  Other  districts  were  re- 
taken, and  Mithridates  found  himself  receding 
before  the  superior  forces  of  his  enemy. 

It  appears  that  at  this  time,  if  we  are  to 


412 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


trust  the  testimoDy  of  Justin,  the  Parthian 
king  overreached  his  rival  by  proposing  ne- 
gotiations. While  these  were  pending  he  at- 
tacked and  routed  the  Syrian  army,  capturing 
Demetrius  himself  and  leading  him  away  into 
the  interior.  It  seems  that  the  whole  expedi- 
tion was  blown  away.  Nor  was  Mithridates 
satisfied  until  he  had  taken  the  captured  king 
from  capital  to  capital  through  the  provinces, 
showing  him  in  the  cities  to  the  Grseco- 
Asiatics  as  an  example  of  what  might  be  ex- 
pected of  those  who  dared  to  raise  the  arm 
against  his  Empire  and  himself. 

Of  a  certainty  the  victory  of  Parthia  was 
suflSciently  decisive.  So  much,  however, 
could  hardly  be  said  for  the  scheme  of  the 
king  to  unite  his  dynasty  with  that  of  Syria 
by  intermarriage.  It  appears  that  he  placed 
his  royal  prisoner,  Demetrius,  in  a  suitable 
residence  in  Hyrcania,  where  he  maintained 
him  in  a  style  befitting  his  rank.  He  also 
sought  to  have  his  daughter  given  to  the 
Syrian  monarch,  in  order  that  the  destinies 
of  the  two  houses  might  be  blended  iu  the 
issue.  But  the  project  came  to  naught. 
Mithridates  himself  was  now  well  advanced  in 
years.  He  was  exhausted  by  the  vicissitudes 
and  struggles  of  a  reign  more  than  thirty-seven 
years  in  duration.  Soon  after  he  had  put  his 
royal  prisoner  into  Hyrcania  for  safe-keeping 
he  sickened  and  died,  in  B.  C.  136. 

As  we  have  said,  the  Parthian  Empire  had 
now  reached  its  greatest  territorial  extent. 
It  had  become  the  great  power  of  Western 
Asia.  The  Old  Era  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
Rome  was  making  her  way  through  an  aristo- 
cratic republicanism  towards  Imperial  world- 
wide dominion.  Already  by  the  time  which 
we  have  now  reached,  namely,  the  last  quarter 
of  the  second  century  B.  C. ,  the  two  rival 
powers  of  the  world  were  the  Roman  Republic 
in  the  West  and  Parthia  in  the  East.  Before 
entering  upon  an  account  of  the  struggles  be- 
tween these  two,  covering  several  centuries 
about  the  beginning  of  our  era,  it  may  be  of 
interest  and  instruction  to  note  with  some  par- 
ticularity the  civil  and  political  constitution 
of  the  Parthians. 

The  Government  of  the  Empire  was  in  its 
leading  features  an  amplification  and  adapta- 


tion of  the  old  Parthian  monarchy  to  the 
new  Imperial  conditions.  We  have  many 
such  examples  in  history  of  an  aspiring  State 
imposing  by  war  and  diplomacy  its  civil  insti- 
tutions upon  surrounding  and  subject  peoples. 
In  our  own  day  we  need  go  no  further  than 
the  recent  establishment  of  the  German  Em- 
pire, under  the  hegemony  of  Prussia,  in  illus- 
tration of  this  form  of  political  development. 
Ancient  Parthia — Parthia  Proper — imposed 
herself  and  her  half-barbaric  forms  of  admin- 
istration upon  the  nations  whom  she  conquered, 
insomuch  that  the  Empire  was  but  an  enlarge- 
ment of  institutions  Avhich  had  already  existed 
for  four  or  five  centuries. 

The  first  point  to  which  we  may  refer  in 
the  explication  of  the  political  life  of  the  Par- 
thians, is  the  ascendency  and  strong  counter- 
check of  the  Nobility  on  the  Monarchy.  The 
secular  nobles  were  known  as  the  Megistanes. 
The  body  so  called  might  well  be  compared  to  the 
British  House  of  Lords  in  embryo ;  that  is,  it 
Avas  composed  of  two  groups  of  notables,  the  one 
secular,  and  the  other  of  a  religious  derivation. 
The  former  were  called,  in  the  Grseco- Asiatic 
tongue,  the  Sophoi,  that  is,  the  "Wise,"  and 
the  latter  were  the  Magi,  or  degenerated  Zo- 
roastrian  priesthood.  These  two  branches  of 
nobles  combined  to  form  one  of  the  great 
councils  by  which  the  Parthian  monarch  was 
advised  and,  in  at  least  a  negative  sense,  di- 
rected. Besides  the  Megistanes  there  was  an- 
other body,  made  up  for  the  most  part  of 
members  of  the  royal  family,  and  known  as 
the  Domestic  or  Privy  Council.  In  these  ar- 
rangements Ave  see  the  germs  in  the  one  of 
the  modern  Senate,  and  in  the  other  of  the 
modern  Ministry,  or  Cabinet.  After  all,  an- 
tiquity is  not  so  far  away ! 

The  head  of  the  Parthian  monarchy  Avas 
chosen  by  election  of  the  Megistanes.  The 
naming  of  the  king  required  the  concurrent 
voice  of  the  Megistanes  and  the  Domestic 
Council.  But  over  and  above  these  bodies 
Avas  the  constitution,  in  Avhich  heredity,  was 
recognized  as  tlie  best  law  of  choice.  That  is, 
the  councils  must  choose  by  law,  among  the 
Arsacid  princes,  that  one  whom  the  constitu- 
tion pointed  to  as  the  legitimate  sovereign. 
This  Avas  generally  the  eldest  son  of  the  late 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


413 


Mrig;  or  in  lieu  of  him,  liis  next  brother 
m'jst  be  chosen.  In  default  of  sons,  then  the 
eldest  surviving  brother  of  the  last  monarch 
was  the  one  designated  for  the  crown ;  after 
him,  his  brother.  In  default  of  sous  and 
brothers,  then  the  choice  rested  on  the  uncle 
of  the  last  ruler.  In  case  the  descent  was 
thus  diverted  from  the  direct  line,  it  could 
not  be  recovered  by  representatives  of  that 
line  except  in  default  of  the  younger  branch 
whereon  the  crown  now 
rested.  Here  again  we  dis- 
cover a:i  almost  identical 
prototype  of  the  English 
law  of  royal  descent  and 
inheritance. 

In  some  instances  the 
Parthian  councils  felt  war- 
ranted in  deposing  their 
sovereign.  Such  proceed- 
ing, however,  could  but  be 
revolutionary  in  character. 
Only  an  imbecile  or  idiot 
prince  would  permit  him- 
self, without  an  appeal  to 
the  sword,  to  be  put  aside 
by  the  act  of  the  Megis- 
tanes.  If  James  11.  proves 
recreant  to  his  trust — is  no 
longer  tolerable  by  the  na- 
tion— we  will  put  him  aside. 
We  will  declare  that  he  has 
himself  abdicated  the  throne. 
We  will  call  over  William  to 
be  king  in  his  stead.  But 
of  a  certainty  James  and  his 
adbei'ents,  not  accepting  our 
decision  in  the  matter,  will 
fight  for  the  recovery  of  his 
crown  and  kingdom. 

As  to  induction  into  office,  we  might  have 
expected  that  the  Magi,  more  particularly  the 
Magus  Megistos,  or  High  Priest,  would  be  called 
upon,  or  would  assume  the  right,  in  virtue  of  his 
religious  office  and  after  the  manner  of  his  kind, 
to  crown  the  sovereign  and  consecrate  him  to 
his  royal  duties.  But  this  office,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  reserved  for  the  Surena,  or  General- 
issimo of  the  army.  He  it  was  who  was  sum- 
moned  on   the   day  of  coronation   to  put  the 


crown  upon  his  sovereign's  head,  a  fact  which 
fully  establishes  the  strongly  military  character 
of  the  monarchy. 

In  common  with  the  other  great  despotism* 
of  the  East,  the  Parthian  Government  waa^ 
little  changed  from  age  to  age.  There  was  in 
it  much  of  the  same  quality  which  made  the 
laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  the  synonym 
for  uuchangeableness  in  both  ancient  and 
modern  times.     As  a  rule  the  king  governed 


MAGUS  MEGISTOS,  OR  HIGH  PRIEST. 

according  to  his  own  judgment,  executing  his 
own  decisions  as  though  they  were  the  decrees 
of  a  Parthian  Congress.  The  reader  must 
understand,  however,  that  in  all  personal  gov- 
ernments there  are  traditional  checks  and  re- 
straints upon  the  absolutism  of  the  sovereign, 
the  nature  and  force  of  which  it  is  difficult  for 
citizens  of  a  modern  republic  or  kingdom  to 
understand.  It  appears  that  the  nature  of 
man  is  of  itself  a  constitution  whose  provisions- 


414 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


are  as  well  understood  and  as  mandatory  as 
the  most  formal  articles  in  the  written  code  of 
nations.  Added  to  this  unalterable  principle 
of  human  nature,  as  shown  in  the  unwritten 
restraints  imposed  by  public  opinion  on  the 
wills  of  barbaric  kings  and  emperors,  we  must 
allow,  in  the  case  of  Parthia,  a  restraining  in- 
fluence to  the  Magian  priesthood.  This  body, 
whose  numbers,  in  the  latter  times  of  the  Em- 
pire, Gibbon  has  estimated  at  eighty  thousand, 
could  not  fail  to  hold  the  rod  of  religious  au- 
thority over  the  secular  rulers.  The  sovereign 
himself,  according  as  his  nature  was  of  a  re- 
ligious or  a  secular  bias,  must  have  felt  in 
greater  or  less  degree  the  common  awe  which 
the  traditional  representative  of  the  ancient 
Iranian  faith  exercised  over  the  minds  and 
conduct  of  the  common  people. 

In  lieu  of  a  representative  Government,  com- 
posed of  delegates  assembling  from  all  parts 
at  the  capital — in  lieu  of  a  system  of  adminis- 
tration by  which  revenues  were  regulai'ly  gath- 
ered and  authority  dispensed  from  the  central 
Government  to  its  remotest  members — the  an- 
cient provincial  system,  developed  by  the 
Ach?emenian  kings  into  the  well-known  sa- 
trapial  form,  was  adopted  and  adhered  to  by 
the  Parthian  monarchs.  The  plan  was,  in 
brief,  to  regard  the  different  provinces  as  a 
sort  of  quasi  independencies,  over  each  of  which 
a  satrap,  or  governor,  was  appointed  by  the 
king.  There  was,  however,  among  the  de- 
pendencies much  inequality.  Some  of  them 
consisted  merely  of  the  territories  of  a  tribe 
only  half  emerged  from  the  barbaric  state. 
Others  rose  as  high  in  the  scale  as  regular 
kingdoms.  There  was  a  great  difference  in 
rank  between  the  rulers  of  the  latter  and 
those  of  the  former.  The  latter  were  in  real- 
ity sub-kings,  tributary  monarchs  to  the  great 
sovereign,  who  now  took  upon  himself  the  title 
of  King  of  Kings.  Over  the  smaller  and  less 
important  provinces  mere  satraps,  holding  office 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  sovereign,  w^eresent 
out.  In  such  countries  as  Media,  Persia,  Arme- 
nia, and  Babylonia,  the  viceroys  were  rulers  of 
royal  rank  and  hereditary  rights.  They  had, 
of  course,  been  obliged  to  accept  a  tributary 
relation  to  the  Parthian  Emperor  ;  but  beyond 
this   the  administration   of  the  sub-kings  was 


comparatively  free  from  interference.  There 
was,  indeed,  no  general  administration  for  the 
whole  Empire,  but  a  sort  of  feudalism,  under 
w^hich  connections  and  subordinations  were  es- 
tablished on  the  principle  of  protection  from 
above  down,  and  of  military  service  and 
tribute  on  the  part  of  the  subject  States. 

Besides  the  two  kinds  of  government  here 
referred  to,  namely,  the  common  satrapy  and 
the  half-hei'editary  viceroyalty,  there  was  still 
a  third  variety  of  political  organization  within 
the  Imperial  dominions.  This  was  the  free 
city.  It  was  not  within  the  desire,  and  prob- 
ably not  within  the  ability,  of  the  Parthian 
monarchs  to  eradicate  the  Grseco-Macedonian 
municipalities  which  for  nearly  two  centuries  had 
constituted  the  nests  of  Europeanism  in  Asia. 
These  cities  had  for  six  generations  lain  lik 
gems  of  culture  on  the  immoderate  breast  of 
barbarism.  In  many  respects  they  were  in 
Asia,  but  not  of  it.  In  the  natural  order  of 
things  they  became  detached  from  the  sur- 
rounding provinces.  At  length  permanent  re- 
lations were  established  between  them  and  the 
monarchy.  Many  of  the  cities  paid  tribute 
directly  to  the  roysd  treasury,  and  were  hence- 
forth isolated  from  the  local  government  of  the 
satrapy. 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  Empire  not  to  dis- 
turb the  provincial  governments,  of  whatever 
kind  they  Avere,  so  long  as  the  tribute  was  paid 
regularly  and  in  full  amount.  The  same 
principle  held  with  the  cities.  The  latter 
were  allowed  to  proceed  on  their  own  lines  of 
development.  Thus,  for  instance,  Seleucia 
grew  to  greatness.  According  to  Pliny,  the 
population  waxed  to  six  hundred  thousand. 
Fortifications  were  built,  and  the  place  be- 
came a  sort  of  Hamburg  of  antiquity.  A 
municipal  government  was  constituted  after  a 
plan  that  might  well  remind  the  reader  of 
Mediaeval  Venice  under  the  Doges.  Of  course 
the  arts  and  learning  of  the  Parthian  Empire 
fled  for  covert  to  these  Grseco- Asiatic  strong- 
holds. Each  became  a  sort  of  Constantinople 
of  the  desert,  wherein  Culture  might  peaceably 
examine  her  still  beautiful  features  in  the 
mirrors  which  had  been  preserved  from  the 
days  of  the  Grecian  ascendency. 

To  destroy  such  places  was  a  thing  not  to 


i 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


416 


be  considered  by  the  Parthian  kings ;  and  so 
they  were  spared  from  violence.  More  than 
this,  we  may  discover  in  the  situation  one  of 
the  prevailing  habits  of  the  Parthian  court. 
We  have  already  remarked  upon  the  unfixed- 
ness  as  to  the  locality  of  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment. Hecatompylos,  the  old  capital  of  Par- 
thia  Proper,  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  the  seat 
of  the  Empire.  Ctesiphon  was  preferred,  par- 
ticularly for  the  winter  months.  The  milder 
climate  of  the  South  and  the  half-Greek  re- 
finements of  the  metropolis  wooed  the  kings 
and  their  courts  out  of  the  boisterous  North. 
Not  far  away  was  the  city  of  Vologesocerta, 
which  likewise  invited  at  certain  seasons  a 
visit  from  the  sovereign.  Then,  with  the  re- 
turn of  summer,  the  Emperor  and  his  retinue 
would  hie  away  into  Media  and  fix  themselves 
for  awhile  at  Ecbataua,  the  ancient  capital. 
Sometimes  the  royal  residence  was  at  Tape, 
in  Hyrcania;  and  during  the  spring  months 
the  monarch  Avas  wont  to  enjoy  himself  at 
Ehages,  which  had  been  one  of  the  first  con- 
quests of  Mithridates. 

Could  the  observer  look  in  once  more  upon 
this  ancient  Parthian  court,  as  it  was  consti- 
tuted in  the  days  of  the  King  of  Kings,  he 
should  behold  an  assemblage  of  splendid  per- 
sons clad  in  the  style  of  the  Orient,  having 
the  manners  of  a  half-redeemed  barbarism, 
and  living  in  such  luxurious  habit  as  war 
and  pride  and  appetite  had  engendered.  The 
manner  of  the  royal  establishment  was  virtu- 
ally the  same  as  that  of  Assyria  and  Persia. 
The  story  of  the  kingly  courts  in  those  coun- 
tries has  already  been  recited.  In  general, 
there  was  about  the  king's  residence  much 
passion  and  treachery.  It  might  almost  ap- 
pear that  there  is  something  climatic  about 
the  sentiments  and  customs  of  men,  by  Avhich 
they  are  controlled  in  the  different  epochs  of 
history  and  the  different  localities  of  the  world. 
It  might  be  difficult  to  conceive  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Hellenic  democracy  on  the  Plateau 
of  Iran,  and  equally  difficult  to  imagine  the 
existence  of  a  Persian  or  Parthian  court  in  the 
Grecian  Islands. 

However  this  may  be,  we  may  assure  our- 
selves that  the  Arsacid  princes  virtually  re- 
vived and  restored  the  style  of  government 
N.— Vol.  1—26 


which  had  been  practiced  by  the  Achsemenian 
kings.  But  in  one  respect  Parthia  appears  to 
have  outdone  the  Orient  in  the  way'  of  bar- 
baric grandeur.  In  time  of  Avar,  not  only  the 
king,  but  his  court,  his  Government,  Avent  into 
the  field.  The  State  was  encamped  Avith  the 
army.  An  immense  retinue  of  non-combatants 
folloAved  in  the  Avake  of  the  expedition.  A 
caravan  of  camels  carried  not  only  the  mili- 
tary equipage,  but  a  half  cityful  of  articles  be- 
longing to  peace.  The  king  and  his  generals  had 
no  thought  of  leaving  any  gratification  behind 
them.  The  Avives  and  concubines  of  the  mon- 
arch and  his  nobles  Avere  borne  on  litters  from 
camp  to  camp,  and  all  the  means  of  revelry, 
all  the  accoutrements  of  pleasure,  Avere  boun- 
tifully supplied  at  every  stage  of  the  cam- 
paign. The  royal  society  removed  from  place 
to  placj  Avith  only  the  cavalry  interposed  be- 
tAvecn  itself  and  the  enemy. 

Conquest  had  noAV  reached  its  territorial 
limit  except  on  the  side  of  Syria.  In  that 
direction  the  country  was  still  open  to  inva- 
sion, and  the  motives  Avere  present  for  the  re- 
newal of  Avar.  Time  and  again  the  Grseco- 
Syrian  kings  had  thought  to  recover  by  the 
sword  their  Eastern  provinces.  Time  and  again 
the  Parthians  had  succeeded  in  beating  them 
back.  Would  not  the  latter  noAV  turn  upon  their 
foe,  and  drivo  an  expedition  in  the  direction  of 
the  Mediterranean?  At  this  very  time  Deme- 
trius, one  of  the  Syrian  kings,  was  a  prisoner  in 
the  handn  (if  the  Parthians.  We  have  seen  how 
Mithridates  confined  him  in  regal  state  in 
Hyrcania,  and  how  he  sought  to  give  him  his 
daughter  Rhodogune  in  marriage.  This  pro- 
ject went  over  unfulfilled  to  Phraates  II., 
Avho,  in  the  year  136  B.  C,  succeeded  his 
father  on  the  throne. 

Meanwhile  the  Syrian  crown  had,  when  the 
captivity  of  Demetrius  Avas  known,  descended 
to  Antiochus  Sidetes,  brother  of  the  prisoner. 
It  appears  that  as  soon  as  Phraates  came  into 
power  he  began  to  consider  the  question  of 
conquering  Syria.  He  first  sought  to  promote 
his  purpose  by  an  intrigue.  Having  succeeded 
in  inducing  the  captive  Demetrius  to  accept 
Rhodogune  as  his  Avife,  he  attempted  to  enlist 
his  prisoner  in  his  cause.  To  this  end  he 
tempted  him  with  the  prospect   of  liberation. 


416 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  AJSCIENT  WORLD. 


hoping  that  as  soon  as  Demetrius  was  free  he 
would  reclaim  the  Syrian  throne.  The  cap- 
tive was  himself  not  innocent  of  such  a  dream, 
but  he  sought  to  consummate  his  hopes  with- 
out the  connivance  of  his  brother-in-law.  He 
accordingly  made  one  or  two  nnsuccessful  ef- 
forts to  escape,  but  was  in  each  instance  pur- 
sued, retaken,  and  brought  back  to  captivity. 

Meanwhile  feelings  of  correlative  antago- 
nism were  cherished  by  the  Syrian  king  against 
the  Parthians.  He  too  bided  his  time.  For 
the  present  Antiochus  Sidetes  was  engaged  in 
a  war  with  the  Jews.  That  rebellious  people, 
under  the  leadership  of  the  High  Priest  Simon, 
attempted  to  maintain  the  independence  which 
had  been  conceded  by  Demetrius  before  his 
overthrow  and  captivity.  In  course  of  time 
the  Jews,  under  the  command  of  John  Hyr- 
canus,  who  had  succeeded  his  father  Simon, 
were  reduced  to  submission,  and  Antiochus 
found  himself  free  to  make  war  on  the  Par- 
thians. He  organized  a  powerful  army,  and 
set  out  in  the  direction  of  Babylonia.  The 
king  of  Syria  was  still  able,  notwithstanding 
the  losses  of  territory  which  his  predecessors 
had  met,  to  bring  into  the  field  a  force  greatly 
superior  to  that  with  Avhich  Phraates  was  able 
to  confront  him.  The  latter,  however,  came 
forth  as  far  as  Mesopotamia,  and  time  and 
again  joined  battle  with  his  antagonist.  But 
in  each  engagement  the  victory  remained  with 
the  Syrians,  and  the  Parthian  king  was  obliged 
to  recede  toward  the  central  parts  of  his  Empire. 

The  successes  of  the  Syrians  in  the  field 
were,  in  the  next  place,  increased  by  the 
chronic  disaffection  of  the  Greek  cities.  The 
latter,  together  with  many  of  the  provinces  on 
the  side  of  Babylonia,  rose  and  went  over  to 
Antiochus.  It  was  the  same  old  story  of  ex- 
changing masters  under  the  expediency  of 
the  hour.  For  the  time,  the  western  horizon 
seemed  to  bear  nothing  but  thunder-clouds 
'and  tempest  for  Phraates;  but  he  was  un- 
daunted, and  set  himself  against  further  dis- 
aster. The  time  had  now  come  for  making 
the  most  of  the  captive  Demetrius.  The  Par- 
thian king  set  him  at  liberty,  and  he  sped 
away  like  an  arrow  in  the  direction  of  Syria. 
It  seems,  however,  that  Antiochus  did  not  learn 
of  the  flight  of  the  dangerous  bird,  and  so  he 


pressed  on,  gaining  additional  advantages 
until  what  time  winter  set  in,  and  the  Syrian 
army  was  distributed  into  the  cities  for 
quarters. 

The  forces  of  the  invasion  were  thus  scat- 
tered over  a  wide  extent  of  country ;  but  the 
situation  seemed  one  of  security,  and  no  un- 
easiness was  felt  by  the  king.  On  the  side  of 
Parthia,  however,  the  case  was  viewed  with  a 
keener  eye.  The  Parthian  soldiers  were  able 
for  winter  service,  being  inured  to  the  climate. 
The  case,  moreover,  was  well-nigh  desperate, 
and  Phraates  determined  to  make  the  most  of 
the  opportunity.  At  first  the  different  de- 
tachments of  the  Syrian  army  were  well  re- 
ceived in  the  cities  to  which  they  were  sent; 
but  military  occupation  is  always  a  weariness 
of  the  flesh.  The  soldiers  ate  and  drank  and 
caroused,  after  the  manner  of  their  kiud,  until 
the  citizens  became  heartily  sick  of  having 
gone  over  to  Antiochus. 

As  the  winter  wore  on  Phraates,  learning 
of  the  universal  discontent,  sent  trusted  agents 
into  all  the  cities  where  the  Syrians  were 
quartered,  and  contrived  a  great  conspiracy. 
It  was  arranged  that  on  a  given  day  each 
city  should  rise  against  the  soldiers  and  de- 
stroy them,  while  at  the  same  time  Phraates 
himself  should  make  a  rush  for  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Syrian  army  and  overwhelm 
his  enemy  in  battle.  The  plot  was  carried  into 
execution.  At  the  given  time  the  citizens 
sprang  to  arms,  surrounded  the  quarters  of 
the  soldiers,  and  slew  and  massacred  until 
scarcely  a  Syrian  was  left  to  tell  the  story. 
The  rumor  of  the  insurrection  flew  to  Anti' 
ochus,  and  he  led  forth  his  central  division  to 
the  rescue,  only  to  be  met  by  Phraates  in  the 
field.  In  this  struggle  also  the  issue  was 
against  the  Syrians.  The  Parthian  cavalry 
swept  everything  before  it,  and  Antiochus 
himself  was  slain.  Almost  the  entire  force, 
enormous  as  it  was,  was  destroyed.  Accord- 
ing to  Diodorus  Siculus,  three  hundred  thou- 
sand of  the  Syrians  perished. 

At  all  events  the  expedition  was  brought 
to  utter  ruin.  Not  a  vestige  of  the  invading 
force  was  left  in  the  field.  The  triumph  of 
Phraates  was  complete  in  every  particular. 
He    succeeded    in    capturing    the    son    and 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


41T 


daughter  of  his  adversary.  The  rapid  res- 
toration of  Parthiau  authority  ensued  in  all 
those  parts  of  the  country  which  had  been 
overawed  by  the  Syrians.  The  Parthian  king 
made  strenuous  efforts  to  overtake  and  bring 
back  Demetrius,  hoping  thus  to  secure  all  the 
Seleucid  princes,  and  thus  perhaps  extinguish 
the  Dynasty.  But  Demetrius  had  already 
fled  beyond  his  reach,  and  could  not  be  re- 
taken. 

As  to  the  Syrian  monarchy,  an  additional 
disaster  was  in  waiting.  No  sooner  was  it 
known  in  Judjsa  that  Antiochus  was  slain 
than  the  people  rose  against  their  masters  and 
achieved  their  independence.  The  kings  of 
Antioch,  in  the  remaining  sixty-three  years  of 
their  power,  were  not  able  again  to  subdue 
the  Jews,  and  Palestine  remained  an  inde- 
pendency until  what  time  the  scepter  of  Rome 
was  passed  over  the  countries  east  of  the 
Mediterranean. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  advantages  of 
victory,  Phraates  found  serious  obstacles  in  his 
path.  An  enemy,  not  indeed  so  numerous, 
but  far  more  terrible  in  war  than  the  Syrians, 
rose  on  the  opposite  borders  of  the  Empire. 
For  several  generations  the  Scythians  had 
been  in  league  with  the  Parthians.  The  old- 
time  kinship  and  affinity  of  the  two  peoples 
have  been  more  than  once  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  pages.  Friendship  existed,  and 
common  cause  was  frequently  made  by  the 
Scyths  with  the  people  and  king  of  Parthia. 
When  Antiochus  Sidetes,  the  late  invader, 
came  into  Babylonia  with  his  army,  Phraates 
had  solicited  the  aid  of  the  Scythians,  and  a 
great  body  of  the  wild  warriors  had  accepted 
the  call.  They  set  out  on  their  march  to  join 
Phraates,  but  did  not  succeed  in  doing  so  until 
after  the  defeat  and  destruction  of  the  Syrian 
army.  Then,  forsooth,  Phraates  had  no  further 
use  for  the  Scyths  or  for  their  belated  offers 
of  aid.  The  Northern  warriors  then  demanded 
their  pay,  and  when  this  was  refused  they 
turned  about  and  began  to  take  by  ravage  in 
the  districts  of  Parthia  a  liberal  compensation 
i  for  their  alleged  services. 

!  Against  these  disturbers  of  his  Empire 
1  Phraates  was  now  obliged  to  turn  about  from 
j  the  scene  of  his  great  victory.     He  had  mean- 


while forgiven  the  Greek  cities,  and  had  ac- 
cepted from  them  a  contingent  of  soldiers. 
He  had  also  incorporated  with  his  own  army 
the  prisoners  whom  he  had  taken  from  An- 
tiochus. There  was  thus  a  considerable  di- 
vision of  his  forces  made  up  of  foreign  ele- 
ments. With  this  army  he  advanced  against 
the  Scyths,  and  came  to  battle.  In  the  midst 
of  the  conflict  the  Greeks,  on  the  Parthian  side, 
treacherously  rose  against  their  general  and 
went  over  to  the  Scythians.  The  Parthians, 
thus  weakened  by  defection,  were  routed  and 
swept  from  the  field.  Phraates  himself  was 
among  the  slain. 

Had  the  Scythians  possessed  the  instincts 
of  conquest  and  reorganization,  they  might 
now,  to  all  appearances,  have  gone  forward  to 
the  overthrow  of  the  Empire ;  but  their  method 
was  simply  the  method  of  plunder.  As  for 
the  Greeks,  by  whose  aid  the  victory  had  been 
achieved,  finding  themselves  suddenly  liber* 
ated  from  military  captivity,  they  broke  up 
and  rolled  away  towards  the  West,  recovering' 
as  best  they  might  their  homes  in  Mesopo^ 
tamia  and  Syria.  The  reign  had  been  brief, 
extending  only  to  the  year  B.  C.  127.  Nor 
might  it  be  claimed  that  the  Empire  had,  on 
the  whole,  been  improved  or  strengthened  by 
the  agency  and  valor  of  the  sixth  of  the  Ar- 
sacid  kings. 

Phraates  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  still 
a  young  man.  It  appears  that  he  left  no  son 
to  succeed  him.  At  any  rate  the  crown  was 
transferred  to  his  uncle,  Artabanus  II.  The 
latter,  on  coming  to  power,  had  to  face  the 
most  serious  responsibilities.  The  victorious 
Scythians  and  their  Greek  auxiliaries  were  still 
in  the  heart  of  Parthia.  The  native  array 
had  been  almost  destroyed.  At  the  same  time 
serious  difiiculties  arose  on  the  side  of  Baby- 
lonia. The  satrap  of  this  country  had  by  his 
oppressions  goaded  the  people  into  rebellion 
and  war.  But  the  clouded  aspect  of  affairs 
soon  gave  place  to  a  clearer  sky.  The  Greeks, 
as  we  have  seen,  were  more  anxious  to  escape 
from  the  country  than  to  continue  the  conflict. 
As  for  the  Scythians,  they  in  all  ages  were 
satisfied  to  stuff  themselves  with  coarse  food, 
to  heat  their  blood  with  strong  drinks,  and  to 
enjoy  the  ineffable  sleep  of  barbarism.     In  the 


418 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


present  instance  they  plundered  until  they 
were  satisfied,  and  then  withdrew  from  the 
country,  leaving  the  Parthians  to  reflect  upon 
the  costliness  of  refusing  military  pay  to  half- 
savages. 

But  while  the  Empire  thus  happily  emerged 
from  the  dangerous  local  complications  which 
had  thickened  around  the  last  years  of  Phra- 
ates,  another  and  more  general  peril  came  in- 
stead. This  was  the  pressure  which  now  be- 
gan to  be  felt  on  the  northern  and  eastern 
frontiers  from  the  impact  of  human  hordes 
bearing  down  out  of  the  unknown  regions  be- 
yond the  Jaxartes.  It  were  long  to  give  an 
account  of  this  extraordinary  movement.  In 
its  origin,  its  character,  and  tendencies,  it  was 
one  of  the  many  irruptions  of  the  barbaric 
upon  the  civilized  or  half-civilized  races  of 
men.  The  philosophy  of  such  ethnic  agita- 
tions is  better  understood  as  it  respects  the 
after-parts  and  results  of  the  movements  than 
with  respect  to  their  origin.  The  true  begin- 
ning of  the  migration  of  tribes  is  a  thing  ex- 
ceedingly hard  to  discover.  After  the  war- 
like migrations  have  once  been  started,  it  is 
easy  enough  to  note  the  process  by  which  one 
barbarous  nation  after  another  is  jostled  from 
its  seats  until  the  last  of  the  series  is  thrown 
across  the  borders  of  civilization.  Again,  we 
may  say  that  the  primal  impulse  is  partly 
cosmic  and  partly  ethnic  in  character.  Time 
and  again  we  have  had  occasion  to  remai'k 
upon  the  operation  of  those  subtle  forces  in  the 
natural  world  by  which  the  human  race  is 
pressed  westward  through  all  continents  and 
across  all  seas.  Again,  some  races  of  men  ex- 
hibit a  peculiar  aptitude  for  movements  of  this 
kind.  It  might  be  said  with  truth  that  they 
are  most  susceptible  in  their  constitution  to 
the  influence  of  those  far-reaching  physical 
laws  to  which  we  have  just  referred. 

But  as  we  have  said,  the  origin,  the  source, 
the  fountain  of  the  disturbance  is  hardly  dis- 
coverable. The  impulse  rises  far  off"  in  the 
regions  of  utter  barbarism.  Perhaps  we  might 
find  it  in  the  peculiar  fecundity  of  certain 
tribes,  in  certain  stages  of  their  development. 
Such  movements  always  precede  the  nio- 
nogamic  stage  in  the  human  evolution.  At 
any  rate,  we  may  contemplate  a  certain  spot 


in  barbarism  as  overstocked  with  human  be- 
ings, having  the  aggressive  instinct  and  the 
nomadic  character.  Migration  ensues,  and 
the  neighboring  tribes  are  propelled  in  a  di- 
rection a  little  to  the  south  of  west.  This 
course  is  sought  under  the  same  influence 
which  carries  the  colony  of  bees  to  its  des- 
tination after  leaving  the  parent  hive.  Eu- 
rope has  been  many  times  troubled,  and  at 
least  once  extinguished,  by  a  barbarian  ava- 
lanche precipitated  under  the  influences  here 
described. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  speak  Asia,  as 
well  as  Europe,  began  to  feel  the  pressure. 
Bactria  was  the  first  to  be  smitten  in  the  flank 
by  the  ram's-head  of  barbarism.  About  the 
time  of  the  accession  of  Artabanus  II.  the 
Bactrian  provinces  were  despoiled  by  barba- 
rians of  the  nomadic  order.  A  large  part  of 
the  country  was  actually  taken  by  tribes  out 
of  the  North,  breaking  in  as  though  they  had 
been  fired  from  a  catapult.  But  Bactria  Avas 
not  the  only  part  so  threatened  and  assaulted. 
Arya  was  also  invaded,  and  the  Hyrcanian 
borders  felt  the  pressure.  All  along  the  line 
of  the  Oxus,  from  its  Caspian  delta  to  its 
head-waters  in  the  mountains  of  Upper  India, 
the  horde  surged  back  and  forth  to  find  an 
entrance  into  the  Empire. 

The  tribes  were  nameless  and  numberless. 
Their  character  has  been  depicted  by  Herod- 
otus and  Strabo.  The  nomadic  habit  was  the 
dominant  trait.  The  tribesmen  had  wagons 
and  carts  and  the  other  apparatus  peculiar  to 
races  of  the  woods  and  steppes ;  and  the 
women  and  children  of  the  race  were  borne  in 
these  vehicles  from  one  station  to  another. 
The  vocation  was  hunting,  war,  plunder.  Do- 
mestic animals,  especially  cattle  and  horses, 
were  carried  along  with  the  movement.  The 
milk-drinking  and  cheese-eating  appetite  of  the 
Scyths  is  known  wherever  Ancient  History 
has  been  read.  The  social  structure  was  based 
on  polyandria,  the  sexual  union  being  much 
the  same  in  manner  as  that  of  the  North 
American  Indians. 

The  Asiatic  barbarians  were  famous  in  their 
day  for  their  skill  in  horsemanship  and  archery. 
Their  weapons  were  the  bow  and  arrow,  the 
spear  and  the  lance,  the  knife,  or  short  sword, 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


419 


aud  the  battle-axe.  These,  as  to  their  metal- 
lic parts,  were  of  bronze.  War  was  waged  in 
the  style  of  savages.  Many  usages  which  have 
been  eliminated  in  civilized  warfare  prevailed. 
Arrows  were  poisoned  with  the  venom  of  ser- 
pents or  the  diseased  discharges  of  animal 
bodies.  The  enemy  might  be  destroyed  in 
any  manner  fatal  to  human  life.  Not  only 
should  the  foe  be  slain,  but  his  hody  might  be 
cooked  and  eaten,  as  if  it  were  the  product  of 
the  chase.  Nor  did  the  cannibalism  of  the 
barbarians  stop  with  devouring  the  fallen  foe. 
Friends  and  kinsmen  might  be  eaten  if  only 
the  rules  of  the  Scythian  constitution  should 
be  observed.  The  young  and  middle-aged 
were  not  for  food  ;  but  with  the  failure  of  the 
bodily  powers  in  advanced  life,  the  father  or 
uncle  of  the  polyandriau  family    was   taken, 

, killed  by  his  household,  and  eaten  with  grati- 
tude. Nor  does  it  appear  that  the  victims  under 
such  circumstances  regarded  their  fate  as  a 
hardship.  It  was  the  usage  of  the  nation.  The 
hardship  came  in  the  form  of  disease  which 
sometimes  prevented  the  law  from  having  its 
course  in  the  final  disposition  of  the  body. 

It  was  against  sucli  a  race  as  this  that 
Artabanus  II.  was  called  to  contend.  Nor 
was  he  slow  to  accept  the  challenge  which 
came  roaring  out  of  the  country  of  the  Jax- 
artes.  Soon  after  his  accession  to  the  throne 
he  made  successful  warfare  first  upon  those 
tribes  that  had  already  broken  into  his  domin- 
ions. Bactria  was  expurgated  of  her  savage 
contents,  and  the  king  then  led  his  army  vic- 
toriously into  the  enemy's  countr)\  The  na- 
tion of  the  Tochari  was  turned  back  by  battle, 
and  the  cohort  of  barbarism  felt  a  sudden  jar 
in  its  progress,  at  which  the  tribes  were 
startled  and  stood  still.  But  while  Artabanus 
was  thus  carrying  on  successful  warfare  with 
the  hostile  races  beyond  his  own  borders,  he 
was  wounded  in  battle,  and  died  from  the  in- 
jury. The  event,  while  not  at  once  decisive 
as  to  the  general  issue  of  the  war,  ended  the 
campaign,  and  the  Parthians  receded  from  the 
barbarian  countries.  As  for  the  crown,  it  was 
at  once  transferred  to  Mithridates  II.,  son 
and  successor  of  the  late  king. 

}  The  volume  of  barbarism,  like  a  stream  of 
water,  on  meeting  an    obstacle  turns  to  right 


or  left,  and  makes  its  way  into  a  devious 
channel.  It  appears  that  the  war  of  Arta- 
banus in  the  country  north  of  the  Oxus  had 
had  some  such  physical  effect  on  the  savage 
races.  At  least  the  new  king  found  less 
difficulty  than  might  have  been  anticipated  in 
staying  the  further  progress  of  the  nomads. 
The  beast  of  barbarism  reared,  plunged,  and 
took  another  course.  Mithridates  II.  had 
little  trouble  in  re-establishing  his  northern 
frontier.  The  Scythic  tribes  were  turned  to 
the  east,  as  if  to  make  a  detour  around  the 
Empire.  The  historical  forces  had  been  strong 
enough  to  deflect  the  cosmic  forces,  and  to 
discharge  the  river  of  savagery  far  to  the  east 
in  Afghanistan  and  Upper  India.  Bactria  was 
wholly  recovered  by  the  king,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  barbarians,  finding  a  vent  in 
another  direction,  would  trouble  him  no 
further. 

It  was  equally  manifest  that  the  kingdom 
of  the  Seleucidee  would  not  again  send  out  an 
army  to  interfere  with  the  natural  course  of 
events  in  the  countries  beyond  the  Euphrates. 
This  condition  of  affairs  invited  the  ambitious 
and  capable  Mithridates  to  enlarge  his  borders 
by  war.  Of  the  surrounding  countries  Ar- 
menia was  at  this  time  the  most  inviting.  Thus 
far  only  a  part — the  smaller  and  less  impor- 
tant part — of  the  country  had  been  brought 
under  the  sway  of  the  Parthian  kings.  Ar- 
menia Magna,  as  the  country  between  the 
Euphrates  and  the  Araxes  was  called  by  the 
Romans,  still  retained  its  independence.  More 
properly,  it  had  been  included  as  a  part  of  the 
kingdom  of  Syria,  and  had  not  been  wrested 
therefrom  by  the  Parthians.  The  country 
was  of  ancient  renown.  It  had  been  an  object 
of  contention  and  conquest  among  the  great 
conquerors.  Alexander  had  taken  it.  Seleu- 
cus  had  received  it.  With  the  decline  of  the 
Syrian  monarchy,  Armenia  attained  a  quasi  in- 
dependence. A  branch  of  the  House  of  Arsaces 
was  recognized  in  authority  over  the  Arme- 
nians. There  had  evidently  been  an  uncertain 
war  between  the  country  and  Parthia.  The 
Prince  Tigranes  was,  in  his  youth,  a  hostage  at 
the  Parthian  court.  Now,  at  length,  the  time 
had  arrived  when  a  great  contention  was  to 
determine  whether  Armenia  should  be  joined 


420 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


in  political  fortunes  with  the  East  or  the  West — 
with  the  Empire  having  its  seat  beyond  the 
Caspian,  or  Avith  the  Republic  having  its  seat 
on  the  Tiber. 

For  Rome  had  now  appeared.  She  had 
boldly  put  forth  her  claim  to  the  mastery  of 
Europe.  One  after  another  of  the  adjacent 
countries  had  yielded  to  her  sway.  Greece, 
in  196  B.  C,  had  become  a  Roman  province. 
Just  fifty  years  later  Carthage  was  finally  ob- 
literated. The  countries  of  the  Western  and 
Central  Mediterranean  presented  no  further 
obstacle,  and  Roman  ambition  must  pass  over 
into  Asia  Minor  and  the  still  remoter  East. 
As  far  back  as  B.  C.  190,  Antiochus  III.,  of 
Syria,  was  ruinously  routed  on  the  field  of 
Magnesia.  He  was  obliged  to  accept  what 
terms  soever  the  conqueror  imposed.  He  was 
compelled  to  relinquish  his 
authority  over  a  large  part 
of  his  kingdom;  to  give 
up  his  elephants  of  war ; 
to  surrender — or  promise 
to  surrender — the  fugitive 
Hannibal  of  great  renown  ; 
and  to  give  his  own  son 
as  a  hostage  for  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  treaty. 
Thus  did  the  Roman  Re- 
'  "„  .  public  succeed  in   obtain- 

ing  a  foothold  in  Asia,  and 
it  was  the  custom  of  that  stern  Power  not  to 
relinquish  what  had  once  been  acquired.  As 
soon  should  we  expect  the  She-wolf  nurse  of 
the  Twin  Robbers  to  give  up  her  prey  through 
the  possession  of  sentiment. 

We  pause  not  in  this  connection  to  narrate 
the  progress  of  events  among  the  States  of 
Asia  Minor  whereby  Rome  and  Parthia  were 
first  brought  into  relations.  At  the  first  the 
connection  brought  friendship  rather  than  an- 
tipathy. Mithridates  V. ,  king  of  Poutus,  had 
suddenly  risen  to  great  power,  and  about  the 
close  of  the  second  and  the  beginning  of  the 
first  century  B.  C.  had  constructed  an  Empire 
out  of  a  petty  kingdom  in  Asia  Minor.  He 
had  made  himself  and  his  armies  a  terror  in 
all  the  countries  west  of  Armenia.  A  part  of 
that  kingdom  was  added  to  his  dominions. 
Half    of    Paphlagonia    was    snatched    away. 


Galatia  was  overrun  and  conquered,  and  Cap- 
padocia  was  threatened  by  his  ambitions. 

The  king  of  Armenia  was  at  this  time  that 
Tigranes  whom  we  have  mentioned  above. 
He  seems  to  have  favored  the  project  of  the 
king  of  Pontus,  and  to  have  made  an  alliance, 
political  and  matrimonial,  with  him.  Now  it 
was,  namely,  in  the  year  B.  C.  92,  that  the 
Roman  Proconsul  Sulla  was  sent  with  an  army 
into  Asia  to  thwart  the  Pontine  monarch  in 
his  plans.  It  happened  that  the  Eastern  army 
with  whom  the  Consul  first  came  to  battle 
was  the  Armenian  contingent.  This  force  was 
routed  by  the  Romans,  and  Cappadocia  was 
saved  from  the  grip  of  Mithridates  V.  As 
for  Tigi-anes,  king  of  Armenia,  he  had  in  the 
meantime  renounced  any  ties  of  friendship  or 
political  relation  with  the  king  of  Parthia. 
He  had  gone  to  war  with  that  personage,  and 
had  succeeded  for  the  time  in  making  himself 
master  of  so  much  of  Armenia  as  had  belonged 
for  nearly  a  century  to  the  Parthian  Empire. 
Thus  did  Tigranes  become  an  enemy  to  both 
jNIithridates  II.  and  Rome. 

He  who  is  the  enemy  of  your  enemy  is,  in 
politics  and  war,  your  friend.  It  thus  came 
to  pass  that  an  amicable  relation  was  estab- 
lished between  the  Parthian  king  and  the 
Roman  Proconsul  in  Asia.  The  former  sent  to 
the  latter  as  his  ambassador  a  nobleman  named 
Orobazus,  bearing  a  proposal  for  a  league  be- 
tween Parthia  and  Rome.  The  well-known 
policy  of  the  Roman  Senate  of  reserving  all 
treaty  rights  to  itself,  forbade  Sulla  to  do 
more  than  to  entertain  the  Parthian  ambassa- 
dor and  to  encourage  by  friendliness  the  over- 
tures made  by  his  master.  But  before  any 
jiositive  treaty  could  be  eflfected  between  the 
leading  powers  of  Europe  and  Asia,  the  am- 
bitious and  aggressive  Tigranes  was  able  to 
work  much  havoc  along  the  western  borders 
of  the  Parthian  Empire.  A  war  of  nearly 
ten  years'  duration,  extending  to  the  year 
B.  C.  83,  ensued,  in  the  course  of  which  the  j 
Armenian  king  was  almost  uniformly  victo-  ' 
rious.  He  made  successful  campaigns  into 
Upper  Mesopotamia,  and  tore  away  no  incon- 
siderable territory  from  the  dominions  of  ^ 
Mithridates.  He  established  and  consolidated 
his  kingdom  on  an  independent  basis.     For  a 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


421 


season  he  exercised  sovereignty  without  the 
slightest  obeisance  in  the  direction  of  Antioch 
or  Ctesiphon  or  Rome. 

Mithridates  II.  went  down  to  death  six 
years  before  the  conclusion  of  his  war  with 
the  Armenians,  in  which  his  unsuccess  was  so 
conspicuous  as  to  cast  some  shadow  on  his 
title  of  "The  Great,"  won  in  his  youth  by 
victorious  battle  with  the  Scyths.  His  reign 
covered  a  period  of  about  thirty-five  years,  and 
was  principally  noted  in  its  latter  days  on  ac- 
count of  the  contact  and  first  relations  of  the  Em- 
pire which  he  ruled  with  the  Roman  Republic. 

It  happens  in  the  history  of  most  nations 
that  after  what  may  be  called  the  first  Im- 
perial epoch  a  period  of  distraction  and  de- 
cadence ensues.  Success  to  a  nation  brings 
the  same  trials  and  dangers  which  it  brings  to 
the  local  society  or  to  the  individual.  The  ex- 
ercise of  power  and  the  means  of  gratification 
entail  perils  and  plant  pitfalls,  and  rarely  do 
a  people  escape  the  one  or  avoid  the  other. 
There  now  supervened  in  the  history  of  the 
Parthian  Empire  such  a  time  of  retrogression 
and  confusion.  This  was  manifested,  first  of 
all,  on  the  dynastic  side.  The  reader  will  have 
observed  with  what  regularity  the  crown  had 
thus  far  passed  to  the  ninth  prince  of  the  Ar- 
sacidse.  No  break  or  serious  disturbance  had 
occurred  in  the  Dynasty.  But  a  time  now  fell 
out  when  obscurity  came  to  the  royal  house, 
and  it  is  not  known  positively  who  was  the 
next  king  in  order  after  Mithridates  II.  It  is 
believed,  however,  that  a  pi'ince  of  little  repu- 
tation, bearing  the  name  of  Mnasciras,  prob- 
ably the  son  of  the  late  monarch,  came  to  the 
throne.  Neither  from  the  Behistun  inscrip- 
tions nor  from  the  Parthian  coins  are  we  able 
to  know  definitely  the  course  of  the  succession. 
The  events  of  the  years  extending  from  B.  C. 
89  to  B.  C.  76  are  so  obscure  that  one  may 
almost  pass  the  gap  as  though  it  were  not. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  period,  however, 
the  light  returns  sufficiently  to  enable  us  to 
see  men  as  trees  walking.  In  B.  C.  76  a  new 
king,  named  Sanatrceces,  whom  we  may  con- 
sider as  the  eleventh  of  the  Dynasty,  came  to 
the  throne,  and  the  administration,  whatever 
it  had  been,  was  quickened  into  greater  ac- 
tivity.    It  is  known  that  the  new  monarch  was 


already  an  octogenarian  on  his  coming  to 
power.  It  is  also  known  that  he  had  been  for 
a  great  time  a  prisoner,  or  possibly  a  hostage, 
among  the  Scythians ;  and  it  is  believed  that 
his  accession  to  the  throne  of  the  Empire  was 
effected  by  the  aid  of  a  body  of  Scythian  war- 
riors who  returned  with  him  in  his  old  age 
from  the  country  beyond  the  Oxus.  From 
this  circumstance  Ave  get  a  glimpse  of  a  con- 
dition which  had  evidently  come  to  pass  in  the 
Empire.  Civil  war  had  ensued,  and  part  of 
the  people  had  no  doubt  joined  in  the  recall  of 
Sanatrceces.  At  any  rate,  the  aged  hero 
gained  the  crown,  and  did  something  before 
his  death  to  restore  the  fortunes  of  his  country. 

The  period  at  which  we  have  here  arrived 
might  almost  be  designated  in  Asiatic  history 
as  the  age  of  the  Armenian  ascendency.  We 
have  seen  above  with  what  vigor  Tigranes,  the 
Armenian  king,  son-in-law  of  Mithridates  II., 
had  followed  his  ambitions  and  added  to  his 
conquests.  By  him  Armenia  Minor  was  con- 
quered and  absorbed.  From  Parthia  the 
great  and  valuable  province  of  Northern 
Mesopotamia  was  taken.  Adiabene  also,  in- 
cluding, according  to  the  current  organization, 
the  ancient  Assyria,  was  in  like  manner  torn 
from  the  Empire  by  conquest.  Parts  of  Media 
were  added  to  the  Armenian  dominion,  inso- 
much that  Tigranes  sent  the  dread  of  his  name 
into  all  the  surrounding  countries. 

While  thus  by  successful  war  Armenia  was 
advancing  to  the  rank  of  a  first-class  Power  in 
South-western  Asia,  Rome  was  strengthening 
her  position  and  advancing  her  interests  in  all 
the  hither  parts  of  the  continent.  The  army 
of  the  Republic  and  that  of  Tigranes  were  face 
to  face,  and  it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
when  one  or  the  other  must  go  to  the  wall. 
The  king  of  Parthia  had  cause  to  fear  each 
and  both  of  these  ti-emendous  forces  as  >:hey 
rose  on  his  western  borders.  He  was  in  doubt 
whether  it  were  best  for  him  to  take  his 
chances  by  allying  himself  with  the  Armeni- 
ans, and  thus  recognizing  the  violence  by  which 
Tigranes  had  taken  away  a  portion  of  the  Par- 
thian Empire,  or  to  make  a  union  with  Rome. 
In  his  embarrassment  he  dealt  doubly  with 
the  question,  holding  out  to  each  party  the 
promise  and  expectation  of  favor. 


422 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.  — THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


It  is  said  that  Luculliis,  the  Roman  Consul, 
now  engaged  in  war  with  Tigranes,  was  so 
much  offended  at  the  uncertain  course  taken 
by  the  Parthian  king,  that  he  contemplated 
the  abandonment  of  the  Armenian  war  until 
what  time  he  should  make  an  expedition  be- 
yond the  Tigris  and  teach  Sanatroeces  the  folly 
of  temporizing  with  Rome.  This,  however, 
was  not  done.  Tigranes  at  length  fell  back 
before  the  Roman  legions,  and  Parthia  was 
delivered  from  her  peril.  The  reign  of  Sana- 
troeces ended  with  his  life,  about  the  year  67 
B.  C,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Phraates  III. 

Pompey  the  Great  had  now  come  into 
Asia,  and  with  him  the  new  king  was  obliged 
to  deal.  The  Roman  was  engaged  in  a  war 
•with  Pontus,  but  he  solicited  and  gained  the 
friendship  of  Phraates,  to  whom  in  return  he 


j/z'^'/Y-:; 


ROMAN  LEGIONARIES. 


pledged  the  restoration  of  the  provinces  which 
had  been  conquered  by  th  Armenians.  By 
this  means  the  Parthian  king  was  induced  to 
make  an  alliance  with  Rome.  At  the  same 
time  he  became  deeply  involved  \.'ith  Armenia. 
In  that  country  civil  dissension  had  come  as  a 
paralysis  to  Tigranes.  His  son,  bearing  his 
own  name,  had  entered  into  a  conspiracy  and 
become  leader  of  a  rebellion  against  the  throne. 
The  insurrection  soon  cam  to  naught,  and  the 
young  Tigranes  fled  to  the  court  of  Parthia  for 
refuge  and  protection.  Phraates  espoused  his 
cause,  and  being  under  promise  to  Pompey  to 
prevent  Armenia  from  joining  Pontus  in  the 
field,  the  Parthian  king  now  fulfilled  his 
promise  by  taking  up  the  quarrel  of  the  refugee 
prince  and  marching  into  Armenia  to  support 
him  against  his  father. 

For  the  time  this  movement  was  successful. 


The  elder  Tigranes  fled  to  the  mountains  for 
safety,  and  the  younger  was  proclaimed  king. 
But  on  the  withdrawal  of  Phraates  into  his 
own  dominions,  the  tide  turned,  and  the  re- 
bellious prince  was  defeated  in  battle  and 
obliged  to  save  himself  by  flight.  By  this  time, 
however,  the  Romans  had  ended  the  war  with 
Pontus,  and  turned  with  crushing  force  against 
Armenia.  Tigranes  was  obliged  to  yield  to 
the  Proconsul  and  to  accept  his  arbitration  in 
the  aflTairs  of  the  East.  It  thus  happened  that 
by  battle  and  diplomacy  Pompey  managed 
Avith  Roman  energy  and  skill  to  gtiin  a  place 
from  which  he  was  able  to  balance  up  Ar 
menia  and  Parthia,  the  one  against  the  other, 
in  such  manner  as  to  make  the  hostility  of 
either  of  little  account  as  it  respected  his  own 
purposes  in  the  country.  It  has  been  con- 
jectured that  the  Roman  contemplated  an  im- 
mediate war  on  Parthia  as  the  stronger  and 
more  dangerous  of  the  two  Powers  with  which 
he  must  ultimately  contend.  But  he  was  de- 
terred from  such  an  undertaking,  and  chose  to 
jmploy  craft  and  talent  rather  than  the  sword 
in  holding  his  position  as  arbiter  of  Western 
Asia. 

Meanwhile  in  Parthia  a  deplorable  civil  con- 
dition followed  in  the  wake  of  Imperial  great- 
ness. The  time  had  arrived  when  the  poly- 
gamic, system  and  the  personal  passions  of  the 
royal  princes  brought  in  the  age  of  conspiracy 
and  murder  in  the  king's  house.  A  condition 
supervened  not  unlike  that  which  has  dis- 
graced the  history  of  modern  times  in  the 
courts  of  Persia  and  Turkey.  Phraates  III. 
was  not  permitted  to  end  his  reign  in  the  order 
of  nature.  His  two  sons,  Mithridates  and 
Orodes,  formed  a  plot  which  reached  as  high 
as  their  father's  life.  He  was  assassinated  by 
them.  The  elder  of  the  two  took  the  throne 
in  B.  C.  60,  and,  like  other  murderers,  found 
it  desirable  to  obliterate  the  memory  of  his 
crime  with  the  glory  of  foreign  war. 

The  complrii  t  whi^h  he  had  made  against 
his  fath  was  the  alliance  of  the  latter  with 
the  Romans,  and  the  tameuess  with  which  the 
late  king  had  permitted  himself  to  be  robbed 
by  the  Armenians  under  the  arbitration  of  the 
Roman  Proconsul.  Mithridates  III.  therefore 
proceeded  to  make  war  on   the  Armenians  for 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


423 


the  recovery  of  Northern  Mesopotamia.  He 
thus  became  a  breaker  of  the  peace.  He  was 
enabled,  however,  to  gain  his  object,  and  the 
ancient  boundary  of  the  Parthian  Empire  on 
the  north-west  was  restored.  The  Armenians 
were  no  longer  able  to  meet  the  Parthians  in 
battle.  As  for  the  king,  arrogance  came  with 
conquest.  His  home  administration  at  once 
revealed  the  essentially  criminal  character  of 
Mithridates.  He  became  jealous  of  his 
brother — brother  by  blood  and  brother  in 
crime — and  drove  him  from  the  country. 
Other  measures  of  like  character  followed,  and 
it  was  not  long  until  the  Megistanes,  whipped 
into  courage  by  the  king's  folly  and  wicked- 
ness, rose  to  the  height  of  action  and  hurled 
Mithridates  from  the  throne. 

Orodes  was  now  recalled  from  banishment 
and  raised  to  power.  As  for  the  deposed 
monarch,  he  and  his  party  were  placated  by 
conferring  on  him  the  governorship  of  Media ; 
but  his  conduct  made  it  impossible  for  Orodes 
to  tolerate  him  longer,  and  he  was  expelled. 
He  hereupon  went  over  to  the  Romans,  where 
he  besought  the  Proconsul  Gabinius,  successor 
of  Pompey,  to  aid  him  in  recovering  the  Par- 
thian throne.  The  Roman  was  about  to  ac- 
cept his  overture,  and  would  doubtless  have 
begun  war  on  Parthia  had  not  a  dynastic 
complication  arisen  in  Egypt  which  promised 
a  fairer  field  and  a  richer  reward  for  Roman 
interference.  Mithridates  was  thus  left  to  di- 
gest his  choler  in  exile.  Presently,  however, 
he  sought  reconciliation  with  his  brother,  re- 
turned to  Parthia,  threw  himself  upon  the 
mercy  of  the  king,  and  was  affectionately  be- 
headed for  his  pains. 

This  event  ended  for  the  time  the  civil  dis- 
sensions of  the  Empire,  and  enabled  Orodes  I. 
to  exercise  undisputed  sway  over  the  nation. 
The  attention  of  the  Romans  had  now  been 
drawn  away  from  the  Mesopotaraian  border, 
and  the  Parthian  king  found  opportunity  to 
foster  his  ambitions  and  develop  his  plans. 
His  abilities  were  of  a  large  order.  He  aspired 
to  become  a  great  conqueror,  like  the  early 
Arsacid  kings.  His  fame  grew,  and  he  was 
presently  able  to  gain  sundry  advantages  in 
the  way  of  detaching  the  petty  princes  on  his 
western  border  from  their  allegiance  to  Rome. 


But  the  time  had  arrived  when  in  the  order 
of  events,  if  not  in  the  necessity  of  things,  the 
growing  animosity  of  the  Republic  and  Parthia 
must  be  referred  to  the  decision  of  battle. 

Marcus  Lucinius  Crassus,  member  of  the 
first  Triumvirate  of  Rome,  had  now  been  sent 
out  as  Proconsul  of  Syria.  He  came  to  his 
province  with  the  intention  of  a  Parthian  war. 
Arriving  in  the  year  B.  C.  54,  he  deliberately 
formed  his  plans  for  the  invasion  of  the  Em- 
pire. He  organized  a  great  expedition, 
crossed  the  Euphrates,  and  began  to  overrun 
the  country.  Several  of  the  Greek  cities 
yielded  without  a  conflict.  Zenodotium,  how- 
ever, resisted  his  progress,  but  at  length  con- 
sented to  receive  a  Roman  garrison.  This  was 
admitted,  and  Crassus  continued  his  campaign. 
But  the  people  of  the  city  rose  on  the  gar- 
rison, and  put  them  to  the  sword.  The  Pro- 
consul then  turned  about,  destroyed  the  city, 
and  sold  the  inhabitants  into  slavery. 

Thus  far  the  Parthians  had  kept  at  a  dis- 
tance. With  the  coming  of  winter  there  had 
been  no  serious  conflict.  On  the  whole,  the 
Parthians  had  cause  to  congratulate  themselves 
on  the  small  progress  and  success  of  the 
Roman  army.  It  appears  that  Orodes  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  little  was  to  be  feared 
from  the  invasion.  He  conceived  a  contempt 
for  Crassus,  and  sent  to  him  an  embassy  with 
such  proposals  as  might  well  have  aroused  the 
animosity  of  an  Oriental,  to  say  nothing  of  a 
Roman  Proconsul.  Among  other  things 
Orodes  referred  with  mock  sympathy  to  the 
advanced  age  of  Crassus,  and  promised  in  cer- 
tain contingencies  to  deal  with  him  as  he  would 
with  a  dotard.  The  interview  might  well  be 
made  the  subject  of  a  drama.  Crassus  en- 
raged, but  still  restraining  himself,  replied  that 
on  his  arrival  at  Seleucia  he  Avould  send  an 
answer  to  the  Parthian  king.  Hereupon  Va- 
gises,  ambassador  of  Orodes,  tapped  the  palm 
of  one  of  his  hands  with  the  forefinger  of  the 
other,  and  exclaimed:  "O  Crassus,  the  hair 
will  grow  here  before  ever  you  come  to  Seleu- 
cia !"  Such  were  the  amenities  of  the  winter 
season,  when  neither  party  could  verify  in  the 
field  the  threats  and  hatreds  of  the  council. 

For  the  Roman  commander  the  situation 
had  become  embarrassing.     He  had  projected 


424 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


his  campaign  centrally  across  Northern  Meso- 
potamia. In  different  parts  of  the  country  he 
had  been  obliged  to  establish  garrisons  of  oc- 
cupation. Each  remove  reduced  the  number 
of  his  effective  forces.  Added  to  this  was  a 
certain  want  of  knowledge  of  the  enemy's 
country,  which  confused  the  Proconsul  in  de- 
termining his  line  of  advance.  It  was  finally 
determined  that  the  route  of  the  expedition 
should  be  through  Upper  Mesopotamia.  This 
country  had  already  been  entered  by  the  army 
in  the  preceding  summer,  but  had  been  given 
up  for  the  winter.  This  course  would  briug 
the  expedition  into  supporting  distance  of  Ar- 
menia, and  it  was  exjiected  that  the  Romans 
would  receive  from  that  country  a  large  ac- 
cession of  force. 

Meanwhile  Orodes  had  organized  his  army 
and  thrown  it  forward  to  confront  the  enemy. 
His  forces  were  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  the  Surena  or  Generalissimo,  who  in 
this  instance — though  his  name  has  not  been 
preserved — appears  to  have  been  a  military 
captain  of  the  greatest  ability  and  courage. 
For  many  years  he  had  been  one  of  the  princi- 
pal stays  of  the  Empire.  Through  his  agency, 
indeed,  Orodes  had  been  confirmed  on  the 
throne.  He  had  already  recovered  several 
important  places,  including  the  rebellious  city 
of  Seleucia.  The  army  now  sent  out  to  meet 
the  Romans  under  his  command  was  composed 
entirely  of  cavalry.  It  had  jierhaps  been 
foreseen  that  it  was  by  this  branch  of  the 
service  that  victory  might  be  expected  rather 
than  from  the  Parthian  infantry.  The  latter 
was  no  match  for  the  Roman  legionaries, 
whose  valor  had  spread  a  wholesome  fear 
throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  winter  quarters  of  the  Roman  army 
had  been  on  the  Upper  Euphrates.  Here  lay 
the  province  of  Osrhoene,  Avhose  prince,  Abga- 
rus,  though  in  alliance  with  the  Romans,  was 
secretly  in  sympathy  and  communication  with 
the  Parthians.  He  was  intrusted  by  Crassus 
with  a  command  of  light-horse,  and  was  as- 
signed to  the  duty  of  scouring  the  country  in 
advance  of  the  army,  and  of  determining  the 
route  across  Mesopotamia.  It  has  been  as- 
serted by  Plutarch  and  others  that  this  treach- 
erous  guide    purposely   led    Crassus    and  his 


forces  into  a  desert  region,  where  water  could 
not  be  found,  and  where  every  advantage 
Avould  be  on  the  side  of  the  Parthians  in 
battle.  Perhaps  the  inhospitable  character  of 
the  region  was  exaggerated.  But  at  any  rate 
the  advance  now  lay  through  an  open  country 
little  obstructed  by  rivers  or  hills,  and  well 
fitted  for  the  operations  of  the  Parthian  cavalry. 
Of  the  character  of  the  latter  and  its  method 
of  giving  battle,  sufficient  has  already  been  said 
in  a  former  chapter. 

At  the  same  time  of  the  advance  of  Crassus 
the  Parthian  army  was  brought  to  the  front, 
and  the  two  forces  rapidly  approached  with 
every  element  of  determination  and  passion  on 
both  sides.  At  length  the  conflict  was  pre- 
cipitated on  the  River  Belik,  about  midway 
between  Carrhse  and  Ichnse.  It  was  the  6th 
of  May,  in  the  year  B.  C.  54.  The  Parthian 
army,  under  the  command  of  the  Surena, 
was  carefully  stationed  in  half-concealment  be- 
hind some  woods  and  low  hills  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. The  cavalrymen  had  been  ordered 
to  cover  their  arms  Avith  their  garments  or  to 
keep  them  behind  the  horses,  so  that  the 
blaze  of  weaponry  might  not  flash  upon  the 
Romans  in  its  appalling  splendor  until  the 
moment  of  battle. 

Crassus  came  on  from  the  west.  His  army 
of  about  forty  thousand  men  was  composed 
mostly  of  Roman  legions  or  heavy  infantry. 
To  this  was  attached  a  body  of  cavalry  which 
the  Proconsul  had  brought  with  him  out  of 
Gaul,  where  it  had  been  organized  by  Julius 
Caesar.  All  of  a  sudden  the  Parthian  drums 
sounded  the  battle-note.  Then  the  cavalry 
flashed  into  line,  and  the  charge  began.  The 
Parthian  lines  came  on  at  full  gallop,  but 
stopped  short  of  the  legions  by  the  space  of  a 
bow-shot.  Then  began  snch  a  tempest  of  ar- 
rows as  the  invincible  legionaries  had  never 
before  been  obliged  to  face.  No  armor  could 
resist  the  stroke  of  these  fiery  missiles.  The 
air  was  darkened  by  the  discharge.  The  Ro- 
mans could  not  come  at  their  enemy.  AVheu 
they  advanced  the  Parthians  receded  to  a  dis- 
tance, firing  backwards  with  the  same  facility 
as  when  they  halted  and  faced  the  enemy. 

Such  battle  had  never  before  been  known 
in   the    Mesopotamian    plains.     The    Romans 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


425 


strove  with  all  their  might  to  close  with  their 
elusive  foe,  but  the  latter  pursued  the  estab- 
lished tactics,  and  could  uot  be  reached.  At 
length  the  sou  of  Crassus,  bearing  his  father's 
name  and  commandiug  the  Roman  cavalry, 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  squadron  of  six 
thousand  men,  and  charged  furiously  upon  the 
Parthians.  The  latter  fell  back  from  the 
onset  as  if  in  panic.  The  young  Crassus 
pressed  on  after  the  enemy  further  and  further, 
until  he  was  out  of  sight,  when  all  of  a  sudden 
the  Parthian  cavalry  recovered  itself,  threw 
forward  the  wings,  and  completely  surrounded 
the  Romans.  The  latter  fought  with  despera- 
tion. The  Gallic  horsemen  dismounted,  rushed 
among  the  enemy's  horses,  seized  the  spears, 
and  stabbed  the  steeds  to  death.  But  no 
valor  could  avail.     The  Roman  advance  under 


were  incompetent  as  besiegers.  Nevertheless, 
they  hovered  around  Carrhse,  and  cut  off  the 
city  from  supplies. 

It  appears,  however,  that  the  Parthian  com- 
mander preferred  to  take  no  risks  as  to  the 
future.  Nothing  short  of  the  complete  dis- 
comfiture of  Crassus  and  his  remaining  forces 
would  satisfy.  To  this  end  the  Surena  now 
stooped  to  treachery.  He  plotted  to  inveigle 
the  Proconsul  into  his  power.  It  may  not  be 
certainly  known  whether  he  contemplated  the 
destruction  of  his  enemy's  life  by  perfidy,  but 
it  is  in  the  nature  of  bad  faith  to  bring  a  more 
criminal  catastrophe  than  was  imagined  at  the 
outset.  The  Surena,  whatever  may  have  been 
his  intentions,  opened  negotiations  with  the 
pent-up  Romans.  He  rode  with  unstrung  bow 
and  outstretched  hand  into  the  open  space  be- 


.^v\-> 


ROMAN  SOLDIERS  GOING  INTO  BATTLE. 


the  young  Crassus  was  beaten  down  almost  to 
a  man.  The  commander  himself  was  slain, 
and  his  head  stuck  on  a  pike. 

Again  the  drums  sounded,  and  the  charge 
on  the  main  body  under  the  Proconsul  was 
renewed.  The  head  of  Crassus'  son  was  borne 
aloft  in  full  view  of  the  Romans,  who  now, 
shattered  by  the  battle,  began  to  recede  from 
the  field.  The  wounded  were  abandoned,  and 
on  the  following  morning  were  slain  by  the 
Parthians.  Crassus  the  elder,  with  the  rem- 
nant, succeeded  in  making  his  way  to  Carrhre, 
where  he  stationed  himself  behind  the  ram- 
parts and  found  a  momentary  security.  It 
was  hoped  that  he  could  hold  his  position 
until  what  time  his  ally  Artavasdes,  king  of 
Armenia,  could  come  to  his  relief  Perhaps 
this  might  have  been  done,  as  the   Parthians 


fore  the  city,  and  called  out  for  Crassus  to 
come  forth  and  confer  with  him  on  the  condi- 
tions of  peace.  The  wily  Parthian  had  pre- 
pared for  the  occasion  by  letting  slip  certain 
of  the  Roman  prisoners,  into  whose  ears  false 
information  had  first  been  dropped  to  the  effect 
that  the  Parthians  were  anxious  for  peace  and 
friendship  with  the  Romans,  and  that  Crassus 
might  easily  come  to  an  agreement  with  the 
Parthian  king.  These  insinuations  had  been 
carried  by  the  returning  prisoners  into  Carrhse, 
and  the  Roman  mind  was  abused  to  the  ex- 
tent of  accepting  them  as  true. 

Crassus,  however,  already  beyond  his  six- 
tieth year,  and  well  informed  as  to  the  dis- 
position and  character  of  the  Asiatics,  was 
slow  to  take  the  bait.  But  the  legionaries 
w^ere    now    thoroughly  demoralized,    and   the 


426 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


General  was  urged  to  avail  himself  of  the  op- 
portunity. He  accordingly  went  forth  into  the 
plain,  where  a  conference  was  held  between 
him  and  the  Surena.  Terms  of  peace  were 
discussed  and  agreed  upon ;  but  the  Parthian 
insisted  that  the  stipulations  should  be  reduced 
to  writing,  and  to  this  end  the  Romans  present 
were  induced  to  mount  Parthian  horses  and  to 
ride  off  towards  the  Sureua's  tent.  Scarcely, 
however,  had  they  started,  when  Crassus  and 
his  friends,  suspecting  treachery,  reined  up 
the  horses,  and  refused  to  proceed.  The  diffi- 
culty grew  hot,  and  one  of  the  Parthians  was 
cut  down  with  the  sword.  Weapons  Avere 
drawn,  and  all  of  the  Romans,  including 
Crassus,  were  slain  on  the  spot.  Thus,  far  off 
on  the  Mesopotamian  plain,  was  the  rich  Tri- 
umvir, who,  with  Pompey  the  Great  and  Julius 
Caesar,  had  recently  divided  the  world  as  a  fam- 
ily inheritance,  done  to  death  on  the  treach- 
erous sword  of  a  Parthian  warrior. 

When  the  Roman  soldiers  in  Carrhse  learned 
the  fate  of  their  General,  they  were  in  despair. 
Most  of  them  surrendered  to  the  Parthians. 
Some  escaped.  Altogether  ten  thousand  were 
taken  prisoners.  These  were  transferred  into 
the  heart  of  the  Parthian  Empire,  colonized 
and  absorbed  by  intermarriage.  Of  the  whole 
Roman  army,  numbering  forty  thousand,  only 
about  one-fourth  succeeded  in  reaching  places 
of  safety.  The  disaster  was  overwhelming — 
wanting  nothing  to  complete  its  magnitude  or 
horror. 

The  immediate  result  of  this,  the  first  war 
of  the  Romans  with  the  Asiatic  Empire,  was 
to  restore  to  the  latter  all  the  provinces  which 
she  had  possessed  on  the  side  of  Mesopotamia. 
The  Euphrates  again  became  the  western 
boundary.  As  for  Armenia,  that  State  also 
passed  to  the  Parthian  dominion.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Crassus,  to  the  hour  of  his 
death,  expected  the  Armenian  king,  Arta- 
vasdes,  to  come  to  his  assistance ;  but  that 
monarch  had  decided  to  accept  a  position 
suboi'dinate  to  the  King  of  Kings.  At  the 
very  time  that  the  Surena  was  bringing  down 
the  Roman  eagles  on  the  Upper  Euphrates, 
Orodes  himself  was  making  an  expedition  into 
Armenia.  This  it  was  that  determined  the 
friendship  of  the   king   of   that   country.     It 


was  expedient  for  him  to  become  friendly.  In 
order  to  cement  the  ties  thus  formed,  the  Par- 
thian king  took  for  his  son  Pacorus  the 
daughter  of  the  Armenian  monarch  in  marriage. 
Nor  may  we  pass  from  the  event  without  noting 
the  manners  of  the  age.  While  the  festival 
was  on  at  the  Armenian  capital — while  Orodes 
and  Artavasdes  were  witnessing  the  perform- 
ance of  one  of  the  tragedies  of  Euripides — 
the  news  came  of  the  overthrow  and  death  of 
Crassus  and  the  destruction  of  his  arm)'.  As 
usual,  in  such  cases,  the  head  of  the  Roman 
Proconsul  was  brought  along  to  confirm  the 
intelligence.  It  happened  that  in  the  play 
the  Greek  actor  had  to  represent  a  similar 
slaughter  by  the  display  of  a  mock-head  on 
his  thyrsus.  By  one  of  the  happy  inspirations 
of  barbarism,  he  substituted  the  real  head  of 
Crassus !  Doubtless  the  sensation  in  the  royal 
boxes  was  sufficient. 

In  another  direction,  the  drama  was  con- 
tinued in  the  desert.  The  Surena,  at  enmity 
with  Seleucia  for  her  half-treachery  to  the 
Parthian  cause,  marched  thither,  to  bring  the 
citizens  to  a  renewal  of  loyalty.  He  chose  to 
spread  the  report  in  this  direction  that  Crassus 
was  not  killed,  but  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands 
of  the  conqueror.  To  give  verisimilitude  to 
his  fiction,  he  selected  a  Roman,  like  Crassus 
in  personal  appearance,  clad  him  in  the  pro- 
consular insignia,  mounted  him  on  a  horse, 
compelled  him  to  play  his  part,  and  sent  after 
him  into  Seleucia  a  troop  of  mockers  and 
abandoned  women.  Going  into  Seleucia  him- 
self, the  Surena  divulged  to  the  Senate  the 
horrid  immoralities  which  he  had  discovered  in 
the  literature  of  the  Roman  camp — a  revelation 
sufficiently  disgusting  to  the  people  who  were 
unable  to  recognize  in  themselves  a  society 
fully  as  abominable  and  more  perfidious  in  its 
manners  than  that  of  the  Romans. 

By  this  time,  however,  the  Surena  had 
reached  the  limit  of  his  career.  His  success 
in  the  field  had  been  so  great  as  to  make  him, 
according  to  the  judgment  of  Orodes,  a  person 
dangerous  to  the  Empire.  The  great  captain 
was  accordingly  seized  and  put  to  death.  The 
command  of  the  army  was  transferred  to 
Osaces,  who  was  presently  sent  to  the  Syrian 
frontier,   to   assist    the   prince    Pacorus   in    a 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


427 


desultory  campaign,  'upon  which   he  had  en- 
tered in  that  quarter. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Syria  and  Asia  Minor 
were  at  this  time  in  a  condition  to  invite  con- 
quest ;  not  indeed  that  the  Romans  were  un- 
able to  defend  their  possessions  in  the  East, 
but  the  political  distractions  of  Italy  were  such 
as  to  prevent  unity  of  action.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  tripartite  agreement — known  as  the 
Triumvirate — by  the  death  of  Crassus,  had 
left  the  world  to  two  masters,  Csesar  and  Pom- 
pey,  the  one  a  representative  of  the  new  de- 
mocracy of  Rome,  and  the  other  the  repre- 
sentative of  that  ancient  aristocratic  order  by 
which  the  Republic  had  been  dominated  for 
many  centuries.  At  this  time  the  orator 
Cicero  was  Proconsul  of  Cilicia,  and  knowing 
full  well  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Asia,  he 
hardly  overstated  the  fact  to  the  Senate  when 
he  declared  that  Rome  had  not  a  friend  on 
that  continent.  The  expedition  of  Pacorus 
made  its  way  in  the  direction  of  Antioch,  and 
gained  possession  of  several  important  places. 
But  after  this  the  Parthians  divided  in  dif- 
ferent directions,  one  division  being  carried 
against  Palestine,  and  the  other  led  among  the 
kingdoms  of  Asia  Minor.  If  the  invaders  had 
had  the  skill  to  take  cities  as  well  as  to  win 
battles  in  the  field,  it  would  appear  that  they 
might  have  destroyed  the  Roman  dominion  in 
all  the  countries  east  of  the  ^gean. 

But  the  Parthians  did  not  avail  themselves 
of  the  situation.  At  length,  in  B.  C.  49, 
Pompey,  being  then  hard  pressed  by  Caesar, 
made  overtures  to  Orodes,  with  a  view  to  se- 
curing his  aid  against  his  rival.  The  Parthian 
king  offered  to  go  to  the  rescue  on  condition 
that  Pompey  would  deliver  what  remained  of 
the  kingdom  of  Syria  to  him.  But  the  pro- 
posal was  rejected.  Soon  afterwards  came  the 
battle  of  Pharsalia,  in  which  the  fortunes  of 
Pompey  and  the  aristocratic  party  were  utterly 
swept  away.  At  one  time  he  seriously  con- 
templated putting  himself  under  the  powerful 
protection  of  Orodes.  But  he  was  induced 
to  change  his  mind,  and  presently  took  flight 
for  Egypt. 

Caesar,  now  completely  victorious,  was  fully 
informed  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
East.     He  had  known  the  disposition  of  Oro- 


des to  give  aid  to  Pompey.  In  his  own  mind 
the  vision  of  a  Parthian  conquest  had  for  some 
years  been  settling  into  a  purpose.  But  he 
was  not  yet  ready  to  undertake  so  vast  an  en- 
terprise. After  Pharsalia,  he  returned  to 
Rome,  and  took  up  the  tremendous  work  of 
I'eorganizing  society  on  a  new  Imperial  plan, 
with  himself  at  the  head.  It  was  not  until 
B.  C.  44  that  he  found  himself  sufficiently  free 
from  the  tremendous  complications  of  the  West 
to  turn  his  attention  to  the  conquest  of  Parthia. 
Like  the  other  designs  of  that  greatest  man 
of  antiquity,  the  Parthian  war  took  shape, 
and  the  first  cohorts  of  the  Roman  army 
were  thrown  into  Greece,  preparatory  to 
the  great  Asiatic  campaign.  Nor  may  we 
well  pass  over  this  historical  hypothesis 
without  conjec- 
turing the  result 
had  Caesar  been 
permitted  to  pur- 
sue his  purpose. 
Certain  it  is  that 
the  P^arthians 
would  have  felt 
the  stroke  of  the 
strongest  hand 
which  was  ever 
laid  upon  the 
Empire.  Cras- 
sus and  Pompey 
and  Trajan  and 
Severus  c  o  m  - 
bined  could  hardly  have  represented  the  skill, 
the  energy,  the  persistency,  the  adroitness 
in  diplomacy  and  war  of  that  matchless  Ju- 
lius, whose  end  was  now  at  hand.  His  des- 
tiny had  at  last  overtaken  him.  The  Opti- 
mate  Conspirators  gathered  around  him  in 
the  Senate  House,  and  stabbed  him  to  death, 
on  the  Ides  of  March,  in  the  very  spring 
when  the  Parthian  expedition  was  to  be 
undertaken. 

Thus  had  Orodes  the  good  fortune  to  wit- 
ness the  destruction  of  all  three  of  the  pre- 
eminent Romans  who  had  constituted  the  first 
Triumvirate.  The  Surena  had  chopped  off 
the  head  of  Crassus  in  the  desert.  A  bloody 
assassin  had  cut  down  Pompey  on  the  shore  of 
Egypt.     The  daggers  of  Brutus  and  Cassius 


JULIUS  C^SAR. 


428 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  AyCIENT  WORLD. 


had  dispatched  Csesar  in  the  Senate  House. 
Parthia  for  the  time  was  freed  from  all  appre- 
hension on  the  side  of  Rome. 

The  reader  of  history  will  readily  recall 
the  dreadful  civil  war  which  followed  the 
murder  of  Julius.  He  will  remember  the 
struggle  of  the  conspirators  to  undo  the  great 
historical  movement  of  the  age.  He  will 
once  more  follow  the  complifcation  which  was 
presently  cut  with  the  sword  of  the  victor  at 
Philippi.  In  this  civil  war  the  Parthians 
bore  a  minor  part.  Bodies  of  Parthian  horse- 
men were  on  several  occasions  found  in  the 
army  of  Brutus  and  Cassius.  Marcus  An- 
tonius,  who  had  received  the  East  for  his 
portion  of  the  world,  entered  into  relations 
with  Orodes,  and  sought  to  join  the  king  with 
himself  in  his  war  with  Brutus  and  Cassius. 


A  CHARGE  OF  PARTHIAN  CAVALRY. 


But  the  Parthian  preferred  the  other  course. 
At  length  the  battle  of  Philippi  was  fought, 
and  the  ancient  aristocracy  of  Rome  was 
hacked  to  pieces  under  the  bloody  swords  of 
the  avengers  of  Csesar.  Now  it  w^as  that  the 
three  masters  of  the  world  were  able  to  divide 
their  inheritance.  The  Second  Triumvirate 
was  formed.  Octavianus  established  himself 
in  Italy.  Lepidus  became  the  cipher  which 
made  the  other  two  figures  significant.  An- 
tonius  found  food  for  his  passions  in  Egypt. 

It  appears  that  Parthia  postponed  her 
struggle  with  Rome  to  an  inauspicious  occa- 
sion. Pacorus  now  availed  himself  of  the 
help  of  the  treacherous  Labienus,  recently 
envoy  of  Brutus  and  Cassius  at  the  Parthian 
court,  and  organized  an  army  for  the  conquest 
of    the    country    as    far    as    Antioch.     They 


rushed  to  the  field,  and  Saxa,  the  Roman 
governor  of  Syria,  was  defeated  in  battle. 
Labienus  and  Pacorus,  having  taken  Antioch, 
led  their  forces,  the  one  in  the  direction  of 
Palestine,  and  the  other  into  Asia  Minor. 
Both  were  for  aAvhile  successful.  Hyrcanus, 
the  king  of  Jerusalem,  was  expelled,  and  his 
rival  Antigonus  set  in  his  place  under  the 
authority  of  the  Parthian  Prince.  Labienus 
carried  his  victorious  arms  through  Pamphylia, 
Lycia,  and  Caria.  Thus,  by  the  close  of  the 
year  40  B.  C,  nearly  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor 
was  overrun. 

It  was  in  the  nature  of  Antonius  to  make 
love  and  war  by  turns.  Hu  \vas  equally  fierce 
in  the  chamber  and  the  field.  Learning  of  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  the  East,  he  was  roused 
to  wrath,  and  resolved  to  teach  the  Asiatics  a 

lesson  not  to  be  forgotten. 

In  39  B.  C.  he  sent  for- 
ward his  lieutenant  Ven- 
tidius  with  orders  to  crush 
Labienus  and  the  Parthi- 
ans. On  his  arrival  in 
Asia,  Labienus  was  taken 
by  surprise,  and  was 
obliged  to  recede  before 
his  enemy.  Pacorus  was 
called  to  the  rescue,  but 
both  together  failed  to 
stay  the  progress  of  the 
Romans.  Labienus  was 
defeated,  pursued,  taken,  and  put  to  death. 
The  Parthians  receded  into  Northern  Syria, 
and  attempted  to  hold  the  pass  of  Mount 
Amanus,  but  Ventidius  succeeded  in  securing 
the  place,  and  in  driving  the  Parthians  into 
Mesopotamia. 

Pacorus,  however,  was  not  willing  to  relin- 
quish the  countries  which  he  had  so  easily 
conquered.  In  the  following  year  he  renewed 
the  war  by  crossing  the  Euphrates,  and  en- 
gaging in  battle  with  the  Romans.  It  was  in 
the  nature  of  that  soldiery  to  learn  from  the 
enemy.  The  method  of  Parthian  warfare  had 
now  become  well  understood.  Ventidius  had 
prepared  for  the  emergency.  It  was  no  longer 
the  story  of  Crassus  on  the  Belik.  When  the 
Parthians  came  on  to  battle,  they  found  the 
Romans    well    posted    to    receive    them.     On 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


429 


rushing  to  the  charge,  and  before  reaching 
their  favorite  distance  of  a  bow-shot,  they  were 
assailed  by  the  slingers  of  Labienus,  and  a 
shower  of  singing  stones  rained  upon  them, 
knocking  them  dead  from  their  horses.  The 
battle  raged  furiously,  but  at  length  the  Par- 
thians  gave  way.  Pacorus  himself  was  slain. 
The  Romans  succeeded  in  securing  the  bridge 
across  the  Euphrates,  and  the  retreat  was  cut 
off.  The  Parthian  army  was  scattered  in  all 
directions.  The  authority  of  Orodes  in  the 
West  and  South-west  was  completely  and  finally 
obliterated.  All  the  Western  provinces  were 
recovered  by  the  Romans.  The  Euphrates 
once  again  became  the  boundary  between  the 
two  Empires;  but  from  either  side  the  hostile 
powers  glared  at  each  other,  neither  satisfied 
with  the  issue. 

We  may  now  turn  for 
a  moment  to  note  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  at  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Empire.  Orodes 
had  grown  old.  His  rec- 
onciliation with  Pacorus, 
who  at  one  time  had  been 
in  rebellion  against  him, 
was  complete.  Perhaps  the 
aged  monarch  felt  a  Par- 
thian pride  in  the  military 
successes  of  his  son  in  the 
West.  The  death  of  the 
latter,  therefore,  fell  heavily 
upon  the  king.  He  became 
half-insane  on  account  of  the  loss  of  his  son. 
True,  he  had  thirty  other  sons,  children  of 
various  wives  and  concubines,  but  none  of 
them  might  well  take  the  place  of  the  warrior 
prince  who  had  perished  in  battle.  The 
king,  however,  felt  it  expedient  to  determine 
the  succession  before  his  death.  He  accord- 
ingly designated  Phraates  as  his  successor, 
and  the  choice  was  ratified  by  the  Megis- 
tanes.  Orodes  then  abdicated  the  throne 
in  favor  of  his  son.  The  latter,  jealous  for 
good  reason  of  some  of  his  half  brothers  who 
were  born  of  a  princess,  conspired  with  his 
mother,  who  was  a  common  concubine,  and 
had  the  princes  whom  he  feared  put  to  death. 
The  aged  father  hereupon  rebuked  his  son, 
and  was  himself  murdered  for  his  interference. 


Thus,  in  B.  C.  37,  came  Phraates  IV.  to 
the  throne  of  Parthia.  Like  other  royal 
murderers,  he  was  obliged  to  go  forward  in 
the  bloody  path  which  he  had  chosen.  One 
after  another,  his  half  brothers  and  other  rela- 
tives were  assassinated.  In  the  next  place  his 
jealousy  fell  upon  the  nobles,  of  whom  many 
were  slain,  and  others  fled.  A  body  of  them, 
headed  by  a  certain  Monseses,  made  their  way 
to  Antonius,  and  represented  to  him  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  Parthia.  Monseses  besought 
the  Roman  to  enter  the  country  and  support  a 
counter-revolution  in  his  favor,  promising  to 
accept  the  crown  at  the  hands  of  Antonius, 
and  to  hold  it  as  a  subject  of  the  Roman  Re- 
public. 

The    bait    was    tempting.     Antonius   had 


ROMAN    ARMY   CROSSING  THE  TIGRIS. 


sufficient  cause  for  making  war  on  the  Par- 
thians.  Time  and  again  they  had  entered  and 
ravaged  the  Roman  provinces  in  Syria  and 
Asia  Minor,  Ambition  also  led  him  on.  He 
accordingly  gathered  his  forces  on  the  Euphra- 
tine  frontier,  and  made  preparations  for  an 
invasion.  Phraates,  informed  of  these  move- 
ments, took  the  alarm,  and  sent  for  Monsesea 
to  be  restored  to  honor.  Antonius  permitted 
him  to  depart,  but  sent  with  him  an  embassy, 
demanding  of  the  Parthian  king  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Roman  standards  taken  from 
Crassus,  and  the  liberation  of  all  prisoners 
who  still  survived.  These  demands  were  not 
complied  with,  and  Antonius  continued  his 
preparations  for  war.  His  aggregate  forces 
amounted  to  a  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand 


430 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


meu.  The  army  was  made  up  of  the  legions, 
sixty  thousand  stroug^  of  thirty  thousand 
Asiatics  who  had  j(nued  his  standard,  of  ten 
thousand  Gallic  horsemen,  and  a  considerable 
force  out  of  Armenia.  Artavasdes,  king  of 
the  latter  country,  long  balancing  his  interests 
between  Parthia  and  Rome,  had  at  last  as- 
sented to  a  league  with  Antonius,  and  promised 
his  support  in  the  ensuing  war. 

This  alliance  enabled  the  Roman  to  enter 
the  Parthian  Empire  by  way  of  Armenia,  and 
in  that  direction  the  expedition  was  under- 
taken, Antonius,  after  traversing  the  friendly 
-districts,  entered  the  hostile  territory  in  Media 
Atropatene ;  and  here  the  war  began.  The 
Romans  advanced  to  the  capital  and  besieged 
the  city.  Several  unsuccessful  assaults  were 
made ;  but  the  place  could  not  be  taken. 
Winter  came  on,  with  the  siege  undetermined. 
Meanwhile  the  Parthian  army  got  upon  the 
flank  and  rear,  and  captured  or  destroyed  the 
siege-train  of  the  Romans.  The  soldiers  be- 
came discouraged,  and  winter  bellowed  around 
with  hurricanes  of  sleet  and  snow.  Antonius 
was  obliged  to  fall  back.  He  made  an  effort 
to  negotiate,  but  the  enemy  laughed  at  his 
•calamity.  Nevertheless,  Antonius  was  not 
Crassus.  The  Proconsul  had  no  notion  of 
losing  his  army  or  his  life.  Instead  of  re- 
treating by  the  expected  route,  he  sought  a 
•directer  course  through  a  mountain  pass  back 
to  the  River  Araxes,  and  by  this  way  he 
managed  to  reach  a  place  of  safety.  His 
losses,  however,  had  been  very  great.  About 
forty  thousand  of  his  men  had  perished 
by  battle  or  the  severity  of  the  season.  Par- 
thia might  well  congratulate  herself  that  the 
retreat  of  the  Roman  array  through  the  winter 
snows,  for  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles, 
was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  Such  indeed 
it  might  have  been  but  for  the  treacherous 
condition  of  all  political  dependence  in  the 
countries  concerned. 

For  no  sooner  was  Antony  repelled  than 
the  Median  governor  of  Atropatene  quarreled 
with  the  king  about  the  division  of  the  Roman 
spoils.  Suspicion  followed  suspicion,  and  the 
Mede  concluded  that  for  him  the  way  of  safety 
was  in  an  appeal  to  Antonius.  He  accord- 
ingly sent  an  embassy  to  Alexandria,  whither 


the  Roman  had  retired  to  spend  the  winter 
with  Cleopatra,  and  tendered  to  him  an  alli- 
ance offensive  and  defensive  against  Parthia. 
Antonius  readily  accepted  the  overture.  He 
had  become  angered  at  his  ally,  the  king  of 
Armenia,  who  had  abandoned  him  in  the  day 
of  his  peril,  and  was  anxious  to  find  a  new 
confederate  on  the  border  of  the  Parthian 
Empire. 

Early  in  B.  C.  34  the  Roman  general  re- 
turned to  the  army  in  Armeni;  ,  aiid  presently 
succeeded  in  gaining  possession  of  Artavasdes, 
the  king.  Plis  son  and  successor  was  dsieated 
in  battl',  and  obliged  to  fly  to  the  Parthians. 
As  for  the  king  f  the  Medes,  Antony  ce- 
mented the  union  between  th.t  personage  and 
himself  by  marrying  the  daughter  of  the  prince 
to  his  son  Alexander,  offspring  of  his  amours 
with  Cleopatra  of  Egypt. 

During  this  year  nothing  was  done  in  the 
field.  The  attention  of  Antony  had  been 
drawn  to  Europe  by  the  threatening  attitude 
of  Cctavianus.  The  long  accumulating  diffi- 
>:ulties  between  the  two  Roman  leaders  was 
rapidly  coming  to  the  arbitrament  of  the 
sword.  Antonius  was  obliged  to  return  from 
Armenia  into  Asia  Minor  to  counteract  the 
movements  of  his  rival.  Hereupon  Phraates, 
in  B.  C.  33,  renewed  the  war,  and  succeeded 
in  making  the  king  of  Media  his  prisoner. 
The  Armenian  monarch,  Artaxias,  recovered 
his  throne.  The  Roman  garrisons  were  ex- 
pelled from  the  countries  which  they  had  oc- 
upied  within  the  limits  of  the  Empire. 

By  this  time,  however,  the  civil  dissensions 
in  Parthia  were  renewed,  and  an  insurrection 
against  the  king,  headed  by  a  certain  Tiridates, 
was  for  the  moment  successful.  Phraates 
fled  to  the  Scythians,  solicited  their  aid,  re- 
turned with  an  army,  and  quickly  restored 
himself  to  power.  The  usurper  escaped  to  Oc- 
tavianus,  who  was  at  that  time  in  the  East,  and 
took  with  him  to  that  distinguished  Roman 
the  son  of  the  Parthian  king.  When  Phraates 
demanded  the  restoration  of  his  son  and  the 
giving  up  of  the  rebel  Tiridates  who  had  con- 
spired against  him,  Octavianus  refused  the  latter 
request,  but  agreed  to  the  former  on  condition 
that  the  Parthian  would  surrender  the  stand- 
ards taken  from  Crassus  and  liberate  the  sur* 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


431 


viving  Romau  prisoners.  This  demand  had 
now  become  habitual  with  the  Romans  in  all 
their  dealings  with  Parthia.  In  the  present 
case  Phraates  received  his  sou  with  gladness, 
but  refused  to  give  up  the  standards  or  to  set 
the  Roman  prisoners  at  liberty. 

The  reader  of  history  knows  full  well  the 
story  of  the  final  conflict  between  Octavianus 
and  Antonius.  Hereafter,  in  the  history  of 
Rome,  we  shall  record  at  length  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  long  struggle  which  culminated 
at  Actium.  Hereby  the  peaceable  accession 
of  Octavianus  to  the  Imperial  throne  was  made 
easy  and  inevitable.  Antonius,  following  the 
seductions  of  Cleopatra,  fled  once  more  to 
Egypt,  and  there,  after  additional  defeat  and 
humiliation,  stabbed  himself  and  died  in  the 
presence  of  the  woman  for  whom  he  had  lost 
the  world. 

By  these  events  Parthia  was  again  liber- 
ated for  a  season  from  the  fear  of  Roman  in- 
vasion. But  Augustus — for  by  this  title  Oc- 
tavianus is  henceforth  known — was  little 
disposed,  peaceable  as  were  his  general  inten- 
tions, to  permit  the  affairs  of  the  East  to  re- 
main in  their  present  indeterminate  state. 
After  spending  the  first  ten  years  of  his  reign 
in  regulating  and  establishing  the  Imperial 
Government,  after  the  pattern  given  by  Julius, 
the  Emperor  found  himself  ready  to  settle 
finally  the  issue  between  himself  and  the  Par- 
thian king.  Accordingly,  in  B.  C.  20,  he  went 
in  person  into  Asia,  and,  partly  by  menace  and 
partly  by  diplomacy,  induced  Phraates  to  sur- 
render the  Crassian  standards.  However  hu- 
miliating the  act  may  have  been  to  the  King 
of  Kings,  he  nevertheless  yielded  to  the  inev- 
itable and  gave  up  the  trophies  which  signified 
so  much  to  the  half-barbaric  pride  of  himself 
and  his  subjects.  The  Roman  prisoners  who 
still  survived  were  permitted  to  return  to 
Europe,  and  an  amicable  relation  was  estab- 
lished between  the  emperors  of  the  East  and 
the  West. 

It  can  not  be  doubted  that  at  this  time  it 
was  definitely  agreed  that  henceforth  the  River 
Euphrates  should  be  observed  by  both  Powers 
as  the  true  inter-imperial  boundary.  Such 
agreement  was  in  harmony  with  the  well- 
known  theory  of  Augustus  that  the  Roman 
N.— Vol.  1—27 


Empire  had  now  expanded  to  its  natural  limit, 
beyond  which  neither  sound  policy  nor  mili- 
tary ambition  could  safely  carry  it.  To  this 
the  Parthian  king,  troubled  with  dissensions  in 
his  own  dominion,  was  glad  to  assent,  and 
thus  a  condition  of  stability  and  peace  was 
reached  in  the  chasing  years  of  the  Ancient  Era. 

Henceforth  for  a  long  time  amity  existed 
between  Ctesiphon  and  Rome.  Phraates  se- 
lected the  City  of  the  Tiber  as  a  place  for  the 
residence  and  education  of  his  four  sons. 
These  were  Vonones,  Seraspadanes,  Rhodaspes, 
and  Phraates. 

Once  and  again,  however — and  that  with 
respect  to  the  troublesome  kingdom  of  Ar- 
menia— did  hostilities  break  out  between  the 
two  Empires.  The  question  at  issue  was  the 
old  one  as  to  the  relative  and  preponderating 
influence  of  Rome  or  Parthia  with  the  Arme- 
nian king.  Augustus  found  it  necessary  to 
send  his  son  Cains  Csesar  to  the  East  with  an 
army.  The  Romau  prince  came  to  the  Eu- 
phrates and  was  about  to  begin  an  invasion, 
when  the  Parthian  monarch,  taking  counsel  of 
his  fears,  yielded  to  the  inevitable,  and  a  new 
treaty  was  made  by  himself  and  the  young 
Csesar  on  an  island  in  the  Euphrates.  The 
settlement  was  definitive.  The  supremacy  of 
Rome  in  Armenian  affairs  was  acknowledged, 
and  henceforth  Parthia  abstained  from  aggres- 
sion in  this  direction.  Soon  after  the  treaty 
was  concluded,  Caius  Csesar,  going  into  Ar- 
menia, and  being  obliged  to  besiege  a  town, 
was  slain  by  a  missile  from  the  walls.  But 
events  went  forward  to  their  logical  conclu- 
sion. Armenia  passed  under  the  protectorate 
of  Rome,  and  all  beyond  was  left  to  the  undis- 
puted sway  of  the  Parthian  kings. 

Meanwhile  the  reign  of  Phraates  IV.,  fif- 
teenth of  the  Arsacidse,  had  ended  with  his 
life,  in  the  year  B.  C.  2.  The  crown  de- 
scended to  his  son  Phraataces,  offspring  of  an 
Italian  slave-girl,  whom  Augustus  had  sent  as 
a  present  to  his  friend,  the  late  king  of  Parthia. 
To  him,  rather  than  to  any  of  the  elder  sons  long 
resident  in  Rome,  the  throne  passed  without 
dispute.  But  it  was  not  long  until  the  Par- 
thian nobles,  hating  the  mother  of  their  new 
sovereign  and  despising  the  race  to  which  she 
belonged,  rose  against  Phraataces,  drove  him 


432 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


from  power,  and  took  his  life.  Having  suc- 
ceeded thus  by  insurrection  in  undoing  the 
existing  order,  the  Megistanes  proceeded  to 
elect  to  the  throne  a  certain  Orodes,  of  whom 
little  is  known  except  that  he  was  one  of  the 
Arsacidse.  We  may  conjecture  that  he  was  a 
descendant  of  Orodes,  fourteenth  monarch  of 
the  line. 

At  any  rate,  about  the  year  A.  D.  12,  he 
was  called  home  from  exile,  and  given  the 
crown.  Almost  immediately,  however,  he  dis- 
played such  qualities  of  cruelty  and  vice  as 
sickened  the  nobles  with  their  own  work.  A 
company  of  them  accordingly  inveigled  the 
king  into  a  hunting  excursion,  and  availed 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  put  him  to 
death.  An  embassy  was  at  once  despatched 
to  Rome,  to  call  home  Vonones,  eldest  son  of 
Phraates  IV.  The  prince  complied  with  the 
requisition,  returned  from  his  long  absence, 
and  accepted  the  crown.  But  it  was  soon 
found  that  his  residence  in  Rome  had  unfitted 
him  for  the  Parthian  throne.  He  came  back 
essentially  a  Roman,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
alienation  between  him  and  his  makers  was 
complete.  Vonones  was  permitted  to  reign 
for  about  three  years;  but  in  A.  D.  16,  or 
possibly  the  following  year,  the  nobles  again 
went  into  insurrection,  deposed  Vonones,  and 
elected  a  certain  Artabanus,  who  at  this  time 
was  viceroy  of  Media  Atropatene,  to  the 
throne  of  the  Empire.  By  a  strange  vicissi- 
tude, Vonones  escaped  into  Armenia,  and  was 
made  king  of  that  country. 

The  action  of  the  Armenians,  in  accepting 
the  refugee  Arsacid  for  their  king,  could  but 
arouse  the  animosity  of  Artabanus,  and  he  at 
once  undertook  to  prevent  the  recognition  of 
Vonones  by  Rome.  In  this  he  was  successful 
to  the  extent  of  obliging  Vonones  to  fly  to  the 
Roman  governor  of  Syria  for  protection. 
It  became  necessary  for  Tiberius,  who  had  now 
succeeded  Augustus  in  the  Imperial  rank  at 
Rome,  to  send  the  brave  and  talented  Ger- 
manicus  to  the  East,  to  regulate  the  Armenian 
succession.  The  latter,  on  arriving  at  Ar- 
taxata,  the  capital  of  Armenia,  cut  the  com- 
plication by  raising  a  European  nobleman, 
named  Zeuo,  to  the  throne,  with  the  title  of 
Artaxias.      On    the    whole,   this    action    was 


pleasing  to  the  Parthian  king,  who  in  the  next 
place  requested  Germanicus  to  banish  Vonones 
into  foreign  parts.  This  request  was  complied 
with  ;  but  Vonones,  attempting  to  defeat  the 
arrangement  by  flight,  was  pursued,  overtaken, 
and  slain. 

In  A.  D.  19  Germanicus  died,  and  Lucius 
Vitellius  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  in  the 
government  of  Western  Asia.  It  was  believed 
by  Artabanus  that  Tiberius  was  in  his  dotage, 
and  that  Vitellius  was  not  the  equal  of  his 
predecessor.  The  Parthian,  therefore,  imagined 
that  he  might  once  more  with  safety  attempt 
the  restoration  of  his  influence  and  authority 
in  Armenia.  Tiberius,  when  informed  of  the 
purposes  of  the  king,  sought  by  an  intrigue 
to  stir  up  a  rebellion  among  the  Parthian 
nobles,  and  in  order  to  encourage  such  a 
movement,  sent  the  young  Phraates,  a  brother 
of  Vonones,  to  the  Mesopotamian  border 
The  prince  reached  Asia,  but  the  change  in 
his  manner  of  life  brought  on  a  disease  of 
which  he  presently  died. 

Meanwhile,  Artabanus  had  destroyed  one 
or  two  of  the  leading  conspirators  against  him- 
self. Being  relieved  of  present  apprehension 
by  the  death  of  Phraates,  he  sent  the  Roman 
Emperor  an  audacious  letter,  in  which  that 
personage  was  openly  charged  with  all  the 
crimes,  vices,  and  corruptions  in  the  catalogue 
of  human  sin.  In  retaliation  for  this  insult 
Tiberius  ordered  Vitellius  to  interfere  again  in 
the  affairs  of  Parthia,  and  in  particular  to 
maintain  his  ascendency  in  Armenia.  In  that 
country  a  desultory  war  occurred  in  the  years 
A.  D.  35  and  36.  At  one  time  it  apj>eared 
that  the  armies  of  Parthia  and  Rome  would 
be  brought  to  decisive  battle,  but  Vitellius 
succeeded  in  inciting  an  insurrection  before 
which  Artabanus  fled  into  Hyrcania. 

In  the  meantime,  Prince  Tiridates,  son  per- 
haps of  Rhodaspes,  at  Rome,  was  sent  into 
Asia  as  the  candidate  of  Tiberius  for  the  vacant 
throne.  The  prince  entered  Mesopotamia,  and 
was  well  received  by  the  Greek  cities.  He 
was  even  crowned  in  Seleucia,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  King  of  Kings.  But  the 
movement  was  delusive  and  farcical.  The 
nobles,  native  and  to  the  manner  born,  could 
have  no  sympathy  with  a  sovereign  who  had 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


433 


been  reared  in  Rome.  They  accordingly  went 
into  Hyrcania,  found  old  Artabanus  Avith  his 
bow  and  hunting  shirt,  and  induced  him  to 
head  the  counter-revolution  against  Tiridates. 
The  latter  was  obliged  to  fly.  His  following 
melted  away,  and  he  was  glad  to  find  himself 
once  more  in  safety  beyond  the  Euphrates 
among  the  Romans. 

In  the  fourth  decade  of  the  first  century 
the  condition  of  affairs  above  described  con- 
tinued to  prevail.  Petty  hostilities  on  the 
side  of  Armenia  recurred  constantly,  but  no 
general  war.  The  empire  became  involved  in 
hostilities  with  the  Jews  of  Babylon — one  of 
the  many  complications  in  which  that  people, 
now  dragging  on  to  the  close  of  their  national 
existence,  were  involved.  But  the  details, 
though  sufficiently  bloody  and  disgraceful,  are 
of  little  interest  to  the  reader  of  general  his- 
tory. Events  passed  in  the  usual  order  until 
the  year  A.  D.  40,  when  Artabanus  was  a 
second  time  expelled  from  the  throne,  and 
died  after  a  two  years'  banishment  and  a  reign 
of  twenty-six  years'  duration. 

The  reader  will  have  noted  the  utter  absence 
among  the  Parthians  of  royal  rank  of  those 
family  ties  and  affections  whereby  in  modern 
times  the  kindred  of  one  blood  are  held  in 
unity  and  trust.  On  the  contrary,  the  court 
of  this  ancient  people  was  constantly  stained 
with  blood  poured  forth  by  parricidal  or  frat- 
ricidal violence.  On  the  death  of  Artabanus 
III.  his  sons  contended  for  the  throne.  At 
first  the  eldest,  Gotarzes,  was  given  the  crown. 
But  it  would  seem  that  his  hereditary  right 
was  soon  forgotten  on  account  of  his  atrocious 
conduct.  Scarcely  had  he  risen  to  power  until 
he  seized  and  put  to  death  his  brother,  Arta- 
banus, together  with  his  wife  and  son.  It  was 
evident  that,  after  the  Oriental  manner,  he 
purposed,  according  to  his  passion  and  jealousy, 
to  destroy  all  his  kindred.  It  can  not  have 
passed  attention  that  for  the  last  half  century 
the  Megistanes  had  increased  their  power  and 
exercised  their  rights  more  freely  tlian  at  a 
remoter  age.  In  the  present  instance  they 
accepted  the  challenge  and  drove  the  king 
from  the  throne.  His  brother  Vardanes  was 
called  home  from  a  distant  province  and  given 
the    diadem.      Gotarzes   was  abandoned,  and 


obliged  to  fly  to  the  country  of  the  Dahae, 
where,  according  to  the  precedent  in  such 
cases,  he  put  himself  under  the  protection  of 
the  Scyths. 

Vardanes  came  to  power  without  battle  so 
far  as  his  brother  was  concerned,  but  was 
obliged  to  take  arms  against  the  city  of  Seleu- 
cia.  That  important  metropolis  had  never 
lost  its  Grecian  character — had  never  been  in 
political  or  social  sympathy  with  the  Parthian 
nation.  We  have  heretofore  remarked  upon 
the  quasi  independence  of  the  city  and  its 
government  by  a  local  Senate  of  three  hun- 
dred. Just  about  the  time  of  the  accession 
of  Vardanes  there  was  a  municipal  revolt,  and 
the  authority  of  the  king  was  wholly  dis- 
carded. In  the  year  A.  D.  42  he  brought  an 
army  against  Seleucia  and  laid  siege  to  the 
place,  but  it  was  nearly  seven  years  after  the 
revolt  before  he  succeeded  in  its  suppression. 

In  the  meantime  Go- 
tarzes, fretting  in  banish- 
ment, induced  the  Scyths 
to  support  him  in  making 
war  on  the  king.  He 
accordingly  organized  an 
army,  advanced  into 
Hyrcania,  and  was 
joined    by    malcontents 

until  the  movement  became  formidable.  The 
two  brothers  approached  each  other  for  battle ; 
but  Gotarzes,  learning  that  the  National 
Council  was  about  to  depose  both  of  them, 
sent  word  to  Vardanes,  and  the  two  were 
reconciled.  The  king  remained  in  authority, 
and  Gotarzes  Avas  made  governor  of  Hyr- 
cania. 

It  appears  that  the  Parthians  were  for- 
getful of  the  danger  with  which  they  were 
ever  menaced  from  the  side  of  Rome.  Not- 
withstanding his  treaty  stipulation,  the  king 
now  attempted  to  reassert  his  power  in  Ar- 
menia. That  country  had  accepted  its  place' 
as  a  vassal  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Vardanes,. 
believing  himself  able  to  revolutionize  the 
Armenian  Government,  sought  the  alliance  of 
the  governor  of  Adiabene,  but  that  personage 
opposed  his  projects,  and  remained  loyal  to- 
Rome.  Hereupon  the  Parthian  monarch  went 
to  war   with   him,   but   before    a    result   was 


COIN  OP  VARDANES  I. 


434 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


reached,  Gotarzes  arose  again  in  rebellion, 
and  with  a  Hyrcaniau  army,  attempted  to 
gain  the  throne.  The  king  marched  against 
him  and  defeated  him  in  several  battles. 
But  the  nobles  presently  afterwards  enticed 
Vardanes  into  the  chase,  and  put  him  to 
death. 

This  murder  opened  the  way  for  Gotaezes, 
who,  in  A.  D.  46,  was  recognized  as  king. 
The  character  of  that  prince,  however,  soon 
revealed  itself,  and  the  nobles  sent  an  embassy 
to  Rome,  requesting  that  the  prince  Meher- 
dates,  son  of  Vonones,  be  sent  to  them  for 
the  royal  honor.  The  Emperor  Claudius,  who 
now  occupied  the  throne,  yielded  to  the  re- 
quest, and  Meherdates  was  sent  to  Mesopota- 
mia. He  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  rebellious  army,  and  advanced  as  far  as 
Media  Adiabene.  At  this  point,  however,  his 
forces  began  to  desert  him,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  recede  before  the  king.  Before  es- 
caping from  the  complication  into  which  he 
had  rushed,  he  was  betrayed  into  the  hands 
of  Gotarzes,  who  treated  him  with  contempt 
rather  than  cruelty. 

The  king,  however,  did  not  long  survive 
his  triumph.  In  A.  D.  51  he  died.  The 
crown  was  transferred  to  an  Arsacid  prince 
named  Vonones,  who  is  believed  to  have 
been  a  half  brother  of  Artabanus  III.  No 
events  of  any  importance  occurred  during  his 
reign,  or  at  least  the  record  of  none  such  has 
reached  posterity.  It  is  believed  that  his  oc- 
cupancy of  the  throne  did  not  exceed  a  year 
in  duration.  Nor  is  the  manner  of  his  death 
referred  to  by  the  ancient  historians.  All  that 
is  known  is  that  about  A.  D.  51  or  52  the 
crown  was  transferred  to  the  king's  son  Vola- 
GASES  I.  In  entering  on  his  reign,  the  latter 
appointed  his  brother  Pacorus  to  a  provincial 
governorship,  and  then  undertook  the  conquest 
of  Armenia,  in  order  to  procure  a  province 
for  his  other  brother  named  Tiridates. 

It  appears  that  at  this  juncture  the  Romans 
were  less  jealous  than  usual  concernmg  Par- 
thian intervention  in  Armenian  affairs.  At 
any  rate,  Volagases  was  permitted  to  organize 
an  expedition,  and  to  advance  into  the  coveted 
territory.  He  gained  therein  a  footing,  and 
raised  Tiridates  to  the  governorship.     Having 


done  so  much,  the  king  sent  an  embassy  to 
Nero  to  acquaint  him  with  his  motives  and 
purposes.  The  Roman  Emperor  was  angered 
at  the  thing  done,  and  Corbulo,  a  noted 
general,  and  Umraidius,  at  that  time  Pro- 
consul of  Syria,  were  directed  to  recover  the 
lost  possessions  of  the  Empire.  The  com- 
manders gathered  an  army  on  the  Armenian 
frontier,  but  presently  opened  negotiations 
with  Volagases,  and  the  difficulty  was  adjusted 
without  battle.  Strangely  enough,  the  Romans 
conceded  the  Armenian  kingdom  to  Tiridates; 
and  the  Parthian  monarch  was  permitted  to 
retire  from  the  country  without  punishment. 

These  events  occurred  in  the  year  A.  D. 
55.  It  was  fortunate  for  Volagases  that  he 
was  able  so  easily  to  extricate  himself  from 
the  difficulty  on  his  western  border.  All  of 
his  energies  and  resources  were  now  demanded 
in  an  effort  to  suppress  a  rebellion  Avhich  in 
his  absence  had  been  fomented  by  his  son 
Vardanes.  Civil  war  now  ensued  for  the 
space  of  three  years,  and  the  insurrection  was 
suppressed.  Finding  himself  no  longer  op- 
posed, the  king  turned  again  to  Armenia,  and 
demanded  that  the  Romans  should  make  still 
further  concessions  in  regard  to  the  govern- 
ment of  that  country.  But  the  latter  seized 
the  opportunity  to  recover  the  ground  already 
lost.  Corbulo  occupied  the  years  A.  D.  58-60 
with  a  war  against  the  Armenians,  or  rather 
against  the  Parthian  party,  headed  by  Tiri- 
dates, and  expelled  that  prince  finally  from 
the  counti'y.  The  Roman  rule  was  restored 
in  full,  and  Volagases  was  obliged  to  content 
himself  with  an  Armenian  administi'ation  es- 
tablished by  his  rival. 

By  this  time  the  Parthian  nobles  had  come 
to  doubt  the  infallibility  of  their  monarch. 
They  charged  him  with  iuefficiency  in  permit- 
ting Armenia  to  slip  from  his  grasp.  The 
king,  resolving  to  regain  public  confidence, 
sought  to  do  so  by  organizing  a  third  expedi- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  restoring  Tiridates  to 
the  Armenian  throne.  But  the  expedition  was 
unsuccessful,  and  an  armistice  was  declared 
until  Avhat  time  the  Parthian  embassy  des- 
patched to  Rome  might  return  with  tlie  de- 
cision of  Nero.  The  latter  sent  out  as  his 
representative  and  general  in  the  East  Lucius 


PAR THIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


435 


COIN   OF  VARDANES  II. 


was  DOW  intrusted. 


Psetus.     The  latter  came  into  Syria,  and  joined 
his  forces  with  those  of  Corbulo. 

Both  generals  soon  entered  the  Parthian 
country,  Psetus  making  the  invasion  of  Ar- 
menia. Winter  came  on,  and  the  Roman 
commander  established  himself  in  a  poorly 
fortified  camp.  Volagases  hurried  forward 
with  a  large  army,  and  the  position  of  Paetus 
became  perilous.  He  was  surrounded  by  the 
Parthian  s,  and  obliged 
to  capitulate  on  condi- 
tion of  retiring  from  the 
country.  The  wrecks  of 
his  forces  were  joined 
with  those  of  the  prudent 
Corbulo,  to  whom  the 
maintenance  of  Roman 
interests  in  the  country 
It  was  in  vain  that  the 
Parthian  king  sought  to  induce  Corbulo  to 
come  to  an  accommodation.  The  Roman, 
vfiih  the  opening  of  spring,  advanced  into 
Armenia,  and  reoccupied  the  territory  held  in 
the  previous  year  by  Psetus. 

Volagases  was  now  thoroughly  alarmed, 
and  reopened  negotiations.  Tiridates  was 
obliged,  on  the  site  of  the  old  camp  of  Psetus,  to 
pull  off  his  royal  garments  and  lay  them  down 
before  a  statue  of  Nero.  It  was  agreed,  how- 
ever, that  the  deposed  prince  should  go  to 
Rome  and  receive  again  his  crown  at  the 
hands  of  the  Roman  Emperor.  This  was  ac- 
cordingly done.  While  Tiridates  was  permitted 
to  reign  in  Armenia,  it  was  with  the  consent 
and  virtually  under  the  authority  of  Rome. 

The  reign  of  Volagases  was  now  long  and 
peaceful.  It  is  believed  that  he  held  the  throne 
from  A.  D.  51  to  about  A.  D.  78,  a  period 
of  twenty-seven  years.  He  reached  a  good 
old  age,  and  died,  bequeathing  the  crown  to 
his  son  Pacorus. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  first  century 
of  our  era,  but  few  important  events  occurred 
in  the  history  of  the  Parthian  Empire.  After 
the  troubles  of  Volagases  with  the  Romans, 
no  further  complications  with  that  people  arose 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  It  seems, 
however,  that  the  Parthians,  like  other  bar- 
barian nations,  were  not  more  prosperous  in 
peace  than  in  war.     It  may  be  conceded  that 


war  is  the  natural  condition  of  a  nomadic 
State,  just  as  peace  is  the  normal  condition  of 
an  industrial  State.  So  long  as  the  soil  is  not 
extensively  cultivated,  so  long  as  commerce 
does  not  spring  and  flourish,  so  long  as  manu- 
facturing industries  are  not  created,  a  people 
must  procure  for  themselves  the  objects  of 
desire  by  the  spoliation  of  their  neighbors. 

Of  all  the  ancient  peoples  none  fulfilled  this 
condition  more  perfectly  than  did  the  Par- 
thians. As  a  result,  the  coming  of  peace  was 
the  coming  of  inaction,  sluggishness,  and  de- 
cay. There  were,  moreover,  during  the  reign 
of  Pacorus,  which  extended  to  about  A,  D. 
108,  many  internal  disturbances  which  tended 
to  the  disintegration  of  the  Empire.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  old  feudal  principle  not  only 
held  its  own  against  the  consolidating  forces, 
but  gradually  prevailed  over  them.  In  times 
of  peace  feudalism,  as  illustrated  in  the  local 
governmects  of  the  provinces,  was  rampant  to 
the  extent  of  making  the  feudatories  virtually 
independent.  Rawlinson  has  pointed  out  the 
fact  that  the  history  of  this  period  is  confused 
by  the  presence  of  coins  bearing  the  images 
and  superscriptions  of  sovereigns  unknown  to 
the  Grecian  and  Roman  authors.  Thus  we 
find  a  Vardanes  II.,  and  afterwards,  between 
the  years  62  and  78  A.  D.,  an  Artabanus  IV. 
and  a  Volagases  II.,  as  though  such  sover- 
eigns had  reigned  between  Volagases  I.  and 
his  son  Pacorus.  Further  on  there  is  a  coin 
of  Mithridates  IV.,  for 
whom  there  is  no  place 
in  the  line  of  the  Arsa- 
cidse.  Doubtless  the  ex- 
planation is  to  be  found 
in  the  ^^ct  that  many  of 
the  local  governors  car- 
ried their  independence 
to  the  pitch  of   coining 

money  and  putting  their  own  efiigies  and  in- 
scriptions on  the  coins.  It  might  thus  happen 
that  three  or  four  provincial  mints  were  at 
work  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire  at  the 
same  time. 

On  the  death  of  Pacorus,  which  is  assigned 
to  the  year  108  A.  D.,  the  Megistanes  again 
asserted  their  authority  by  putting  aside  the 
two   sons   of  the   late   king  and  choosing  his 


COIN  OF  MITHRIDATES  IV. 


436 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


brother  Chosroes  instead.  A  reason  for  this 
action  may  be  found  in  the  youth  of  the 
princes  and  in  the  military  experience  of  the 
king-elect.  It  might  be  supposed  that  by 
this  time  the  Parthians  had  learned  by  ex- 
perience the  unwisdom  of  intermeddling  with 
the  affairs  of  Armenia.  It  may  be  confessed, 
however,  that  the  last  compact  Avith  the  Ro- 
mans was  of  a  kind  to  encourage  the  belief 
that  Arsacid  princes  should  henceforth  wear 
the  Armenian  crown.  Tiridates  had  been  ac- 
cepted in  that  relation,  and  reigned  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  at  the  close  of  the  first  cen- 
tury. Pacorus,  at  that  time  king  of  Parthia, 
had  raised  his  son  Exedares  to  the  vacancy, 
assuming  either  that  Rome  would  offer  no 
objection,  or  else  that  he  should  be  able  by 
arms  to  enforce  his  will  and  authority. 

For  the  time  it  appeared  that  the  former 
supposition  was  realized,  and  that  Exedares 
would  be  permitted  to  reign  in  peace.  The 
Roman  Emperor  Trajan  Avas  at  this  time  hotly 
engaged  in  his  war  with  the  Dacians  on  the 
Danube.  This  work  occupied  his  attention 
until  the  year  114  A.  D.,  when  Dacia  was 
subdued.  Trajan  now  found  time  to  turn  his 
attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  East.  A  great 
expedition  was  accordingly  organized  and  sent 
into  Asia,  to  impress  upon  the  Parthians  the 
truth  of  their  forgotten  lesson.  As  the  army 
advanced,  Chosroes  sought  to  stay  the  coming 
storm  by  sending  out  an  embassy,  which  met 
the  Romans  at  Athens.  The  Parthian  pro- 
posed that  Exedares  should  abdicate  the  Ar- 
menian throne,  and  that  hig  brother,  Partha- 
masiris,  should  be  chosen  for  the  place  under 
the  auspices  and  with  the  consent  of  Rome. 
The  proposition  might  well  have  satisfied  the 
Roman  Emperor,  but  the  latter  had  determined 
to  reestablish  his  authority  in  the  East  on  a 
new  basis,  disregarding  all  antecedents,  and 
aiming  only  at  a  permanent  and  undisturbed 
supremacy.  The  Parthian  ambassadors  were 
accordingly  sent  back  to  their  master,  and 
the  expedition  was  carried  into  Asia. 

Nevertheless  Parthamasiris  went  to  the  Ro- 
man camp,  presented  himself  to  the  Emperor, 
and  laid  down  his  crown  before  him.  Trajan, 
however,  instead  of  replacing  it  on  his  head, 
retained   the    prince,  and   presently  informed 


him  that  Armenia  was  destined  henceforth  to 
be  a  Roman  province.  As  for  Parthamasiris, 
he  was  permitted  to  leave  the  camp,  but  was 
pursued  by  a  band  of  Roman  horsemen,  who, 
doubtless  with  the  privity  and  instigation  of 
the  Emperor  himself,  recaptured  him  and  put 
him  to  death.  Chosroes  was  either  unable 
or  unwilling  to  hazard  interference  with  the 
purposes  of  the  murderer  of  his  nephew.  Ar- 
menia was  yielded  up,  and  a  Roman  governor 
was  appointed  to  exercise  authority  over  the 
country  in  place  of  the  Arsacid  prince. 

With  a  high  hand  and  outstretched  arm 
Trajan  proceeded  to  overawe  all  the  neigh- 
boring nations  and  to  instill  the  fear  of  his 
name.  At  least  two  of  the  Western  provinces 
of  Parthia  were  torn  away  and  added  to  the 
Roman  dominion.  Everything  was  settled  ac- 
cording to  the  Emperor's  will,  and  he  then  re- 
2)aired  to  Antioch,  where  he  established  his 
head-quarters  for  the  winter.  Scarcely,  how- 
ever, had  he  planted  himself  in  the  city  when 
it  was  shaken  into  ruins  by  one  of  the  most 
disastrous  earthquakes  recorded  in  Ancient 
History.  The  Emperor  himself  barely  escaped 
from  the  falling  building  in  which  he  had 
taken  his  residence.  All  the  Syrian  cities 
suffered  injury,  greater  or  less,  from  the  dis- 
turbance. The  Eastern  Mediterranean  and 
the  -^gean  sea  were  tossed  and  heaved  by  the 
shock,  and  some  of  the  Greek  towns  were 
thrown  down. 

It  appears  that  Trajan,  while  in  the  East, 
in  the  preceding  year,  namely,  in  A.  D.  115, 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  attack  Parthia  itself. 
His  plans  in  this  particular  were  matured  in 
the  following  spring.  A  Roman  fleet  was  sent 
on  xvagotis  across  the  desert  to  the  Tigris, 
where  the  vessels  were  reconstructed  and 
launched.  It  was  determined  to  make  Media 
Adiabene  the  point  of  attack.  Against  this 
country  the  expedition  was  now  directed, 
and  Chosroes  found  himself  unable  to  defend 
his  province.  He  was  obliged,  by  the  internal 
condition  of  the  Empire,  to  hold  aloof  from 
the  contest  and  see  one  of  the  most  important 
countries  under  his  authority  overrun  by  the 
Romans. 

The  passion  of  Trajan  Avas  now  thoroughly 
aroused.     From  his  conquest  of  Adiabene  he 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


437 


inarched  against  Ctesiphon,  and  took  the  city. 
He  traversed  Mesopotamia,  and  captured  Bab- 
ylon without  fighting  a  battle.  Seleucia  re- 
volted, and,  following  her  immemorial  prefer- 
ence, fell  willingly  into  the  hands  of  the 
conqueror.  The  Parthian  king  retired  from 
his  capital  cities,  and  went  far  into  the  inte- 
rior, drawing  after  him  the  Roman  army.  It 
appears  that  not  even  the  discerning  mind  of 
Trajan  was  able  to  apprehend  the  danger  to 
which  he  exposed  himself  in  his  lengthening 
march  to  the  East.  When  he  had  advanced 
to  a  great  distance  in  that  direction  without 
being  able  to  bring  the  enemy  to  battle,  he 
was  suddenly  startled  with  the  intelligence 
that  the  provinces  and  cities  behind  him  were 
rising  against  the  Romans.  City  gates  were 
shut  on  every  hand.  The  soldiers  began  to 
suffer.  The  Parthians  rallied  and  returned  in 
the  wake  of  the  retreat.  Not  without  serious 
losses,  vexations,  and  humiliations  did  the 
Roman  army  finally  succeed  in  reaching  a 
place  of  safety.  The  Parthians  recovered 
everything  except  Adiabene,  Upper  Mesopo- 
tamia, and  Armenia.  Trajan  himself  scarcely 
survived  his  repulse.  He  died  in  117  A.  D., 
and  was  succeeded  in  the  Imperial  authority 
by  Hadrian. 

Each  party  in  the  conflict,  thus  ever  re- 
newed on  the  eastern  frontier  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  had  now  learned  a  lesson  from  the 
other.  Hadrian  was  not  slow  to  perceive  that 
the  vaulting  ambition  of  Trajan  had  over- 
reached itself  and  fallen  on  the  other  side. 
He  immediately  changed  the  policy  of  the 
Empire  with  respect  to  Parthia,  choosing  the 
method  of  conciliation  and  concession.  Upper 
Mesopotamia  and  Adiabene  were  restored  to 
Chosroes.  The  daughter  of  that  monarch, 
whom  Trajan  had  captured  and  sent  to  Rome, 
was  returned  in  honor  to  her  father.  In  the 
year  A.  D.  122  the  two  emperors  met  on  the 
disputed  border  and  personally  adjusted  the 
affairs  between  them.  The  Parthian  king 
lived  to  about  130  A.  D.,  when  the  throne 
passed  toVoLAGASES  II.  But  the  relations  of  the 
latter  to  the  Arsacid  line  are  uncertain.  Most 
authors  have  made  the  descent  regular  from 
father  to  son,  but  in  this  instance  the  testi- 
mony of  the  coins  and  the  accepted  narratives 


of  the  Greek  and  Roman  historians  are  in 
conflict ;  for  which  reason  the  place  by  de- 
scent of  the  second  Volagases  in  the  diagram 
of  the  Arsacidse  has  been  indicated  by  the  line 
of  doubt. 

The  new  reign  was  one  of  peace.  The 
agreement  between  Hadrian  and  Chosroes  was 
on  the  whole  well  kept.  It  seems,  moreover, 
that  at  this  time  the  feudatories  were  less 
troublesome — less  disposed  to  advance  their 
own  claims  to  independence — than  they  had 
been  during  the  preceding  half  century.  In 
only  one  instance  was  the  peace  of  the  Empire 
under  Volagases  II.  seriously  broken.  At  this 
time  a  certain  Pharasmanes,  king  of  the  Ibe- 
rians, had  become  in  his  own  esteem  an  im- 
portant personage  in  Western  Asia..  Himself 
a  feudatory  of  Rome,  he  dared  to  treat  Ha- 
drian and  his  authority  with  contempt.  To- 
wards Volagases  he  held  a  similar  insolent 
attitude.  At  length  he  instigated  the  bar- 
barous nation  of  the  Alani  to  pass  the  Cauca- 
sus and  plunder  Cappadocia  and  Atropatene. 
The  first  of  these  States  belonged  to  Rome ; 
the  other,  to  Parthia.  Volagases  found  cause 
to  complain  to  Hadrian  of  the  conduct  of  his 
vassal.  The  Roman  governor  Arrian  soon 
drove  the  Alani  out  of  Cappadocia,  but 
neglected  to  expel  them  from  Atropatene.  The 
Parthian  king  for  his  part — being  no  warrior — 
was  constrained  at  length  to  purchase  the  re- 
tirement of  the  barbarians  with  much  gold. 

Volagases  reigned  until  A.  D.  149.  Ha- 
drian had  died  eleven  years  previously.  The 
latter  was  succeeded  in  the  Imperial  dignity  by 
Titus  Aurelius,  first  of  the  Antonines.  Soon 
after  his  accession,  a  passing  gust  of  ill  feeling 
was  created  between  the  two  Empires  by  the 
attempt  of  the  Parthian  king  to  recover  the 
golden  throne  of  his  ancestors  which  Trajan 
had  captured  in  Ctesiphon  and  sent  home  to 
Rome.  It  was  claimed  by  the  Parthians  that 
the  amicable  relations  now  existing  between 
the  East  and  the  West  warranted  and  de- 
manded the  surrender  of  the  trophy.  But 
neither  Hadrian  nor  his  successor  was  willing 
to  give  it  up. 

As  for  the  Parthian  succession,  that  fell  to 
Volagases  III. ,  son  of  the  late  king.  He  was 
destined  to  the  longest  reign  which  had  ever 


43S 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


yet  occurred  in  the  anuals  of  the  Arsacid 
kings.  At  the  beginning  of  his  reign  his  am- 
bitions incited  him  to  hostility  with  Rome. 
He  made  preparation  for  a  war,  but  a  remon- 
strance and  rebuke  from  Antouinus  Pius  pre- 
vented the  outbreak.  Nevertheless  the  Par- 
thian cherished  his  purpose,  and  in  A.  D.  161 
he  began  a  war  by  invading  Armenia.  The 
Parthiaus  had  never  been  satisfied  with  the 
protectorate  of  Rome  over  that  country. 
They  had  always  sought,  when  the  opportunity 
was  present,  to  restore  their  influence  by  es- 
tablishing on  the  Armenian  throne  a  priuce  of 
the  Arsacidse,  to  the  end  that  the  two  countries 
should  be  and  remain  in  political  and  military 
sympathy. 

An  opportunity  to  reassert  the  ancient 
claim  was  afforded  by  the  death  of  the  first 
Antoninus  and  the  accession  of  his  son,  the 
justly  celebrated  Marcus  Aurelius.  The  Par- 
thian king  was  successful  in  his  Armenian 
campaigns,  and  a  certain  Tigranes,  his  kins- 
man, was  made  king.  Hereupon  Severianus, 
prefect  of  Cappadocia,  accepted  the  challenge, 
and  marched  against  the  Parthians.  Crossing 
the  Euphrates,  he  was  met,  near  Elegeia,  by 
the  army  of  the  king,  was  driven  into  the 
city,  besieged,  and  in  a  short  time  destroyed 
with  all  his  forces.  The  Parthians  now  as- 
sumed the  offensive,  an  I  made  a  great  cam- 
paign into  Syria  and  PaLstine.  Such  high- 
handed proceedings  roused  great  animosity  at 
Rome,  and  an  army  under  command  of  Lucius 
Verus,  brother  of  the  Emperor,  was  sent  at 
once  to  the  East.  On  his  arrival  in  Asia, 
terms  of  accommodation  were  offered  to  the 
Parthians,  but  were  rejected  with  scorn.  The 
lieutenants  of  Verus  then  threw  forward  the 
army  from  Antioch,  and  in  A.  D.  163  Vola- 
gases  was  routed  in  the  battle  of  Europus. 

Meanwhile,  a  revulsion  took  place  in  Ar- 
menia. Statins  Priscus  and  other  generals  of 
the  Roman  army  marched  into  that  country, 
and  Tigranes  was  driven  from  the  throne.  It 
could  not  be  expected  that  after  thus  hurling 
back  the  Parthians  into  their  own  country  the 
Romans  would  forbear  to  follow  up  their  suc- 
cesses with  invasion.  Cassius  received  from 
the  Emperor  the  appointment  of  Captain- 
general,  with  instructions,  or  at   least  permis- 


sion, to  carry  the  war  into  Parthia.  The 
advance  was  begun  under  favorable  auspices, 
and  a  battle  was  fought  at  Sura,  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, in  which  the  Romans  were  victorious, 
Cassius  then  advanced  on  the  great  city  of 
Seleucia,  which  he  besieged,  took,  and  de- 
stroyed. Ctesiphon  met  the  same  fate.  The 
king,  his  government  and  his  army  were 
obliged  to  fall  back  into  the  interior.  Media 
was  overrun  by  the  conquerors,  and  for  the 
time  it  seemed  that  a  greater  than  Antonius 
or  Trajan  had  come. 

At  the  crisis  of  the  war,  however,  when  it 
seemed  that  the  Parthian  Empire  was  about 
to  be  overthrown,  a  strange  and  terrible  pesti- 
lence broke  out  in  the  Roman  army,  and  the 
soldiers  began  to  die  by  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands. Superstition  contrived  for  the  malady 
a  supernatural  origin.  It  was  said  that  a  cell 
in  one  of  the  temples  at  Seleucia  had  been 
broken  open  by  the  soldiers,  and  that  a  spirit 
of  death  had  issued  forth  to  punish  the  sacri- 
lege. Terror  and  disease  combined  to  ruin 
the  expedition.  The  army  receded  from  Asia 
into  Europe,  spreading  the  pestilence  in  its 
wake.  Only  a  few  of  the  soldiers  survived, 
and  Italy  was  so  greatly  infected  as  to  lose  a 
large  percentage  of  her  population. 

Thus  in  disaster  ended  the  most  successful 
campaign — so  far  as  its  military  progress  was 
concerned — which  the  Romans  had  ever  made 
into  Parthia.  It  would  appear  that  the  Par- 
thians were  not  foolish  enough  to  underrate 
the  injury  which  they  had  suffered.  They 
were  intelligent  enough  to  perceive  that  the 
pestilence  rather  than  their  own  valor  had 
saved  the  Empire  from  conquest  and  per- 
haps disruption.  Volagases,  therefore,  was 
satisfied  to  have  peace  by  the  cession  to  Rome 
of  the  province  of  Osrhoeue,  which  remained 
henceforth  a  part  of  the  Roman  dominion. 
Parthia  was  obliged  to  accept  the  humiliation. 
Her  two  great  cities  had  been  leveled  to  the 
ground.  Her  army  was  no  longer  able  to 
contend  with  the  legions  of  Rome,  even  when 
the  latter  were  commanded  by  lieutenants. 
Civil  contention  had  tended  powerfully  to 
weaken  the  monarchy.  The  method  of  mutual 
assassination  among  the  Arsacid  princes  had 
prevailed  so  long  as  to  become  a  precedent  of 


FARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


439 


political  action.  More  than  all,  the  vice  of 
race  had  prevented  the  emergence  of  the  people 
into  the  higher  forms  of  civilization.  Neither 
literature  nor  art  had  appeared  with  its  regen- 
erating influence  to  renew,  vivify,  and  en- 
lighten the  nation.  It  would  seem  that  the 
spirit  of  Volagases  himself 
was  humbled  or  broken. 
After  the  destruction  of 
his  capital,  he  reigned  for 
fully  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
but  gave  little  sign  of 
those  ambitions  which  had 
fired  the  energies  of  his 
youth.  Only  in  a  single 
instance  did  there  appear 
a  likelihood  of  the  renewal 
of  war  with  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. Cassius,  great  in  the 
recollection  of  his  Asiatic 
campaign,  became  an  in- 
surgent in  Syria,  where  he 
was  in  command,  and  in  the 
year  A.  D.  174  proclaimed 
himself  Emperor  in  that 
country.  Between  him  and 
Volagases  hostilities  were 
imminent,  when  the  Roman 
army  out  of  Europe  ar- 
rived in  Syria,  and  the  re- 
volt of  Cassius  was  put 
down  with  a  strong  hand. 
The  Roman  Emperor,  al- 
ways inclined  to  peace, 
readily  accepted  the  over- 
tures which  were  now  made 
by  the  Parthian  king,  and 
the  long  existing  amicable 
relations  between  the  two 
Powers  were  fully  restored. 

With  the  death  of  Mar- 
cus Aurelius,  in  the  year 
A.  D.  180,  the  Roman 
throne  went  to  his  son  Commodus,  infamous 
in  the  annals  of  the  Empire.  Volagases  sur- 
vived his  contemporary  for  eleven  years,  dying 
in  the  year  191,  and  bequeathing  his  crown 
to  his  son  Volagases  IV. 

The  reader  of  history  will  readily  recall  the 
course  of  events  at  this  epoch  in   the  West. 


Commodus  was  murdered,  and  the  Imperial 
throne  was  presently  claimed  by  several  com- 
petitors. In  the  East,  Pesceunius  Niger  set 
up  his  banner  and  claimed  the  diadem.  In 
the  West,  Severus  was  acknowledged  at  Rome. 
Other  claimants  arose  in  the  persons  of  Albi- 


PARTHIAN  CAPTIVES  BEFORE  MARCUS  AURELIUS. 


nus  and  Julianus.  When  Niger  perceived 
that  he  must  take  by  the  sword  the  crown  to 
which  he  aspired,  he  sought  the  aid  of  the 
Parthian  king.  The  latter  was  wary  of  the 
proposed  alliance.  One  of  his  dependents, 
however,  the  satrap  of  Hatra,  joined  his  for- 
tunes with  the  Roman  pretender,  and  sent  to 


440 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


him  a  body  of  troops.  On  the  whole,  how- 
ever, the  Parthian  nations  were  disposed  to 
take  advantage  of  the  civil  war  in  the  AVest, 
and  to  expel  the  Romans  from  Mesopotamia. 
They  seized  the  places  which  had  been  occu- 
pied for  generations  by  Roman  garrisons,  and 
demanded  that  all  Europeans  should  retire 
from  the  country. 

Meanwhile,  Severus  triumphed  over  his 
■enemies,  and  at  once  undertook  to  restore  the 
Imperial  authority  beyond  the  Euphrates. 
This  work  was  accomplished  with  comparative 
€ase.  Not  only  was  Mesopotamia  ovei-run, 
but  Adiabene  was  entered  and  occupied.  By 
the  time  this  work  was  accomplished,  however, 
namely,  in  the  summer  of  A.  D.  195,  a  new 
complication  had  arisen  in  Italy,  and  Severus 
was  obliged  to  hurry  to  the  West. 

It  was  hoped  by  Volagases  IV.  and  his 
subjects  that  the  retirement  was  final,  and 
hostilities  were  immediately  renewed.  Not 
only  in  Adiabene,  but  in  Mesopotamia  also, 
the  Roman  garrisons  were  attacked  and  either 
destroyed  or  expelled  from  the  country. 
Syria  was  entered  and  terrorized ;  but  Sev- 
erus had  by  this  time  restored  order  in  the 
West,  and  hastily  returned  to  prosecute  the 
Eastern  war.  The  Parthians  were  hurled 
from  Syria.  In  A.  D.  197  a  Roman  army 
was  sent  into  Armenia,  and  the  protectorate 
of  the  Empire  over  that  province  was  rees- 
tablished. The  Parthian  king  had  a  personal 
conference  with  Severus,  and  gave  his  sons 
into  the  hands  of  the  Emperor  as  hostages. 

It  seems,  however,  that  the  Parthian  king 
was  no  longer  able  to  control  the  destinies 
of  his  Empire.  The  Mesopotamian  provinces 
and  cities  were  hostile  to  the  Romans,  and 
Severus  had  to  send  detachments  of  his  army 
to  bring  them  into  subjection.  One  after  an- 
other the  hostile  parts  were  invaded  and  sub- 
dued. Ctesiphon,  which  had  in  the  mean  time 
been  rebuilt  and  reestablished  as  the  capital, 
was  the  next  object  of  attack.  The  Romans 
carried  the  city  by  assault,  and  Volagases 
saved  himself  from  capture  by  fleeing  into  the 
interior.  The  city  was  plundered  by  the  in- 
vaders, and  a  great  part  of  the  inhabitants 
put  to  the  sword.  Again  it  appeared  that  the 
Parthian  Empire  was  at  the  verge  of  extinc- 


tion ;  but  the  supplies  of  the  Roman  array 
failed,  and  it  became  necessary  for  the  Emperor 
to  retire.  In  doing  so  he  sought  to  take,  en 
7-oute,  the  city  of  Hatra.  But  in  this  project 
he  was  unsuccessful.  The  Parthians  rallied, 
and  Severus  found  it  expedient  to  retire  into 
Syria.  In  this  case,  however,  the  Parthians 
did  not  pursue.  The  damage  done  to  Vola- 
gases and  his  Empire  had  been  so  great  that 
he  did  not  dare  to  follow  his  retiring  antago- 
nist. Severus  remained  in  the  East  until  the 
year  A.  D.  201,  having  in  the  interval  re- 
stored order  in  all  the  countries  to  the  limits 
of  the  Roman  Empire. 

As  for  Volagases  IV. ,  his  reign  extended  to 
the  year  209,  while  that  of  Severus  continued 
for  two  years  longer.  It  was  the  misfortune 
of  the  Parthian  sovereign  to  leave  a  disputed 
succession.  His  sons  Artabanus  and  Vola- 
gases contended  for  the  crown.  It  is  believed 
that  both  of  these  princes  reigned  as  contem- 
poraries in  different  parts  of  the  Empire.  But 
Volagases  V.  was  displaced  about  216  A.  D., 
and  the  sole  dominion  remained  to  Artabanus 
IV.  The  latter  was  recognized  as  king  by  the 
Romans. 

In  the  West,  Caracalla  succeeded  his  father 
Severus  in  the  year  211.  At  that  time  civil 
war  existed  in  Parthia  between  the  two  brothers 
who  were  contending  for  the  crown.  The  new 
Roman  Emperor  was  ambitious,  from  the  day 
of  his  accession,  of  winning  fame  by  war,  and 
since  the  opportunity  did  not  ofler  in  the 
West,  he  turned  his  attention  to  Asia.  Not 
satisfied  with  having  Osrhoene  reduced  to  a 
Roman  province,  he  sought  to  bring  the  an- 
cient and  oft-disputed  kingdom  of  Armenia 
into  like  relation  with  the  Empire.  He  man- 
aged by  treachery  to  seize  the  Armenian  king 
and  his  family,  whereupon  the  subjects  of  the 
captive  monarch  took  up  arms.  Fighting 
with  desperation,  they  succeeded  in  Avinning  a 
victory  over  the  Roman  lieutenant  who  was 
sent  to  subdue  them. 

Nevertheless,  Caracalla  continued  his  ex- 
actions and  oppressions,  and  sought  a  quarrel 
with  the  Parthian  king.  He  himself  went  to 
Antioch,  and  established  there  his  capital. 
Soon  afterwards  he  opened  with  the  Parthian 
monarch  negotiations  of  an  extraordinary  kind. 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


441 


The  student  of  Roman  history  is  well  aware 
of  the  desperate  character  of  Caracalla,  and  is 
prepared  to  expect  all  manner  of  treachery  at 
his  hands.  In  nothing,  however,  was  the 
deep-seated  perfidy  of  his  nature  more  fully 
revealed  than  in  the  transaction  in  which  he 
now  engaged  with  Artabanus  IV.  He  sent 
an  embassy  to  that  sovereign  bearing  a  letter 
in  which  the  Roman  traversed  at  length  the 
relations  existing  between  the  two  Empires, 
and  ended  by  asking  the  Parthian  to  give  him 
his  daughter  in  marriage.  By  this  means  the 
two  great  Powers  of  Europe  and  Asia  would 
be  united  in  a  common  destiny.  The  sur- 
rounding barbarian  nations  could  be  easily 
reduced  by  war,  and  thus  the  two  great  Pow- 
ers of  Europe  and  Asia  be  brought  under  a 
single  scepter. 

The  Parthian  king  was 
staggered  by  this  astounding 
proposal,  but  seeing  that  war 
was  intended  in  case  of  a 
refusal,  he  first  temporized 
and  then  yielded  to  the  de- 
mand. The  Roman  Em- 
peror hereupon  set  out  in 
great  state,  with  a  strong 
military  force,  to  visit  the 
Parthian  capital  and  re- 
ceive his  bride.  On  arriv- 
ing at  Ctesiphon  he  was 
received  with  corresponding 
pomp  in  the  plain  before  the 
city.  But  while  the  ceremonies  were  pre- 
paring, and  the  conference  of  the  sovereigns 
no  more  than  begun,  a  signal  was  given,  and 
the  Roman  soldiers  rose  with  drawn  swords 
upon  the  Parthians.  The  latter  were  butch- 
ered by  thousands.  The  king  himself  barely 
escaped  the  common  fate.  Ctesiphon  was 
taken  and  plundered,  and  the  Romans,  laden 
with  spoils,  set  out  on  the  return  through 
Babylonia.  On  the  way  Caracalla  directed 
his  march  through  the  ancient  necropolis  of 
the  Parthian  nobility  at  Arbela.  Here  the 
Romans  paused  and  tore  open  and  ravaged 
the  tombs.  Thence  they  continued  the  march 
to  Edessa,  where  the  Emperor  established 
himself  for  the  winter  of  216-17.  In  the  fol- 
lowing spring  he  made  preparations  to  renew 


his  barbarous  and  wanton  war,  but  in  April 
of  this  year  he  was  assassinated  in  the  temple 
of  the  Moon-god,  at  Carrhte. 

So  far  as  Caracalla  possessed  the  right  to 
the  Imperial  diadem  of  Rome,  the  same  was 
now  transferred  to  Macrinus,  who  to  the  vices 
of  his  predecessor  added  a  cowardice  of  his 
own.  He  would  fain  have  come  to  an  accom- 
modation with  the  Parthians,  but  the  latter 
were  now  angered  to  desperation.  In  the 
negotiations  that  followed  Artabanus  made 
such  demands  as  could  not  be  accepted  even 
by  a  poltroon.  Macrinus  was  accordingly 
obliged  to  put  forth  his  army  and  take  the 
hazard  of  battle.  The  hostile  forces  came 
together  near  the  city  of  Nisibis,  at  this  time 
the    metropolis    of   Mesopotamia.      Here    the 


SACK  OF  CTESIPHON  BY  THE  ROMANS. 


question  was  finally  decided  whether  the  power 
of  Rome  should  be  extended  over  the  Great 
Plateau  of  Iran,  or  whether  the  line  of  de- 
markation  which  Augustus  had  pointed  out 
should  remain  as  the  thus-far  of  Roman  domi- 
nation in  the  East. 

Both  armies  as  they  came  together  were  at 
their  best;  but  the  Parthians  were  the  more 
ably  commanded.  The  battle  began  with  a 
local  struggle  between  divisions  of  the  two 
forces  for  the  possession  of  a  stream  which 
was  to  furnish  water.  A  hard-fought  engage- 
ment terminated  indecisively,  and  the  armies 
rested  for  the  night.  On  the  following  morn- 
ing the  conflict  was  renewed,  and  all  day  long 
the  battle  raged  with  fury.  One  division  of 
the  Parthian  army  was  composed  of  a   body 


442 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  soldiers  mounted  on  camels,  and  armed 
with  long  spears  against  which  it  was  difficult 
for  the  Romans  to  stand.  In  falling  back, 
however,  they  sowed  the  ground  with  tribuli, 
which,  piercing  the  camels'  feet,  ended  the 
charge.  Again  night  came  on  with  the  battle 
undecided. 

On  the  third  day,  however,  the  Parthians 
began  to  gain.  Their  cavalry  wings  were  ex- 
tended right  and  left,  and  seemed  to  envelop 
the  legions.  These  were  obliged  to  thin  ranks 
in  order  to  confront  the  enemy.  Hereupon, 
by  rapid  evolution,  the  Parthians  concentrated 
their  forces,  charged  after  their  furious  manner, 
and  drove  the  Romans  from  the  field.  The 
latter  sought  safety  in  their  camp,  and  were 
in  peril  of  destruction.  But  the  Parthians,  as 
well  as  their  foe,  had  suffered  enormous  losses, 
and  when  Macrinus  opened  negotiations,  Arta- 
banus  was  willing  to  grant  more  liberal  terms 
than  might  have  been  expected  from  such  a 
victor  on  such  a  field.  He,  however,  de- 
manded and  received  a  sum  equal  to  about 
seven  and  a-half  million  dollars  as  an  indem- 
nity for  the  injuries  inflicted  on  his  people  and 
provinces. 

Such  was  the  end  of  a  conflict  which  had 
extended  through  nearly  three  centurius  of 
time.  The  Romans  and  the  Parthians  fought 
no  more  battles.  Of  all  the  outlying  countries 
of  Europe  or  Asia,  only  the  Parthian  Em- 
pire had  been  able  to  interpose  an  immovable 
bulwark  against  the  aggressive  ambitions  of  the 
race  of  Romulus.  It  might  well  appear  that 
now,  when  the  conflict  had  been  finally  decided 
against  the  Romans  by  the  sword — when  the 
Emperor  Macrinus  himself  had  been  obliged 
to  fly  from  the  field  of  Nisibis  in  order  to  save 
his  life — the  Parthians  would  revive  from  their 
depression  and  enter  upon  a  new  career  of  de- 
velopment. Destiny,  however,  had  written  it 
otherwise.  That  which  a  foreign  enemy  had 
been  unable  to  accomplish  was  now  to  be 
brought  about  by  internal  violence.  Through 
the  whole  history  of  the  Empire,  the  disrupt- 
ive forces  had  been  at  work.  The  provinces 
had  been  held  together  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty. Time  and  again  we  "have  referred  to 
the  fact  that  no  stronger  political  tie  than  the 
Feudal  principle  had  been   discovered  where- 


with to  bind  the  nations  and  peoples,  brought 
under  a  single  dominion  by  Mithridates,  into 
one  great  community,  having  common  interests 
and  common  conditions  of  life.  This  circum- 
stance was  the  element  of  weakness  which  had 
ever  menaced  the  stability  of  the  Empire,  and 
out  of  this  was  now  to  spring  the  great  catas- 
trophe by  which  the  Parthian  dominion  was 
to  be  subverted. 

It  remained  for  Persia — that  is  Persia 
Proper — to  become  the  agent  of  disruption. 
The  reader  will  remember  that  it  was  under 
the  auspices  of  Persia  that  the  former  great 
Empire  had  been  created  on  the  Iranian 
Plateau.  With  the  conquest  of  Alexander, 
the  ancient  Power  was  destroyed,  and  Persia 
became  a  tributary  kingdom  in  the  new  do- 
minion established  by  the  Arsacidse.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  Persian  kings  had  had,  during 
the  Parthian  ascendency,  a  show  of  respect,  a 
degree  of  importance,  which  might  not  be 
paralleled  among  the  other  feudatories  of  the 
Empire. 

There  were,  however,  serious  causes  of  dis- 
content among  the  Persians.  The  tradition 
of  their  old-time  glory,  the  memory  of  the 
deeds  of  Cyrus  and  Darius  Hystaspis  still  lin- 
gered among  the  people.  Outside  of  the 
Greek  cities  no  other  province  of  the  Empire 
was  comparable  with  Persia  in  culture  and  re- 
finement. The  ancient  religious  faith  tended 
to  pride  of  race  and  contempt  for  the  Pagan 
States.  The  Imperial  Government  had  for 
several  centuries  pursued  a  tolerant  policy  in 
matters  of  religion,  granting  no  exclusive  favors 
to  any  particular  faith.  This  policy  was  a 
matter  of  great  grief  to  the  Persian  Magi,  who 
had  all  the  haughtiness  and  bigotry  of  Asiatic 
Pharisees.  To  be  placed  on  a  level  with  the 
servants  of  the  other  gods  of  the  Parthian 
Empire  was  a  thing  intolerable  to  the  Persians 
of  the  ancient  sacerdotal  order.  The  secular 
offices  within  the  limits  of  Persia  were  gener- 
ally filled  by  Parthians  as  against  the  claims 
of  native  warriors  and  statesmen.  Notwith- 
standing their  great  lineage  and  glorious  his- 
tory, the  Persians  were  unable  to  see  that  they 
enjoyed  any  advantages — civil,  religious,  or 
social — over  the  rude  and  half-civilized  nations 
of  the  Northern  provinces.     The  reasons  for 


PARTHIA.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  ANNALS. 


443 


rebelliou  wei'e  thus  deep-seated  in  the  constitu- 
tion and  history  of  the  State,  and  nothing 
but  opportunity  was  wanting  for  a  great  in- 
surrection. 

At  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Nisibis  the 
under-king  of  Persia  bore  the  famous  name 
of  Artaxerxes.  He  appears  to  have  been  a 
man  of  extraordinary  ambitions  and  great 
force  of  character.  It  is  believed  that  he  was 
himself  a  Magus,  profoundly  instructed  in  the 
mysteries  of  the  ancient  faith,  and  deeply  de- 
voted to  the  religion  of  his  countrymen.  It 
were  impossible  to  tell,  in  the  absence  of  con- 
temporary evidences,  the  precise  motives  by 
which  the  Persian  king  was  influenced  in  rais- 
ing the  standard  of  revolution.  Certain  it  is 
that  one  of  the  leading  impulses  of  the  re- 
bellion was  the  hoped-for  restoration  of  the 
ancient  Zoroastrian  faith,  which  had  for  so 
long  a  period  been  reduced  to  the  level  of  a 
pagan  cult.  But  we  may  well  believe  that 
the  Persian  under-king  was  influenced  in  haz- 
arding his  fortunes  on  the  issue  of  civil  war 
by  political  and  warlike  ambitions,  as  well  as 
by  his  religious  zeal.  He  perceived  in  the 
Parthian  situation  a  great  opportunity.  A 
pretender  to  the  Imperial  crown,  named  Vola- 
gases  v.,  had  appeared  in  the  field.  He 
claimed  to  be  a  representative  of  the  Arsacid 
dynasty,  and  was  not  without  a  considerable 
support  in  difl^erent  provinces.  It  is  believed, 
moreover,  that  Hyrcania  had  already  fallen 
away  from  its  allegiance  to  the  Empire.  Many 
other  circumstances,  the  nature  of  which  it  is 
difficult,  after  so  great  a  lapse  of  time,  to  ap- 
prehend, were  doubtless  potential  in  exciting 
and  directing  the  revolutionary  movement 
which  now  broke  out  in  Persia,  under  the 
leadership  of  Artaxerxes.  To  him  it  now  re- 
mained, in  the  same  year  of  the  final  repulse 
of  the  Romans,  to  raise  the  standard  of  suc- 
cessful revolt  against  Artabanus. 

It  would  seem  that  Artabanus  had  suffered 
so  greatly  from  his  recent  Roman  wars  with 
Commodus,  Caracalla,  and  Macrinus,  as  to 
be  unable  to  bring  into  the  field  against  the 
revolted  country  an  army  of  suflBcient  strength 
and  resources  for  the  work.  At  any  rate, 
when  the  two  forces — the  insurrectionary  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  Imperial  on  the  other — 


came  together  on  the  plain  of  Hormuz,  the 
king's  army  was  beaten  in  battle,  routed,  and 
driven  to  the  four  winds.  Artabanus  himself 
was  slain ,  and  the  victory  of  the  Persians  was 
so  complete  that  there  was  little  hope  of  re- 
viving the  national  cause.  Some  of  the  Ar- 
sacid princes  sought  to  restore  the  fortunes 
of  their  House,  and  desultory  fighting  con- 
tinued through  another  year;  but  the  army  of 
Artaxerxes  triumphed  more  and  more,  and  he 
was  soon  enabled  to  compel  the  last  represent- 
ative of  the  ancient  dynasty  to  submit  to  his 
will.  Thus  by  conquest  and  a  complete  re- 
version of  political  relations  was  the  Em- 
pire founded  by  Arsaces,  and  developed  and 
defended  by  the  great  kings  of  the  second 
century  B.  C,  crowded  to  the  precipice,  and 
hurled  down  into  darkness  and  oblivion. 

The  causes  of  the  subversion  of  the  Par- 
thian Power  are  easily  discoverable,  even  from 
the  rapid  survey  here  presented  of  the  history 
of  the  Empire.  In  the  first  place,  the  exist- 
ence of  feudalism  in  its  Asiatic  form  had  pre- 
vented the  complete  union  of  the  many  prov- 
inces and  dependencies  constituting  the  Imperial 
dominions.  Time  and  again  we  have  pointed 
out  the  disastrous  results  of  the  loose  con- 
federative  system  on  which  the  Empire  was 
founded.  The  diflferent  peoples  thus  vaguely 
combined  under  a  single  govei-nment  retained 
too  great  a  measure  of  independence  and  sov- 
ereignty for  the  welfare  and  stability  of  the 
central  administration.  The  feudatories  never 
coalesced  to  the  extent  of  forming  a  consoli- 
dated union.  The  Empire  was  merely  a  league 
of  States  ranging  in  character  fi'om  half-bar- 
baric to  civilized  and  refined.  Over  these  dif- 
ficulties of  government  a  common  language, 
common  institutions,  and  a  common  spirit 
could  not  well  prevail. 

In  the  next  place,  the  family  of  the  Arsacidse 
branched  out  into  subordinate  sovereignties,  any 
one  of  which  might  aspire  to  the  hegemony 
of  the  Empire.  The  Arsacid  princes,  in  the 
second  century  B.  C,  felt  no  longer  the  strong 
tie  of  kindred.  They  were  not  sufficiently 
advanced  in  statesmanship  to  understand  that 
the  interests  of  each  Avere  subordinate  to  the 
interests  of  the  dynasty  as  a  whole.  The  di- 
verse motherhood  of  the  princes  often  aggra- 


444 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


vated  the  existing  condition;  for  when  have 
the  two  mothers  of  the  sons  of  a  common 
father  forborne  to  quarrel  and  hate  and  mur- 
der in  the  supposed  interest  of  their  own 
offspring? 

Doubtless,  moreover,  there  was,  to  a  certain 
extent,  a  dynastic  decay  in  the  Arsacid  family ; 
but  this  was  little  noticeable  in  the  general 
condition  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  cen- 
tury. Artabanus  fought  valiantly,  and  was 
victorious  over  the  Romans.  Even  after  him 
Prince  Artavasdes,  who  sought  to  shore  up  the 
falling  monarchy,  struggled  hard  to  sustain  the 
fortunes  of  his  House.  But  the  effort  was  in 
vain,  and  the  Empire  went  down  headlong  to 
ruin,  under  the  impact  of  the  Persian  Rebellion. 

In  the  course  of  the  present  Book  the 
reader's  attention  has  been  carried  forward  from 
the  time    of  the   destruction  of  the  Persian 


Empire  by  Alexander  the  Great  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  last  of  the  Arsacid  kings,  and 
the  revival  of  the  Persian  Power  under  Ar- 
taxerxes  Ardishir,  founder  of  the.  Sassanian 
Dynasty.  He  is  now  asked  to  retrace  his 
course  to  the  point  of  view  which  he  occupied 
at  the  beginning;  to  stand  again  on  the  field 
of  Arbela  ;  to  note  from  that  point  of  obser- 
vation the  conquerors  rather  than  the  con- 
quered ;  to  cast  his  eye  to  the  far  West  in  the 
direction  from  which  those  conquerors  came — 
to  Macedonia,  to  the  ^gean  archipelago,  to 
the  main-land  of  ancient  Hellas — and  to  take 
up,  as  his  next  great  lesson  in  the  progress  of 
human  history,  the  story  of  those  Hellenic 
peoples,  to  whom,  without  reserve,  the  heroic 
praise  may  be  accorded  of  the  most  intellectual, 
the  most  witty,  the  most  fascinating,  the  most 
artistic,  and  the  most  poetic  race  of  men. 


pgy<PM^^gffggyj>mf^^igM^^ 


FRIEZE  OVER  DOORM'AY  OF  TEMPLE,   HATRA.      (After  RoSS.) 


SPORTS  OF  GREER  GIRLS 


lllM^MMMMMMMMMMJ[llMMM^M^LM§MMWiMJi 


laafe  :gig|l|. 


QRBECB. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI.— The    country. 


REECE,  the  eastermost 
of  the  three  peninsulas 
which  from  the  south  of 
Europe  drop  into  the 
Mediterranean,  was  in 
her  palmy  days  the  scene 
of  the  most  extraordinary 
activities  ever  displayed  by  the  human  race. 
The  name  Greece  was  not  given  to  the  country 
by  the  Greeks  themselves,  by  whom  the  land 
was  immemorially  called  Hellas,  and  them- 
selves Hellenes.  The  words  Greece  and 
Greeks  were  brought  into  use  by  the  writers 
of  Rome,  who  for  some  reason  adopted  the 
name  of  the  petty  tribe  called  the  Greed  as 
an  appellative  of  the  whole  race. 

A  sketch  of  a  land  so  noted  as  Hellas  can 
hardly  fail  of  interest.  The  country  lies  be- 
tween parallels  thirty-six  and  forty  of  north 
latitude,  and  the  meridians  twenty-one  and 
twenty-six  of  longitude  east  from  Greenwich. 
The  length  of  the  peninsula  from  Mount 
Olympus  to  the  southernmost  cape  is  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  and  the  breadth  from 
Attica  to  Acarnania  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles.  The  area — though  difficult  of  exact 
determination — may    be    fairly    estimated    at 


thirty-four  thousand  square  miles — a  district 
but  little  larger  than  the  State  of  Indiana ; 
but  this  estimate  does  not  include  the  many 
Greek  islands,  proximate  or  more  remote  from 
the  main-land,  which,  inhabited  by  the  same 
race  and  running  the  same  course  in  history, 
might  well  be  included  in  the  aggregate 
measurement. 

The  peninsula  is  sharply  defined  on  the 
north  by  the  Olympian  and  Cambunian  moun- 
tains. These  have  a  general  course  from  east 
to  west,  and  extend  from  the  Thermaic  gulf 
to  the  promontory  of  Acroceraunia,  on  the 
Adriatic.  But  the  country  lying  south  of 
this  range  includes  not  only  Greece  Proper 
but  also  Epirus  on  the  west.  The  transverse 
range,  which  constitutes  the  fundamental  fact 
in  the  geological  structure  of  the  peninsula, 
is  called  the  Pindus,  which,  starting  from  the 
southern  slope  of  Olympus,  stretches  south- 
ward, and  dividing  and  branching  and  sink- 
ing in  elevation,  straggles  through  the 
Isthmus  and  finally  terminates  in  the  cape  or 
headland  of  Toenarus.  Epirus  and  Thessaly 
in  the  north  are  thus  divided  by  a  lofty  chain. 

On  the  east  side  of  Pindus,  below  Thessaly, 
the   spur-range   of  Othrys  strikes  ofl^  to  the 

(447) 


448 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


coast,  thus  inclosing  between  itself  and  Olym- 
pus the  Thessalian  Plain.  Further  to  the 
south  the  range  called  CEta  departs  to  the 
east  and  reaches  the  sea  at  the  Euboean  strait. 
At  the  eastern  extrema  of  this  elevation  is 
the  pass  of  Thermopylae.  From  the  branch- 
jing  off  of  CEta  the  Pindus  chain  begins  to 
divide.  One  range  stretches  to  the  south-west 
across  ^tolia,  and  descends  to  the  level  at 
the  Gulf  of  Corinth.  The  other  branch  runs 
to  the  south-east,  and  numbers  among  its 
heights  the  famous  peaks  of  Parnassus,  Heli- 
con, Cithwron,  ^galeus,  and  Hymettus.  In 
Peloponnesus  the  descending  heads  of  Pindus 
are  known  by  the  names  of  Olenus,  Paua- 
chaicus,  Pholoe,  Erymanthus,  Lycseus,  Par- 
rhasius,  and  Taygetus.  It  only  remains  to 
note  that  the  eastern  prolongation  of  Olympus 
is  known  as  Ossa  and  Peliou.  The  range 
here  drops  away  to  the  south-east  of  Thessaly, 
and  after  disappearing  under  the  sea  rises  in 
the  ridge  of  Euboea,  and  then  breaks  into  the 
Cyclades,  of  which  Andros,  Tenos,  Myconos, 
Naxos,  and  many  others  are  but  the  uplifted 
heads  of  submerged  mountains.  Taken  all  in 
all,  Greece  is,  in  respect  of  geological  forma- 
tion, one  of  the  most  mountainous  countries 
in  the  world.  The  so-called  "chains"  which 
traverse  the  region  south  of  Olympus  are 
scarcely  chains  at  all,  but  rather  a  mass  of 
elevations  branching  off  laterally  and  turning 
from  their  course  until  the  whole  land  seems 
but  a  multitude  of  heights,  promiscuously  ar- 
ranged, not  very  aspiring,  sinking  in  green 
slopes  to  the  level  of  the  surrounding  seas. 

In  such  a  country  lakes  and  small  rivers 
are  likely  to  abound.  Of  the  latter  the 
Grecian  streams  most  noted  are,  first,  the 
PENEros,  which  drains  the  plain  of  Thessaly, 
and,  carrying  a  considerable  volume  of  water, 
makes  its  way  between  Ossa  and  Olympus 
into  the  ^gean  sea.  Next  may  be  mentioned 
the  AcHELOOS,  which,  taking  its  rise  on  the 
slopes  of  Pindus,  divides  ^tolia  from  Acar- 
nania  and  falls  into  the  sea  of  Ionia.  The 
third  is  the  Euenuus,  also  a  stream  from  the 
side  of  Pindus,  making  its  way  into  the  same 
sea  at  a  more  easterly  point  of  the  coast.  In 
Bceotia  the  two  rivers  are  the  Cephisus  and 
the    Asopus,    neither    of    much    importance, 


scarcely  maintaining  a  flow  of  water  during 
the  summer.  Through  the  state  of  Elis  flows 
the  ALPHEros,  which  also  drains  Arcadia,  being 
of  a  more  respectable  volume.  In  Messenia 
the  principal  stream  is  the  Pamisus,  which, 
though  small,  is  perennial.  Near  Argos  flows 
the  Inachus,  and  Attica  is  watered  by  the 
Cephisus  and  the  Ilissus,  both  scant  in  waters 
and  by  no  means  justifying  the  descriptions 
and  poetical  enthusiasm  of  the  ancients. 

Of  these  rivers  the  only  one  that  carries 
down  to  its  mouth  a  noticeable  quantity  of  fer- 
tilizing material  is  the  Acheloiis,  which  in  high 
water  lays  a  fair  deposit  on  the  valley-lands 
near  the  Ionian  sea.  A  great  majority  of  the 
streams  which  the  Attic  patriots  honored  with 
the  name  of  "rivers"  are  little  more  than 
brooks,  dry  to  the  bottom  during  the  hot 
months  of  summer. 

Lakes,  also,  are  a  necessity  of  the  con- 
formation of  the  country.  In  many  localities 
are  natural  basins  compassed  with  hills,  and 
in  such  situations,  unless  nature  has  provided 
a  subterranean  outlet,  the  waters  gather, 
forming  a  marsh  or  lake.  Of  these  there  are 
two  in  Thessaly,  the  Nessonis  and  the  Bcebeis, 
both  of  considerable  size.  In  the  region 
between  the  rivers  Acheloiis  and  Euenus 
lies  Lake  Trichonis,  which  appears  to  have 
been  a  more  extensive  body  of  water  in  an- 
cient than  in  modern  times.  In  Boeotia  the 
river  Cephisus  forms,  in  one  part  of  its  course, 
an  extensive  marsh  called  Copais,  and  lakes 
Hylike  and  Harma  are  also  found  in  the 
same  state.  The  Copals  is  drained  by  a 
famous  natural  subterraneous  channel  known 
as  the  Katabothra,  through  which  the  over- 
plus of  waters  found  a  way  to  the  other  side 
of  the  hills.  Many  other  examples  are  found 
in  different  parts  of  Greece,  especially  in  Pel- 
oponnesus, of  a  like  contrivance  of  nature 
for  the  escape  of  confined  bodies  of  water. 
The  calcareous  limestone  of  which  the  hills 
are  mostly  composed  was  specially  favorable 
to  the  formation  of  such  passages. 

For  the  coast-line  of  Greece  the  geography 
of  the  world  can  scarcely  present  a  parallel. 
Around  the  whole  extent  of  the  peninsula 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  war  between  sea 
and  land  as  to  which  should  more  impenetrate 


GREECE.— THE  COUNTRY. 


451 


the  other.  All  the  way  around,  from  the 
Thermaic  Gulf  to  the  borders  of  Epirus,  is 
an  almost  continued  succession  of  peninsulas 
and  bays.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
great  island  Eubcea,  the  sea  is  completely  vic- 
torious, and  a  portion  of  the  shore  is  cut  oflf 
by  straits  and  channels.  Again,  as  on  the 
west  of  Peloponnesus,  the  land  for  a  distance 
presents  a  tolerably  regular  outline  of  coast. 
Notably,  however,  near  the  middle — in  the 
waist,  as  it  were,  of  her  body — is  Greece 
almost  divided.  Here,  on  the  east  the  Sa- 
ronic  Gulf  running  up  under  Attica,  and  on 
the  west  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  press  inland  to- 
wards each  other  until  only  a  narrow  barrier 
of  rocky  isthmus  remains  between.  So  nearly 
does  Peloponnesus  come  to  being  an  island. 
Thus  by  a  long  and  infinitely  varied  coast- 
line was  laid  in  nature  the  antecedent  of  the 
maritime  supremacy  of  the  Greeks, 

The  general  division  into  a  Northern,  a 
Central,  and  a  Southern  Greece  is  most 
obviously  marked  in  the  geographical  features 
of  the  peninsula.  The  part  of  the  country 
which  lies  between  the  Corinthian  Gulf  and 
the  Olympian  mountains  is  subdivided  into 
two  parts  by  the  approximation  of  the  Am- 
bracian  and  Maliac  gulfs.  A  line  drawn 
from  the  one  to  the  other  constitutes  the 
lower,  as  the  fortieth  parallel  constitutes  the 
upper,  boundary  of  Northern  Greece.  From 
the  line  of  the  two  gulfs  to  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth  is  Central  Greece;  while  Southern 
Greece  is  obviously  conterminous  with  the 
Peloponnesus. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  the  north- 
ern division  of  the  country,  as  here  defined, 
includes  Thessaly  and  Epirus,  but  excludes 
Macedonia.  The  latter  is  a  country  of  high- 
lands, entirely  different  in  characteristics  from 
the  regions  lying  to  the  south.  It  consists  in 
large  part  of  circular  valleys  hemmed  in  by 
ranges  of  hills,  with  few  slopes  towards  the 
sea;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Greece  Proper, 
though  mountainous  to  the  extent  of  secluding 
in  a  great  measure  the  districts  from  each 
other,  tends  in  nearly  all  parts  to  the  shore. 

It  will  readily  be  inferred,  from  the  geo- 
graphical conditions  here  presented,  that  the 

climate    of    Greece    is    exceedingly    varied. 

N.— Vol.  1—28 


Such  is  true  to  an  astonishing  degree.  Be- 
ginning at  the  north,  next  the  range  of 
Olympus,  and  proceeding  to  the  south,  first 
into  the  valleys  of  Central  Greece  and  thence 
into  Peloponnesus,  there  is  presented  to  the 
traveler  almost  every  variety  of  atmospheric 
condition.  The  general  aspect  of  nature 
changes  like  the  scenes  of  a  panorama,  until 
almost  every  disposition  and  hue  of  her 
wealth,  and  even  of  her  caprice,  has  been 
displayed. 

Passing  from  Northern  to  Central  Greece, 
a  new  order  of  structure  is  observed.  The 
landscape  becomes  more  complex.  The  moun- 
tains in  many  parts  fall  into  hilly  ranges. 
The  country  is  described  by  Curtius  as  "so 
manifoldly  broken  up  that  it  becomes  a  suc- 
cession of  peninsulas  connected  with  one  an- 
other by  isthmuses."  In  the  western  part, 
Mount  Tymphrestus  rises  to  a  height  of  more 
than  seven  thousand  feet,  and  the  range  of 
Parnassus  reaches  a  still  greater  elevation  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  peninsula. 

In  Peloponnesus  still  greater  changes  are 
observed.  Here,  around  a  kind  of  center  in 
the  state  of  Arcadia,  arise  high  bulwarks  with 
spurs  projecting  from  every  slope  into  the 
surrounding  districts — Messenia,  Laconia,  Ar- 
golis.  Some  of  the  scenery  is  Alpine  in  its 
wildness.  The  eye  is  surprised  in  every  part 
by  striking  landscapes,  secluded  spots  of 
beauty,  marvelous  contrasts  of  hill  and  wood 
and  valley.  It  is,  however,  in  considering 
the  political  divisions  of  Greece,  that  the 
marked  local  peculiarities  of  the  land  may  be 
best  presented. 

Ancient  Greece  was  divided  into  a  multi- 
tude of  states,  the  foundations  of  which  were 
laid  in  nature.  In  other  countries  lines  have 
been  drawn,  for  mere  convenience  of  govern- 
ment, between  province  and  province.  In 
Greece  the  lines  were  laid  when  the  pe- 
ninsula was  thrown  into  form.  Beginning 
next  the  Olympian  range  we  have  in  North- 
ern Greece  the  two  extensive  states  of  Thes- 
saly and  Epirus.  They  are,  as  already  said, 
divided  from  each  other  by  the  range  of  Pin- 
dus.  The  former  is  the  largest  political  divi- 
sion of  all  Greece.  It  lies  from  north  to 
south  between  the  Cambunian  mountains  and 


452 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Thermopylae,  and  stretches  east  and  west  from 
the  Pindus  slope  to  the  ^gean.  The  greater 
part  of  the  country  is  a  plain,  which,  at  its 
north-easternnaost  extremity,  is  broken  by  the 
Vale  of  Tempe,  celebrated  from  remote  an- 
tiquity as  one  of  the  most  lovely  spots  of 
earth,  a  sylvan  solitude,  a  chosen  haunt  of 
Apollo.  The  Thessalian  plain  was  the  largest 
productive  district  in  Greece,  and  was  greatly 
prized  for  its  agricultural  resources.  It  was 
thought  by  the  inhabitants  to  have  been  in 
former  times  the  bed  of  a  lake,  having  its 
outflow  through  the  Peneus,  whose  sinking 
channel  gradually  drained  it  into  the  sea. 
Thessaly  was  subdivided  into  four  provinces, 
known  by  the  names  of  Thessalaotis,  Hestise- 
otis,  Pelasgiotis,  and  Phthiotis  —  a  division 
retained  until  a  late  date  in  Grecian  history. 

Epirus  was  in  geographical  position  most 
remote,  in  extent  second,  and  in  character 
most  barbarous  of  all  the  states  of  Greece. 
It  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  Pindus,  on  the 
north  by  Illyria,  on  the  west  by  the  Ionian 
sea,  and  on  the  south  by  ^tolia,  Arcarnania, 
and  the  Ambracian  Gulf.  Its  two  rivers  were 
the  Acheron  and  the  Cocytus.  The  country 
was  rugged  and  less  attractive  than  most  of 
the  other  states,  and  was  by  the  Greeks  them- 
selves regarded  as  a  kind  of  foreign  region 
inhabited  by  people  of  another  race.  The 
things  for  which  Epirus  was  most  noted  Avas 
Dodona  with  her  oaks  and  the  ancient  oracle 
of  Jupiter;  Canope  and  Buthrotum,  with 
their  harbors ;  Ambracia,  the  capital  of  King 
Pyrrhus;  and  Nicopolis,  built  by  Augustus 
Caesar,  in  commemoration  of  his  victory  at 
Actium.  The  Epirotes  had  some  share  in  the 
stirring  history  of  Greece,  but  are  generally 
disparaged  by  the  Greek  historians. 

Passing  into  Centi'al  Greece,  Ave  find  in 
the  eastern  half  the  states  of  Doris,  Phocis, 
Locris,  Malis,  Boeotia,  Attica,  and  Megaris; 
and  in  the  Avestern  half  Acarnania,  -iEtolia, 
and  Ozolian  Locris.  Doris  was  in  the  heart 
of  the  country,  and  was  the  smallest  state  of 
all  Greece.  It  was  bounded  on  the  east  by 
Phocis,  on  the  south  by  Ozolian  Locris,  on 
the  west  by  JEtolia,  and  on  the  north  by  Ma- 
lis. To  the  westward  rose  Mount  CEta.  The 
whole  district  was  mountainous,  and    it   Avas 


not  in  nature  that  it  should  contain  a  great 
civilization.  Nevertheless,  the  part  Avhich  the 
Dorians  played  in  Grecian  history  was  suffi- 
ciently conspicuous  to  make  their  country  an 
object  of  interest. 

The  state  of  Phocis  Avas  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Locris,  on  the  east  by  Boeotia,  on 
the  south  by  the  Corinthian  Gulf,  and  on  the 
west  by  Ozolian  Locris.  At  one  point  it 
reached  the  brine,  in  the  channel  of  Euboea, 
and  possessed  the  harbor  of  Daphnus.  The 
surface  of  the  country  is  exceedingly  mount- 
ainous, being  ti'aversed  by  the  range  of  Par- 
nassus. South  of  this  chain  are  several  fertile 
districts,  the  most  extensive  being  the  plain 
of  Crissaea.  The  principal  river  is  the  Ce- 
phissus,  which  in  a  considerable  part  of  its 
course  forms  an  exuberant  valley.  The  most 
striking  of  the  local  interests  Avhich,  during 
the  Grecian  ascendency,  and  indeed  e\^er  since, 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  mankind,  were 
the  city  and  oracle  of  Delphi,  the  latter  being 
the  most  famous  seat  of  alleged  inspiration  in 
the  Avorld. 

Locris,  in  the  most  ancient  times,  extended 
across  the  entire  peninsula  from  the  Corin- 
thian gulf  to  the  strait  of  Euboea.  By  the  en- 
croachments of  the  Phocians  and  the  Dorians, 
hoAveA'er,  the  state  was  cut  in  two,  the  central 
part  being  ajDpropriated  by  the  conquerors. 
The  Locrians  were  thus  confined  to  tAVO  nar- 
roAV  districts,  both  maritime ;  the  eastern  or 
Locris  Proper,  lying  upon  the  strait,  and  the 
western  or  Ozolian  Locris,  being  on  the  gulf 
of  Corinth.  The  former  extended  along  the 
coast  from  the  Pass  of  Thermopylae  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Cephissus,  and  had  the  same  gen- 
eral character  as  Phocis,  Avhich  bounded  it  on 
the  south.  The  Ozolian  Locris,  bordering  the 
gulf,  was  a  rugged  and  somcAvhat  barren  coun- 
try, one  of  the  poorest  in  Central  Greece. 
The  name  Ozolae,  or  Stinkards,  was  given  to 
the  people  from  the  fetid  odors  of  the  sul- 
phur springs  Avhich  abounded  in  several  parts. 
The  principal  towns  were  Naupactus  and 
Eupalium. 

The  small  state  of  Malis  is  sometimes 
omitted  from  the  political  geography  of 
Greece,  but  should  be  included.  It  lay  im- 
mediately north  of  Doris,  and  at  the  western 


GREECE.— THE  COUNTRY. 


453 


extreme  of  the  Malian  gulf.  The  little  dis- 
trict so  named  produced  no  important  effect 
upon  the  course  of  Grecian  history,  nor  were 
there  either  Malian  cities  or  citizens  of  such 
note  as  to  attract  the  applause  of  their  bois- 
terous countrymen. 

Not  so,  however,  of  the  state  of  Bceotia. 
Bounded  on  one  side  by  the  channel  of  Eu- 
boea  and  ou  the  other  by  the  Corinthian  gulf, 
lying  between  Attica  at  the  extreme  of  the 
peninsula  and  Phocis  on  the  north-west,  this 
country  held  a  position  in  every  way  favor- 
able for  a  large  influence  in  the  affairs  of 
Greece.  Geographically,  Boeotia  is  a  sort  of 
basin,  surrounded  by  the  ranges  of  Cithseron 
and  Parues  on  the  south.  Helicon  on  the 
west,  Parnassus  on  the  north-west,  and  the 
Opuntian  chain  on  the  east.  Within  this 
basin  lies  Lake  Copai's,  forty-seven  miles  in 
circumference,  formed,  as  hitherto  said,  by 
the  overflowing  of  the  river  Cephissus;  also 
the  plain  of  Thebes,  and  the  valley  of  Asopus. 

Of  all  the  Grecian  commonwealths  the 
most  important  was  Attica.  The  name  means 
the  Shore  or  Coast.  The  land  so  called  was 
the  extremity  or  foot  of  the  long  peninsula 
which  constitutes  the  eastern  part  of  Central 
Greece.  In  shape  it  is  a  triangle,  bounded 
on  the  north-west  by  Bceotia,  on  the  east  by 
the  -^gean,  on  the  south-west  by  the  Saronic 
gulf  and  Megaris.  The  area  of  the  country 
is  eight  hundred  and  forty  square  miles,  and 
yet  in  this  small  district  were  exhibited  the 
most  marvelous  energies  ever  displayed  by  the 
human  mind.  In  Attica  several  mountain 
ranges  sink  down  to  the  coast.  Several 
plains,  as  the  Eleusinian,  the  Athenian,  the 
Mesogsean,  and  the  Paralian,  intervene  be- 
tween the  hill-ranges  or  along  the  shore.  The 
first  named  contained  the  sacred  city  of 
Eleusis.  The  second  was  watered  by  the  two 
principal  rivers  of  Attica,  the  Cephissus  and 
the  Ilissus,  both  insignificant  streams,  sinking 
into  dry  beds  in  summer.  Attica  was  the 
native  seat  of  the  Ionic  race,  and  at  a  very 
early  date  attained  a  precedence  among  the 
Hellenic  commonwealths,  which  she  held  alike 
by  prowess  in  battle  and  the  acuteness  of  her 
people. 

From  the  instep  of  the  Atticau  peninsula 


and  extending  across  through  a  narrowing 
isthmus  into  Peloponnesus,  was  the  little  state 
of  Megaris.  The  boundaries  on  the  north 
were  Attica  and  Boeotia ;  on  the  south,  the 
sea;  on  the  west,  the  Corinthian  gulf  The 
whole  area  is  but  one  hundred  and  forty-three 
square  miles.  The  surface  is  rugged  and 
hilly.  The  principal  mountain  is  Cithseron, 
which  rises  on  the  border  of  Boeotia.  Across 
the  southern  part  of  Megaris  from  sea  to  sea 
extends  the  Geranean  chain,  through  which 
three  passes  afford  land  routes  from  Central 
Greece  into  Peloponnesus.  The  first  is  the 
Scirouian  pass  close  to  the  Saronic  gulf,  which 
is  the  direct  road  from  Corinth  to  Athens. 
The  second  is  near  the  Corinthian  gulf,  and 
leads  from  Peloponnesus  into  Boeotia.  The 
third  was  about  the  center  of  the  range,  and 
as  a  thoroughfare  had  a  less  importance  than 
the  other  two,  which  at  their  northern  ter- 
mini reached  into  the  open  country.  Megaris 
contained  but  one  small  plain,  and  in  that 
was  situated  the  metropolis  of  the  state.  In 
the  earliest  times  this  district  was  considered 
a  part  of  Attica,  being  then  inhabited  by 
^olians  and  lonians. 

Passing  into  the  western  half  of  Central 
Greece,  we  come  to  ^tolia,  situated  on  the 
north  shore  of  the  gulf  of  Corinth.  It  was 
bounded  on  the  east  by  Doris  and  Locris,  and 
on  the  west  by  Acarnania.  At  its  southern 
extremity  it  is  divided  by  a  narrow  strait 
from  Peloponnesus.  On  the  north  lay  the 
district  inhabited  by  the  Dolopes.  The  prin- 
cipal river  was  a  small  stream  called  the 
Evenus,  now  the  Fidhari.  jEtolia  was  a 
rough  region,  larger  than  most  of  the  states 
of  Greece,  but  so  little  civilized  as  compared 
with  those  on  the  eastern  shore  as  to  perform 
but  a  minor  part  in  Grecian  history.  Not 
until  the  times  of  Alexander  did  the  -^tolians 
begin  to  display  the  energy  of  character  for 
which  their  countrymen  were  so  greatly  dis* 
tinguished  afterwards. 

The  remaining  Greek  state  north  of  the 
Corinthian  gulf  was  Acarnania.  On  the  east 
lay  ^tolia,  on  the  north  the  Ambracian  gulf, 
on  the  west  and  south  the  Ionian  sea.  Like 
most  of  the  other  districts,  the  surface  is 
mountainous,  but  presents  considerable  variety 


454 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  lake  and  valley  and  pasture.  In  character 
both  the  country  and  its  inhabitants  resem- 
bled Epirus  with  her  half-savage  tribes  of 
semi-Grecians.  The  Acarnanians  were  for  the 
most  part  a  race  of  shepherds,  who  at  times 
abandoned  then-  pastures  for  the  chase  and 
war.  At  no  time  in  their  history — their 
peninsular  position  with  the  presence  of  good 
harbors  seemed  to  suggest  maritime  enter- 
prise— did  they  engage  to  any  considerable 
extent  in  commercial  pursuits.  Like  the 
Epirotes,  they  were  somewhat  contemptuously 
regarded  by  the  more  civilized  states  of  the 
eastern  coast,  and  were  not  much  consulted  in 
the  great  transactions  of  Grecian  history. 

Peloponnesus — meaning  "the  Island  of 
King  Pelops,"  by  whom,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, the  country  was  colonized — has  an  area 
of  a  little  more  than  eight  thousand  square 
miles.  It  has  the  general  shape  of  a  maple 
leaf,  the  stem  resting  at  ^gium,  on  the  Gulf 
of  Corinth.  The  country  was  divided  politi- 
cally into  eleven  states:  Corinth,  Sicyonia, 
Achaia,  Elis,  Arcadia,  Messenia,  Laconia, 
Argolis,  Epidauria,  Troezenia,  and  Hermionis. 

The  first  two,  Corinth  and  Sicyonia,  were 
small  districts  on  the  east  and  west  sides  of 
the  isthmus.  They  were  so  named  from  their 
principal  cities,  and  embraced  merely  the 
surrounding  plains  and  hills  to  the  extent  of 
a  few  hundred  square  miles  of  territory.  In 
later  times  they  were  both  regarded  as  in- 
cluded in  the  large  state  of  Argolis.  Epi- 
dauria, likewise,  lying  on  the  Saronic  Gulf, 
was  but  the  small  district  surrounding  the 
city  of  Epidaurus,  near  the  coast.  This,  too, 
was  embraced  in  the  territory  of  the  Argives. 
The  lower  extreme  of  the  same  peninsula  re- 
ceived the  local  name  of  Hermionis  from  the 
town  of  Hermione,  which  gave  it  its  only  im- 
portance. 

The  state  of  Achaia  extended  along  the 
greater  part  of  the  northern  coast  of  Pelo- 
ponnesus, resting  for  sixty-five  miles  on  the 
Corinthian  Gulf  It  was  that  part  of  the 
maple  leaf  which  supported  the  stem.  It  had 
the  general  character  of  the  other  districts 
already  described,  being  hilly  and  rugged, 
with  occasional  pastures  intervening.  The 
most  important  town  was  Patrse,  which,  under 


the  name  of  Patras,  is  still  known  in  Grecian 
geography.  The  country  was  first  settled  by 
the  lonians,  but  these  were  dispossessed  by 
the  Achseans,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Dorian 
conquest  of  Peloponnesus. 

Elis  lay  on  the  Ionian  Sea,  from  the 
promontory  of  Araxus  to  the  river  Neda. 
Its  greatest  breadth  was  thirty-five  miles,  and 
its  area  about  one  thousand  square  miles. 
The  mountains  in  this  western  part  of  South- 
ern Greece  fall  away  in  slopes  to  the  sea,  and 
Elis  presents,  for  a  country  so  limited  in  ex- 
tent, a  considerable  amount  of  level  land. 
The  city  of  Elis  occupied  the  largest  plain, 
between  the  Alpheus  and  the  Peneus  rivers. 
The  north-eastern  portion,  however,  was  as 
mountainous  as  any  other  district  in  the 
country. 

Arcadia  was  the  only  state  of  Southern 
Greece  which  had  no  sea-coast.  Next  to 
Laconia,  it  was  the  largest  division  of  Pel- 
oponnesus, having  an  area  of  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  square  miles.  Of  all  Greece 
this  was  the  most  picturesque  region,  nor 
would  it  be  easy  to  find  its  parallel  in  the 
world.  It  was  a  country  of  mountains  and 
forests  and  meadow-lands,  fountains  and 
Avater-brooks,  glens  and  grottoes.  Here  rise 
Mounts  Cyllene,  Lycseus,  and  Erymanthus. 
Here  the  river  Alpheus  gathers  its  waters, 
and  here  Lake  Stymphalis  spreads  its  crystal 
sheet.  Everywhere  the  eye  is  delighted  with 
that  endless  vicissitude  of  beauty  which  never 
tires  and  never  cloys.  Without  seaports,  the 
country  had  no  commercial  enterprise. 

The  ancient  inhabitants  were  Pelasgians,  a 
race  of  rough  shepherds  and  hunters,  who 
were  with  difficulty  transformed  into  more 
civilized  conditions.  They  were,  nevertheless, 
a  peaceable,  quiet  tribe,  given  to  music  and 
dancing.  It  thus  happened  that  in  all  polite 
languages  of  modern  times  the  term  "Ar- 
cadian" has  come  to  signify  either  beauty  of 
natural  scenery  or  rusticity  of  manners.  In 
the  epoch  of  Greek  heroism  the  inhabitants 
of  this  state  became  a  brave  and  martial 
people,  but  none  of  their  captains  achieved  in 
the  field  a  great  military  fame.  The  four 
principal  cities  of  Arcadia  were  Mantinea, 
Tegea,    Archomenus,    and    Megalopolis,    the 


GREECE.— THE  COUNTRY. 


455 


latter  being  built  as  a  defense  against  the 
Spartans.  The  first  three  never  rose  to  great 
importance,  chiefly  because  of  intestine  dis- 
putes and  quarrels,  which,  frequently  amount- 
ing to  violence,  destroyed  their  prosperity. 

To  the  south-west  of  Arcadia,  washed  on 
two  sides  by  the  sea,  lay  Messenia.  Here, 
too,  is  a  region  of  mountains.  Only  two 
plains  of  any  imj)ortance  are  embraced  within 
the  territory.  Of  these  the  southern  was 
called  Macaria,  meaning  the  Blessed,  so  named 
from  its  exuberance  and  beauty.  Some  of 
the  valleys  further  inland  are  also  exceed- 
ingly fertile,  and  the  climate,  being  one  of  the 
mildest  in  the  world,  Avould  have  made  life  in 
this  region  present  a  benign  aspect,  but  for 
the  native  boorishness  of  the  original  popula- 
tion   and    the    oppressions    of   the    Spartans. 

Among  the  Messenian  cities  the  principal 
were  the  seaport  town  of  Pylos,  Cyparissia, 
Corone,  Methoue,  Abia,  Derte,  Stenyclarus, 
and  Messene,  the  capital.  Besides  these 
towns  there  were  two  important  mountain 
fortresses,  Ithome  and  Ira,  the  former  being 
regarded  as  the  stronghold  of  the  nation.  In 
the  revolutions  of  the  country  the  population 
of  Messenia  Avas  twice  transformed,  first  from 
Ai'gives  to  -^olians,  and  then  from  -lEolians 
to  Dorians,  who  came  in  with  the  ascendency 
of  their  race  in  Peloponnesus.  Messenia  was 
in  the  course  of  her  history  the  scene  of 
some  most  heroic  struggles,  in  which  her  own 
people  and  the  Spartans  were  the  principal 
actors. 

Laconia  was  the  south-easternmost  division 
of  the  ancient  Peloponnesus.  It  was  the 
largest  state  of  Southern  Greece,  and,  histor- 
ically considered,  by  far  the  most  important. 
It  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Arcadia  and 
Ai'golis,  on  the  east  and  south  by  the  sea,  on 
the  west  by  the  gulf  and  state  of  Messenia. 
At  the  lower  extremity  the  country  divides 
into  two  branching  peninsulas,  including  be- 
tween them  the  Gulf  of  Laconia,  and  termi- 
nating in  the  two  capes  of  Tsenarum  and 
Malea,  the  most  southern  points  of  land  in 
Europe.  Within  the  limits  of  Arcadia  the 
most  important  region  is  a  long  valley  in- 
closed on  three  sides  by  mountain  ranges 
and  open  on  the  south  to  the  sea.     There  is 


thus  prepared  and  fortified  by  nature  that 
wonderful  district  in  which  Sparta  had  her 
native  lair.  Across  the  north  of  this  valley 
stretch  the  Arcadian  mountains,  from  which 
two  ranges  branching  southward  defend  the 
two  sides  of  the  Spartan  glen  from  almost 
every  possibility  of  assault.  These  two  lateral 
chains  are  known  as  Taygetus  and  Parnon, 
the  former  rising  to  the  height  of  seven  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  feet,  and  the  latter  to  an 
elevation  of  six  thousand  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  On  the  slopes  of  these  mountains 
are  forests  of  pine,  evergreen,  abounding  in 
game,  haunts  of  the  huntress  Diana.  The 
valley  is  drained  by  the  river  Eurotas,  famous 
in  song  and  story.  Into  this  stream  smaller 
brooks,  flowing  down  from  the  slopes  of  Tay- 
getus and  Parnon,  pour  their  waters,  forming 
an  ever-increasing  volume  to  the  sea.  On  the 
banks  of  this  river  stood  the  invincible  capi- 
tal, known  by  its  two  names  of  Laced^mon 
and  Spakta — a  town  which  has  given  to  the 
valor  of  the  w^orld  an  imperishable  epithet. 
A  few  others  of  smaller  note  were  Amyclse  in 
the  plain  south  of  Sparta,  the  old  residence 
of  the  Achsean  kings ;  Helos,  from  which  rose 
the  Helots,  situated  on  the  gulf  of  Laconia; 
and  Gythium,  a  naval  station  on  the  same 
coast.  In  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas  there  were 
considerable  tracts  of  land  susceptible  of  cul- 
tivation, but  the  soil  was  not  sufficiently 
fertile  to  encourage  husbandry. 

The  remaining  state  of  Southern  Greece 
was  Argolis,  lying  between  the  Argolic  and 
Saronic  gulfs.  On  the  west  it  was  bounded 
by  Achaia  and  Arcadia;  on  the  south  the 
land-limit  w^as  Laconia.  With  the  exception 
of  the  fertile  plain  of  Argos  the  whole  coun- 
try is  mountainous,  some  of  the  summits  ris- 
ing to  the  height  of  more  than  five  thousand 
feet.  Two  small  rivers,  the  Planitza  and  the 
Erasinus,  are  the  only  perennial  streams. 
The  coast  is  indented  with  many  bays,  ren- 
dering Argolis  especially  favorable  to  naviga- 
tion and  commerce.  The  state  is  one  of  the 
most  ancient  in  the  whole  peninsula.  In  the 
earliest  epochs  of  history  the  term  Argive 
was  often  used  synonymously  with  Greek,  such 
usage  extending  even  into  the  poems  of  Ver- 
gil.    Argolis  was  divided  into  six  petty  king- 


456 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


doms,  Argos,  Mycense,  Tiryus,  Troezenia,  Her- 
miouis,  and  Epidaurus.  By  and  by  Argos 
became  the  leader,  and  absorbed  all  the  rest. 
The  names  of  these  petty  principalities,  or 
rather  of  the  cities  which  constituted  their 
nuclei,  will  readily  be  recognized  as  those  of 
the  famous  sites  from  which  in  our  own  day  the 
antiquarian  Schliemann  has  exhumed  such 
priceless  treasures  illustrative  of  the  history 
of  the  ancient  Greeks.  Argolis  contains  the 
larger  portion  of  those  marvelous  ruins  to 
which  archaeologists  have  given  the  name  Cy- 
clopean— a  mass  of  huge  walls  of  unhewn 
stone,  laid  without  cement,  said  in  legend  to 
have  been  the  work  of  the  gigantic  Cyclops, 
sons  of  Heaven  and  Earth. 

Such,  then,  is  a  general  sketch  of  the 
geography,  physical  and  political,  of  ancient 
Greece.  It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the 
country  was  formed  for  a  multitude  of  segre- 
gated communities.  In  no  other  region  of 
the  world  are  the  natural  indications  so 
deeply  laid  for  petty  states.  The  hills  and 
mountains  are  just  of  such  height  and  charac- 
ter as  to  break  up  all  attempts  at  political 
centralization.  Such  a  thing  as  unity  was 
impossible  in  a  race  so  situated.  In  many 
parts  the  people  on  opposite  sides  of  a  range 
were  strangers  for  generations  together.  Lo- 
cal patriotism  kindled  a  torch  in  every  valley, 
and  around  its  flame  of  light  and  heat  were 
gathered  the  affections  of  a  clan.  Beyond 
the  hill-tops  there  was  nothing  but  distrust, 
aversion,  hatred.  It  thus  came  to  pass  that 
the  Greek  communities  were  individualized 
to  an  extent  unknown,  perhaps  impossible, 
among  the  great  nations  of  the  plain.  In 
such  a  situation  faction  would  prevail,  poli- 
tics become  a  profession,  freedom  the  rule. 
The  presence  of  a  centralized  despotism  in 
ancient  Greece  would  have  been  as  much  of 


an  anomaly  as  a  modern  monarchy  established 
among  the  solitude  and  snow-capped  summits 
of  the  Swiss  Alps. 

It  is  not  the  place  in  this  connection  to  do 
more  than  merely  note  the  fact  that  in  the 
broken  and  multiplex  aspect  and  physical 
conditions  of  Greece  were  also  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  the  wonderfully  inflected  mythology 
and  matchless  art  of  the  race.  The  human 
mind  here  found  itself  under  circumstances 
of  such  infinite  variety  that  the  interpreta- 
tion and  representation  of  nature  flashed  into 
forms  as  variable  as  the  caprices  of  the  kaleid- 
oscope. Further  on,  considering  the  philos- 
ophy, mythology,  and  art  of  the  Greeks, 
there  will  be  necessarily  a  more  amplified 
statement  of  these  views.  For  the  present  it 
may  suffice  to  add  that  in  ancient  Greece  the 
conditions  of  beauty,  whether  in  sky,  or  earth, 
or  sea,  were  more  abundant  and  intense  than 
in  any  other  country.  The  faculties  and  per- 
ceptions of  the  people  Avere  thus  stimulated 
into  a  class  of  activities — the  history,  the 
poem,  the  oration,  the  subtle  analysis  of 
thought — in  excess  of  what  has  been  else- 
where accomplished  even  to  the  px-esent  time. 

The  traveler,  the  poet  of  to-day  catches  at 
once  the  indefinable  charm  which  the  bounty 
of  nature  has  never  withdrawn  from  the  re- 
gion between  Olympus  and  the  sea.  Even 
the  morose  Childe  Harold  feels  the  warmth 
of  a  new  inspiration  under  the  cloudless 
heaven  of  Greece : 

Yet  are  th}^  skies  as  blue,  thy  crags  as  wild ; 

Sweet  are  thy  groves  and  verdant  are  thy  fields, 
Thine  ohve  ripe  as  when  Minerva  smiled, 

And  still  his  honeyed  wealth  Hymettus  yields; 

There  the  hlithe  bee  his  fragrant  fortress  builds, 
The  freeborn  wanderer  of  thy  mountain  air  ; 

Apollo  still  thy  long,  long  summer  gilds, 
Still  in  his  beam  Mendeli's  marhles  glare  ; 
Art,  glory,  freedom  fail,  but  Nature  still  is  fair. 


GREECE.  — THE  PEOPLE. 


457 


CHAPTER    XXXVII— THK    PEOPLE. 


S  already  said  iu  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  the  jDeo- 
ple  known  as  Greeks 
were  by  themselves  balled 
Hellenes — the  descend- 
ants of  Helleu,  their 
ancestor.  Though  a  prim- 
itive people,  they  were  by  no  means  as  remote 
in  their  origin  and  development  as  Avere  many 
nations  of  the  East.  Indeed,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  Hellenes  were  among  the  younger 
races  who  contributed  to  form  the  population 
of  Old  Europe,  and  that,  as  compared  in  age 
with  the  peoples  of  the  Nile  and  Euphrates 
valleys,  they  were  as  of  yesterday  in  their 
origin  and  development. 

When  the  Phoenicians,  themselves  of  Se- 
mitic descent,  had  peopled  the  eastern  shore 
of  the  Mediterranean  and  begun  their  mari- 
time discoveries,  they  came  first  of  all  upon 
Cyprus,  and  then  by  easy  stages  among  the 
Cyclades.  From  one  of  these  islands  to  the 
next  was  but  a  step  until  the  south-eastern 
promontories  of  the  main-land  of  Hellas  were 
reached.  In  all  the  little  isles  anchored  in 
these  beautiful  waters  a  people  were  found, 
numerous,  active,  well-formed,  light-complex- 
ioned,  quick  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of 
commerce.  Thus  was  opened  up  an  acquaint- 
ance between  the  great  maritime  nation  of 
the  eastern  Mediterranean  and  the  Greek 
populations  of  the  ^gean  islands  and  the 
main  peninsula  of  Hellas.  In  the  further  ex- 
tension of  their  commerce  it  was  found  by 
the  Phoenicians  that  a  people  of  the  same 
race  occupied  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor. 
These  were  the  Ionians,  who,  like  the  Phoeni- 
cians, were  expert  sailors,  devoted  to  com- 
merce and  adventure. 

These  Ionian  or  Asiatic  Hellenes  were  the 
oldest  of  the  Greek  populations.  By  them  it 
was  that  bands  of  their  countrymen,  carried 
to  the  west,  came  upon  the  islands  of  the  Cy- 
clades and  finally  into  Hellas,  finding  there 
others  of  their  race  already  established.    Thus 


it  was  that  the  Ionians  became  competitors  of 
the  Phoenicians  in  a  half-friendly  contest  for  a 
predominant  influence  in  the  islands  of  the 
^gean  and  even  in  Greece  Proper. 

If  we  consult  the  Greeks  themselves  with 
regard  to  their  origin,  we  receive  ambiguous 
answers.  In  the  first  place  they  held  stren- 
uously to  the  tradition  that  they  were  au- 
tochthones, that  is,  born  of  the  earth.  There 
was  no  myth  of  a  settlement  by  immigrant 
tribes  from  abroad.  Their  ancestors  had 
always  abode  in  Hellas  from  the  time  when 
Earth  gave  them  birth.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  were  traditions  in  almost  every  state  of 
Greece  that  the  beginnings  of  arts  and  insti- 
tutions had  been  brought  in  by  illustrious 
foreigners,  whose  supernatural  wisdom  fur- 
nished a  basis  of  social  life.  All  of  these  wise 
strangers  came  from  over  sea,  bringing  from 
distant  shores  the  dawn  of  civilization.  Such 
legends  are  substantiated,  moreover,  by  the 
Greek  theology  ;  for  all  of  the  gods  of  Hellas 
were  the  deities  of  foreign  lands  disguised  in 
the  fine  drapery  of  Greek  thought.'  Nor  is 
it  conceivable  that  a  foreign  pantheon  should 
thus  have  been  established  but*  by  migrating 
tribes  who  brought  with  them  their  gods  from 
distant  homes. 

The  science  of  language  has  within  the 
present  century  clearly  determined  the  race- 
position  of  the  Greeks.  They  belonged  to  the 
Aryan  or  Indo-European  family  of  men,  being 
thus  allied  with  the  Hindus,  Medes,  and  Per- 
sians of  Asia,  and  the  Latin,  Celtic,  and  Teu- 
tonic races  in  Europe.  As  already  said,  the 
tribal  home  of  this  wide-branching  tree  of 
human  life  appears  to  have  been  in  the  coun- 
try of  Bactria ;  but  at  what  particular  point 
in   the  tribal   migrations  the  Hellenic  stock 


1  The  historian  Curtius  makes  an  exception  of 
Zeus,  whom  he  regards  as  native  to  the  Greek 
imagination  ;  but  recent  investigations  in  philology 
have  established  beyond  doubt  the  identity  of 
Zens  Pater  with  the  Dyaus  Pitar  of  the  Vedic 
pantheon. 


458 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


took  its  rise,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  deter- 
mine. Be  that  as  it  may,  the  first  formal  de- 
velopments of  the  Greek  race  into  organized 
communities  took  place  on  the  coasts  of  Asia 
Minor,  looking  out  towards  the  ^gean.  The 
people  thus  established  flowed  from  the  same 
source  as  did  others  who  occupied  the  Spo- 
rades,  and  the  Cyclades,  and  finally  the  whole 
of  peninsular  Hellas.  All  that  may  be  cer- 
tainly affirmed  is  that,  regarding  as  Greek  the 
whole  community  around  the  JEgean  Sea,  the 
eastern  portions  were  settled  first,  the  wave  of 
popula-tion  swelling  westward  into  Hellas 
Proper  and  onward  to  the  shores  of  the 
Ionian  Sea. 

Leaving,  then,  the  matter  of  the  prehis- 
toric migrations  as  undetermined,  and  taking 
up  the  traditions  of  the  Greeks  regarding 
their  ancestry,  we  have  the  well-known  legend 
of  their  father  Hellen.  He  Avas  the  i-eputed 
son  of  Deucalion  and  Pyrrha.  From  him 
came  all  the  Hellenes.  He  had  three  sons, 
DoRUS,  XuTHUS,  and  ^olus,  of  whom  the 
first  and  the  last  gave  their  names  to  their  de- 
scendants, the  Dorians  and  ^olians.  Xuthus, 
like  Joseph  among  the  Israelites,  founded  no 
tribe  himself,  but  his  two  sons.  Ion  and 
AcH^us,  became  the  head  of  the  lonians  and 
the  Achjeans.  Thus  by  tradition  we  have  an 
account  rendered  of  the  four  leading  divisions 
of  the  Greek  race.  Nor  was  there  ever  any 
doubt  among  the  Hellenes  themselves  of  the 
accuracy  of  this  matter-of-fact  genealogy, 
which  they  received  from  their  fathers.  But 
the  device  of  primitive  nations  in  coining 
personal  names  as  the  explanation  of  the  be- 
ginnings of  their  nationality  is  now  well  un- 
derstood, and  the  easy-going  story  of  Hellen 
and  his  sons  signifies  no  more  than  that  the 
Hellenes  first  awoke  to  tribal  consciousness  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Othrys,  where  Hellen  was 
said  to  have  had  his  home ;  and  the  migration 
of  his  sons  from  the  borders  of  Thessaly  sim- 
ply implies  an  attempt  of  some  vigorous 
imagination  to  account  for  the  presence  in 
different  parts  of  Greece  of  the  Dorians, 
-^olians,  lonians,  and  Achseans. 

The  tradition  goes  on  to  elaborate,  ^olus 
succeeded  his  father  in  Thessaly.  But  his 
multiplied   descendants  spread   southward   as 


far  as  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth.  Afterwards 
they  peopled  the  islands  of  Lesbos  and  Tene- 
dos,  and  founded  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor 
a  group  of  cities  known  as  the  ^olian  Con- 
federacy. Of  their  dialect  Greek  literature 
has  preserved  but  a  few  fragments,  and  these 
indicate  an  affinity  with  Doric  rather  than 
Attic  Greek. 

The  race  of  Dorus  appeared  first  in 
Macedonia,  then  made  migrations,  spread  as 
far  as  the  island  of  Crete,  where  they  founded 
Tetrapolis,  and  then  into  Peloponnesus,  where 
they  became  predominant  in  the  three  states 
of  Argolis,  Laconia,  and  Messenia.  In  man- 
ners and  life  the  Dorians  were  sedate,  digni- 
fied, and  grave  as  compared  with  the  other 
peoples  of  Greece,  often  displaying  both  in 
their  deeds  and  institutions  a  severity  in 
marked  contrast  with  the  milder  habits  of  the 
lonians.  They  spoke  a  less  refined  dialect, 
characterized  by  broad  vowels  and  rough  com- 
binations of  consonant  sounds,  and  were  a 
people  of  rude  address,  little  given  to  speech. 

The  lonians  were  the  maritime  branch  of 
the  Hellenic  race.  They  had  their  original 
seats  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  and  from 
thence  spread  into  the  western  islands.  They 
Avere  predominant  throughout  the  -^gean, 
and  were,  as  indicated  alike  by  tradition  and 
language,  the  oldest  of  the  Greek  tribes. 
The  name  of  their  reputed  ancestor,  Ion, 
seems  to  be  associated  with  the  Hebrew  Javan, 
the  Persian  Yauna,  the  Egyptian  Uinim,  and 
the  Indian  Yonas — all  names  of  mythical  an- 
cestors. It  was  these  Ionian  Greeks  who  at 
a  veiy  early  date  became  first  the  rivals  and 
then  the  superiors  of  the  Phoenicians  in  the 
commerce  of  the  ^gean  and  eastern  Medi- 
terranean. It  was  they  who  spread  all  around 
the  shores  of  those  waters,  establishing  colo- 
nies and  trading  posts  at  suitable  stations,  or 
sometimes  in  the  heart  of  great  cities,  as  in 
Alexandria  and  Memphis.  It  was  they  who 
constituted  the  body  of  that  Greek  population 
in  the  towns  of  Asia  Minor,  to  whom  refer- 
ence has  many  times  been  made  in  the  His- 
tory of  the  Persian  Empire. 

The  AcH^ANS  had  their  native  seat  in 
Thessaly.  Of  all  the  Greek  stocks  they  were 
the  rudest.     They  were  among  the  oldest  of 


GREECE.— THE  PEOPLE. 


459 


the  tribes  and  took  so  prominent  a  part  in  the 
Trojan  war  as  to  give  their  name,  even  in 
Homer,  to  the  whole  body  of  the  Hellenes. 
It  is  evident  that  during  the  Heroic  Period 
they  were  the  dominant  race  in  Greece,  and 
contributed  greatly  to  the  warlike  fame  which 
for  hundreds  of  years  made  Greek  and  victor 
synonymous. 

Although  the  Greeks  regarded  themselves 
as  autochthones,  or  indigenous  to  Hellas,  yet 
they  conceded  to  another  people  priority  of 
occupation,  at  least  in  certain  parts  of  the 
country.  These  were  the  Pelasgians,  of 
whose  original  seats  history  is  still  in  doubt. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  in  Attica,  Argolis, 
Arcadia,  Epirus,  and  several  other  parts  of 
Greece,  this  people  was  established  and  civilized 
before  the  Hellenes  took  possession.  It  is  said 
that  the  primitive  name  of  the  whole  country 
was  Pelasgia,  and  it  is  known  that  this  race  were 
distributed  as  far  west  as  Italy,  forming,  in  a 
sense,  the  bottom  population  of  that  country 
as  well  as  of  Greece.  Nor  do  the  Pelasgians 
appear  to  have  been  a  people  very  dissimilar 
to  the  Greeks  who  displaced  them.  Their 
religion  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Hellenes. 
Their  chief  god  was  Jove,  to  whom  in  Dodona 
the  famous  shrine  was  erected,  which  retained 
its  reputation  during  the  whole  period  of  the 
Grecian  ascendency.  To  what  extent  this 
people  was  driven  out  or  extinguished,  and  to 
what  extent  incorporated  with  the  conquering 
Hellenes,  it  is  impossible  to  tell ;  but  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  a  large  per  cent  of  the  primitive 
inhabitants  were  allowed  to  remain  in  a  sub- 
ject condition,  and  were  gradually  absorbed 
by  the  dominant  Greeks. 

Much  space  might  be  devoted  to  the  per- 
sonal character  of  the  Hellenes.  Their  quali- 
ties of  body  and  mind  were  such  as  to  fix 
upon  them  the  attention  of  their  own  and 
after  times.  In  stature  they  were  rather  be- 
low than  above  the  average  of  ancient  peoples. 
They  had  not  the  height  of  the  barbarians  or 
the  muscular  development  of  the  Assyrians 
and  Romans.  It  was  rather  in  symmetrical 
activity  than  in  massiveness  or  gigantic  pro- 
portions that  they  surpassed  the  other  races 
®f  their  times.  In  beauty  of  body  they  were 
peerless.     In  agility  and  nervous  vigor   they 


were  the  finest  specimens  of  men  that  the 
world  has  produced.  Not  that  hardin*ess  and 
endurance  were  wanting.  Not  that  the  bodily 
life  of  the  Greek  was  tender  and  unable  to 
endure.  Not  that  he  was  more  susceptible 
to  hardships  and  exposure,  less  able  to  en- 
dure fatigue  and  combat  exhaustion:  for  his 
body  was  capable  of  a  discipline  and  conse- 
quent endurance  rarely  equaled,  never  sur- 
passed, in  the  ancient  Avorld.  But  he  was 
more  alive  in  his  jDhysical  being,  more  highly 
developed,  more  complete  in  his  nervous 
structure,  than  any  other  man  of  antiquity. 

It  was,  moreover,  in  this  high-wrought,  per- 
fectly finished  physical  manhood  of  the  Greek 
that  were  laid  the  foundations  of  his  wonderful 
mind,  of  his  energy  of  thought,  his  reason, 
his  imagination,  his  courage.  Not  only  in 
the  order  of  the  world  is  the  physical  man 
planted  in  nature,  not  only  is  he,  so  to  speak, 
an  indigenous  shoot  of  his  native  soil,  draw- 
ing his  saps  and  juices  from  that  fecundity 
which  is  prepared  by  sun  and  air  and  rain, 
but  the  roots  of  the  mental  man  are  in  like 
manner  planted  in  his  physical  nature,  draw- 
ing therefrom  the  sustenance  of  thought,  the 
elements  of  combination,  the  juices  of  reason 
and  imagination,  the  sap  of  hope  or  despair. 
In  his  perfect  body  the  Greek  had  the  founda- 
tion of  his  strength.  Nature  here,  under  the 
free  law  of  natural  selection,  Avrought  out  a 
finer  organism  than  in  other  regions  where 
her  resources  were  fewer,  her  energies  tram- 
meled with  restrictions.  In  Greece  she  ac- 
complished the  finest  Motherhood  of  Man  ever 
presented.  In  the  Greek,  with  his  fair  com- 
plexion, blue  eyes,  beautiful  body,  and  radi- 
ant face,  she  held  aloft  the  best  gift  of  her 
abundant  love. 

No  other  people,  indeed,  were  ever  gifted 
with  so  great  personal  beauty  as  the  Hellenes, 
and  no  others  ever  so  much  adored  the  gift. 
At  festivals  and  in  public  processions  the 
fairest  was  the  first.  Prizes  were  given  to  the 
handsomest  man,  the  most  beautiful  woman. 
In  the  Greek  town  of  Segesta,  in  Sicily,  a 
temple  was  built  and  sacrifices  ofl^ered  to  her 
who  was  adjudged  most  beautiful.  The  hom- 
age thus  paid  to  personal  comeliness  was 
sincere  and  universal. 


460 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  climate  of  Greece,  free  from  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold,  cooperated  with  the  habits 
of  the  people  to  produce  perfect  symmetry  of 
form  and  feature.  Solon,  speakiug  with  pride 
of  the  youth  of  his  country,  says:  "They 
have  a  manly  look,  are  full  of  spirit,  fire,  and 
vigor;  neither  dry  and  withered,  nor  heavy 
and  unwieldy,  but  of  a  form  at  once  graceful 
and  strong.  They  have  worked  and  sweated 
off  all  superfluous  flesh,  and  only  retained 
what  is  pure,  firm,  and  healthy.  This  perfec- 
tion they  could  not  attain  Avithout  those 
physical  exercises  and  the  regimen  that  ac- 
companies them." 

The  men  of  Greece,  though  not  above  the 
medium  height,  were  graceful  and  vigorous. 
Their  chests  were  arched,  their  limbs  straight, 
their  carriage  erect  and  indicative  of  great 
agility.  The  complexion  was  fair,  but  not 
white ;  for  the  Eastern  origin  of  the  race,  com- 
bining in  influence  Avitli  the  constant  outdoor 
exercise  and  the  free  exposure  of  their  bodies 
to  the  air  and  sun  gave  a  tinge  of  bronze  to 
the  person  which  was  admired  rather  than 
avoided.  The  neck  was  round  and  beauti- 
fully molded,  and  on  this  was  set  a  head 
which  for  symmetry  and  proportion  has  never 
been  equaled.  The  nose  descended  in  a 
straight  line  with  the  forehead,  and  the  lips 
were  full  of  expression.  The  chin  was  strong 
and  round,  but  not  unduly  prominent.  The 
whole  form  and  features  glowed  with  an  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  life — an  ideal  expres- 
siveness which  shone  upon  the  beholder  like 
the  sunlight. 

The  female  face  and  figure  were  still  more 
elevated  and  refined.  Here  nature  surpassed 
all  art  and  gave  to  the  world  an  imperishable 
ideal.  The  hands  and  feet  of  Greek  women 
were  modeled  to  the  finest  proportions  of 
which  conception  or  fancy  are  capable.  The 
face  was  full  of  grace  and  modesty.  The 
original  type  was  a  dark-blonde,  the  hair 
auburn,  the  eyes  blue ;  and  this  type  was 
maintained  until  intercourse  Avith  surrounding 
nations  and  the  intermixture  of  foreigners 
from  every  city  of  the  civilized  world  modi- 
fied the  features  and  complexion  and  brought 
into  favor  other  styles  of  beauty.  It  was  the 
Greek  maiden  and   mother,  with  their  native 


charms  and  graces,  that  gave  to  the  art  of 
ancient  Europe  those  classic  models  which 
have  been,  and  are  likely  ever  to  remain,  the 
inspiration  and  the  despair  of  the  chisels  and 
brushes  of  the  modern  world.  Not  only  the 
men  and  women  of  Athens  thus  surpassed  in 
strength  and  loveliness  of  person,  but  the 
people  of  the  other  Greek  states  as  well  en- 
tered into  the  rivalry  of  beauty.  The  girls 
of  Boeotia  were  as  much  praised  for  their 
comely  grace  as  were  those  of  Attica;  and 
for  the  women  of  Thebes  artists  and  poets 
alike  were  wont  to  claim  a  superiority  of  love- 
liness over  all  the  daughters  of  Hellen.  Nor 
should  failure  be  made  to  mention  the  maidens 
of  Ionia,  who,  alike  in  the  royal  courts  of  the 
East  and  in  the  free  vales  of  the  West,  were 
regarded  as  bearing  from  an  easy  contest  the 
palm  of  matchless  beauty. 

In  mental  qualities  the  Hellenes  were  still 
more  strongly  discriminated  from  the  other 
peoples  of  antiquity.  They  had  courage  of 
the  highest  order.  Nothing  could  daunt  or 
dispirit  the  Greek.  When  aroused  he  went 
to  war.  Perhaps  the  cause  was  not  worthy 
of  the  combat,  but  being  offended,  he  fought. 
Arming  himself  with  the  best  implements  of 
war  which  an  unscientific  age  could  afford,  he 
sought  his  enemy  to  slay  or  be  slain.  When 
a  Greek  fled  the  law  of  nature  was  suddenly 
reversed,  and  the  clouds  smiled  at  a  caprice 
so  exceptional  as  to  be  ridiculous !  As  a  gen- 
eral rule  his  courage  in  battle  was  a  thing  so 
business-like  and  matter-of-course  as  to  appear 
natural  and  inevitable.  Before  the  career  of 
his  race  was  half  run  the  enemy  who  stood 
before  him  in  fight  expected  to  be  killed  out 
of  the  nature  of  the  thing.  In  the  midst  of 
the  struggle  his  valor  was  first  sublime  and  then 
savage ;  rarely  cruel.  To  be  brave  was  to  be 
Grecian,  and  not  to  fight  when  insulted  or 
wronged,  even  in  trifles,  was  so  little  Greek  as 
to  be  regarded  a  stigma  in  any  son  of  Hellen 
who  thus  shamed  his  race. 

In  intellectual  qualities,  properly  so-called, 
the  Greek  had  an  easy  precedence  of  any  and 
all  competitors  in  the  ancient  world.  If  the 
word  man  be  really  derived  from  the  Sanskrit 
root  to  think,  then  indeed  was  the  Greek  the 
highest  order  of  man.     He  could  think,  com- 


GREECE.— THE  PEOPLE. 


461 


bine,  reason.  He  could  formulate  and  express 
his  thoughts  with  a  clearness  and  cogency 
never  surpassed.  He  could  excogitate,  imag- 
ine. In  an  age  when  the  coarser  senses  and 
more  brutal  instincts  of  human  nature  were 
rampant  and  lay  like  an  incubus  on  the  spir- 
itual faculties  of  man,  the  Greek  mind  rose 
like  a  lily  above  the  pond.  It  opened  its 
waxen  cup.  It  gathered  the  dews.  It  drank 
the  sunlight  by  day  and  the  starlight  by  night. 
it  gave  its  fragrance  first  to  its  own  place  and 
then  to  all  the  world,  and  then  bequeathed  its 
imperishable  beauties  and  perfume  to  the  im- 
mortality of  art. 

Out  of  the  mind  of  the  Greek  were  pro- 
duced the  loftiest  concepts  of  philosophy.  In 
a  time  of  universal  darkness  there  was  light 
in  Hellas.  It  is  not  intended  in  this  connec- 
tion to  sketch  an  outline  of  the  work  done 
by  the  great  thinkers  of  Athens.  That  will 
appear  in  another  part.  From  the  sti*eets  of 
that  city,  from  her  walks,  her  groves,  her 
Academy,  a  luminous  effulgence  has  been 
shed  into  all  the  world.  In  the  highest  seats 
of  modern  learning  the  reasoning  of  Plato  and 
the  formulj?e  of  Aristotle  still  in  some  measure 
hold  dominion  over  the  acutest  intellects  of 
the  world.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  the  truth 
which  they  evolved  from  their  capacious  un- 
derstanding will  ever  be  restated  in  a  form 
more  acceptable  and  attractive  to  the  human 
mind  than  that  to  Avhich  themselves  gave 
utterance.     They  are  to-day  in  all  the  world, 

"  The  dead  but  sceptered  sovereigns  who  still  rule 
Our  spirits  from  tlieir  urns." 

Besides  the  general  intellectual  superiority 
of  the  Greeks  they  possessed  certain  peculiar- 
ities of  mind  for  which  they  were  specially 
noted.  They  were  witty.  However  wit  may 
be  defined,  the  Hellenes  had  it.  They  were 
able  to  discover  far-fetched  analogies.  They 
could  juxtaposit  the  heterogeneous  and  pi'o- 
duce  an  electrical  shock  by  the  touch  of  con- 
tradictories. They  liked  that  flash  of  light 
which  scorches  its  victim.  The  paradox  was 
always  a  generous  nut  to  the  Greek  who  found 
it.  To  him  the  bitterly  ridiculous  was  better 
than  a  jewel  of  fine  gold.  An  impossible  ver- 
ity was  his  delight.  A  pungent  untruth  made 
true   or  a  luminous  and  startling  lie  was  to 


him  a  joy  forever.  A  joke,  even  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  gods,  was  better  than  the  richest 
banquet  flowing  with  wine. 

Then  came  subtlety,  leading  to  craft  in 
action.  All  the  fine  lines  of  possibility  in  a 
fact  and  its  relations  were  discovered  by  the 
Greek  intellect  as  if  by  intuition.  To  per- 
ceive with  delicacy  the  exact  conditions  of 
the  thing  considered — an  impossible  task  to 
the  sluggish  perceptions  of  most  of  the  peoples 
of  antiquity — was  to  the  Greek  but  a  process 
of  healthful  exercise.  He  knew  more  than 
his  enemy.  He  beat  him  and  laughed  at  him. 
He  was  the  most  capable  animal  of  all  an- 
tiquity. He  was  Reynard  in  the  ancient 
Kingdom  of  the  Beasts.  He  planned  and 
contrived  while  others  slept.  His  were  the 
trick  and  the  stratagem.  He  held  up  a  false 
appearance,  and  smiled  at  his  foe  for  being 
fool  enough  to  believe  it  real.  He  found 
more  pleasure  in  setting  a  trap  than  in  taking 
a  city.  He  set  a  snare  and  stuck  a  spear- 
head through  the  loop.  He  made  cunning  a 
virtue,  and  recounted  a  successful  wile  with 
the  same  pride  as  if  reciting  the  brave  ex- 
ploits of  heroes.  To  succeed  by  craft  was 
nothing  if  it  succeeded,  and  success  without 
superior  skill  was  more  shameful  than  defeat. 
The  Greek  met  the  enemy  with  ambiguous 
speech.  He  attacked  him  with  a  riddle.  He 
swept  the  field  with  a  device,  and  slew  the 
flying  foe  because  he  did  not  understand! 
He  entered  the  treaty-room  with  a  dilemma, 
arranged  the  terms  with  a  subterfuge,  and 
went  out  with  a  mental  reservation. 

In  the  midst  of  his  keen  wit,  his  happy 
perception  of  the  ridiculous  and  his  profound 
subtlety,  the  Greek  retained  in  the  highest 
degree  a  sense  of  the  beautiful.  He  loved 
and  appreciated  the  delicate  outlines  of  form 
and  color  to  the  extent  of  adoration.  In  a 
beautiful  land  he  awoke  to  consciousness.  He 
saw  around  him  a  living  landscape,  and  above 
him  a  cerulean  sky.  He  held  communion 
with  all  the  nude  simplicities  of  nature,  and 
under  her  delightful  inspiration  felt  the  flutter 
of  wings  within  him.  He  would  imitate  her 
loveliness.  He  saw  in  his  musings  and  even 
in  his  slumbers  the  outlines  of  radiant  forms. 
He  caught  at  the  vision.    His  thought  became 


462 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Apollo,  and  his  dream  was  transformed  into 
Psyche. 

From  the  concun-ence  of  such  faculties  as 
those  possessed  by  the  Greeks,  certain  kinds 
of  activity  were  inevitable.  Native  energy 
would  lead  to  vigorous  achievement.  From 
the  first  the  Hellenes  were  adventurous.  They 
tempted  both  land  and  sea.  The  voyage  from 
one  Cyclade  to  another  fed  a  hunger  and  nur- 
tured an  ambition.  The  ocean  was  something 
to  be  overcome.  Others,  as  well  as  they,  de- 
sired possession.  Hence  war,  struggle,  vic- 
tory, peace,  commerce,  the  city,  the  state. 
Here  the  Greek  found  food.  He  planted 
himself  in  his  peninsula  and  islands.  He  made 
enterprise.  He  took  advantage  of  the  adven- 
ture of  others.  He  made  nature  his  confed- 
erate. He  filled  his  sails  with  her  winds.  He 
went  abroad  and  colonized.  He  sought  the 
world's  extreme.  He  established  his  dominion 
in  another  peninsula  in  the  Western  seas,  and 
called  it  Great  Greece,  as  distinguished  from 
his  own.  He  undertook  the  carrying-trade 
for  the  nations,  and  spoke  his  musical  accents 
in  the  marts  of  Babylon  and  Memphis  and 
Carthage.  He  hired  himself  for  gain  to 
oriental  despots  whom  he  despised,  and  trans- 
ported their  armies  in  his  fleet.  He  became 
a  cosmopolite,  and  learned  among  the  swarm- 
ing millions  of  foreign  lands  the  lesson  of 
fearlessness.  He  believed — and  not  without 
good  reason — that  a  Greek  spear  and  a  Greek 
stratagem  were  more  than  Egyptian  cohorts, 
more  than  the  hosts  of  Persia.  He  became 
self-confident  in  his  activities,  arrogant  in  suc- 
cess, reckless  even  when  his  capital  was  in 
ashes  and  his  family  in  exile.  He  was  daunt- 
less, imperturbable,  courageous  even  to  the 
doors  of  desperation  and  death. 

As  to  moral  qualities,  the  Greeks  were  not 
so  greatly  preeminent  above  the  other  peoples 
of  antiquity.  They  had,  like  the  Assyrians 
aad  the  Romans,  many  of  the  robust  virtues, 
but  it  can  not  be  said  that  the  moral  percep- 
tions of  the  race  were,  in  delicacy  of  discern- 
ment between  right  and  wrong,  equal  to  the 
keenness  of  their  intellectual  faculties.  The 
morality  of  Greek  social  life  was  as  high,  per- 
haps higher  than  the  age.  Woman  was  still  a 
slave,  but  her  condition  in  Greece  was  greatly 


preferable  to  that  exhibited  in  any  Eastern 
civilization.  The  conditions  of  her  life  were 
much  improved  by  the  influence  of  Greek  in- 
stitutions, and  Greek  motherhood  and  sister- 
hood were  esteemed  at  something  like  their 
true  valuation.  Nor  was  it  possible  in  a 
country  where  freedom  was  the  rule  that  love 
should  be  absent  or  its  fruit  despised.  The 
Hellenic  family  was  maintained  more  by  the 
action  of  natural  laws  than  by  the  influence 
of  the  commonwealth,  and  the  altar  of  domes- 
tic affection  received  its  gifts  from  the  hand 
of  preference  rather  than  from  the  enforce- 
ment of  duty.  Still,  this  natural  freedom  was 
by  no  means  destructive  of  sacred  ties,  and 
although  it  was  productive  of  much  social  im- 
morality and  abandonment,  yet  it  gave  birth 
to  such  an  array  of  genius  within  given  limits 
of  population  as  can  not  be  paralleled  else- 
where in  history. 

Turning  to  the  domain  of  ethics  proper, 
and  considering  what  may  in  general  terms 
be  called  the  fountain  of  right,  namely,  adhe- 
rence to  truth  and  principle,  the  Greeks  were 
by  no  means  above  reproach.  They  had  in 
this  regard  fewer  of  the  heroic  virtues  than 
did  the  Romans  of  the  Republic.  With  the 
average  Greek  the  rule  was  that  the  end  jus- 
tified the  means,  and  the  majority  adopted 
this  rule  without  compunction.  The  natural 
disposition  to  adoj)t  intrigue  and  deception 
as  legitimate  instruments  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  certain  results  encroached  in  practice 
upon  the  better  principles  of  action,  to  the 
extent  of  making  treachery  in  private  life  and 
perfidy  in  public  affairs  much  too  common  for 
the  honor  and  reputation  of  the  race.  While, 
however,  such  was  in  general  the  ethical  code 
of  the  Greeks  there  were  among  them  not  a 
few  philosophers  and  teachers  who  alike  in 
their  instructions  and  examples  were  without 
doubt  the  best  exponents  of  morality  and  per- 
sonal worth  that  the  world  has  ever  produced. 
The  greatness  of  Socrates  stands  unchallenged. 
The  beauty  and  sublimity  of  his  teachings 
have  never  been  assailed  except  by  bigots. 
The  luster  of  his  life  and  the  heroism  of  his 
death  have  cast  a  mellow  light  through  the 
centuries,  and  his  steady  belief  in  immortality 
has   remained  as   the   greatest   protest   of  the 


GREECE.— THE  PEOPLE. 


463 


pagan  world  against  the  notion  of  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  human  soul.  While  it  is  true 
that  the  Athenians  on  an  important  state  oc- 
casion gave  as  a  formal  reason  for  the  break- 
ing of  a  treaty  the  statement  that  it  was  no 
longer  to  their  advantage  to  keep  it,  and  while  in 
multiplied  instances  the  pages  of  Grecian  his- 
tory are  stained  with  the  record  of  deeds  per- 
fidious, it  is  also  true  that  the  disks  of  Soc- 
rates and  Plato  shine  above  the  fogs  of  this 
depravity  with  an  immortal  brightness. 

Nor  should  there  be  failure  to  mention  the 
redemptive  virtue  of  Greek  patriotism.  It 
may  be  true,  as  has  been  urged  by  some  phi- 
lanthropists, that  those  local  attachments  of 
man  to  his  own  hill,  his  own  province,  his 
own  country,  which  in  the  aggregate  pass  by 
the  name  of  patriotism,  are  in  the  nature  of 
a  vice  which  will  be  extinguished  in  the  higher 
developments  of  civilization.  But  such  a 
proposition  can  not  be  established  out  of  the 
history  of  the  past,  nor  is  it  likely  to  be  es- 
tablished in  the  immediate  future.  In  gen- 
eral, the  progress  of  mankind,  as  well  as  the 
average  happiness  of  the  world,  has  been 
fostered  and  sustained  by  the  devotion  of 
patriotism;  and  even  in  the  present  condition 
of  the  world,  patriotism  remains  a  fact  and 
internationality  a  dream. 

The  Greeks  were  patriotic.  Their  land 
was  of  such  a  character  as  to  nurture  and 
stimulate  local  attachment.  There  seems  to 
be  more  principle  involved  in  fighting  for  a 
hill  than  for  a  brickyard.  The  human  race 
fits  to  inequality  of  surface.  It  is  difficult  to 
be  moved  from  such  a  situation.  Beauty, 
sublimity,  variety,  every  element  which  draws 
forth  from  man  an  affectionate  regard  for 
nature  fired  the  Greek  with  enthusiasm  for 
his  country,  his  altars,  his  hearthstones,  his 
gods.  The  masterful  struggles  at  Marathon, 
Platsea,  and  Salamis  are  but  the  attestation 
of  the  vigor  and  invincible  force  of  the  pa- 
triotism of  the  Greeks. 

They  loved  liberty.  Freedom  had  her 
birth  among  the  hills  of  Greece.  Here  it  was 
that  political  rights  were  first  debated,  and 
the  duties  of  government  limited  by  statute. 
There  was  something  in  the  Greek  mind 
which  could  not  tolerate  the  exactions  of  ar- 


bitrary authority.  What  they  could  not  con- 
sent to  they  resisted.  They  quaffed  freedom 
as  from  a  cup.  Their  patriotic  impulses  led 
to  the  acceptance  of  the  doctrine  that  the  man 
existed  for  the  state ;  but  the  spirit  of  liberty 
made  it  dangerous  to  be  the  state.  Hellas 
was  an  arena.  Contention,  party  strife,  the 
conflict  of  opinion,  the  counter  currents  of 
interest,  the  inebriety  of  the  demagogue,  the 
factious  outcry,  the  excited  assembly,  the  up- 
roar, the  ostracism — all  these  were  but  the 
concomitants  of  that  wonderful  agitation  in 
the  painful  throes  of  which  were  born  the 
liberties  of  the  people.  With  the  growth  of 
the  Grecian  commonwealths  popular  consent 
became  more  and  more  the  necessary  ante- 
cedent of  action.  The 
voice  of  the  new-born 
fact  called  political 
freedom  cried  in  the 
streets.  There  was  a 
clamor,  not  wise  but 
loud.  It  was  as  a 
sound  in  the  tree- 
tops  —  the  voice  of 
democracy  —  a  voice 
never  to  be  stilled 
unto  the  shores  of 
time  and  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 

In  thought  and 
action  the  Greeks 
were  the  best  in- 
dividualized of  all 
uity.  The  nations  of  the  East  were  masses. 
Egypt  was  a  mass.  Babylon  was  a  mass. 
Assyria,  Media,  Persia,  Lydia  —  what  were 
they  but  vast  aggregates  of  humanity  undis- 
tinguishable  in  member  or  part?  But  the 
Greek  was  differentiated.  He  passed  out  of 
the  nebulous  condition  and  became  stellar. 
He  counted  one.  Every  other  Greek  counted 
one.  The  units  stood  apart.  The  nebulae  of 
antiquity  broke  into  stars  in  the  sky  of  Greece. 
A  new  force  was  felt  henceforth  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  The  lessons  of  individ- 
uality and  freedom  reflected  from  almost  every 
page  of  Grecian  literature  were  caught  here 
and  there  by  the  brighter  intellects  of  antiq- 
uity.    The  far-reaching  gleam  shot  its  arrow 


SOCRATES,   NAPLES. 


the    peoples    of    antiq- 


464 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.  — THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  light  even  into  the  darkness  of  the  Middle 
Age,  and  the  patriots  of  every  civilized  coun- 
try of  the  world  have  found  their  precedents 
among    the    liberties    of    the    Greeks. — How 


these  qualities  of  body  and  mind  and  moral 
nature  in  the  Hellenic  race  will  work  in  the 
elaboration  of  a  national  career  will  be  exhib- 
ited in  the  chapters  to  follow. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII.— IvANGUAGE,     LITERATURE, 

AND   Art. 


Y  far  the  richest  speech 
of  Ancient  Europe  was 
the  Greek;  and  among 
the  languages  of  Asia  it 
had  no  rival  except  the 
Sanskrit.  The  genealogy 
of  this  famous  tongue  has 
already  been  referred  to  in  the  notice  of  the 
origin  of  the  Hellenic  race.  Indeed,  the 
tribe-origin  of  the  Greeks  could  never  have 
been  known  but  for  the  science  of  language, 
which  has  become  the  torch-bearer  of  eth- 
nology in  every  quarter  of  the  earth.  The 
race-history  of  every  people  is  recorded  in  its 
language,  and  if  only  that  language  has 
been  crystallized  into  a  national  literature, 
there  is  little  trouble  in  tracing  out  the 
prehistoric  career  of  the  people  by  whom  it  is 
spoken. 

Greek,  then,  is  one  of  that  great  group  of 
languages  known  as  Aryan  or  Indo-European. 
It  has  for  its  cognate  tongues,  Sanskrit  and 
Persic  in  Asia,  and  Latin,  Celtic,  and  Teu- 
tonic in  Europe.  It  is  now  understood  by 
scholars  that  in  the  migration  of  nations  to 
the  West  the  Celts,  the  Germans,  and  the 
Slaves  preceded  the  other  members  of  the 
European  group.  In  a  later  movement  came 
the  two  remaining  branches  of  the  family,  the 
Greeks  and  the  Romans.  These  were  closely 
allied  in  ethnic  and  linguistic  affinities.  Any 
one  at  all  familiar  with  the  Latin  and  Greek 
tongues  will  recall  their  fundamental  identity 
in  both  vocabulary  and  grammatical  structure. 
The  two  peoples  by  whom  these  languages 
were  spoken  held  together  for  a  long  time 
after  their  separation  from  a  common  parent 
stock,  and  only  at  a  comparatively  late  period 
began  to  differentiate  into  peculiarities  of  race 
and  speech.     The  one  people  settled  around 


the  shores  of  the  ^gean,  and  the   other  in 
the  Italian  peninsula. 

In  the  former  situation,  Greek  was  a 
spoken  tongue  as  early  as  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury before  our  era.  At  a  later  date  the  lan- 
guage spread  with  the  adventures  and  colo- 
nizations of  the  Hellenes,  until  their  accents 
were  heard  from  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor  to 
Sicily,  and  from  Thrace  to  Cyrenaica.  At  a 
still  later  time  it  became  the  prevailing  tongue 
in  the  Macedonian,  Syrian,  Egyptian,  and 
Byzantine  empires.  In  modern  times  frag- 
ments of  the  language  are  spoken  in  parts  of 
Southern  Italy,  and  even  in  one  of  the  can- 
tons of  Switzerland.  In  Greece,  at  the  present 
time,  an  abridged  and  simplified  form  of 
Greek  is  the  language  of  the  people,  and  thia 
Romaic  tongue  differs  less  from  the  language 
of  Demosthenes  than  does  the  English  of  to- 
day from  the  tongue  of  Chaucer. 

The  history  of  the  Greek  language  has 
been  divided  by  scholars  into  three  periods, 
the  first  of  which  embraces  its  literary  devel- 
opment from  the  time  of  the  composition  of 
the  Epic  poems  to  the  establishment  of  the 
common  speech  by  the  historians  and  philoso- 
phers of  Athens.  The  second  includes  the 
period  of  diffusion,  during  which,  from  its 
inherent  excellence  as  a  medium  of  communi- 
cation, Greek  became  first  the  language  of 
scholars  m  all  civilized  countries,  and  was 
then  contracted,  by  the  gradual  decline  of  the 
Roman  power,  to  its  original  seats.  The 
third  division  embraces  the  degeneration  of 
classical  Greek,  and  the  rise  out  of  the  same 
of  the  vulgar  or  common  tongue  spoken  by 
the  descendants  of  the  Hellenes. 

The  tribal  divisions  of  the  Greek  race  on 
its  settlement  in  Hellas  soon  gave  rise  to 
dialectical  differences   in  speech.     It  was  not 


GREECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART. 


465 


long  before  the  Dorians  employed  one  kind 
of  vocalization  and  accent  and  the  lonians 
another.  Thus  arose  the  three  primitive  forms 
of  Greek,  the  Doric,  the  Ionic,  and  the 
iEolic.  At  first  the  Doric  was  most  widely 
spoken,  being  the  form  of  speech  prevalent  in 
Northern  Greece,  in  Peloponnesus,  in  Crete, 
and  in  the  colonies  of  the  Dorians  in  South- 
ern Italy  and  Sicily.  The  chief  authors  who 
have  preserved  this  ancient  dialect  in  their 
works  are  Pindar  and  Theocritus, 

The  Ionic  variety  of  Greek  prevailed  on 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  in  most  of  the 
JEgean  islands,  in  the  peninsula  of  Attica, 
and  in  the  foreign  colonies  established  by  the 
lonians.  It  was  developed  at  an  early  day  as 
the  language  of  poetry,  and  in  this  tongue 
were  achieved  the  literary  triumphs  of  the 
race.  Ionic  had  itself  a  threefold  develop- 
ment— the  Old  Ionic,  the  New  Ionic,  and  the 
Attic.  The  first  is  the  language  of  the  epic 
poetry,  and  is  rendered  immortal  in  Homer 
and  Hesiod.  The  New  Ionic  is  the  speech  of 
Herodotus;  while  the  Attic,  being  the  lan- 
guage of  Athens,  contained  the  great  body 
of  Greek  classical  literature.  It  was  the 
tongue  of  the  scholars  and  philosophers — the 
chariot  of  fire  in  which  the  lightnings  of 
Demosthenes  were  driven  through  smoke  and 
tempest  upon  the  enemies  of  his  country. 

Again  the  Attic  dialect  was  itself  divided, 
according  to  its  three  eras  of  development— 
the  Old,  the  Middle,  and  the  New.  The  Old 
Attic  differed  but  little  from  the  Ionic,  It 
was  the  language  of  Thucydides.  After  his 
time  there  were  large  additions  of  Doric  and 
^olic  words  to  the  vocabulary,  and  thus  was 
formed  the  Middle,  and  finally  the  New, 
speech  of  Attica.  In  this  spoke  the  great 
orators  and  wrote  the  philosophers  of  Athens 
in  the  epoch  of  her  glory. 

The  Moiic  variety  of  Greek  was  scarcely 
limited  to  any  definite  territory.  It  was  inter- 
fused with  the  other  dialects,  and  was  rather 
a  modifying  element  than  a  distinct  type  of 
speech.  It  was  the  oldest  form  of  Greek, 
and  was  not  much  inflected  from  that  primi- 
tive tongue  which  was  the  mother,  not  only 
of  all  the  Hellenic  dialects,  but  also  of  the 
Italic    languages.      It    thus    happened    that 


^olic,  being  in  a  measure  a  prehistoric  type 
of  language,  was  not  fully  represented  in 
literary  productions.  Before  the  dawn  of 
Greek  literature,  the  Doric  and  Ionic  dialects 
had  become  the  prevalent  forms  of  speech, 
and  the  poets  adopted  these,  instead  of  ^olic, 
as  the  vehicle  of  their  expression,  for  the 
same  reason  that  Chaucer  wrote  English  in 
preference  to  Anglo-Saxon. 

The  Greek  of  Athens  became,  par  excel- 
lence, the  langua-ge  of  the  Hellenic  civiliza- 
tion. To  speak  it  and  write  it  became  the 
ambition  of  the  educated  in  every  quarter  of 
the  world.  Its  forms  and  structure  became 
fixed  by  law  and  usage.  Perhaps  no  people 
ever  had  so  refined  a  language,  or  spoke  it 
with  such  purity  and  grace,  as  did  the  Athe- 
nians. For  several  centuries  it  retained  its 
structure  unimpaired.  Not  until  the  age  of 
Alexander,  when  it  had,  by  agency  of  his 
conquests,  become  the  spoken  language  of 
Macedonians,  Egyptians,  Ethiopians,  Syrians, 
and  of  many  other  nations,  did  a  difference 
begin  to  appear  between  the  classical  Greek 
and  the  vulgar  tongue  of  the  people. 

It  is  of  interest,  in  this  connection,  to  note 
the  antecedents  of  that  style  of  Greek  which, 
prevailing  in  Alexandria,  became  the  vehicle 
of  interpretation  between  the  Jewish  oracles 
and  the  western  nations.  It  appears  that 
primitive  Macedonian  was  a  form  of  speech 
different  from  Hellenic.  The  afiinity  seems 
to  have  been  with  Illyrian  rather  than  with 
Greek.  The  early  Grecians  and  Macedonians 
could  not  understand  each  other  without  an 
interpreter.  Nevertheless,  in  the  court  of 
Philip  and  Alexander,  Greek  was  the  medium 
of  communication.  It  seems,  therefore,  that 
the  vernacular  Macedonian  had  been  dis- 
carded by  the  upper  classes  of  the  people,  and 
the  language  of  Hellas  adopted  in  its  stead. 
Albeit,  Alexander  and  his  court  spoke  Greek 
like  foreigners,  and  incorporated  therewith 
many  Macedonian  words  and  idioms.  This, 
then,  was  the  speech  which  the  Conqueror  car- 
ried with  him  into  Egypt.  The  term  "Hel- 
lenistic," therefore,  as  applied  to  the  type  of 
Greek  employed  by  the  Seventy  in  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Scriptures,  is  a  misnomer,  and 
should  be  replaced  by  "Macedonian." 


466 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  all  the  countries  brought  under  the 
sway  of  Alexander,  the  language  of  the 
Greeks  became  the  language  of  the  governing 
class  and  of  the  philosophers.  In  every  such 
country  was  a  gradual  and  perhaps  inevitable 
corruption  of  the  speech  thus  imposed  upon 
native  tongues.  From  the  third  century  of 
our  era,  the  departure  from  the  old  standard 
of  purity  and  elegance  became  so  great  that 
the  Greek  authors  were  no  louger  understood 
by  many  of  the  peoples  pretending  to  sj)eak 
their  language.  Meanwhile,  the  transfer  of 
the  capital  of  the  Roman  world  to  Con- 
stantinople introduced  a  large  element  of 
Latin  into  the  heart  of  Hellenism,  and  then 
the  pilgrims  and  crusaders  from  the  ^yest 
brought  in  their  importation  of  Gallicisms, 
until  the  degeneration  of  Greek  was  well-nigh 
complete.  Still,  in  the  hands  of  purists  and 
scholars,  it  continued  to  be  the  vehicle  of 
literature  until,  surviving  the  barbarism  of 
the  Middle  Age,  it  became  a  potent  factor  in 
the  revival  of  learning. 

Turning  to  the  structural  forms  of  the 
language  of  the  Hellenes,  as  distinguished 
from  its  historical  development,  we  find  much 
of  interest.  The  original  Greek  alphabet 
consisted  of  sixteen  characters,  which  were 
reputed  to  have  been  brought  into  Hellas  by 
the  Phoenician  Cadmus.  He  was  a  mythical 
king  of  Thebes  and  brother  of  the  monarch 
of  Phoenicia.  The  whole  matter  is  legendary, 
but  perhaps  contains  some  grains  of  truth. 
It  is  probably  true  that  the  Greek  letters  had 
a  Phoenician  origin,  but  it  is  more  likely  that 
they  came  in  a  regular  way  from  the  contact 
of  the  lonians  with  the  scholars  of  Sidon  than 
that  they  were  the  beneficent  contribution  of 
a  traveling  philosopher.  As  to  the  date  of 
the  introduction,  modern  antiquarians  are  di- 
vided in  opinion,  some  holding  it  to  have 
been  as  early  as  the  fourteenth,  others  as  late 
as  the  eighth,  century  before  our  era.  The 
addition  of  several  letters  to  the  sixteen  given 
by  Cadmus  is  ascribed  to  Palamedes;  but 
others  think  that  twenty-two  of  the  characters 
were  derived  directly  from  Phoenicia,  and  that 
only  the  letter  hypsilon  was  of  a  truly  Hellenic 
origin.  At  any  rate,  the  number  of  char- 
acters in  the  Greek  alphabet  proper  is  twenty- 


four.  It  happened,  however,  in  making  up 
the  list,  that  two  of  the  letters,  the  vav  and 
the  koppa,  were  discarded,  but  their  places 
were  filled  with  two  others,  the  ^^/li  and  the 
chi.  The  other  modifications  were  the  addi- 
tion of  psi  and  omega  by  the  lonians,  and 
finally  the  introduction  of  the  aspirated  e, 
called  eta,  to  serve  the  purpose  of  e  long.  The 
alphabet  thus  completed  was  officially  adopted 
in  Athens,  B.  C.  403. 

Of  the  seven  vowels  employed  in  Greek, 
two  (ji,  uj)  were  long,  two  (s,  o)  short,  and 
three  (a,  i,  u)  common.  Every  initial  vowel 
Avas  written  with  a  breathing  (')  (')  above  it 
to  indicate  whether  it  was  to  be  pronounced 
with  a  smooth  utterance,  as  in  the  case  of  an 
initial  vowel  in  English,  or  be  given  with  an 
aspiration,  that  is,  with  the  sound  of  h  pre- 
ceding. Marks  were  also  employed  to  show 
the  accentuation  of  words.  The  circumflex 
accent  (")  might  be  placed  on  either  of  the 
last  two  syllables  of  a  word;  the  acute  ('), 
on  either  of  the  last  three,  without  respect  to 
the  length  of  the  vowel  in  the  syllable  so  ac- 
cented;  the  grave  (^),  on  every  syllable  not 
otherwise  marked,  but  was  not  written  except 
on  the  last. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  Greek  literature  the 
characters  employed  in  writing  were  what  is 
called  uncial,  that  is,  a  kind  of  square,  capital- 
like letters,  much  larger  than  the  body  of 
oi'dinary  type.  There  was  no  cursive  or 
modified  style  of  writing  diff*ering  from  the 
established  forms  of  the  letters.  Such  a  de- 
vice as  a  running-hand  of  Greek  was  un- 
known until  the  second  century  before  our 
era,  when  the  scholars  of  Alexandria  intro- 
duced the  cursive  system.  The  ordinary  small 
letters,  such  as  make  up  the  body  of  a  Greek 
page,  were  not  adopted  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighth  century,  A.  D.;  at  any 
rate,  no  manuscripts  or  inscriptions  containing 
that  style  of  letter  are  known  to  antedate  the 
year  750  of  our  era. 

In  its  grammatical  structure  the  Greek 
language  is  one  of  the  most  complete,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  one  of  the  most  flexible  in  the 
world.  The  noun  preserves  five  cases  out  of 
the  original  eight  belonging  to  the  primitive 
Aryan.     It  also  has  three  numbers ;  singular, 


GREECE.—LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART 


467 


dual,  and  plural.  By  this  means  the  discrim- 
ination of  objects  as  it  respects  unity,  binity, 
and  multiplicity  is  easily  carried  out  in  speech. 
The  language  presents  three  genders ;  mascu- 
line, feminine,  and  neuter.  The  article  (ho, 
he,  t6)  accompanies  the  noun  and  follows  its 
inflections.  It  also  has  an  independent  use, 
being  capable  of  representing  the  absent  noun 
as  by  a  delicate  innuendo.  In  its  power  of 
nominal  combination  no  other  language  has 
equaled  the  Greek.  There  was  practically  no 
limit  to  the  ability  of  a  Greek  author  to  form 
compound  nouns,  expressing  the  most  com- 
plex ideas.  The  striking  off  of  case-endings 
and  the  j  uxtaposition  of  radicals  was  a  process 
so  easy  and  natural  as  to  suggest  itself  in  the 
ordinary  flow  of  speech,  and  the  laws  of  the 
language  were  so  tolerant  of  growth  as  to  jDut 
no  restriction  on  either  the  poetic  imagination 
or  the  necessity  of  philosophy.  A  whole  hex- 
ameter might  flow  in  a  word,  if  fancy  sug- 
gested the  combination. 

The  adjective  was  specially  full  and  rich  in 
its  expressiveness.  Each  word  of  this  class 
was  capable  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
endings!  Of  course,  many  of  these  were 
duplicates  of  others,  but  .the  full  scheme 
showed  the  number  here  indicated.^  In  gen- 
eral the  adjective  conformed  to  the  mutations 
of  the  noun.  There  was  thus  established  be- 
tween fact  and  epithet  the  closest  bonds  of 
sympathy.  The  adjective  did  obeisance  in  its 
forms  to  the  noun  with  which  it  was  joined. 
It  swayed  to  and  fro  with  its  master,  followed 
his  fortunes  and  vicissitudes,  shared  his  wealth 
and  his  poverty. 

But  it  was  the  Greek  verb  which  most  of 
all  exhibited  the  fecundity  of  the  language. 
Here  was  revealed  the  great  force  and  per- 
spicuity of  the  speech  of  the  Hellenes.  A 
double  series  of  affixes,  added  or  prefixed  to 
the  verb-roots,  clearly  distinguished  the  tenses 
as  to  the  time  and- completeness  of  the  action 
expressed  by  them.  For  past  time  the  aug- 
ment, and  for  completed  action  the  reduplica- 
tion, furnished  delicate  discriminations  for 
which  we  should  look  in  vain  in  Latin  or  in 


^  That  is,  five  cases  multiplied  by  three  num- 
bers, by  three  genders,  by  three  degrees  of  com- 
parison =  135  adjectival  forms. 
N. — Vol.  I — 29 


any  other  tongue  ever  spoken  in  Europe. 
The  root  of  a  Greek  verb  was  thus  subject  to 
a  kind  of  development  by  means  of  endings 
and  prefixes  until  the  exact  notion  of  the 
time,  its  point  and  duration,  and  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  action,  was  expressed  with  a 
specific  delicacy  of  which  no  other  language 
has  ever  shown  itself  susceptible. 

There  was  thus  established  among  all  the 
parts  of  the  formal  structure  of  the  Greek 
tongue  a  kind  of  sympathetic  union  which 
moved  the  whole  as  one.  A  Greek  sentence 
was  agitated  through  all  its  length  and  depth 
by  the  stress  of  expression.  The  paragraph 
trembled  from  end  to  end  when  the  thrill  of 
life  awoke  in  any  part.  The  language,  with 
its  multitudinous  endings,  all  in  harmonious 
accord,  lay  like  a  rich  meadow  of  stately 
timothy  swaying  and  waving  in  the  breezes 
of  thought.  Each  stalk  nodded  to  his  fellow. 
The  ripple  of  mirth  danced  over  the  surface 
like  a  scarcely  perceptible  breath  of  air.  The 
shadow  chased  the  sunshine,  and  the  sunshine 
the  shadow.  A  sigh  came  out  of  the  forest 
and  a  deeper  wave  moved  gently  away  to  the 
distance.  The  thrill  of  joy,  the  message  of 
defiance,  the  moan  of  the  disconsolate  spirit, 
the  psean  of  battle,  the  shout  of  victory, 
every  mood  and  every  emotion  which  the 
mind  of  man  in  his  most  vigorous  estate  is 
capable  of  experiencing,  SAvept  in  rolling  bil- 
lows across  the  pulsating  bosom  of  this  beauti- 
ful speech. 

The  tongue  of  the  Greeks  was,  in  its  kind, 
as  preeminent  as  their  literature.  The  one 
was  the  counterpart  of  the  other.  So  won- 
derful in  its  completeness  is  the  grammatical 
structure  of  the  language  that  it  has  been 
made,  not  without  good  reason,  the  founda- 
tion of  linguistic  study  in  nearly  all  the  uni- 
versities of  the  world.  The  historian,  Cur- 
tius,  in  summing  up  the  structural  elegance 
of  Greek,  thus  assigns  to  its  true  place  the 
speech  of  the  Hellenic  race :  "  If  the  grammar 
of  their  language  were  the  only  thing  remain- 
ing to  us  of  the  Hellenes,  it  would  serve  as  a 
full  and  valid  testimony  to  the  extraordinary 
natural  gifts  of  this  people,  which,  after  with 
creative  power  appropriating  the  material  of 
their  language,    penetrated  every  part  of  it 


468 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


with  the  spirit,  and  nowhere  left  a  dead,  inert 
mass  behind  it — of  a  people  which,  in  spite 
of  its  decisive  abhorrence  of  every  thing  bom- 
bastic, circumstantial,  or  obscure,  understood 
how  to  accomplish  an  infinity  of  results  by 
the  simplest  means.  The  whole  language  re- 
sembles the  body  of  an  artistically  trained 
athlete,  in  which  every  muscle,  every  sinew, 
is  developed  into  full  play,  where  there  is  no 
trace  of  tumidity  or  of  inert  matter,  and  all 
is  power  and  life." 

It  is  not  possible  within  the  contemplated 
limits  of  the  present  work  to  discuss  the  liter- 
ature of  the  Greeks  under  an  exhaustive  anal- 
ysis.    All  that  can  be  done  is  to  note,  with 

some  degree  of 
care,  the  leading 
branches  in  the 
literary  art  of  the 
Greeks  —  the  poe- 
try and  history  of 
the  Hellenic  auth- 
ors. On  the  very 
confines  of  the 
cloudy  horizon  of 
Greek  history 
stands  the  sublime 
figure  of  Homer. 
Myth  or  man  — 
who  knows?  At 
any  rate,  he  was  a 
Being — one  whose 
radiance  has  fallen 
on  all  the  subse- 
quent ages  of  man's  endeavor.  Even  before 
him  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  there 
were  precursive  bards  of  feebler  wing  who 
put  into  the  lips  of  the  primitive  Greeks 
the  chant,  the  psean,  the  choral  song,  the 
merry  roundelay  of  the  singing  girls  and 
vintagers.  But  it  remained  for  the  deeds  of 
the  heroes  of  the  nation  to  furnish  the  mate- 
rial of  a  loftier  strain,  and  Scio's  rocky  isle 
to  furnish  the  singer. 

Here,  then,  was  the  beginning  of  Epic 
Poetry — the  song  heroic  which  recounts  the 
warlike  deeds  of  the  valiant  and  strong.  The 
Blind  Being  chose  for  one  of  his  themes  the 
siege  and  sack  of  Troy — its  causes,  the  out- 
rage done  to  hospitality  and  trust,  the  coun- 


IDEAL  BUST  OF  HOMER. 

Sans  Souci,  Potsdam. 


sel  of  the  belligerent  gods,  the  array  of  na- 
tions, the  stratagem,  the  catastrophe;  and  for 
the  other  the  wanderings  of  the  brave  and  sa- 
gacious Ulysses,  involving  the  social  aspects 
of  his  own  and  foreign  lands.  Thus  were 
wrought   the   Iliad   and    the    Odyssey. 

The  work  was  greater  than  the  theme.  The 
language  was  still  plastic.  Under  the  magical 
touch  of  genius  the  two  great  epics  rose  like 
exhalations  from  the  new-made  earth.  They 
were  chanted  in  the  ears  of  all  Greece.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  the  literary  culture  of 
the  Aryan  race.  The  influence  of  Homer's 
heroic  songs  was  transfused,  like  a  strong 
current  of  ancestral  blood,  into  the  whole 
body  of  Greek  letters  that  rose  out  of  this 
radiant  dawn.  The  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey 
have  remained  the  best  in  their  kind  among 
the  works  of  the  human  genius ;  nor  is  it 
likely  that  the  deliberate  judgment  of  three 
thousand  years  will  ever  be  reversed  in  the 
tides  of  time. 

The  Homeric  poems  have  not  reached  us 
in  their  original  form.  At  the  time  of  their 
production  the  Greeks  already  possessed  the 
art  of  writing,  but  that  art  was  employed 
rather  for  the  brief  and  business  affairs  of 
life  than  for  literary  composition.  The  ear  of 
the  early  Greek  was  attuned  to  harmony.  He 
would  hear  the  music  of  verse  recited  by  a 
living  master.  He  would  feel  the  thrill  of 
enthusiasm  which  could  be  kindled  by  no  life- 
less tablet.  The  swaying  form  of  the  rhap- 
sodist,  his  rapt  visage,  his  flashing  eye,  his 
sonorous  voice  rising  and  falling  like  the  sea — 
these  were  the  elements  of  inspiration,  these 
the  coals  that  kindled  emulation.  Thus  it 
happened  that  memory  became  the  repository 
and  the  tongue  the  deliverer  of  the  verse  of 
Hellas. 

It  is  likely  that  for  several  centuries  to- 
gether the  poems  of  Homer,  vast  in  extent 
as  they  are,  were  written  only  in  the  memo- 
ries of  men.  Doubtless  in  this  period  many 
changes  were  introduced  by  the  caprices  of 
not  too  faithful  rhapsodists — many  transposi- 
tions of  parts,  and  perhaps  some  total  loss  of 
sections  or  whole  episodes  of  the  epic.  Fi- 
nally, however,  in  a  day  of  happy  fortune 
for  all  the  world,  the  poems  were  reduced  to 


GREECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART. 


writing.  While  Pisistratus  was  tyrant  of 
Athens  the  work  was  undertaken  at  his  in- 
stance and  under  his  patronage.  The  Athe- 
nian grammarian  Onomacritus  was  appointed 
to  revise  and  arrange  both  of  the  poems,  re- 
jecting what  appeared  to  him  to  be  the  inter- 
polations of  weaker  bards  and  the  manifest 
corruptions  of  the  ignorant.  Thus  were  the 
two  greatest  epics  of  the  world,  flung  from 
the  vigorous  imagination  of  the  Blind  Being 
of  Ionia,  preserved  and  transmitted  to  after 
ages  in  nearly  the  forms  which  now  they  bear. 
Of  the  time  at  which  Homer  flourished  only 
so  much  is  known  as  that  he  lived  in  the  mys- 
terious epoch  where  history  and  fable  blended, 
and  when  Greece  was  just  beginning  to  awake 
to  a  consciousness  of  her  power. 

Around  Homer  grew  up  a  race  of  bards 
called  the  "Cyclic  poets" — like  unto  himself, 
but  of  less  repute.  They  were  like  the  group 
of  English  writers  known  as  the  Shakespearean 
dramatists,  clustering  about  a  greater  light,  in 
whose  efiiilgence  they  were  lost.  Not  only 
have  the  works  of  the  Cyclic  bards  perished, 
but  most  of  themselves  have  not  even  left 
behind  the  legacy  of  a  name. 

After  the  old  Ionian  bard  came  Hesiod. 
He  was  a  Dorian,  who  flourished  about  a  cen- 
tury after  Hgpier,  and  dwelt  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Helicon,  near  Delphi.  His  fond  coun- 
trymen set  up  their  poet  in  rivalry  with  his 
great  predecessor,  and  even  invented  a  fiction 
that  the  two  had  once  contested  for  the  palm 
in  song  and  that  the  award  had  been  made  to 
Hesiod.  But  the  story  was  an  impossibility, 
both  in  time  and  fact.  The  subjects  selected 
by  the  Dorian  bard  were  the  fables  of  the 
gods.  Instead  of  the  stirring  strifes  of  heroes 
he  recited  the  history  of  the  national  religion. 
He  also  collected  and  reduced  to  verse  the 
practical  and  proverbial  wisdom  of  the  peo- 
ple, in  a  rather  tedious  didactic  poem  called 
Works  and  Days.  Between  these  productions 
and  the  living  pictures  of  Homer  there  is,  in 
both  subject  and  treatment,  the  greatest  pos- 
sible contrast.  Neither  in  Hesiod,  their  mas- 
ter bard,  nor  in  his  successors,  did  the  Boeotian 
school  in  Grecian  literature  ever  approximate 
the  excellence  and  breadth  of  the  Ionic  and 
Attic  authors. 


After  the  epic — which  ceased  to  be  culti- 
vated from  the  epoch  of  Homer  and  Hesiod — 
the  next  kind  of  Greek  poetry  which  appeared 
was  the  lykic.  In  the  form  of  elegy  it  became 
as  the  heroic  songs  of  the  masters.  The  elegy, 
like  the  epic,  took  its  rise  among  the  Ionian 
Greeks  of  Asia  Minor.  To  them  it  seems  to 
have  been  suggested  by  the  elegos  of  the 
Phrygians.  It  was  primarily  a  song  of  wail- 
ing, to  be  chanted  with  the  accompaniment 
of  a  flute.  Among  the  Greeks,  however,  the 
elegy  took  a  wider  range,  and  included  in  its 
subjects  the  stirring  themes  of  patriotism  and 
war.  Even  love  and  conviviality  were  made 
elegiac  by  the  Hellenic  bards,  who,  in  alter- 
nate hexameters  and  pentameters,  chanted  the 
fiery  charms  of  passion  and  the  joys  of  the 
festival. 

It  was  in  the  seventh  century  B.  C.  that 
the  elegy  of  the  Greeks  achieved  its  greatest 
triumphs.  Not  infrequently  the  gravest  af- 
fairs of  state,  the  policy  of  cities,  the  conduct 
of  war,  were  determined  by  a  song.  Thus 
the  old  decrepit  Tyrt^us,  who  was,  in  answer 
to  an  oracular  call,  sent  in  derision  by  the 
Athenians  to  be  a  leader  of  the  Spartans, 
fired  them  to  a  pitch  of  unprecedented  en- 
thusiasm by  a  battle-lyric  composed  for  the 
occasion.  Callinus  of  Ephesus  in  like  manner 
inspired  his  countrymen  in  their  war  with  the 
Magnesians.  Solon  himself  disdained  not  the 
composition  of  a  poem  by  which  he  induced 
the  men  of  Athens  to  reconquer  Salamis. 
The  lyrics  of  Theognis  of  Megara  were  col- 
lected and  taught  as  a  manual  of  wisdom  and 
virtue.  The  praises  of  those  who  fell  at 
Marathon  were  sung  in  immortal  strains  by 
SiMONiDES  of  Chios,  while  the  poems  of 
MiMNERMOS  exalt  the  fleeting  joys  of  life 
as  the  fairest  and  best  to  Avhich  mortality  may 
aspire. 

The  next  development  of  Greek  verse — 
also  lyric — was  the  iambic  or  personal  poetry. 
For  the  old  Hellenic  bard  did  not  forbear  to 
assail  his  enemy  with  caustic  words  as  well  as 
spears  and  javelins.  This  type  of  poetry 
seems  to  have  been  invented  by  Archilocus, 
who,  taking  advantage  of  the  license  conceded 
to  all  at  the  festival  of  Demeter  to  indulge  in 
personal  mockery  and  jests,  introduced  a  new 


470 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


style  of  verse,  composed  in  alternate  iambi 
and  trochees,  dipped  in  the  bitterest  wit  and 
sarcasm,  to  the  extent  of  driving  to  suicide 
(such  is  the  tradition)  those  against  whom  the 
poisoned  arrows  Avere  sent  flying.  Even 
greater  and  fiercer  in  invective  was  the  poet 
HiPPONAX,  who  flourished  about  the  middle 
of  the  sixth  centviry,  and  is  said  to  have  satir- 
ized to  death  two  sculptors  who  had  carica- 
tured his  ugliness. 

After  the  iambic  came  the  melos,  or  song. 
This  style  of  poetry  was  mostly  cultivated  by 
the  ^olian  and  Dorian  bards,  who  were  cele- 
brated for  the  tenderness  of  their  emotion  and 
feeling.  In  this  species  of  verse  the  singer 
expressed  his  own  joys  and  sorrows,  his  long- 
ings and  hope.  It  was  from  Mitylene,  the 
capital  of  the  island  of  Lesbos,  that  the  song 
proper  took  its  rise.  In  Greece  of  the  main- 
land it  was  admired  rather  than  imitated. 
But  there  was  a  Lesbian  school  where  this 
style  of  composition  was  encouraged  and 
taught.  Here  flourished  the  aristocrat  Al- 
CiEUS,  who,  in  his  songs  of  love  and  hate, 
poured  out  the  passion  of  his  times.  Here 
the  great  Sappho,  the  angel  of  unrequited 
love,  achieved  in  her  passionate  and  beautiful 
hymns  the  highest  place  among  all  the  poetesses 
of  Greece.  The  story  of  her  suicide  by  leap- 
ing from  the  Lucadian  rock  because  of 
Phaon's  neglect  seems  to  have  no  foundation 
in  fact.  She  was  a  mother  who  loved  her 
child  and  taught  a  school  of  maidens,  in- 
structing them  in  choral  measures  and  the 
beauty  of  the  dance.  Her  poems  flow  with  a 
tender  and  glowing  love,  the  truest  and  deep- 
est passion,  the  most  graceful  and  tuneful 
sentiments.  After  her  came  Anacreon  of 
Teos,  almost  equally  celebrated,  but  flourish- 
ing in  a  different  atmosphere.  He  was  an 
Ionian  bard,  and  had  the  luxurious  grace  and 
abandonment  of  his  people.  Living  at  the 
courts  of  tyrants,  and  knowing  little  of  the 
deep,  pure  charms  of  nature,  he  gilded  arti- 
ficial life  and  celebrated  artificial  love.  Even 
in  his  old  age,  when  the  fires  of  youth  were 
extinguished,  he  continued  to  sing  in  rvords 
the  songs  from  which  the  spirit  had  long  since 
vanished. 

But  by  far  the  greatest  of  the  Greek  lyric 


poets  was  the  Boeotian  Pindar.  He  was  born 
in  B.  C.  522,  and  was  thus  a  contemporary 
of  -^schylus.  His  education  was  Attic,  but 
the  inspiration  of  his  muse  seems  to  have 
been  caught  from  a  predecessor,  the  Sicilian 
Stesichorus,  of  Himera,  who  flourished  near 
the  close  of  the  seventh  century.  Pindar's 
harp  had  many  tones.  He  sang  in  manly 
cadences  of  public  and  private  life;  the 
struggles  and  vicissitudes  of  the  one,  the 
hopes  and  fears  of  the  other.  In  his  odes  he 
rises  to  the  highest  flight.  The  victors  in  war 
and  in  the  great  games  enacted  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  assembled  nation  are  made  famous 
in  his  heroic  song.  The  style  is  involved  and 
difficult,  but  the  spirit  is  the  spirit  of  fire. 
He  was  the  evening  star  of  the  lyric  poetry 
of  Greece.  A  change  was  passing  over,  the 
national  imagination,  and  the  dawn  of  the 
drama  was  in  the  eastern  sky. 

The  Greeks  now  demanded  the  poetry  of 
action.  The  transformation  from  lyric  to 
DRAMATIC  was  casy  and  natural — necessary. 
From  the  ecstatic  song  representing  the  joys 
and  sufferings  of  others  to  impersonation  was 
but  a  step.  The  Greek  chorus  belonged  alike 
to  lyric  recitation  and  dramatic  action.  The 
transformation  was  gradual.  Thespis  of  Attica 
was  the  first  tragic  poet.  His  claim  to  be 
so  regarded  is  based  upon  the  introduction  by 
him  of  an  actor  who  came  upon  the  stage  and 
held  discourse  with  the  chorus  and  its  leader. 
Then  came  -^schylus,  who  added  a  second 
actor  to  the  dramatis  personse ;  and  finally 
Sophocles,  who  gave  a  third,  thus  making  the 
list  of  characters  sufficiently  extensive  for 
complete  and  complex  actions.  The  chorus, 
however,  remained ;  for  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  fill  the  space  between  the  acts  of  the 
drama  with  something  which  should  sustain 
the  interest  of  the  spectators.  But  Dionysus 
and  his  Bacchic  crew  of  singers  and  satyrs 
were  banished  from  the  stage.  Instead  of  the 
revel  and  the  feast  the  grave  events  of  the 
national  traditions  and  history  were  brought 
forward  as  the  subject  of  the  play. 

Then  followed  the  improvement  of  the 
theater.  From  the  time  of  the  Persian,  wars 
regular  structures  of  stone  took  the  place  of 
the  wooden  buildings  hitherto  used  for  spec- 


GREECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART. 


471 


tacles.  The  form  of  the  amphitheater  was 
adopted.  The  auditorium  at  Athens  was  cap- 
able of  seating  twenty  thousand  people.  The 
estimate  was  made  for  the  whole  male  popu- 
lation of  the  city.'  Here  was  the  stage  upon 
which  were  presented  the  dramas  of  JEschylus, 
Sophocles,  and  Euripides.  The  building  was 
open  to  the  sky.  The  semi-circular  rows  of 
seats  were  divided  transversely  with  gangways 
affording  easy  exit  and  entrance.  On  the 
front  row  of  benches  sat  the  dignitaries  of  the 
state.  Judges  were  appointed  to  deteritiine 
the  merits  of  the  production.  The  orchestra 
was  set  in  front  of  the  players.  On  the  walls 
surrounding    the    stage   were    painted    scenes 


and  pathetic.  He  stoops  not  at  all.  With 
him  it  is  the  work  of  the  gods  and  of  fate. 
The  dark  destiny  of  men  is  the  underplay. 
Another  drama  is  enacted  on  high,  over  which 
is  bent  the  eye  of  the  awful  Zeus,  calm, 
severe,  omniscient. 

Under  the  canon  of  criticism  a  tragedy  in 
the  time  of  -^schylus  must  consist  of  three 
pieces,  based  upon  the  same  fundamental 
theme.  There  was  thus  produced  what  was 
called  a  "trilogy,"  the  three  parts  being  in 
some  sense  independent,  but  in  another  sense 
subordinate  productions.  Of  these  trilogies 
^schylus  produced  two,  the  subject  of  the 
first,  called  the  PerscB,  being  the  great  wars  of 


THEATER  OF  SEGESTA,  RESTORED. 


representing  the  country  or  place  wherein  the 
play  was  supposed  to  have  been  real.  Trian- 
gular prisms  were  set  up  in  the  wings,  by  the 
revolution  of  which  on  their  axes  an  easy 
change  of  scene  could  be  eflTected.  Neverthe- 
less we  should  look  in  vain  in  the  theaters  of 
ancient  Greece  for  that  elaborate  realism 
which  is  the  boast  of  the  modern  stage. 

Greek  tragedy  begins  properly  with  the 
great  name  of  ^schylus.  He  it  was  who  by 
the  force  of  his  genius  gave  form  and  life  and 
nationality  to  the  new  type  of  literature.  He 
was  born  in  B.  C.  525.  In  his  youth  he 
fought  in  the  battle  of  Marathon.  In  his  sen- 
timents he  sympathized  with  the  old  Athens 
of  the  aristocracy — the  ancient  regime — rather 
than  with  the  growing  democratic  principles 
i)f  the  commonwealth.     His  subjects  are  lofty 


the  Greeks  and  Persians,  the  struggle  of 
Europe  and  Asia.  Out  of  this  triad,  the  cen- 
tral piece,  representiug  the  lamentations  in 
the  palace  of  Xerxes,  at  Susa,  has  been  pre- 
served. The  subject  of  the  other  trilogy, 
known  as  the  Oresteia,  was  the  murder  of  Aga- 
memnon, with  the  fatal  consequences  which 
followed  hard  after,  until  the  Eumenides  were 
finally  appeased.  This  work  has  been  pre- 
served entire,  and  furnishes  the  basis  of  the 
high  estimate  which  all  subsequent  ages  have 
put  upon  the  tragic  genius  of  the  author. 

The  Greek  drama  was  still  further  ampli- 
fied by  Sophocles.  Born  in  B.  C.  495,  he 
followed  close  to  ^schylus,  of  whom  he  is  re- 
garded as  the  successful  rival.  Now  it  was 
that  the  chorus  was  abridged  and  a  third  actor 
sent  upon  the  stage.     The  dialogue  became 


472 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


more  varied  and  natural.  Individuality  of 
character  was  achieved.  The  always  lofty  and 
pathetic  solemnity  of  the  language  of  ^Eschy- 
lus  was  in  some  measure  substituted  with  the 
language  of  common  life.  The  men  of  Sophocles 


SOPHOCLES.— Rome,  Lateran. 

are  more  human  than  those  of  his  predecessor. 
In  his  themes,  however,  the  sorrowful  myster- 
ies of  being  are  still  preferred.  The  dark  riddle 
of  fate,  the  unsolved  enigma  of  life,  the  hard 
destiny  of  struggling  man,  beaten  by  adverse 
winds  of  duty  and  inclination,  of  necessity 
and  preference — such  are  the  mournfid  topics 
of  his  dramas.  In  the  Antigone  best  of  all 
are  these  qualities  of  the  genius  of  Sophocles 
depicted. 

The  next  evolution  is  presented  in  Eurip- 
roES.  He  is  less  ideal  than  his  predecessor, 
but  truer  to  nature.  His  drama  is  more  of 
a  reality.  He  takes  his  stand  in  the  midst  of 
human  life  as  it  is.  His  language  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people.  The  heroes  of  his  plays 
are  more  possible  than  those  of  Sophocles. 
They  are  redeemed  with  weaknesses,  touched 
with  folly,  stained  with  tears.     He  has  more 


variety  in  his  action,  greater  freedom,  more 
surprises  and  vicissitudes.  Nor  were  the  es- 
sentially tragic  qualities  of  his  genius  less 
tragic  for  this  descent  towards  the  actual  plane 
of  human  life.  As  occasion  required,  all  tht 
sublime  force  of  tragedy  is  revealed  by  his 
muse.  In  the  Medea  the  terrible  passion  of 
Phsedra  in  revenging  her  slighted  love  has  a 
terror  hardly  equaled  in  Sophocles  and  ^schy- 
lus.  But  with  those  who  succeeded  Euripides 
a  decline  in  tragic  qualities  becomes  immedi- 
ately apparent.  The  Greek  play  is  henceforth 
rather  the  roar  of  the  court-house  than  a  sub- 
lime conflict  in  the  arena  of  gods  and  heroes. 

Then  came  Greek  comedy.  Hellas  laughed. 
She  amused  herself.  She  took  Bacchus  into 
goodfellowship.  The  wine-god  was  mirthful. 
In  the  autumn,  when  the  lesser  Dionysia  were 
celebrated,  the  season  was  made  hilarious  with 
mummeries  and  jokes.  Any  one  present 
might  be  the  victim.  The  choral  song  was 
transferred  into  comic  representation.  Folly 
mixed  a  cup  and  poured  it  on  the  heads  of 
revelers.  For  a  great  while  the  scene  was 
enacted  in  the  village,  where  rustics  gathered 
for  amusement.  In  the  serious  city,  where 
the  weighty  affairs  of  state  engrossed  the 
attention  of  all,  there  was  no  time  for  reck- 
less enjoyment.  Not  until  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century  B.  C.  did  comedy  make  a 
public  appearance  in  Athens,  and  not  until 
near  the  close  of  that  century  was  the  new 
S2:)ecies  of  drama  received  with  general  favor. 

Perhaps  the 
early  structure 
of  Athenian  so- 
ciety did  not 
favor  the  devel- 
opment of  such 
a  literature. 
Freedom  —  the 
freedom  of  a  de- 
mocracy —  was 
necessary  to  in- 
sure immunity, 
without  which 
comedy  can  not 

flourish.  When  it  did  come  it  came  with  license. 
Nothing  was  too  serious  or  sacred  for  the 
shaft  of  the  reckless   satirist.     Man,  woman, 


EURIPIDES.— Viscontl. 


GREECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART 


473 


.all  human  affairs,  the  war,  the  state,  the 
heroes,  the  immortal  gods  themselves  writhed 
under  the  audacious  irony  and  merciless  sar- 
casm of  the  Greek  comedian.  Mockery,  ridi- 
cule, derisive  scorn,  bitter  invective,  every 
weapon  which  the  forge  of  conscienceless  in- 
genuity could  invent  or  imagine,  was  put  into 
the  quiver  and  swung  behind  the  swaggering 
actor's  shoulder.  He  shot  right  and  left.  He 
shouted  when  his  victim  fell.  He  made  grim- 
aces at  the  corpse.  With  him  Olympus  was 
no  better  than  a  stable  for  goats. 

It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  notwith- 
standing this  extremity  of  license  the  Greek 
•comedy  has  always  at  bottom  a  foundation  of 
morality.  It  is  the  cant  of  human  nature, 
its  sham  pretense  and  folly,  which  received  no 
mercy  at  the  hands  of  the  executioner. 

Of  all  the  Greek  comedians  of  the  old 
school  only  one  was  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
his  works  preserved  to  posterity — Aristoph- 
anes, greatest  of  his  kind.  He  was  born  in 
Athens,  B.  C.  452,  and  produced  his  comedies 
between  the  years  427  and  388.  In  richness 
of  humor  and  quaintness  of  invention  he 
stands  without  a  peer.  His  imagination  is  as 
vivid  as  his  wit  is  keen.  His  language  is  as 
free  as  his  thought  is  audacious.  He  attacks 
the  abuses  of  his  times  with  a  wild  delight, 
and  his  personal  satire  is  fierce  in  its  vehe- 
mence. As  the  champion  of  the  old  regime 
he  attacks  the  demagogues  and  sophists  with 
an  excessive  bitterness. 
In  his  literary  sympathies 
he  is  with  jEschylus.  He 
despises  Euripides  and 
his  following.  The  dema- 
gogue Cleon,  his  contem- 
porary, he  brings  upon 
the  stage  and  covers  him 
W'ith  opprobrium.  In  his 
Clouds  he  attacks  the 
sophists  with  unparalleled 
ARISTOPHANES.  scvcrity.     Hcpoursupou 

(Monumenti  dell'  insti-    them   all   the   bottles    of 
*"^°-^  his  scorn,  and  spares  not 

Socrates.  The  folly  of  the  Sicilian  expedition  is 
made  immortal  in  the  Birds,  in  which  the  war 
policy  of  the  Athenians  is  mercilessly  scourged. 
The  lawyers  of  the  city  felt  the  castigation  of 


MENANDER.— VisCOnti. 


his  rod  in  the  play  of  the  Wasps;  and  in  the 
Frogs  Euripides  is  held  up  to  public  contempt. 

After  Aristophanes  Greek  comedy  was 
modified  to  a  great  extent  in  the  hands  of 
the  two  principal  authors  of  the  Later 
School — Menander  and  Possidippus.  The 
license  which  the 
old  comedians  had 
used  and  abused 
was  somewhat 
abridged,  and  the 
subjects  of  plays 
became  less  per- 
sonal and  parti- 
san than  hitherto. 
The  scenes  and 
incidents  of  pri- 
vate life — its  fol- 
lies, its  misdi- 
rected loves,  its  grotesque  adventures — are  sub- 
stituted for  the  weightier  vices  of  society.  Social 
intrigue,  plot  and  counterplot,  the  knave,  the 
fool,  the  coxcomb — such  are  the  materials  and 
characters  of  that  New  Comedy,  which,  pre- 
vailing to  the  times  of  Alexander,  was  trans- 
ferred to  Rome  aud  became  the  model  of  in- 
vention in  the  works  of  Plautus  and  Terence. 

After  the  age  of  Homer  aud  Hesiod,  cen- 
turies elapsed  before  even  the  begiuniugs  of  a 
prose  literature  appeared  in  Hellas.  The  ear 
of  generation  after  generation  w^as  filled  with 
the  rhythmic  cadences  of  the  bards  ere  the 
project  of  giving  a  literary  dress  to  the  com- 
mon language  of  life  was  conceived  or  imag- 
ined. Perhaps,  when  at  last  the  suggestion 
of  doing  so  was  entertained,  it  Avas  with  a 
certain  dread  lest  the  sacred  mystery  of  letters 
should  be  profaned  by  the  unhallo>wed  tongue 
of  prose.  To  the  courageous  and  versatile 
lonians  must  be  awarded  the  palm  for  break- 
ing the  poetic  spell  and  daring  to  commit  to 
record  their  traditions  and  reflections  in  the 
natural  language  of  history  and  philosophy. 

Perhaps  the  first  prose  work  produced  by  a 
member  of  the  Hellenic  race  was  a  history  of 
the  founding  of  Miletus,  written  by  the  Ionian 
Cadmus,  a  native  of  that  city.  After  him,  a 
school  of  legendary  chroniclers  grew  up  in  the 
Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  Some  of  them 
were    travelers.      They   put    down    in    prose 


474 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


HERODOTUS.— Visconti. 


■what  tilings  soever  they  saw  and  heard  abroad. 
Others  rewi'ote  the  rhapsodies  and  legends  of 
the  bards,  but  their  work  was  childish  and 
unworthy  to  survive. 

Then  came  the  great  Herodotus,  justly 
styled  the  Father  of  History.  He  Avas  born 
in  Halicarnassus,  in  the  year  B.  C.  484.  He 
was  a  Dorian  by  descent  and  an  Ionian  by 
education.  His  merit  con- 
sists in  this,  that  he,  first 
of  the  great  minds  of  the 
Aryan  race,  perceived  that 
history  should  be  stripped 
of  poetic  disguises,  and  yet 
given  an  artistic  and  phil- 
osophic form  in  the  lan- 
guage of  common  life.  He- 
rodotus had  the  genius  of 
the  traveler,  the  curiosity 
of  an  antiquarian,  the  in- 
dustry of  an  artisan.  He 
sought  companionship  with 
the  literati  of  foreign  cities. 
He  stored  his  mind  with  records  of  the  East. 
He  reflected  not  a  little  upon  the  nature  and 
causes  of  events,  and  thus  fitted  himself  for 
historical  authorship  to  a  degree  not  to  be  ex- 
pected of  his  age.  He  selected  for  a  theme 
the  great  struggle  between  his  country  and 
Persia.  As  his  narrative  proceeds  and  he 
finds  himself  in  contact  with  other  nations,  he 
pauses  with  a  natural  grace  to  recount  their 
annals,  their  customs,  their  traditions,  their 
laws.  Garrulous  ?  Granted ;  but  such  gar- 
rulity! Would  that  the  primitive  world  had 
produced  more  such  charming  gossijis!  To 
spare  the  one  were  to  lose  the  quaintest  monu- 
ment of  ancient  literature. 

After  him  came  the  philosophic  Thucydides. 
He  selected  for  his  theme  the  then  recent 
Peloponnesian  Avar.  He  thus  secured  a  unity 
of  subject  for  which  Ave  should  look  in  A'ain 
in  the  Avork  of  the  Father  of  History.  Edu- 
cated in  the  political  school  of  Pericles,  under 
the  full  influence  of  the  sophists  and  rhetori- 
cians of  Athens,  by  nature  of  a  calm  tempera- 
ment, in  Avhich  reason  predominated  over 
imagination,  Thucydides  came  to  his  task 
fully  equipped,  both  in  himself  and  his  dis- 
cipline.   True,  his  language  is  sometimes  heavy 


and  not  always  perspicuous.  True,  that 
many  of  his  periods  are  inartistic  and  un- 
musical ;  but  his  is  the  history  of  reason  and 
truth.  The  story  is  told  Avithout  passion  and 
with  but  few  touches  of  prejudice.  It  is  a 
story  as  if  told  by  an  impartial  statesman  who 
reviews  with  great  breadth  of  vision  and  im- 
partial judgment  one  of  the  most  momentous 
epochs  in  the  history  of  his  people.  The  Pel- 
oponnesian war  thus  found  an  expositor  equal 
in  greatness  to  itself. 

Then  came  Xenophon — charming  story- 
teller of  the  Athenians.  In  qualities  of  mind 
he  AA'as  inferior  to  Thucydides.  He  had 
neither  the  eleA^ated  vicAvs  nor  the  unbiased 
judgment  of  his  predecessor.  He  was  withal 
something  of  an  adventurer.  Out  of  sym- 
pathy Avith  his  own  city  and  state,  he  drifted 
to  the  Spartans.  As  one  of  the  leaders  of  a 
band  of  mercenary  soldiers,  he  accepts  pay 
from  Cyrus  the  Younger  and  goes  with  that 
ambitious  prince  against  Darius,  He  writes 
the  Retreat  of  the  Ten  Thousmid,  and  after- 
wards the  Memorabilia  of  Socrates.  His  style 
is  above  reproach,  and  displays  the  capabilities 
of  the  Attic  tongue  at  its  best  estate.  The 
purity  of  his  diction  gave  him  a  reputation 
with  his  countrymen  aboA^e  the  intrinsic 
merits  of  his  works.  As  a  model  of  Attic 
Greek,  the  Anabasis  of  Xenophon  will  ever 
hold  a  leading  place ;  as  a  history  it  takes 
rank  with  the  military  records  of  Caesar's 
Gallic  War. 

Then  came  Oratory — a  necessary  concom- 
itant of  the  political  freedom 
of  the  Greeks.  The  progress 
of  Athens  from  an  aristocracy 
to  a  democracy  made  public 
speech  a  prerequisite  of  leader- 
ship. The  greatest  debaters 
of  the  world  Avere  Athenian 
citizens,  interested  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  commonwealth; 
advocates,  partisans ;  men  who 
espoused  one  side  of  a  ques- 
tion with  a  passionate  zeal  that 
displaced  all  other  considera- 
tions and  made  life  a  burden  until  the  passion 
was  liberated  in  utterance.  From  this  it  should 
not  be  inferred  that  all  the  Greek  orators  were 


! 


THUCYDIDES. — ViS- 

conti. 


GREECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART. 


476 


men  of  vehement  manner  in  public  address. 
In  this  respect  there  were  two  classes  of  speakers ; 
the  one  represented  by  Pericles,  who  in  deliv- 


ery was  calm  and  deliberate,  using  no  gestures 
and  exhibiting  few  marked  changes  of  coun- 
tenance ;    and    the   other    by    Demosthenes, 


HERODOTUS  BEADING  HIS  HISTORY  TO  THE  ASSEMBLED  GREEKS. 
Drawn  by  H.  Leutemann. 


476 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


whose  fiery  impetuosity  and  rapidity  of  utter- 
ance were  the  marvel  of  his  age. 

It  has  been  disputed  whether  oratory  is 
properly  a  division  of  literature.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  certain  it  is  that  the  orator,  being  by 
profession  a  man  of  affairs,  is  more  intimately 
involved  with  the  current  of  public  life,  and 
is  therefore  more  properly  a  pai't  of  the  secu- 
lar history  of  his  country  than  is  the  man  of 
letters.  It  thus  becomes  proper  to  consider 
the  orator  and  his  work  in  connection  with 
the  civil  and  military  affairs  of  the  state 
rather  than  in  a  sketch  of  the  national  litera- 
ture. This  method  will  here  be  followed,  and 
the  account  of  Pericles,  ^schines,  Demosthe- 
nes, and  the  other  great  exemplars  of  Greek 
oratory,  will  be  reserved  for  a  future  chapter 
where  their  relations  to  the  state  will  sug- 
gest appropriate  notices  of  their  lives  and 
influence. 

Passing,  then,  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Art  of  the  Hellenes  we  find  materials  of  the 
profoundest  interest.  Long  before  the  strug- 
gles of  the  Heroic  Age  awaked  the  conscious 
powers  of  the  Greeks  there  had  been  in 
Hellas  an  epoch  of  art.  A  people  had  lived 
thei'e  who  built  structures  as  imperishable  as 
those  of  Nineveh  and  Memphis.  Of  this  sort 
may  be  mentioned  the  ancient  reservoirs  at 
Orchomenus  in  Boeotia,  the  so-called  Cyclo- 
pean walls  of  Tiryns,  and  the  massive  ruins 
which  have  recently  been  uncovered  by 
Schliemann  at  Mycense.  All  of  these  are 
prehistoric  and  all  exhibit  unmistakable  proof 
of  the  architectural  skill  of  some  primitive 
people  who  dwelt  in  Hellas  before  the  age  of 
the  Hellenes.  The  citadel  of  Agamemnon 
and  the  Gate  of  Lions  at  Mycense  seem  to 
establish  the  fact  of  an  organized  community, 
swayed  by  arbitrary  authority,  primitive  but 
skillful,  at  a  period  long  anterior  to  that  in 
which  the  Greeks  began  the  record  of  their 
own  career  as  a  people.  There  is  thus  in 
Greek  art  a  mythical  period  corresponding  to 
the  age  of  fable  and  tradition.  While  the 
Hellenes  were  still  in  the  shadows  of  legend 
and  myth,  monuments  were  reared  in  Argo- 
lis  and  Boeotia,  whose  presence  was  an  enigma 
to  the  Greeks  themselves,  and  the  interpretation 
of  which  has  been  the  puzzle  of  antiquarians. 


The  ruins  of  Mycense  are  primitive  in 
structure.  They  are  massive  and  peculiar. 
In  the  building  of  what  is  thought  to  have 
been  the  treasure-house  of  the  king  of  the 
people,  much  artistic  skill  is  displayed.  In 
the  center  of  solid  masonry  of  hewn  stone  is 
a  conical  vault,  the  arch  being  produced  by 
the  narrowing  of  successive  layers.  The 
stones  were  formerly  lined  with  plates  of 
bronze,  as  were  also  the  ornaments  on  the 
outside  of  the  vault.  The  plates  were  ham- 
mered, and  were  held  to  their  place  on  the 
face  of  the  stone  with  rivets.  Within  this 
treasure-house  Schliemann  ■  discovered  vessels 
and  utensils  of  gold,  evidently  belonging 
to  a  royal  period  in  the  history  of  some  prim- 
itive race. 

After  this  epoch  most  ancient  in  the  art 
of  Hellas  several  centuries  passed  with  no 
development.  It  was  an  «age  of  shadows, 
perhaps  of  decline.  Not  until  the  times  just 
j)receding  the  Persian  wars  was  there  the 
dawn  of  the  true  day  of  the  art  of  the  Greeks. 
Of  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  only  a  single  tem- 
ple has  been  preserved  ;  but  of  the  following 
hundred  years  the  great  columnar  edifices  of 
Selinus,  Agrigentum,  and  P{?estum  remain  as 
immortal  monuments  of  the  age. 

The  nucleus  of  the  Greek  temple  was  the 
cella,  where  stood  the  statue  of  the  deity.  In 
the  earliest  times  the  statue  was  set  in  a  grove ; 
the  thought  of  protection  from  the  elements 
suggested  the  erection  of  a  covering.  The 
temple  may  thus  be  regarded  as  the  house  of 
the  statue  rather  than  the  house  of  the  god. 
At  first  the  structure  was  no  more  than  four 
walls  inclosing  a  cell,  with  a  roof  to  shelter 
the  image.  Then  came  elaboration.  Columns 
were  erected,  first  in  front,  and  then  on  all 
four  sides,  and  on  the  tops  of  these  were 
placed  the  entablature.  With  the  growth  of 
artistic  design  the  original  idea  of  the  temple 
was  in  a  measure  obscured.  In  the  great 
structures  of  the  classic  age  only  faint  reminis- 
cences of  the  primeval  edifice  were  preserved. 

The  origin  of  columns  can  never  perhaps 
be  ascertained.  Long  before  Greece  waa 
Greece,  the  columnar  structure  had  been  em- 
ployed in  Egypt  and  in  parts  of  the  East. 
In  the  migration  of  the  Hellenes  from  their 


GREECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART. 


477 


Asiatic  home  they  brought  with  them  a 
knowledge  of  pillared  structure.  It  was  not 
so  much,  therefore,  as  inventors  that  the 
Ionian  and  Dorian  Greeks  produced  their 
respective  styles  of  column,  but  rather  as 
improvers  and  beautifiers  of  what  already 
■existed  in  a  ruder  and  less  perfect  form.  Side 
by  side  the  two  columnar  styles  appeared  in 
the  Hellenic  architecture^the  Doric  and  the 
Ionic — each  perfect  in  its  kind — each  capa- 
ble of  the  grandest  effects  known  to  the 
builder's  art. 

In  their  general  structure  the  two  orders  of 
temple  differed  but  little.  The  ground-plan 
and  design  in  both  were  the  same.  Walled 
terraces  were  first  constructed  lifting  the  edi- 
fice above  the  profane  level  of  its  surround- 
ings. Upon  the  platform  thus  produced  the 
temple  proper  was  reared.  Around  the  cella 
were  the  four  walls,  and  around  these  those 
sublime  colonnades  of  fluted  pillars  which 
have  remained  the  admiration  of  all  after 
a,ges.  The  covered  space  of  the  Greek  temple 
was  thus  greatly  extended  beyond  the  rectan- 
gle of  the  walls.  On  the  capitals  i-ested  a 
■decorated  impost.  This  consisted  of  three 
parts :  the  ai'chitrave,  the  frieze,  and  the  cor- 
nice. The  roof  rose  over  all  in  a  gentle  slope, 
presenting  at  each  end  a  triangular  space, 
called  the  tympanum.  Upon  this  were  set 
those  immortal  sculptures  the  parallel  of 
which  has  never  been  seen  in  the  world. 

The  interior  space  of  the  classic  temple 
was  lighted  from  above  by  an  opening  in 
the  roof,  called  the  hypaithron.  In  the  back- 
aground  of  this  single  hall  stood  the  statue  of 
the  god  to  whom  the  edifice  was  dedicated. 
In  some  instances,  when  the  temple  was  of 
^reat  size,  the  inner  space  was  divided  by 
transverse  rows  of  columns,  and  these  stood 
sometimes  one  row  above  the  other,  forming 
a  gallery  around  the  hall.  Such  was  the  ar- 
rangement in  the  great  temple  of  Neptune  at 
Psestum. 

Not  every  thing  in  temple  decoration 
was  left  to  the  artist's  chisel,  but  much  to 
the  painter's  brush.  Column,  impost,  gable, 
-and  ceiling  were  all  artistically  colored.  In 
strength  and  brilliancy  of  hue  the  pigments 
■employed  by  the   Greek  painters  of  this  age 


surpassed  all  rivalry.  Whatever  the  brightest 
and  richest  tints  of  blue  and  gold  and  crim- 
son could  do  to  set  the  temple  in  a  blaze  of 
glory,  radiant  as  the  sunshine  of  the  Grecian 
sky,  that  was  added  by  the  decorative  skill  of 
the  artist  to  the  already  sublime  work  of  the 
builder  and  the  sculptor.  Both  the  Doric  and 
Ionic  temples  were  thus  improved  with  the 
beautiful  effects  of  color  deftly  laid  on  under 
the  guidance  of  the  keenest  artistic  per- 
ception. 

In  Asia  Minor  and  the  J^gean  islands  the 
Ionic  style  of  structure  prevailed  over  the 
Doric,  but  in  Athens  and  throughout  Hellas 
Proper  both  styles  flourished  together.  As 
already  said,  the  two  differed  in  the  column — 
not  in  the  general  character  of  the  edifice. 
The  Doric  pillar  was  imposing,  massive.  It 
gave  a  solemn  grandeur  to  the  building  of 
which  it  was  the  principal  feature.  It  added 
an  air  of  seriousness  and  solidity.  It  was 
plain  to  the  last  degree  of  severity.  It  was 
baseless  and  virtually  without  a  capital,  hav- 
ing only  a  massive,  circular  disk  upon  the 
top  to  support  the  architrave.  The  diameter 
of  the  pillar  was  so  great  as  to  shorten  its  ap- 
parent height ;  the  shaft  tapered  but  little ; 
it  stood  calmly  in  the  repose  of  infinite 
strength.  The  Ionic  column,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  the  pillar  of  beauty.  Its  height 
Avas  augmented  by  the  slender  and  tapering 
shaft.  Elegance  and  grace  and  delicacy  added 
each  her  charm  to  this  fluted  dream  of  Greek 
architecture.  The  Ionic  pillar  rose  on  a  beau- 
tiful pedestal  and  was  crowned  with  a  capital 
ornate  and  airy.  It  was  the  poetry,  as  the 
Doric  was  the  prose,  of  the  magnificent  tem- 
ples of  Greece. 

Of  such  grand  structures  almost  every 
Greek  city  could  make  its  boast.  These  were 
the  splendid  edifices  which  were  laid  in  ruins 
by  the  Persians.  These  were  the  grand  struc- 
tures which  rose  again  with  added  beauty  in 
the  age  of  Pericles,  when  Grecian  civilization 
shone  with  its  richest  luster.  Then  it  was 
that  the  Acropolis  became  the  seat  of  the 
guardian  gods  of  the  land,  and  was  adorned 
as  no  other  hill  of  the  world.  Temples  and 
statues,  the  work  of  the  best  artists  ever  pro- 
duced by  the  race  of  man,  shone  afar  over 


478 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


land  and  sea  from  the  classical  and  splendid 
brow  of  Athens. 

Now  was  finished  the  Erechtheum,  the 
great  Ionic  shrine  of  the  gods  of  the  people. 
On  the  site  of  the  ancient  temple  of  Athene 
the  architect  Ictinus  erected  the  magical  Par- 
thenon, the  ideal  of  Doric  grandeur,  which 
the  genius  of  Phidias  adorned  with  a  wealth 
of  art  never  equaled  before  or  afterwards. ' 
The  Propyl^a  were  built  by  Mnesicles — beau- 
tiful colonnades  surmounting  broad  flights 
of  marble  steps  by  which  the  Acropolis  was 
ascended. 


honored  with  the  name  of  preservation.  The 
masterjDieces  of  Plynotus,  of  Zeuxis,  of 
Apelles  have  sunk  into  oblivion  ;  only  their 
imperishable  fame,  transmitted  by  the  foreign 
robbers  who  despoiled  Greece  of  her  treasures, 
has  remained  of  what  were  doubtless  the  great- 
est achievements  of  the  human  genius  display- 
ing its  powers  on  cauvas.  All  that  we  can 
ever  hope  for  is  to  see  faintly  reflected  in  the 
paintings  of  Herculanseum  and  Pompeii  the 
borrowed  glories  of  the  pencils  of  the 
Gi^eeks. 

We   are   not,  however,  left  wholly  in  the 


Thetis.  Achilles.  Eos.  Memnon. 

GREEK  ART.— FIGHT  OF  ACHILLES  AND  MEMNON. 
From  an  Archaic  Vase,  Berlin. 


The  Age  of  Pericles  was  the  climax  of 
Grecian  architecture.  The  Peloponnesian  war 
and  the  wild  career  of  the  democracy  in 
Athens  were  unfavorable  to  further  develop- 
ment, even  if  further  development  had  been 
possible.  The  same  great  age  witnessed  also 
the  highest  achievements  of  the  chisel  and  the 
brush.  The  art  of  the  painter  followed  that 
of  the  builder.  Unfortunately  for  the  world 
the  work  of  the  former  was  less  substantial 
than  that  of  the  latter.  Not  a  single  piece 
of  Greek  painting  belonging  to  the  period  of 
development  and  greatest  excellence  has  been 
preserved,  unless  indeed  the  traditions  and  re- 
productions of  the   Roman   artists  should  be 


dark  as  to  the  actual  power  of  the  Grecian 
painters  in  the  adaptation  of  color  and  design. 
Though  every  canvas  of  the  great  masters  has 
perished,  there  yet  remain  the  decorated  vases 
of  Athens  and  Corinth.  From  these  we  are 
able  to  determine  with  some  degree  of  satis- 
faction and  within  the  narrow  limits  of  dec- 
orative art  the  skill  in  color  and  design  dis- 
played by  the  artists,  or  more  properly  the 
handicraftsmen,  of  Greece.  In  these  works 
we  see,  as  in  other  blanches  of  the  industry 
of  genius,  a  gradual  development  from  the 
mere  linear  decoration  of  the  primitive  pot- 
tery to  the  highly  artistic  designs  of  the  class- 
ical period,  when  the  figures  of  men  and  birds 


GREECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART 


479 


and  beasts  are  given  with  the  best  effects  of 
ceramic  art. 

Of  the  great  painters  of  Greece  more  is 
known  than  of  their  works.  Plygnotus,  who 
flourished  from  B.  C.  475  to  455,  is  regarded 
as  the  first  of  the  masters.  By  him  many  of 
the  public  buildings  of  Athens  were  adorned 
with  elaborate  frescoes  and  splendid  panels. 
He  it  was  who  is  said  to  have  painted  Polyx- 
ena  with  such  expressiveness  of  countenance 
that  the  whole  Trojan  war  jimhed  from  hsr  eyes  I 

Then  came  Zeuxis  and  Parrhasius.  The 
first  painted  grapes  which  deceived  the  birds, 


But  the  greatest  painter  of  the  Greeks  was 
Apelles,  the  court  artist  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  He  was  an  Ionian  by  birth,  who  fol- 
lowed the  traditions  of  the  Sicyonian  School. 
He  began  his  career  in  portraiture,  and  so 
great  was  his  fame  that  Alexander  would  per- 
mit no  other  to  paiut  him.  The  generals  of 
the  Conqueror  and  the  beloved  Campaspe 
were  also  the  subjects  of  his  art.  From  por- 
traiture he  proceeded  to  mythological  themes, 
and  in  these  achieved  the  highest  honors. 
His  masterpiece  was  a  picture  of  Venus  Rising 
from  the   Sea,  executed  with   such   wonderful 


Helen. 
GREEK  ART.-CAPTURE 

From  an  Archaic 

and  the  other  a  curtain  which  deceived  Zeuxis! 
Athens  applauded  the  achievements  of  her 
favorite  artists,  and  wealth  poured  her  treasure 
into  their  laps.  Tithmanes  also  shared  their 
fame.  He  it  was  who  in  his  Sacrifice  of  Iph- 
igenia,  unable  to  depict  as  he  would  the  grief 
of  the  father,  di'eiv  a  veil  over  his  face,  and  left 
the  rest  to  thought.  This  great  artist  belonged 
to  what  is  known  as  the  Sicyonian  School, 
and  to  a  time  subsequent  to  the  age  of  Pericles. 
Pausias,  also,  was  a  member  of  this  group. 
He  had  the  reputation  of  possessing  great 
realistic  powers  and  extraordinary  genius  in 
the  art  of  foreshortening. 


Menelaos. 
OF  HELEN  OF  TROY. 

Vase,  Berlin. 

sweetness  and  delicacy  as  to  surpass  all  com- 
petition. 

From  the  age  of  Apelles  painting  declined 
until  its  glory  was  extinguished  with  the  glory 
of  Hellas  by  the  conquest  of  the  country  by 
the  Romans.  Nevertheless,  in  the  period  be- 
tween the  time  of  Alexander  and  the  final 
destruction  of  Greek  nationality,  many  artists 
flourished  who  under  more  favorable  circum- 
stances would  have  done  honor  to  their  coun- 
try. Such  was  Protogenes  of  Rhodes  and 
the  realistic  Theon,  whose  picture  of  the 
Swords-man  gave  him  merited  fame. 

But   the    chisel    of   Hellas    surpassed    her 


480 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


pencil.  The  plastic  art  of  the  Gi-eek  rose  to 
a  pitch  of  excellence  which  pictorial  repre- 
sentation never  could  attain.  Whatever  com- 
petition the  painters  of  modern  times — notably 
those  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury— may  claim  with  the  painters  of  Greece, 
competition  with  the  Greek  sculptors  there  is 
and  can  be  none.  It  is  safe  to  set  the  names 
of  Phidias  and  Praxiteles  in  a  category  by 
themselves;  for  none  others  have  to  an  equal 
degree  won  the  admiration  of  mankind.  Like 
the  painting  of  the  Greeks,  sculpture  followed 
in  the  wake  of  the  useful  arts.  Literary 
culture  preceded  it.  Only  when  refinement 
and  leisure  had  been  attained  by  the  indus- 
trial pursuits,  only  when  war  had  aroused  and 
poetry  had  soothed  the  spirit  of  Hellas,  did  she 
begin  to  give  form  to  fancy  and  make  her 
thought  imjDerishable  in  marble. 


FIFTY  OARED  GREEK   BOAT. 

From  a  vase. 


Sculpture  had  its  rude  beginnings.  The 
early  Greek  exercised  his  skill  in  carving 
wood  and  hammering  metal.  The  art  of  cast- 
ing in  bronze,  said  to  have  been  first  practiced 
by  two  Samians,  Rhoicus  and  Theodorus, 
also  preceded  the  carving  of  stone.  At  the  first 
sculpture  was  employed  almost  exclusively  for 
temple  decoration,  but  it  was  not  long  in 
being  freed  from  such  thraldom.  The  human 
form  became  the  model.  The  gymnasia  had 
taught  the  lesson  of  natural  modesty,  and  im- 
parted to  the  naked  body  all  the  exquisite 
grace  and  beauty  of  which  it  is  susceptible. 
To  reach  out  after  this  ideal  of  loveliness  was 
the  passion  which  seized  the  sculptors  of 
Greece  and  gave  them  inspiration.  So,  be- 
ginning in  vEgina,  a  class  of  artists  arose  who 
with  consummate  skill  began  to  chisel  in 
stone  the  beautiful  lineaments  of  the  human 
form. 

At  the  first  there  was  much  that  was 
rude  and   conventional,   but   the   artist   more 


and  more  threw  ofi*  his  fetters,  until,  by  the 
middle  of  the  fifth  century,  perfect  freedom 
had  been  achieved.  Then  Myron  and  Poly- 
CLETUS  arose,  the  one  with  his  great  works  in 
bronze,  and  the  other  with  his  beautiful  mar- 
bles. Myron  it  was  who  produced  the  Ladas, 
a  victor  in  a  foot  race  Avho  died  at  the  goal. 
The  last  gasp  is  on  his  lips.  He  pants.  He 
is  dead.  The  masterpieces  of  Polycletes  were 
the  Doryphorus,  a  young  and  beautiful  spear- 
man ;  the  Diadunienus,  a  boyish  figure,  bound 
as  to  his  brows  with  a  wreath  of  flowers ;  and 
the  Canephorce,  or  maidens  with  their  baskets. 
Phidias  was  the  chief  glory  of  the  admin- 
istration of  Pericles.  To  him  was  committed 
the  work  of  making  the  Parthenon  sublime. 
From  his  studio  went  forth  trophy  after  trophy 
to  adorn  the  crowning  glory  of  the  Acropolis. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  conceivable  that  one  mind 

should  have  de- 
signed, much  less 
one  hand  executed, 
the  multitude  of 
works  which  are 
ascribed  to  Phidias. 
It  is  more  likely 
that  a  group  of 
great  artists,  work- 
ing under  his  direction  and  inspiration,  con- 
tributed in  keenest  rivalry  the  wonderful  dec- 
orations of  the  Parthenon.  A  description  of 
the  separate  pieces  would  occupy  a  chapter. 
Around  the  cella  was  a  frieze  four  hundred 
feet  in  length  covered  with  bas-reliefs.  The 
metopes  were  occupied  with  ninety-two  sculp- 
tures representing  the  Combats  of  the  Centaurs. 
The  work  on  the  frieze  presents  the  great 
procession  of  the  Panathencea — a  living  pano- 
rama of  the  scenes  which  appealed  most 
strongly  to  the  imagination  of  the  Greeks. 

In  statuary  proper  Phidias,  if  possible,  sur- 
passed the  sublimity  of  his  reliefs.  His  statues 
of  Athene  and  the  Olympian  Zeus  were  re- 
garded as  the  master  works  of  antiquity — the 
latter  being  classified  as  one  of  the  Seven 
Wonders  of  the  world.  Both  this  and  the 
Athene  were  done  in  that  magnificent  style 
of  art  called  chryselephantine,  that  is,  wrought  in 
ivory  and  gold.  It  was  a  revival  and  glorifi- 
cation   of  one   of  the    most   ancient    artistic 


GEEECE.— LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE,  AND  ART. 


481 


methods  known  to  the  Greeks,  namely,  the 
overiaying  of  a  statue  with  hammered  plates 
of  metal.  But  the  rude  works  of  the  primi- 
tive artists  gave  but  little  prophecy  of  the 
splendors  of  which  this  style  was  capable  in 
the  hands  of  a  Phidias.  To  him  also  was  at- 
tributed the  famous  group  of  Niobe  —  that 
mother  of  anguish,  smitten  by  the  gods  for 
her  maternal  pride. 

After  Phidias,  Praxiteles  stands  highest 
among   the    sculptors    of   the    Greeks.      His 


this  artist  that  Alexander  would  be  modeled 
by  no  other.  His  most  ftimous  work  is  the 
Apoxyomenos,  now  in  the  Vatican  Museum. 
After  the  time  of  Lysippus  two  schools  of 
sculpture  arose,  the  one  having  its  seat  in 
Pergamon  and  the  other  in  Rhodes.  The 
artists  of  these  schools  followed  and  imitated 
their  predecessors;  but  their  works  in  many 
instances  exhibited  original  force  directed  by 
the  hand  of  genius.  The  Pergamine  sculptors 
were  specially  noted  for  the  realistic  effects  at 


PHIDIAS  IN  HIS  STUDY. 


theme  was  passionate  love.  Venus  was  his 
ideal.  In  five  statues  he  gave  her  the  form  of 
marble.  His  Aphrodite  Knidos  is  preserved — 
in  a  copy — iu  the  museum  at  Munich/ 

At  the  head  of  the  sculptors  of  the  time 
of  Alexander  the  Great  stood  Lysippus.  He 
introduced  a  new  quality  into  statuary — that 
of  an  ideal  refinement  upon  nature.  His 
works  show  a  delicacy  in  limb  and  member 
which  could  hardly  be  equaled  in  those  of  any 
other  master.     So  great  was  the  reputation  of 

^The  Venus  of  Melos,  by  an  unknown  artist,  be- 
longs to  this  period,  and  is  regarded  as  par  excellence 
the  most  beautiful  piece  of  Grecian  sculpture. 


which  they  aimed  in  their  productions,  many 
of  which  are  wonderful  in  fidelity.  Such  is 
the  celebrated  piece  representing  a  dying 
Gaul  in  the  Roman  amphitheater— a  work 
which  evoked  from  the  genius  of  Byron  one 
of  his  finest  stanzas : 
"I  see  before  me  the  gladiator  lie; 

He  leans  upon  his  hand— his  manly  brow 
Consents  to  death,  but  cottquers  agony. 

And  his  drooped  head  sinks  gradually  low— 

And  through  his  side  the  last  drops,  ebbing  slow 
From  the  red  gash,  fall  heavy,  one  by  one, 

Like  the  first  of  a  thunder-shower ;  and  now 
The  arena  swims  around  him— he  is  gone, 
Ere  ceased  the  inhuman  shout  which  hailed  the 
wretch  who  won." 


482 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Of  the  Rlioclian  school  of  artists  the  work 
of  greatest  merit  which  has  been  preserved  is 
the  group  of  the  Laocoon,  the  joint  product 
of  the  three  sculptors,  Agesandros,  Athana- 
DOEUS,  and  Polydorus.  This  celebrated  piece 
and  the  Dying  Gladiator,  just  described,  stand 


productions  of  Grecian  chisels  down  to  the 
time  when  the  freedom  of  Hellas  was  extin- 
guished by  the  Romans.  From  that  time 
forth,  though  the  love  of  art  continued,  no 
artists  arose  to  rival  the  great  masters  who  had 
flourished  before  the  days  of  spoliation  and 


THE  PARTHENON  RESTORED.— Finished  438  B.  C. 


in  the  museum  of  the  Vatican  at  Rome.  A 
second  work  of  Rhodian  art,  almost  as  cele- 
brated as  the  Laocoon,  is  the  group  of  the 
Farnese  Bull,  representing  the  binding  of 
Dirke  to  a  wild  bull  by  Amphion  and  Zethus. 
It  is  the  joint  product  of  the  sculj^tors  Apol- 
LONHJS  and   Taukiscus.      Such  were  the  last 


servitude.  It  became  the  policy  of  Rome, 
however,  to  foster  for  her  own  glory  the 
genius  of  the  Greeks;  and  under  her  liberal 
patronage  were  produced  not  a  few  of  the 
celebrated  sculptures  to  be  hereafter  noticed, 
such  as  the  Apollo  Belvedere  and  the  Venu8  de 
Medici. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX.— NIANNERS    AND  CUSTONIS. 


HE  life  of  the  Greeks  was 
preeminently  a  life  of 
publicity.  At  day-break 
the  people  rose  and  went 
forth.  Having  broken 
his  fast  with  some  bread 
dipped  in  wine,  the  citi- 
zen sought  the  open  place  to  take  his  part  in 
the  busy  scene  of  |niblic  and  private  affairs. 
Even  before  this  early  hour  the  country  folk 
had  arisen  and  made  their  way  to  the  markets. 
In  the  marts  Avere  exposed  the  products  of 
the  field  and  the  garden.     Here  were  vegeta- 


bles and  fruit  and  milk  and  honey.  At  tJiO 
fountains  were  seen  the  water-carriers  hurry- 
ing to  and  fro  with  their  pitchers.  The  arti- 
sans and  shopkeepers  soon  thronged  the  streets, 
and  the  city  hummed  with  the  noise  of  indus- 
try. Nor  should  the  troops  of  boys  hurrying 
to  school  be  forgotten  as  an  interesting  feature 
of  the  life  that  filled  the  streets  of  Athens  at 
early  morning. 

Tlae  public  market  of  the  city  was  a  scene 
of  hurry  and,  withal,  of  hilarity;  for  the 
Athenians  were  never  morose.  The  buildings 
stood  in  the  center  of  town,  where  the  prin- 


GREECE.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


483 


cipal  streets  crossed,  affording  ready  entrance 
from  all  directions.  Instead  of  the  low  booths 
which  in  modern  cities  so  often  pass  for  market- 
houses,  the  Greeks  gave  to  their  buildings 
used  for  this  purpose  much  care,  both  in 
structure  and  ornamentation.  The  place  was 
not  only  a  market  but  a  public  promenade, 
where  friend  met  friend,  exchanged  the  usual 
civilities  of  life,  and  discussed  the  affairs  of 
the  state. 

In  the  different  apartments  of  the  market 
the  various  products  were  exposed,  each  after  its 
kind.  Some  sold  wine ;  others,  fruits ;  others, 
peas  and  lentils;  others,  flowers.  For  the 
Greeks  never  banqueted  until  they  had 
wreathed  themselves  with  flowers.  It  was  the 
sestheticism  of  a  natural  civilization.  The 
flower-girls  of  the  Greek  market-place  were 
many  times  made  the  subjects  of  the  painter's 
brush  and  the  sculptor's  chisel. 

Not  only  were  the  daily  needs  of  the  people 
supplied  from  the  market,  but  around  this 
square  of  the  city  were  arranged  the  principal 
buildings  belonging  to  the  other  vocations: 
shops  of  artisans,  physicians'  stalls,  artists' 
studios,  places  for  loungers  and  gossips.  Here 
the  witty  assembled.  Here  the  doctors  dis- 
coursed on  the  art  of  healing.  Here  Hip- 
pocrates prescribed  for  his  patients.  Here 
the  popular  satirist  made  the  physician  smart 
with  his  puns  and  epigrams.  Of  Dr.  Hermas 
the  bitter  rogue  said  : 

"  Diophantes,  sleeping,  saw, 
Hermas,  the  physician : 
Diophantes  never  woke 
From  that  fatal  vision !  " 

Around  the  market  were  also  gathered 
clowns  and  showmen,  sellers  of  amulets  and 
charms,  venders  of  nostrums  and  ointments. 
In  another  part  were  the  money-changers  and 
bankers,  domestic  merchants  and  importers  of 
foreign  goods.  The  money-changers  were  the 
notaries  who  authenticated  documents  and 
certified  the  validity  of  contracts.  They  re- 
ceived deposits,  charged  commissions,  issued 
checks  and  drafts.  Before  their  benches  were 
frequently  seen  many  of  the  wealthiest  citi- 
zens of  the  state. 

The  great  majority  of  those  who  plied  vo- 
cations in  the  Greek  market  were  men.  The 
N. — Vol.  I — 30 


exceptions  were  in  the  case  of  the  sellers  of 
bread  and  flowers.  These  branches  were  man- 
aged by  women  and  girls.  The  ladies  of 
Athens  went  not  to  market.  But  of  men — 
old  men,  youths,  striplings — all  classes  were 
here  congregated  from  day  to  day.  Here 
Socrates  walked  with  his  demure  visage  and 
far-seeing  eyes.  Here  Diogenes  carried  his 
lantern.  Here  came  the  frivolous  dandy  with 
his  new  suit  and  cane.  Only  the  public 
officers,  who  during  market  hours  were  engaged 
elsewhere  in  administrative  duties,  and  the 
artisans  plying  their  vocations,  were  not  seen 
in  the  noisy  but  witty  crowds  about  the  public 
market. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  several  traits  of 
Athenian  character — its  rage  for  discussion, 
its  whimsicality,  its  madness  for  politics — were 
in  some  measure  traceable  to  the  life  of  the 
market-place.  Here  grew  and  was  stimulated 
that  tendency  to  extremes  for  which  the 
Greeks  have  been  so  much  marked  by  soberer 
peoples.  They  were  capable  within  the  brief- 
est period  of  feeling  and  exhibiting  the  highest 
pitch  of  enthusiasm  and  the  lowest  ebb  of 
despondency.  In  the  market  one  spirit  fired 
a  thousand.  There  bad  news  quenched  hi- 
larity and  sent  all  to  their  homes  in  despair. 

The  citizens  of  Athens — and  Athens  is 
typical  of  all  the  free  cities  of  Greece — were 
a  populace.  It  was  •  the  native  soil  of  the 
demagogue,  the  sycophant,  the  statesman. 
Whether  a  man  would  be  one  or  the  other  de- 
pended upon  his  character  and  genius.  Polit" 
ical  parties  could  but  flourish  here.  Athena 
was  a  lawyers'  camp.  Broils  and  litigation 
were  the  necessary  results  of  that  type  of  free- 
dom which  was  claimed  by  the  primitive 
democracy. 

So  vast  was  the  activity  and  so  keen  the 
litigious  instincts  of  the  Athenians,  that  in  the 
heyday  of  the  city's  power  a  fourth  or  fifth 
of  her  people  attended  court  every  day! 
Aristophanes,  in  his  comedy  of  the  Birds,  de- 
clares that  the  cicada  sings  for  a  month,  but 
that  the  Athenians  buzz  with  lawsuits  to  the 
end  of  their  lives.  The  satirist  then  makes 
two  Athenians,  tired  out  with  the  unceasing 
contentions  of  their  city,  go  on  high  and  found 
another  commonwealth  in   the  clouds.      But 


484 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


scarcely  was  the  new  city  organized  until  the 
Athenian  lawyers  and  sycophants  rose  in  a 
flock  and  went  to  it! 

While  Athens  remained  under  the  aris- 
tocracy, courts  were  organized  in  ten  different 
quarters  of  the  city.  When  the  government 
took  on  the  democratic  form,  the  judicial 
power  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  whole  body 
of  the  citizens.  From  all  who  were  over 
thirty  years  of  age  six  thousand  were  drawn 
by  lot  to  act  as  jurymen.  Of  these  one  thou- 
sand were  drawn  out  as  talesmen.  The  re- 
maining five  thousand  were  divided  into  ten 
sections,  and  each  section  was  assigned  to  hear 
causes  in  one  of  the  ten  judicial  districts  of 
the  city.  Except  on  the  occasion  of  public 
festivals  and  holidays,  these  courts  sat  every 
day  in  the  year.  High  benches  were  arranged 
for  each  of  the  great  juries,  and  on  a  lower 
level  in  front  Avas  the  arena  where  the  suitors 
and    their   advocates    appeared    .n   the   trial. 

The  proceedings  were  always  public,  and 
were  attended  by  great  throngs,  Avho  were  anx- 
ious to  witness  what  was  done,  and  especially  to 
hear  the  pleadings.  The  courts  indeed  were 
much  more  attended  than  was  the  Pnyx,  where 
four  times  a  year  were  held  the  meetings  of 
the  great  assembly.  The  fee  which  was  paid 
for  presence  at  court  was  larger  than  that 
which  was  given  for  going  to  the  Pnyx,  and 
for  this  reason  the  magistrates  had  to  adopt 
the  measure  of  fining  in  order  to  secure 
attendance  at  the  latter.  Sometimes  a  rope 
smeared  with  red  paint  was  stretched  across 
the  street  and  carried  rapidly  forward  with  a 
hustling  crowd  in  front ;  for  whoever  was 
touched  with  the  paint  was  punished  with  a 
fine.  A  sufficient  crowd  could  thus  be  ob- 
tained to  attend  to  the  legislative  affairs  of 
the  city.  When  the  people  were  assembled 
on  the  terraces  of  the  Pnyx  and  order  had 
been  secured  by  the  bailiffs  and  policemen, 
any  citizen  might  propose  a  measure  and 
secure,  if  he  could,  its  adoption.  Any  one 
might  address  the  assembly  for  or  against  the 
proposed  measure,  and  in  doing  so  the  speaker 
wore  a  crown  as  a  badge  of  inviolability.  So 
great  was  the  concession  to  freedom  of  speech ! 

The  edicts  of  the  public  ass^nibly  were 
carried  into  effect  by  the  Boule,  or  Council,  a 


body  of  five  hundred  citizens,  to  whom  was 
committed  the  execution  of  the  laws.  The 
meetings  of  this  body  were  held  in  the  Bouleu- 
terimn,  a  public  building  situated  between  the 
Acropolis  and  the  market-space.  The  Council 
was  divided  into  ten  sections  of  fifty  members 
each,  and  each  section  was  assigned  its  turn 
in  duty  by  lot.  It  was  before  this  Boule  or 
Great  Council  that  the  international  affairs  of 
Greece  were  transacted.  It  had  control  in 
general  of  foreign  affairs.  It  received  ambas- 
sadors and  made  treaties.  To  be  a  member 
of  this  august  body  Avas  the  highest  civil  dig- 
nity to  which  an  Athenian  might  aspire ;  and 
yet  so  complete  was  the  reign  of  democracy 
that  any  one,  however  humble,  might  hope 
for  a  seat  in  the  Bouleuterium.  So  great  was 
the  difference  between  the  freedom  of  Greece 
and  the  absolutism  of  the  oriental  monarchies! 

In  entering  the  domain  of  the  private  life 
of  the  Greeks  what  first  strikes  the  attention 
is  their  hospitality.  It  was  a  fundamental 
principle  with  the  Hellenes  that  the  stranger 
should  be  entertained.  Though  he  were  an 
enemy,  Zeus  Xenios  required  that  he  be  re- 
ceived in  a  hospitable  manner.  No  question 
might  be  asked  of  the  stranger  who  came  unan- 
nounced. He  might  take  his  seat  at  the  board, 
and  should  be  served  with  the  best.  After  he 
had  eaten  and  drank,  his  nativity  and  mission 
might  be  inquired.  From  the  days  of  Homer 
the  guest  was  received  with  courtesy.  He 
was  given  a  bath.  Food  and  drink  were 
placed  before  him.  Servants  attended  to  his 
comfort.  A  couch  was  spread  in  the  hall. 
He  rested.     He  went  his  way  in  peace. 

With  a  development  of  Greek  society,  how- 
ever, there  was  a  necessary  curtailment  of  pa- 
triarchal hospitality.  Travel  for  travel's  sake 
became  more  common,  the  demands  upon  so- 
cial bounty  more  numerous.  Still  there  never 
was  a  time  when  hospitality  ceased  to  be  the 
rule.  There  was  something  in  the  nature  of 
the  Greek  analogous  to  what  is  seen  in  the 
modern  Parisian.  He  was  sociable.  By  pref- 
erence he  ate  not  alone.  He  either  invited 
others  or  was  himself  entertained.  He  could 
not  endure  solitude.  Life  with  him  was  de- 
fined as  an  opportunity  to  talk ;  and  the  best 
of  life  was  with  a  group  of  friends  at  the  table. 


GREECE.— MANNERS  AND  CUST03IS. 


485 


In  the  earlier  times  the  Greeks  lived  fru- 
gally. The  fare  of  the  Homeric  heroes  was 
of  the  plainest.  The  meats  were  the  flesh  of 
the  domestic  animals  roasted  on  spits.  Home- 
made bread  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand. 
Nor  did  the  ancient  Hellenes,  like  the  glut- 
tons of  Rome,  eat  to  repletion  and  satiety. 
With  the  development  of  the  means  of  living 
greater  variety  was  introduced.  Poultry  and 
game  were  added  to  the  meats.  Fish  and 
cheese  became  staple  articles  of  food.  Oys- 
ters and  crabs  and  Boeotian  eels  came  to  be 
regarded  as  delicacies  on  the  tables  of  the 
rich.  Most  of  the  vegetables  peculiar  to  the 
north  temperate  zone  where  it  slopes  towards 
the  tropics  were  abundantly  served.  Then 
came  the  wines,  of  which  the  variety  and  qual- 
ities produced  from  the  vintages  of  Hellas 
and  the  Cyclades  were  superior  to  those  of 
any  contemporaneous  country. 

As  a  rule  the  preparation  of  the  feast  was 
intrusted  to  the  supervision  of  the  Greek  ma- 
tron with  whom  it  was  a  point  of  honor  that 
her  lord  and  his  guests  should  banquet  in 
good  style.  Where  the  feast  was  of  such 
proportions  as  to  become  a  public  reception 
rather  than  a  private  meal,  the  services  of 
professional  cooks  were  procured  for  the  occa- 
sion. Though  woman  was  then,  as  ever,  the 
presiding  genius  of  the  preparation,  she  was 
allowed  no  place  at  the  board.  When,  how- 
ever, there  were  no  invited  guests,  the  hus- 
band frequently  dined  with  his  wife  in  the 
gynceconitis  or  woman's  apartment  of  the 
house. 

At  nearly  every  meal,  however,  friends  were 
invited ;  for  in  the  gymnasia  and  market- 
place man  met  man,  and  the  two  went  to- 
gether to  dine.  Before  the  meal  was  begun 
all  the  participants  carefully  prepared  them- 
selves. They  bathed.  They  perfumed  them- 
selves. They  put  on  their  best  attire.  When 
all  was  ready,  they  exchanged  salutations. 
An  ode  was  sung.  The  table  was  spread  in 
the  andronitis,  or  the  man's  hall  of  the  house. 
The  board  was  adorned  with  coverings  and 
hangings.  Couches  were  spread;  for  the 
Greeks  reclined  at  the  feast.  The  left  arm 
rested  on  a  cushion.  The  head  was  crowned 
with  a  chaplet  of    flowers.     On    each    couch 


were  two  guests.  The  place  of  honor  was 
next  to  the  host.  Each  was  assigned  his 
place  at  the  board.  A  slave  spread  the 
viands  and  brought  the  cups  of  wine.  A 
spoon  was  laid  before  each  guest.  Plates 
there  were  none;  neither  knives  nor  forks. 
The  meats  were  served  already  cut  into  bits, 
which  the  eaters  took  with  their  fingers.  The 
drinking  was  reserved  for  the  close.  Then 
the  wine  was  mingled  with  two  or  three  parts 
of  water :  the  Greek  was  by  nature  too  much 
of  an  aesthete  to  drink  fire  at  a  banquet. 

The  servants  of  the  table  were  the  young- 
est and  handsomest  slaves.  They  crowned 
the  heads  of  the  banqueters  with  flowers,  and 
garlanded  their  breasts  with  myrtle  and  vio- 
lets. After  the  feast  came  the  song  and  the 
dance,  generally  performed  by  the  servants. 
The  guests  were  many  times  heated  with 
wines,  and  not  infrequently  the  feast  degen- 
erated into  a  revel.  It  was,  however,  the 
excess  of  nature  rather  than  the  deliberately 
sought  intoxication  which  the  drinkers  of  the 
North  indulged  in  for  the  sheer  oblivion  whicK 
followed.  To  the  Greek,  delight,  exhilaration,, 
exuberance  of  spirit,  the  joyous  ecstasy  of" 
companionship,  the  thrill  of  elevated  emotion,, 
the  forgetful  uess  rather  than  the  oblivion  of 
care  and  dread, — such  were  the  motives  of 
his  abandonment  to  the  pleasures  of  drink. 
So  he  and  his  poets  praised  the  wine.  Anac- 
reon  but  expressed  the  common  question  of 
the  Greek  race  in  one  of  his  odes : 

"  Thirsty  earth  drinks  up  the  rain. 
Trees  from  earth  drink  that  again, 
Ocean  drinks  the  air,  the  sun 
Drinks  the  sea,  and  him  the  moon. 
Any  reason  canst  thou  think 
I  should  thirst  while  all  these  drink?" 

Such  was  the  power  and  influence  of  the 
Greek  feast  that  the  greatest  of  the  philoso- 
phers and  sages  forebore  not  to  participate  in 
its  pleasures  and  to  praise  both  it  and  its 
memories.  So  did  even  Socrates  and  Plato. 
When,  in  B.  C,  416,  the  poet  Agathon,  on 
the  day  after  his  victory  in  tragic  verse,  gave 
a  banquet  to  his  friends,  the  greatest  minds 
of  the  ancient  world  gathered  in  honor  of  the 
occasion ;  and  the  feast  itself  was  made  the 
basis  of  Plato's  Symposium,  one  of  the   most 


486 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


charming  pieces  of  literature  which  ever  pro- 
ceeded from  that  tall  spirit.^ 

During  the  night  the  streets  of  Athens 
were  in  charge  of  public  slaves  and  police- 
men. For  such  offices  Scythians  were  pre- 
ferred. Armed  with  their  bows  and  arrows, 
they  patrolled  the  public  places,  and  muttered 
broken  Greek  at  the  disorderly.  About  one 
thousand  two  hundred  of  these  uncouth 
guards  were  nightly  encamped  on  the  Areop- 
agus. Their  services  were  in  constant  de- 
mand to  check  and  repress  the  uproar  and 
riot  of  the  unmanageable  crew  of  young 
Athenians  who  poured  through  the  streets  in 
the  reckless  abandonment  of  mischief  and  the 
not  infrequent  perpetration  of  crime. 

The  women  of  the  ancient  Greeks  had 
more  freedom  than  among  any  other  primitive 
people ;  and  they  repaid  the  gift  with  a 
munificent  contribution  of  beauty  and  faith- 
fulness. Alcestis  gives  her  life  as  a  ransom 
for  her  husband's.  Antigone  follows  a  father's 
wretched  fortunes  with  all  a  daughter's  love. 
Penelope  for  twenty  years  longs  for  her  absent 
lord.  What  to  her  are  suitors  while  lie  is  far 
away?  Andromache  stands  by  Hector  to  the 
end.  Even  Helen  is  the  victim  of  the  in- 
trigue of  the  immortals  rather  than  the  way- 
ward and  guilty  wife,  insomuch  that,  after 
her  return  to  Menelaiis,  she  is  regarded  as  a 
true  and  noble  queen.  Such  was  woman  in 
the  age  of  the  heroes. 

In  the  later  developments  of  Greek  civiliza- 
tion woman  suffered.  She  became  restricted 
in  her  freedom,  and  lost  her  ascendency  over 
the  minds  of  men.  Perhaps  the  change  in 
her  condition  and  rank  may  be  attributed  to 
the  constant  encroachments  of  democracy, 
which,  by  making  every  man  a  participant  in 
public  affairs,  while  not  conceding  like  pre- 
rogatives to  woman,  gradually  drew  off  one 
of  the  sexes  to  the  market-square  and  the 
Pnyx,  there  to  discuss  the  many  times  facti- 


^  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  at  this  feast 
of  Agathon  that  the  mad-drunk  Alcibiades  broke 
in  unbidden,  assumed  the  role  of  symposiarch, 
drank  a  great  bowl  of  wine,  put  a  garland  on  the 
big,  brain-knotted  head  of  Socrates,  and  declared 
that  the  reason  why  the  old  sage  was  not  already 
drunken  was  because  there  was  not  wine  enough 
in  Greece  to  intoxicate  him ! 


tious  issues  of  politics,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  other  sex  was  more  and  more  restricted  by 
domestic  duties  and  limited  by  the  horizon  of 
home.  It  was  the  pernicious  political  dis- 
covery that  each  of  the  sexes  has  a  "  sphere" — 
a  discovery  which  has  cost  the  world  centuries 
of  retrogression. 

In  the  Dorian  and  ^olian  states,  most 
notably  in  Sparta,  the  Greek  woman  came 
more  nearly  maintaining  her  old-time  inde- 
pendence and  consequent  influence  over  men 
and  public  affairs  than  in  the  more  highly 
civilized  commonwealths  of  the  lonians.  The 
Spartans  continued  to  make  a  boast  of  their 
women  loug  after  the  time  when  the  philoso- 
phers, to  say  nothing  of  the  politicians,  of 
Athens  had  come  to  pass  them  by  with  indif- 
ference. The  Spartan  mothers  retained  the 
old-time  flavor  of  heroism  even  as  long  as 
they  had  a  country.  They  reared  their  sons 
and  gave  them  to  the  state.  The  epitaph  of 
Damaineta  continued  to  find  exemplification 
among  the  heroic  daughters  of  that  brave 
land — 

"  Eight  sons  Damaineta  to  battle  sent, 
Anu  buried  all  beneath  one  monument. 
No  tear  she  shed  for  sorrow,  but  thus  spake — • 
'Sparta,  I  bore  these  children  for  thy  sake.'  " 

The  Ionian  women  of  the  classical  age 
were  less  esteemed  for  heroic  than  for  femi- 
nine qualities.  The  girls  were  for  the  most 
part  secluded.  Ou  the  occasion  of  public  fes- 
tivals they  appeared  and  took  part  in  the 
songs  and  dances.  They  were  bred  more  and 
more  to  the  indoor  than  to  the  outdoor  life. 
Housekeeping,  however,  was  not  taught  until 
after  marriage.  Then  the  care  of  the  Greek 
home  devolved  almost  exclusively  upon  the 
woman.  In  this  relation  she  came  to  be  dis- 
prized  as  something  of  a  drudge.  The  poets 
and  wits  made  her  the  object  of  innumerable 
satires.  She  was  left  to  her  beauty  and  grace 
for  protection  rather  than  to  any  chivalrous 
sentiment  among  the  men.  Nevertheless, 
with  these  many  disadvantages,  the  women 
of  Attica  continued  to  be  ladylike  and  noble. 
The  Greek  was  rarely  discourteous  to  his 
wife.  Her  modesty  and  dignity  were  not 
often  shocked  by  rude  language  or  base  con- 
duct.    Her  home  was  sacred  from  the  intru- 


GREECE.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


487 


sion  of  strangers,  and  she  was  little  annoyed 
by  the  recklessness  of  men. 

In  the  matter  of  marriage  the  selection  and 
contract  were  made  by  the  parents.  In  mak- 
ing choice  they  were  influenced  not  a  little 
by  those  social  considerations  which  the  over- 
prudent  father  and  mother  have  in  all  time 
been  disposed  to  substitute  for  the  preference 
of  the  parties  most  concerned.  The  prospec- 
tive husband  was  not  infrequently  obliged  to 
pay  the  debts  of  his  father-in-law  as  a  condi- 
tion of  betrothal.  But 
as  a  general  rule  the 
selection  of  the  hus- 
band or  wife  was  made 
from  the  circle  of 
friends  and  according 
to  the  wishes  of  the 
young  people  who  were 
to  be  joined.  Domes- 
tic happiness  was,  after 
all,  the  rule,  and  social 
misery  the  exception, 
in  the  households  of 
the  Greeks. 

As  it  respects  fidel- 
ity, the  law  was  very 
severe  with  the  women 
and  very  lax  with  the 
men.  The  discrimina- 
tion in  this  regard  was 
so  great  that  in  some 
stages  of  Greek  society 
marriage  was  well-nigh 
at  a  discount  in  the 
presence  of  male  aban- 
donment. In  the  Io- 
nian   cities     of    Asia 

Minor  and  the  archipelago,  and  more 
particularly  in  Corinth  and  Athens,  a  large 
class  of  women  arose  known  as  hd(zrce, 
whose  lives  and  influence  were  opposed 
to  domestic  ties  and  wifehood.  Sometimes 
women  of  this  class  were  accomplished 
to  the  last  degree  in  the  culture  of  their 
times.  Such  was  Thargelia  of  Miletus,  who, 
in  her  relations  with  the  king  of  Persia,  exer- 
cised an  influence  in  favor  of  her  country. 
Such  especially  was  the  renowned  Aspasia, 
■who  by  her  association  with  Pericles  became 


known  and  respected  throughout  all  Greece. 
Such  were  her  gifts  and  genius  that  both  he 
and  Socrates  acknowledged  their  indebtedness 
to  her  for  lessons  in  oratory  and  philosophy. 
Nor  should  mention  be  omitted  of  Lais,  who 
obtained  an  ascendency  over  the  cynical  spirit 
of  Diogenes.  The  story  of  the  Boeotian 
Phryne  is  well  known,  w^hose  charms  exposed 
before  the  judges  saved  her  from  sentence  of 
death,  and  whose  beauty  was  made  the  in- 
spiration of  Praxiteles  when  he   modeled  the 


TYPES  OF  GREEK  WOMEN. » 

Venus  of  Knidos,  and  of  Apelles,   when  he 
painted  the  goddess  rising  from  the  sea. 

Looking  for  the  home  of  the  Greek  we 
find  nothing  but  description.  Not  a  single 
house  of  the  classical  age  has  been  preserved 
for  the  inspection  of  modern  times.  No  Her- 
culaneum  or  Pompeii  has  laid  its  contribution 
of  protecting  ashes  on  a  Greek  town  or  vil- 
lage. But  the  descriptions  of  the  ancient 
writers  are  abundant,  and  from  these  may  be 

^  For  types  of  Men,  see  "  Heroes  of  the  Trojan 
War,"  p.  510. 


488 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


drawn  a  fair  reproduction  of  the  abodes  of 
the  Hellenes.  Their  houses  belonged  to  the 
Southern  rather  than  the  Northern  type  of 
buildings.  Instead  of  one  great  hall  lighted 
from  without  and  steeply  roofed,  the  house  of 
the  South  consisted  of  an  inclosure  about  a 
rectangular  court,  from  which  the  light  is  ad- 
mitted into  the  various  apartments.  It  w^as  a 
house  of  this  sort  in  which  the  Greeks  of  the 
Heroic  Age  made  their  dwelling.  Whether 
the  common  abode  of  the  peasant  or  the 
palace  of  the  prince  the  type  was  the  same, 
the  structure  being  varied  merely  in  its  de- 
tails and  adornment. 

The  first  distinctive  feature  of  the  Greek 
house  within  was  the  division  into  a  man's 
and  a  woman's  department — the  andronitis  and 
the  gynceconitis.  Above  the  first  court  was  a 
second  or  even  a  third,  according  to  the 
■wealth  and  ambition  of  the  builder.  In  vil- 
lages and  other  situations  where  there  was 
abundance  of  room,  the  ground-plan  was  a 
rectangle  about  twice  as  great  in  length  as  in 
breadth,  but  in  cities  where  space  on  the 
streets  was  valuable  the  fronts  of  the  houses 
were  narrowed,  and  the  depth  and  height  of 
the  buildings  proportionally  increased. 

On  the  outside  the  houses  of  the  Greeks 
were  generally  stuccoed  and  painted.  In  the 
second  story  front  some  small  windows  looked 
down  on  the  street.  Between  two  columns 
below  was  the  door,  which  w^as  guarded  by  a 
slave,  and  was  opened  at  the  signal  of  knocks. 
Between  the  door  and  the  street  were  the 
apartments  of  the  servants,  arranged  on  either 
side  of  a  passage. 

The  andronitis,  or  man's  hall,  was  generally 
surrounded  with  columns.  This  apartment 
occupied  the  front  of  the  dwelling.  Here 
the  man  of  the  house  attended  to  his  private 
afiairs,  assisted  by  his  steward  and  servants. 
Here  he  prosecuted  his  studies.  Here  were 
his  parchments.  Here  he  received  and  enter- 
tained his  friends.  Here  was  spread  the  ban- 
quet— of  which  an  account  has  already  been 
given.  From  the  andronitis  a  passage  lead- 
ing to  the  rear  entered  the  woman's  hall  or 
gynceconitis,  where  were  arranged  the  various 
apartments  for  the  female  occupants  of  the 
bouse.     Here  the  women  lodged,  washed  the 


linen,  spun  and  wove.  From  these  rooms  a 
second  passage,  closed  by  a  gate,  led  into  the 
garden  in  the  rear  of  the  dwelling,  or  into 
the  street  if  the  building  extended  the  whole 
depth  of  the  square. 

In  the  center  of  the  whole  establishment 
was  the  court  called  the  Prostas — a  place 
sacred  to  religious  devotions.  Here  stood  the 
family  altar.  Here  in  the  background  was 
set  up  the  statue  of  Hestia,  the  protectress  of 
the  hearthstone.  Here  were  celebrated  the 
festivals  and  anniversaries  of  the  family. 
Here  were  ofl!ered  the  sacrifices  and  vows  of 
religion.  Here  the  marriage  was  celebrated. 
Here  the  new-born  child  was  joyously  wel- 
comed into  the  household.  Here  at  the  altar 
of  Hestia  was  the  refuge  of  the  slave  and 
panting  fugitive  who  fled  thither  for  pro- 
tection. 

From  the  earliest  times  the  Greeks  took 
pride  in  decorating  their  houses.  Already  in 
the  Homeric  age  ornaments  of  metal  and 
ivory  were  beaten  or  carved  for  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  w'alls  and  cornice.  In  the  most 
ancient  ruins  which  have  been  uncovered — 
those  of  Mycense  and  Tiryns — the  work  of 
decoration  is  already  fully  displayed,  even  in 
the  Treasure-house  of  Atreus.  The  work  of 
the  hammer  and  the  chisel  preceded  that  of 
the  brush.  So  far  as  artistic  painting  is  con- 
cerned, it  was  at  first  restricted  to  buildings 
of  a  public  character.  Alcibiades  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  to  employ  a  painter  to 
fresco  and  ornament  his  house  with  artistic 
figures  in  color.  Afterwards,  however,  down 
to  the  times  of  Alexander  the  Great,  this 
kind  of  decoration  grew  in  fashion,  especially 
in  Athens,  until  all  except  the  poorest  houses 
bore  some  trace  of  the  artist's  skill.  Even 
Zeuxis  was  many  times  called  from  his  studio 
to  honor  with  his  brush  the  palaces  and  villas 
of  the  wealthy  Athenians. 

It  is  the  peculiarity  of  modern  times  that 
mechanical  skill  has  taken  the  precedence  of 
art.  One  of  the  results  of  this  interchange 
of  faculties  is  the  superior  elegance  and  splen- 
dor of  modern  furniture  as  compared  with 
that  of  antiquity.  Still  the  latter  was  not 
wanting  in  many  evidences  of  artistic  taste, 
and  especially  in  a  certain  Oriental   magnifi- 


GREECE.— MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


489 


cence.  Of  course,  the  couches  and  tables  of 
the  kings  of  the  East  were  gorgeous  to  the 
last  degree,  but  in  democratic  Greece  the 
same  class  of  motives  did  not  exist  for  rich 
and  costly  trappings.  Here  it  was  merely 
the  gratification  of  the  sesthetic  faculties  that 
led  to  whatever  elegance  was  displayed  in  the 
furniture  of  the  Grecian  dwelling.  This  taste 
led  to  a  considerable  variety  of  patterns  and 
designs.  The  chairs,  tables,  and  couches  were 
frequently  of  costly  workmanship.  Sometimes 
the  frames  were  cast  of  bronze,  or  when  carved 
of  wood  were  inlaid  with  silver  and  ivory. 
The  feet  and  exposed  parts  of  the  frames  of 
such  articles  of  furniture  were  generally  exe- 
cuted in  imitation  of  the  form  of  some  animal 
or  creature  of  mythology — the  lion's  paw,  the 
dolphin's  back,  the  half-developed  form  of  a 
nymph.  Many  of  the  chairs,  especially  those 
of  the  women,  were  of  great  elegance,  the 
backs  being  carved  to  fit  the  person,  and  the 
seats  laid  with  ornamented  cushions,  upon 
which  the  deft  fingers  of  the  maidens  of 
Greece  had  exhausted  their  skill. 

The  Greek  couch  consisted  of  a  kind  of 
bench  for  the  mattress,  guarded  at  one  end 
with  a  head-board,  but  without  a  back.  Over 
this,  in  the  earlier  times,  were  laid  covers, 
but  these  at  a  later  date  were  superseded  with 
cushions  filled  with  feathers.  The  bedstead, 
like  the  frame  of  the  chair,  was  sometimes 
artistically  designed,  and  sometimes  plainly — 
even  roughly — executed,  according  to  the 
taste  and  means  of  the  owner.  The  frame 
of  the  bed  was  generally  concealed  by  drapery 
drawn  around  it,  the  same  being  ornamented 
with  fringes,  tassels,  and  gold  and  silver 
embroidery. 

Preserved  in  chests  in  the  gynseconitis 
were  the  articles  of  the  toilet  belonging  to  the 
women — a  numerous  array  of  caskets,  cosmet- 
ics, and  jewelry.  Indeed,  no  people,  whether 
ancient  or  modern,  have  given  more  attention 
to  artistic  care  pf  the  person  than  did  the 
matrons  and  maidens  of  Greece.  But  the 
peculiarity  of  the  latter  was,  to  their  honor, 
that  their  whole  notion  of  personal  attractive- 
ness as  heightened  by  art  consisted  in  beauti- 
fying and  not  destroying  nature. 

Night    divides    the    world   with    the    day. 


What  should  the  Greeks  do  in  the  darkness? 
It  is  matter  of  surprise  that  the  great  genius 
of  the  race  did  not  more  concern  itself  with 
the  matter  of  artificial  illumination.  The 
problem  of  light  was  one  in  which  neither 
they  nor  any  other  people  of  antiquity  seemed 
to  take  much  interest.  The  homes  of  the 
Greeks  were  lighted  with  oil-lamps  with  wicks, 
and  the  streets  with  torches.  In  the  actual 
contrivance  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
advance  from  the  first  principles,  such  as  are 
adopted  by  half-civilized  I'aces  in  illumination ; 
but  in  the  designs  of  the  lamps  it  is  easy  to 
discover  the  peculiar  and  superior  qualities  of 
Greek  taste.  These  have  the  most  elegant 
forms,  being  of  that  flat,  bowl-like  pattern 
which  the  best  modern  art  is  proud  to  imitate. 
They  were  ornamented  with  an  endless  variety 
of  designs,  some  in  color  and  some  in  relief — 
vines  and  fruits  and  figures  of  animals  and 
birds.  The  materials  in  most  common  use 
were  terra-cotta  and  bronze,  but  the  rich  had 
their  lamps  of  silver  and  sometimes  of  gold. 
They  were  designed  for  hanging  or  standing, 
and  for  the  latter  use  were  supported  by  can- 
delabra of  the  slenderest  and  most  beautiful 
styles.  These  were  set  by  the  couches  in  the 
andronitis,  and  here  reclined  the  Greek  in  the 
evening  and  read.  Near  by  stood  the  library, 
with  its  tiers  of  pigeon-holes,  into  which  were 
inserted  the  cylindrical  cases  containing  the 
rolls  of  manuscript. 

The  material  used  in  writing  was  prepared 
papyrus  brought  from  Egypt.  Upon  this  the 
poem  or  disquisition  of  the  philosopher  was 
carefully  copied  by  a  sc»-ibe.  The  Greek 
manuscripts  were  generally  executed  with 
great  care  a-nd  exquisite  finish  as  to  neatness 
and  accuracy.  In  the  house  of  a  prominent 
and  influential  man  a  small  library  of  favorite 
authors  might  always  be  expected.  In  the 
age  of  the  Macedonian  ascendency,  however, 
the  library  became  a  public  rather  than  a 
private  enterprise ;  and  the  example  of  Alex- 
ander in  founding  in  Egypt  and  elsewhere 
vast  collections  of  books  was  emulated  by 
nearly  all  the  great  men  of  subsequent  times. 
Book  collectors  were  common  in  Greece,  and 
the  possession  of  rare  or  exquisite  rolls  was  in 
many  a  rage,  as  in   modern  times.     Of  this 


490 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


sort  were  the  poet  Euripides  and  the  philoso- 
pher Aristotle,  both  of  whom  distinguished 
themselves  by  accumulating  large  libraries  of 
valuable  and  rare  works. 

Other  connoisseurs  there  were  who  turned 
their  energies  to  the  collection  of  articles  of  a 
non-literary  character.  Old  things  of  quaint 
device  and  singular  pattern  were  eagerly 
sought  after  by  the  dilettanti  and  hunters  of 
bric-a-brac,  just  as  the  relics  and  fashions  of 
the  fourteenth  century  are  now  pursued  by 
the  fanciers  of  what  is  valuable  for  being  out 
of  date.  Indeed,  this  taste  for  the  rare  and 
curious  was  as  keen  in  the  Greeks  as  in  any 
of  the  monomaniacs  of  our  day.  The  lyre  of 
Orpheus  was  hunted  as  eagerly  as  the  wood 
of  the  True  Cross  is  now  sought  by  those 
who  believe  in  its  virtues.  One  Greek  carved 
an  ivory  chariot  and  four  horses  of  such  stu- 
pendous proportions  that  the  whole  could 
be  covered  by  the  wings  of  a  house-fly,  and 
another  executed  two  verses  of  Homer  on  a 
grain  of  sesame !  Art  becomes  ingenuity  in 
Lilliput! 

The  care  of  the  Greek  household  was 
largely  intrusted  to  the  slaves.  These  were 
owned  by  all  families  except  the  poorest. 
The  morality  of  the  institution  was  never 
questioned  even  by  the  philosophers.  With 
them  human  freedom  meant  freedom  for  the 
Greek.  Not  even  the  author  of  the  Atlantis 
seems  ever  to  have  troubled  himself  about  the 
existence  of  slavery  in  his  own  country.  The 
slaves  were  all  barbarians,  either  taken  in 
battle  or  purchased  in  the  market.  He 
who  went  to  war  with  a  Greek  did  it  with 
a  knowledge  that  he  was  running  the  risk 
of  perpetual  servitude  with  the  chances 
greatly  against  him.  Still,  however,  the  con- 
dition he  would  be  thus  exposed  to  was  far 
more  tolerable  than  in  any  other  ancient  state. 

The  slave  of  the  Greek,  though  subject 
to  his  master,  was  not  as  a  rule  treated  with 


severity.  He  might  marry  and  have  a  house- 
hold of  his  own.  In  sickness  and  old  age  he 
was  released  from  toil,  and  cared  for  with  de- 
cency if  not  with  tenderness.  Ties  of  friend- 
ship and  even  of  intimacy  were  not  infre- 
quently contracted  between  slave  and  master 
which  survived  all  vicissitude  and  ended  only 
with  life.  Albeit  the  condition  of  the  Helots 
in  Sparta — a  subject  race  belonging  to  the 
soil  and  transferred  with  it  as  serfs — was  an 
estate  totally  different  from  common  chattel 
slavery  as  it  presented  itself  in  Athens  and 
the  other  cities  of  Central  Greece. 

The  slave-class  in  Attica  was  very  numer- 
ous. In  a  population  of  five  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  souls,  fully  four  hundred  thou- 
sand were  slaves — being  in  the  ratio  of  three 
to  one  of  the  free  citizenship.  This  enormous 
element  of  population  was  distributed,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  into  the  houses  of  the  free 
Greeks  and  into  the  factories,  quarries,  mines, 
and  indeed  in  all  places  where  "naked  human 
strength"  was  the  thing  required.  In  the 
house  of  any  well-to-do  Greek  citizen  a  reti- 
nue of  about  twenty  slaves,  male  and  female, 
was  required  for  the  service.  Upon  them  was 
devolved  the  entire  labor,  though  not  the  su- 
perintendence, of  the  establishment.  In  the 
gynseconitis  the  mistress  of  the  house  and  her 
daughters  sat  among  the  domestics  and  super- 
vised and  directed  in  all  that  was  done.  The 
householder  meanwhile  ordered  his  division  of 
the  servants  to  their  various  tasks,  and  then 
went  to  the  market-place  to  talk  politics  and 
discuss  the  management  of  the  war.  There 
is  little  doubt  that  the  institution  of  slavery 
among  the  Greeks  was  thus  the  blind  com- 
plement of  that  factious  democracy  which, 
uncurbed  by  useful  tasks  of  labor,  inserted  its 
idle  talons  in  the  breast  of  the  state  and  tore 
out  her  vitals. — Such  were  the  manners  and 
institutions  of  the  Hellenes  in  the  times  of 
their  power  and  renown. 


GREECE.— RELIGION. 


491 


Chapter   XL.— Reliqion. 


Wl 

1 

m 

^ 

1 

BRIEF  sketch  of  the 
religion  of  the  Greeks, 
considered  apart  from 
tlieir  system  of  mythol- 
ogy, will  be  appropriate 
before  the  traditions  and 
civil  history  of  the  race 
are  presented.  When  we  consider  the  moral 
elvation  of  the  Olympian  hierarchy  there  is 
not  much  to  admire.  The  gods  who  dwelt  on 
that  sublime  height  were  of  the  same  sort 
with  the  men  who  dwelt  at  its  base.  "Like 
men  like  gods,"  might  well  apply  to  the  Greek 
family,  whether  terrestrial  or  celestial.  There 
is  not  much  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  for- 
mer should  not  greatly  respect  the  latter, 
since  they  saw  them  as  beings  of  like  passions 
■with  themselves. 

Consulting  the  literature  of  the  Greeks 
from  Homer  to  Aristophanes  one  might  well 
conclude  that  the  Hellenes  were  a  peoj^le  de- 
void not  only  of  the  genuine  religious  instinct 
but  even  of  a  decent  respect  for  their  deities. 
Such,  however,  would  be  far  from  a  true  con- 
clusion. Perhaps  in  many  instances  the  fan- 
tastic legends  of  tradition  were  brushed  aside 
by  the  lucid  intelligence  and  skeptical  dispo- 
sition of  the  Greeks,  but  behind  the  fiction 
the  substance  of  the  thing  remained  in  the 
imagination  of  the  people :  and  the  substance 
was  adored  with  a  sincere  veneration. 

The  beings,  then,  whom  the  Greeks  wor- 
shiped were  regarded  as  the  guardians  of 
mankind  and  the  avengers  of  evil.  To  them 
belonged  the  reward  of  virtue  and  the  pun- 
ishment of  crime.  They  hasted  not  in  their 
work,  but  their  work  was  sure.  They  ob- 
served the  minds  and  hearts  of  men,  honored 
the  upright,  regarded  the  faithful,  heard  the 
voice  of  supplication.  This  was  the  ground- 
faith  of  the  Greek,  whether  philosopher  or 
peasant.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  the  most 
skeptical  spirit  ever  wholly  shook  it  off.  Soc- 
rates himself  was  in  the  habit  of  prayer,  and 
disdained  not  to  consult  an  oracle. 


There  was  thus  in  the  ofttimes  frivolous 
nature  of  the  Greek  a  sincere  vein  of  piety. 
His  earliest  efforts  in  art  were  permeated  with 
devotion.  Homer's  heroes  believe  most  im- 
plicitly in  the  gods — pray  to  them,  fear  them. 
The  Grecian  states,  taking  up  the  theme,  de- 
nounce impiety.  He  whose  teachings  seem 
dangerous,  or  whose  life  is  sacrilegious,  is 
banished  or  put  to  death.  The  memory  of 
the  impious  is  execrated.  All  this  shows  a 
deep-seated,  though  often  misdirected,  vein 
of  religious  sentiment  in  the  people. 

All  the  principal  acts  in  the  drama  of 
Greek  life  were  introduced  with  religious 
ceremony,  The  man  of  the  house  was  the 
priest.  He  needed  no  other.  He  said  his 
own  prayers.  He  made  his  own  offerings  for 
himself  and  his  family.  When  he  prayed  to 
the  gods  of  the  air  he  stood  with  upturned 
face  and  held  his  hands  aloft.  If  he  suppli- 
cated the  deities  of  the  deep,  his  hands  were 
stretched  to  the  sea.  The  birth  of  the  child, 
the  betrothal,  the  marriage,  the  funeral — all 
the  chief  events  in  the  life  of  the  household — 
were  sanctioned  with  some  religious  rite. 

As  early  as  the  days  of  Homer  the  Greeks 
raised  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  Upon  this  the 
worshiper  offered  his  gifts  and  victims.  Of 
things  without  life  those  most  brought  to  the 
sacrificial  fire  were  fruit  and  cakes,  oil  and 
wine,  milk  and  honey.  In  offering  living 
victims  the  best  of  the  flock  or  herd  was 
selected,  and  sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
hecatomb,  as  many  as  a  hundred  animals  were 
slain  at  once.  Not  all  of  the  creature  offered, 
but  only  certain  parts  were  burned  in  the 
fire ;  the  remainder  was  eaten  by  the  wor- 
shipers and  the  priests.  Even  in  the  shed- 
ding of  blood  the  aesthetic  taste  of  the  Greek 
appeared,  for  the  beast  to  be  offered  was 
wreathed  as  to  his  head  and  horns  with  a  gar- 
land of  flowers.  The  neck  of  the  animal  was 
sprinkled  with  salt  and  consecrated  barley, 
and  then  the  knife  let  out  the  creature's  life. 

As  already  said,   every   free    Greek — and 


492 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


every  Greek  was  free — could  act  as  his  own 
priest.  The  introduction,  therefore,  of  a  class 
of  priests  was  merely  a  matter  of  preference 
and  division  of  labor.  It  was  rather  in  con- 
nection with  certain  sacred  places,  seats  of  the 
gods,  oracles,  etc. ,  that  the  services  of  a  regu- 
lar priesthood  seemed  to  be  demanded.  In 
the  great  temples,  also,  groups  of  priests  were 
a  necessity  of  the  service ;  but  they  gathered 
about  the  shrine,  not  by  hereditary  right  or 
by  appointment  of  a  superior  hierarchy,  but 
simply  by  that  natural  selection  which,  work- 
ing among  men,  sends  some  to  one  vocation 
and  some  to  another.  The  rank  and  rights 
of  citizenship  were  no  more  sacrificed  by  the 
assumption  of  priestly  duties  than  by  the 
doctor  in  treating  a  patient  or  the  lawyer  in 
pleading  a  cause. 

There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  the 
priests,  having  once  assumed  the  sacred  office, 
acquired  thereby  a  certain  dignity  and  honor. 
They  were  respected  and  venerated  by  all 
classes.  The  popular  imagination  associated 
them  with  the  holy  rites  which  they  cele- 
brated, with  the  solemn  temple  where  they 
lived,  and  even  with  the  high  gods  whom 
they  served.  They  thus  acquired  a  great 
reputation  for  sanctity,  and  a  consequent  in- 
fluence over  the  minds  of  the  people.  Nor 
"was  their  reputation  less  distinguished  for  the 
learning  which  they  claimed  by  tradition  and 
oracular  response.  They  were  well  acquainted 
with  the  old  unwritten  laws  and  venerated 
customs  of  the  Greeks,  and  thus  became  a 
conservative  force  in  the  state — a  force  not 
without  a  salutary  influence  on  the  distract- 
ing and  revolutionary  tendencies  of  such  a 
people. 

Among  the  Greeks  the  belief  in  prophecy 
■was  very  general ;  and  here  again  freedom 
had  her  way,  for  any  one  might  be  a  prophet. 
The  gods  were  no  respecters  of  persons.  The 
voice  of  the  deity  might  be  heard  by  any  one 
as  well  as  by  a  priest.  If  the  latter  was  more 
frequently  in  communion  with  the  supernal 
powers,  it  was  only  because  he  dwelt  near 
some  shrine  or  sacred  haunt  which  the  god 
delighted  to  frequent.  The  signs  by  which  in 
«arth  or  sea  or  sky  the  deities  made  known 
their  will  were  not  of  private  interpretation ; 


and  so  the  many  rather  than  the  few  heard 
and  recognized  the  voices  from  on  high. 

But  in  the  case  of  the  oracles  the  divine 
resj^onses  were  delivered  by  the  priests.  The 
inquiries  of  those  who  woaild  learn  the  mys- 
teries of  the  future  and  of  fate  were  borne  to 
the  inner  place  by  priestly  hands  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  god  for  answer.  Such  was  the 
usage  at  Dodona,  in  Epirus,  the  most  ancient 
oracle  of  Zeus.  In  the  rustling  of  the  oak 
leaves  were  heard  the  breathings  of  that  great 
Immortal  who  was  held  to  be  the  first  among 
the  230wers  of  heaven ;  but  the  noise  in  the 
oaks  was  unintelligible  save  to  the  sacred  per- 
sons who  were  by  holy  life  and  residence  in 
the  groves  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of 
the  mysterious  messages.  Such  also  was  the 
method  of  obtaining  responses  at  the  still 
more  famous  shrine  of  the  prophetic  Apollo, 
at  Delphi.  This  oracle  was  the  most  cele- 
brated in  Greece,  perhaps  in  the  world.  In 
the  classical  age  the  greatest  intellects  recog- 
nized the  validity  of  the  Delphic  responses, 
and  the  weightiest  aflairs  of  state  hung  breath- 
less until  the  answer  was  delivered. 

The  spot  chosen  by  Apollo  for  his  favorite 
haunt  was  a  wild  ravine  at  the  foot  of  Par- 
nassus. The  scene  was  grand  and  solitaryo 
Only  the  murmur  of  a  brook  broke  the  im- 
pressive silence.  On  either  hand  rose  ver- 
tical walls  of  rock.  Here  in  this  gorge  the 
god  of  light  and  poesy  and  song  had  slain  the 
Python,  the  great  dragon  of  darkness  and 
barbarism.  The  Castalian  fountain  sprang 
from  the  spot,  and  the  Muses  made  it  their 
home.  Here  from  a  cleft  in  the  rock  issued 
that  intoxicating  vapor  which  benumbed  the 
senses  of  man  and  brought  him  into  commun- 
ion with  the  deity.  The  tongue  of  the  intoxi- 
cated became  the  oracle  of  the  god.  Around 
the  sacred  spot  holy  men  gathered  to  muse 
and  pray.  Here  houses  were  built.  Here  a 
shrine  was  erected  for  the  deity.  Here  rose 
the  holy  city  of  Delphi,  whose  fame  as  the 
seat  of  divine  inspiration  spread  first  through- 
out all  Greece  and  then  to  the  ends  of  the 
civilized  world. 

He  who  would  inquire  of  Apollo  came 
bringing  gifts.  Something  precious  must  be 
brought  in  recompense  for  prophecy.     Treas- 


GREECE.— RELIGION. 


493 


ures  of  gold  and  silver  and  sculpture  and 
painting  were  cast  in  profusion  into  the  divine 
thesaurus,  until  the  shrine  became  rich  beyond 
estimate.  In  times  of  turbulence  and  war 
the  eyes  of  the  irreligious  were  cast  longingly 
towards  the  accumulated  treasures  in  the 
house  of  Apollo,  and  more  than  once  the 
profane  hand  of  expediency  was  laid  upon 
them. 

The  Delphic  responses  were  obtained 
through  the  lips  of  a  priestess  called  the 
Pythia.  She  was  chosen  from  the  women  of 
Delphi,  and  was  especially  consecrated  to  her 


verse,  but  in  later  times  the   priests,  grown 
less  careful,  gave  back  the  reply  in  prose. 

In  these  conditions  were  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  priestly  lore  which  was  cultivated 
at  Delphi.  It  was  the  business  of  the  college 
to  know  the  actual  state  of  afiairs,  not  only 
in  Greece,  but,  as  far  as  practicable,  in  all  the 
surrounding  nations.  By  such  information 
the  priests  could  know,  and  did  know,  before- 
hand the  kind  of  inquiries  which  would  arise 
out  of  the  political  and  social  conditions  of  the 
country.  They  accordingly  busied  themselves 
in  framing  and  answering  supposititious  ques- 


DELPHI  AND  PARNASSUS. 


sacred  office.  Once  every  month  she  purified 
herself  by  fasting  and  ablutions.  She  chewed 
laurel  leaves,  bathed  in  and  drank  from  the 
Castalian  spring.  Then  she  went  into  that 
part  of  the  temple  where  the  fissure  in  the 
native  rock  still  gave  forth  its  vapor.  She 
seated  herself  on  the  tripod,  and  Avas  soon  in- 
toxicated with  the  gas.  Then  she  fell  down 
in  a  swoon.  She  uttered  wild  ejaculations  in 
her  delirium,  and  these  were  caught  up  by 
the  attending  priests  and  wrought  into  oracu- 
lar— generally  ambiguous — responses  to  the 
inquiries  Avhich  had  been  propounded.  As  a 
rule  the  answers  were  rendered  in  hexameter 


tions,  and  in  this  line  of  work  acquired  not  a 
little  skill.  In  the  ordinary  affairs  of  politics 
and  war  they  were  very  well  prepared  to  give 
intelligent  advice,  or  even  to  predict  with  ap- 
proximate certainty  the  natural  course  of 
events.  When,  however,  it  came  to  the 
actual  domain  of  prophecy  and  to  matters  of 
which  the  priest  could  know  no  more  than 
another,  he  had  necessary  recourse  to  fraud, 
and  this  he  found  in  the  construction  of  am- 
biguous responses — couplets  which  could  be 
made  to  read  both  ways  in  the  light  of  the 
denouement.  Thus  Croesus  was  told  that  if 
he  crossed  the  Halys  he  would  destroy  a  great 


494 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


kingdom.  Whose  kiugdom?  His  own,  or 
that  of  Cyaxares  ?  The  former,  as  it  proved ; 
the  latter,  as  it  was  hoped.  Thus  was  the 
credit  of  Apollo  and  his  priests  maintained 
against  the  hazard  of  contingency. 

There  were,  however,  those  among  the 
witty  Greeks  who  fathomed  and  derided  the 
double  utterances  of  Delphi.  The  comic 
poets  found  the  Apollonian  ambiguity  a 
precious  morsel.  They  imitated  the  style  of 
the  confused  priest,  and  made  him  the  butt 
of  profane  mirth.      Aristophanes   introduces 


leveled  against  them,  the  Delphic  priesthood 
held  their  own  for  many  centuries,  and  did 
not  perceptibly  wane  in  their  influence  over 
the  public  mind  until  after  the  establishment 
of  the  Roman  Empire. 

Of  scarcely  less  importance  than  the  ora- 
cles were  the  Mysteries  of  the  Greeks.  These 
were  rites  celebrated  in  seci"et  orders,  and  in- 
tended to  gratify  a  higher  grade  of  religious 
aspirations  than  could  be  satisfied  by  the 
popular  faith.  The  orders  were  open  only  to 
those  who  could  establish  by  satisfactory  proofs 


THE  PYTIIIA  ON  THE  TKIPOD. 
Drawn  by  H.  Leutemaiin. 


the  leather-seller  Cleon  and  a  sausage-maker, 
and  the  decision  of  a  squabble  between  them 
is  thus  oracularly  rendered: 

"  Moreover,  when  the  eagle  in  his  pride, 
With  crooked  talons  and  a  leathern  hide, 
Shall  seize  the  black  and  blood-devouring  snake,^ 
Then  shall  the  woeful  tan-pits  quail  and  quake; 
And  mighty  Zeus  shall  give  command  and  place 
To  mortals  of  the  sausage-selling  race : 
Unless  they  choose,  continuing  as  before, 
To  sell  their  sausages  for  evermore." 

The  satire  was  all  the  keener  for  being  In 
the  exact  vein  of  the  Delphic  utterances. 
But   despite   the  sharp   darts   that  were  thus 

^  Meaning  a  saiisnge! 


the  previous  rectitude  and  purity  of  their 
lives.  To  such  the  promise  of  a  calmer  and 
more  elevated  frame  of  mind,  a  deeper  hope 
of  present  peace  and  future  immortality,  was 
held  forth  on  condition  of  entering  the  mys- 
teries. Every  pure  Greek  might  aspire  to 
membership  in  one  of  the  sacred  orders. 
Even  women  were  admitted  with  the  men  to 
equal  participancy  in  the  new  life  of  holiness 
and  consecration. 

To  attain  the  highest  rank  in  one  of  the 
mysteries,  the  candidate  had  to  pass  three  de- 
grees. He  was  first  initiated;  then,  after  a 
season  of  probation,  advanced  to  a  second  de- 


GREECE.  —RELIGION. 


495 


gree;  and  finally  admitted  to  the  third  or 
highest  rank,  in  which  he  was  enrolled  with  the 
epoptce,  or  ' '  beholders  " — for  such  were  allowed 
to  behold  the  unveiled  myths  of  the  national 
religion. 

The  two  principal  mysteries  of  Greece 
were  those  celebrated  at  Eleusis  and  at  Sam- 
othrace.  The  latter  j)lace  was  a  small  island 
in  the  ^gean,  on  which  from  the  earliest 
times  a  society  had  flourished  whose  aim  was 
to  interpret  and  illustrate  the  secrets  of  nature. 
What  these  secrets  were,  and  by  Avhat  cere- 
monies they  were  interpreted,  have  never 
been  ascertained  —  so  thick  and  carefully 
drawn  was  the  curtain  between  the  "initiated " 
and  the  outer  world  of  vulgar  sense.  More 
famous  far  were  the  mysteries  known  as 
Eleusinian.  These  were  celebrated  at  the 
city  of  Eleusis,  in  Attica.  The  society  was  in 
great  repute,  and  many  of  the  most  distin- 
guished Athenians  were  proud  to  be  num- 
bered among  the  epoptce.  Here,  too,  the 
secrecy  was  profound.  Only  thus  much  is 
known,  that  the  mysteries  of  nature — es- 
pecially those  appertaining  to  life  —  were 
sought  to  be  unveiled  to  the  senses  and  per- 
ceptions of  men  by  the  rites  of  the  celebrants. 
The  two  deities  honored  within  the  veil  were 
Demeter,  the  great  Earth-mother,  and  Diony- 
sus, the  wine-god.  Eleusis  was  the  seat  of 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Greek 
myths — that  in  which  Demeter,  after  search- 
ing long  by  land  and  sea,  at  last  learned  that 
her  lost  daughter  Persephone  had  been  mar- 
ried to  Hades,  the  dark  specter  of  the  under 
world,  and  that  she  was  now  his  queen  in  the 
realms  below.  Here  the  mother  procured  her 
daughter's  return  to  life  and  joy — at  least  for 
a  season.*  The  myth  became  the  basis  of  the 
mystery  which  the  initiated  were  to  explain 
and  illustrate  with  their  rites — the  mystery  of 
the  varying  and  beautiful  processes  of  life. 

In  the  months  of  August  and  September 
of  each  year,  after    the    harvests   had    been 

*  Persephone  represents  Life.  In  the  summer 
she  rejoices  in  leaf  and  bud  and  flower.  But  in 
winter  Pluto  takes  her  under  the  earth.  She  is 
seen  no  more.  She  is  queen  of  the  dark  abodes 
in  the  Land  of  Gloom.  With  the  sunshine  of 
spring  she  returns  and  gladdens  her  mother, 
Eartii. 


gathered,  a  period  of  twelve  days  was  set 
apart  for  the  celebration  of  the  great  feast 
known  as  the  Eleusinia.  Athens  abandoned 
herself  to  the  occasion.  Strangers  came  from 
all  parts  of  Greece  to  be  present  at  the  anni- 
versary. First  the  candidates  and  initiates 
prepared  themselves  by  bathing  in  the  sea, 
by  fasting  and  sacrifice.  Then  for  five  days 
offerings  were  made  to  Demeter  and  Dionysus ; 
and  on  the  sixth  was  the  great  procession,  in 
which  the  ancient  statue  of  Dionysus,  gar- 
landed with  flowers  and  bearing  a  torch  in  his 
hand,  was  brought  with  loud  acclaim  and 
laughter  and  song  from  Athens  to  Eleusis.  It 
was  always  arranged  that  the  procession  should 
not  reach  its  destination  until  nightfall.  The 
image  of  the  god  was  borne  after  dark  into  a 
great  building,  where  the  mysteries  were  cele- 
brated, and  here  under  the  flickering  glare  of 
torches  were  begun  the  awful  ceremonies 
which  occupied  the  remainder  of  the  festival. 
Before  the  close  of  the  mysterious  proceedings 
Persephone  was  welcomed  back  to  earth,  and 
then  hilarity  and  banqueting  succeeded  to  the 
previous  despondency  and  gloom. 

The  proper  feast  of  Dionysus  was  wilder 
and  more  extravagant  in  character  than  that 
of  Demeter.  As  sometimes  celebrated,  it  was 
an  orgy  in  which  the  participants  abandoned 
themselves  to  frantic  excesses.  At  the  Diony- 
sia  in  Athens  it  was  regarded  as  a  duty  in 
those  who  took  part  in  the  exercises  to  become 
drunken.  Every  one  crowned  himself  with 
ivy  and  flowers,  and  offered  to  him  whom  he 
met  a  cup  of  wine.  The  image  of  Bacchus 
was  borne  about  in  processions,  and  a  wild 
crew  of  Satp's,  Bacchantes,  and  Pans  rushed 
madly  along,  piping  and  shouting  till  the  day 
became  an  uproar  and  the  night  hideous. 

The  great  local  religious  festival  of  the 
Athenians  was  called  the  Panathencea.  It  was 
celebrated  every  fourth  year  in  honor  of 
Pallas  Athene,  the  patron  goddess  of  the  city. 
On  the  return  of  the  anniversary  Athens  was 
crowded  with  strangers.  Hither  came  a 
throng  of  poets,  musicians,  artists,  gymnasts, 
showmen,  mountebanks — every  type  of  hu- 
manity known  to  the  world  of  the  Greeks.  It 
was  a  time  of  excitement,  of  competition,  of  the 
exhibition  of  skill  in  achievement  and  strength. 


496 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  great  day  was  the  day  of  the  proces- 
sion. In  the  morning  outside  of  the  city  the 
throngs  gathered.  Here  the  column  was 
formed.  At  the  head  of  the  procession  came 
a  band  of  flute  players  and  citharists.  Then 
followed  the  Athenian  soldiery — infantry  and 
cavalry.  Behind  this  division  marched  all 
those  who  had  ever  been  crowned  as  victors 
in  the  public  contests  of  the  country.  The 
next  division  was  composed  of  priests,  leading 


burst  of  music  was  sounded  from  the  instru- 
ments, and  then,  in  the  sublime  presence  of 
the  Protectress  of  the  city,  the  votive  gifts 
were  laid  and  the  sacrifices  offered  by  the 
priests. 

If  the  Greek  mind,  participating  in  these 
great  festivals,  could  have  been  fathomed, 
there  would  have  been  revealed  a  double  class 
of  sentiments ;  the  one  looking  joyfully  upon 
life,  and  the  other  scanning  death  with  appre- 


THE  ELIITTSTOTATT  FEAST.— Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


the  animals  presently  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice. 
Next  followed  the  old  men  of  Athens,  each 
carrying  some  costly  gift  to  be  offered  to  the 
goddess.  Then  came  the  woman's  column  of 
the  procession — matrons  and  maidens  chosen 
for  their  beauty  and  reputation.  In  the 
midst  they  drew  in  a  car  the  pejdos,  or  em- 
broidered robe,  with  which  the  statue  of  Pal- 
las was  to  be  clad  at  the  end  of  the  march. 

Through  the  beautiful  streets  of  the  city 
the  procession  made  its  way,  pausing  at  the 
various  shrines  and  altars,  and  then  ascended 
the  hill  to  the  citadel.     Before  the  temple  a 


hension  and  dread.'  There  were  exhibited  in 
the  different  parts  of  the  ceremonies  the  traces 
of  these  conflicting  feelings,  the  one  class 
tending  to  produce  merriment  and  even  rap- 


^  No  one  can  thoughtfully  study  the  life  of  the 
Athenians  without  being  constantly  reminded  of 
the  Parisians  of  the  last  and  present  centuries. 
Athens  was  the  Paris  of  antiquity,  and  Paris  is 
the  Athens  of  the  modern  M'orld.  There  are  to 
be  seen  in  both  peoples  the  same  quaUties  of  na- 
ture— that  same  excitability  of  temper,  in  which 
are  strangely  mingled  the  opposites  of  heroism 
and  weakness,  of  excessive  joyousness  and  deep 
gloom,  of  hope  and  despair. 


GREECE.  —RELIGION. 


^7 


ture  under  the  beautiful  aspects  of  the  world, 
and  the  other  class  tending  to  gloom  and  de- 
spondency under  the  shadow  of  the  coming 
doom !  To  the  Greek,  Life  meant  every 
thing  of  happiness  which  the  most  exuberant 
fancy  could  depict,  and  Death  meant  what 
Homer  and  the  heroes  believed  it  to  be,  a 
dreary  and  joyless  existence  beyond  the  inky 
Styx. 

In  those  matters  which  the  ancients  desig- 
nated by  the  general  name  of  piety  the  Greeks 
were  worthy  to  be  commended.  Suffering 
excited  their  sympathy.  Sorrow  called  for 
kindred  tears.  To  the  dead  were  due  the 
sacred  rites  of  sepulture.  Even  the  passing 
stranger  should,  for  humanity's  sake,  sprinkle 
a  few  handfuls  of  earth  on  the  unburied  corse 
exposed  by  the  way.  The  atrocious  spite  of 
the  Orientals  in  pursuing  the  lifeless  body  of 
the  foe  with  insult  and  mutilation  was  ab- 
horred by  the  sensitive  Greeks,  who  saw  in  the 
lifeless  frame  only  the  sad  relic  of  mortality. 
Only  in  the  highest  heat  of  battle  was  any 
indignity  offered  to  the  dead  by  the  humane 
soldier  of  Hellas. 

When  a  Greek  fell  into  his  last  slumber, 
the  friends  immediately  composed  the  body 
and  laid  upon  the  mouth  the  ferriage-fee  for 
Charon.  The  corse  was  clad  in  white  and 
laid  upon  a  bier.  Flowers  were  brought  by 
the  mourning  friends,  who  put  on  badges  of 
sorrow.  On  the  morrow  the  corse  was  burned 
and  the  ashes  committed  to  an  urn.  In 
the  later  times  the  horror  known  as  earth 
burial  became  common,  and  finally  prevailed 
over  the  former  beautiful  and  cleanly  method 
of  purification  by  fire. 


After  burial  in  the  earth  became  the  usual 
method  of  bestowing  the  dead,  cemeteries  were 
arranged  outside  the  city  walls.  Sometimes 
there  were  single  tombs  here  and  there,  where 
some  distinguished  person  had  been  buried 
within  his  own  premises.  In  other  parts  there 
were  public  burying-grounds,  in  which  there 
was  a  vast  aggregate  of  graves.  Over  each 
was  raised  a  mound  of  earth,  and  on  this 
were  planted  ivy  and  roses.  The  coffin  of  the 
Greeks  was  an  elongated  ellipse,  generally  of 
terra-cotta,  resembling  somewhat  the  "dish- 
cover"  burial  cases  of  the  Chaldseans.^  Over 
the  grave  was  erected  a  memorial  stone  or 
monument,  and  on  this  was  an  inscription 
giving  the  name  of  the  dead,  an  eflSgy  per- 
haps of  his  person,  a  word  of  praise  for  his 
virtues,  and  an  epigram  composed  for  his  mem- 
ory. The  epitaphs  of  the  Greeks  were  of  the 
highest  order  of  merit  and  originality;  nor 
was  there  about  the  grave  any  of  those  sym- 
bols of  lugubrious  woe  which  since  the  Mid- 
dle Age  have  added  so  much  to  the  horrors 
of  the  city  of  the  dead. 

In  the  coffin  of  the  Greek,  Superstition 
performed  her  usual  little  drama.  The  per- 
sonal ornaments  worn  by  the  deceased  were 
laid  with  his  body — a  pardonable  weakness 
and  mark  of  respect.  But  there  were  also 
vessels  for  fruit  and  oil — the  drinking-cup,  the 
cake  of  bread,  the  beverage  for  the  departed. 
The  articles  thus  put  away  with  the  dead  for 
his  use  have  risen  for  the  edification  of  man- 
kind ;  out  he  to  whom  they  were  given  in 
death — 

"Sleeps  the  sleep  that  knows  not  breaking.'* 

1  See  Book  Second,  p.  127. 


498 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.—THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Chapter  xivi.— niyth  and  Tradition. 


TRUE  interpretation  of 
the  myths  of  the  Greeks 
has  been  one  of  the  most 
difficult  problems  im- 
jjosed  on  modern  scholar- 
ship. Longfellow  tells  a 
story  how  the  infant 
Christ,  having  forgotten  the  name  of  the  letter 
aleph,  and  being  informed  by  his  teacher  that 
it  was  aleph,  suddenly  startled  his  instructor 
with  the  question.  ' '  But,  please  good  Rabbi, 
what  does  aleph  meanf  The  question  of  the 
myth  to  us  is,  not  so  much  WJmt  is  itf  but, 
What  does  it  meanf 

Many  theories  have  been  advanced  to  ex- 
plain the  origin  and  true  nature  of  the  myths 
of  antiquity.  They  are  the  peculiar  property 
of  the  Aryan  race.  Among  the  Semitic  na- 
tions mythology  did  not,  could  not,  flourish — 
this  for  reasons  to  be  hereafter  explained. 
But  the  Aryans  were  a  people  whose  brains 
teemed  with  myths. 

In  the  next  place  it  should  be  observed  that 
all  branches  of  the  Aryan  family  had  the 
same  myths,  almost  infinitely  varied  and  in- 
flected, it  is  true,  but  yet  at  bottom  the  same. 
Just  as  the  different  languages  of  the  Indo- 
European  race  are  fundamentally  identical, 
so  the  mythology  of  that  race  in  all  its  mul- 
titudinous outbranchings  flows  from  a  common 
fountain  and  has  the  same  identical  substance. 
The  myths  of  India,  Greece,  Italy,  Germany, 
and  Scandinavia  difier  not  in  material,  but 
only  in  development.  The  same  story  runs 
from  the  valley  of  the  Indus  to  Iceland,  from 
the  frozen  North  to  the  waters  of  the  southern 
seas. 

But  of  all  the  mythologies  no  other  was  so 
highly  developed  as  that  of  Greece.  The 
same  exuberance  which  characterized  the 
other  elements  of  Greek  life  seems  to  have 
given  a  double  impulse  to  the  myths  of 
Hellas.  Both  in  number  and  completeness 
they  far  surpass  the  fictions  of  any  of  the 
eister  peoples  of  the  ancient  world. 


In  the  first  place  it  may  be  well  to  sketch 
again  what  may  be  called  the  personnel  of 
Grecian  mythology.  In  the  beginning  was 
Chaos.  Chaos  wedded  Night.  From  them 
sprang  the  Heaven  and  the  Earth.  The 
Heaven  w^as  Uranus;  the  Earth,  G.EA. 
Uranus  succeeded  Chaos  in  the  government 
of  the  universe.  Then  was  born  Cronos. 
Cronus  had  Uranus,  the  Heaven,  for  his 
father,  and  Gsea,  the  Earth,  for  his  mother. 
Time  was  born  of  the  Heaven  and  the  Earth. 
Gsea  had  other  children,  born  perhaps  of 
Chaos.  These  were  the  Cyclopes  and  Bronte 
and  Sterope.  Bronte  and  Sterope  were  Thun- 
der and  Lightning.  These  chaotic  offspring 
were  hurled  by  Uranus  into  Tartarus ;  but 
Gsea  was  in  pain  for  the  banishment  of  her 
children.  She  persuaded  Cronos  and  the 
other  children  of  Uranus  to  mutiny  against 
him.  He  was  seized  by  them,  mutilated,  de- 
throned ;  and  Cronos,  the  eldest  of  the  sons, 
took  the  throne  of  the  father.  Time  usurped 
the  dominion  of  Heaven. 

Cronos  wedded  Rhea,  another  daughter  of 
Uranus  and  Gsea.  Rhea  was  the  Earth.^  Of 
Time  and  Earth  were  born  the  days.  But 
Time  swallow^ed  his  oflTspring  as  soon  as  they 
were  born,  and  Rhea  was  in  anguish  for  her 
children.  About  to  be  delivered  of  Zeus,  she 
gave  her  lord  a  stone,  and  he  swallowed  that 
instead  of  the  child.  Zeus  inherited  the 
heavens,  and  became  first  among  gods  and 
men.  He  was  the  Blue  Sky.  He  was  the 
Light.  Though  the  Days  perished  he  was 
immortal. — Such  is  the  first  span  from  Chaos 
to  Zeus — from  Confusion  to  Light  and  Order. 

Zeus  enthroned  delivered  the  Cyclopes 
from  their  dungeon.  In  return  they  gave 
him  back  Bronte,  the  Thunderbolt.  With 
this  he  warred  against  the  Titans.  In  the  war 
he  was  aided  by  Forethought.  Forethought 
was  Prometheus  ;  but  Prometheus  filched  fire 
from  heaven   and  kindled   it  for  men  below. 


^  Ehea  =  the  Greek  era,  by  transposition  of  the 
r  =  Latin  terra,  earth. 


GREECE.— MYTH  AND  TRADITION. 


For  this  was  Forethought  seized  and  bound  to 
the  rugged  cliffs  of  Caucasus  to  suffer  unend- 
ing tortures.  Afterwards  Zeus  and  his  two 
brothers,  Hades  and  Poseidon,  drew  lots  for 
the  different  parts  of  the  universe.  The 
sovereignty  of  heaven  fell  to  Zeus;  the  sea, 
to  Poseidon  ;   and  the  Avorld  below  to  Hades. 

Zeus  was  thus  established  at  the  head  of 
the  Greek  pantheon.  He  took  for  his  spouse 
his  sister  Hera,^  daughter  of  Cronos  and 
Rhea.  A  numerous  divine  jDrogeny  sprang 
up  to  the  Father  of  gods  and  men.  His 
■eleven  children,  constituting  with  himself  the 
Olympian  hierarchy,  or  "  twelve  gods,"  were 
Leto  and  her  two  children,  Apollo  and  Ar- 
temis, Ares,  Hermes,  Athena,  Heph^stus, 
Hestia,  Demeter,  Aphrodite,  and  Hera, 
who  is  sometimes  reckoned  as  the  daughter 
rather  than  the  sister  of  Zeus.  These  gods  held 
their  court  on  Olympus,  as  the  two  subor- 
dinate courts  of  Poseidon  and  Hades  were 
held  respectively  in  the  sea  and  the  under- 
world of  darkness. — It  will  be  appropriate  to 
notice  briefly  the  power  and  province  ascribed 
by  the  Greek  imagination  to  each  of  these 
gods  and  goddesses. 

Zeus  was  the  chief  deity  of  the  Hellenic 
race.  He  was  subject  to  nothing  but  Fate. 
The  Greeks  believed  in  an  absolute  Necessity 
which  held  the  universe  in  its  clutches.  To 
this  all  men  and  gods  must  bow  in  submission. 
Zeus  was  constrained  by  the  Absolute.  Other- 
wise he  was  supreme.  He  did  his  will.  He 
established  his  seat  on  Olympus,  and  from 
that  cloudy  summit  ruled  the  world.  In  final 
causation  every  thing,  whether  good  or  bad, 
flowed  from  him.  The  destiny  of  aU  mortals, 
and  in  some  sense  of  all  immortals,  was  di- 
rected by  his  nod.  He  took  for  his  wife 
Metis,  by  whom  he  became  the  father  of 
Athena;  then  Themis,  who  was  the  mother 
of  the  HoR^  and  the  Parc^ — the  Hours  and 


^  It  will  be  well  in  this  connection  to  give  once 
for  all  the  Latin  and  Greek  equivalents  for  the 
names  of  the  principal  deities— thus :  Ouranos= 
Uranus ;  Cronos=Saturn ;  Zeus=Jupiter,  or  Jove ; 
Hades=Pluto ;  Poseidon=Neptune ;  Hera=Juno ; 
Apollon=Apollo ;  Artemis=Diana ;  Leto=Latona ; 
Ares=Mars  ;  Hermes=Mercury ;  Athena=Mi. 
nerva;  Heph8estus= Vulcan ;  Hestia= Vesta ;  De- 
meter=Ceres ;  Aphrodite= Venus. 
N.— Vol.  I— 31 


the  Fates ;  then  Eurynome,  of  whom  were  born 
the  Graces;  then  Hestia  and  Mnemosyne, 
whose  children  were  Persephone  and  the 
Muses  ;  then  Leto,  who  bore  him  Apollo  and 
Artemis;  and  then  Juno,  who  became  the 
mother  of  Ares,  Hebe,  and  Hephjestus.  So 
the  king  of  the  gods  took  to  himself  the 
epithet  "Olympian."  He  sat  on  his  throne 
and  hurled  the  thunderbolt.  To  him  was 
erected  the  shrine  among  the  oaks  of  Dodona, 
and  afterwards  the  splendid  temple  at  Olym- 
pia,    the    latter    containing    the    celebrated 


COLOSSAL  HEAD  OF  ZEUS. 

The  Otricoli  mask,  of  the  Vatican. 

chryselephantine  statue  of  the  god  done  by 
Phidias. 

Hera  was  regarded  by  the  Greeks  as  the 
queen  of  heaven.  She  bore,  in  some  sense, 
the  same  relation  to  women  as  Zeus  did  to 
men.  She  was  the  patroness  of  marriage, 
and  under  the  epithet  of  Elethyia  presided 
over  the  birth  of  mortals.  In  the  Homeric 
legends  she  is  represented  as  the  least  amiable 
of  the  divinities — jealous  and  petulant  to  the 
extent  of  keeping  the  other  Olympians,  and 
especially  Zeus,  in  perpetual  trouble.  She 
even  organized  a  conspiracy  with  Poseidon 
against  her  husband  to  dethrone  and  imprison 


500 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


him ;  but  he,  discovering  the  plot,  seized  her 
and  hung  her  in  the  clouds.  She  was  haughty 
and    imperious.       In    the    Trojan     war    she 


COLOSSAL  HEAD  OP  HERA.— Villa  Ludovici. 

espoused  the  cause  of  the  Greeks,  and  was 
regarded  as  the  chief  source  of  the  woes  of 
Hium.  Her  principal  seats  of  worship  were 
at  Argos,  Samos,  and  Sparta.  At  the  first- 
named  place  was  built  her  finest  temple,  and 
in  this  was  her  colossal  statue  done  in  ivory 
and  gold. 

When  the  lots  were  cast  for  the  sovereignty 
of  the  universe  the  sea  fell  to  Poseidon,  son 
of  Cronos  and  Rhea.  He  was  not  especially 
represented  as  inhabiting  the  waters,  but 
rather  as  having  dominion  over  the  move- 
ments of  the  great  deep.  His  vicegerent, 
Nereus,  lived  in  the  sea,  just  as  Helios  dwelt 
in  the  sun,  while  the  destiny  of  the  orb  was 
controlled  by  Phcebus  Apollo.  The  meaning 
of  the  name  of  Poseidon  is  not  certainly 
known,  and  from  that  source  nothing  can  be 
gathered  of  his  nature.  He  is  represented  in 
the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  as  equal  in  dignity  to 
Zeus,  but  inferior  to  him  in  power.  To  Po- 
seidon was  attributed  a  part  of  the  work  of 
creation.     He  was  said  to  be  the  maker  of 


the  horse.  He  was  called  the  "Keeper  of 
the  Earth,"  and  the  "  World-Shaker  "—title? 
indicative  of  almost  Jovine  majesty.  In  one 
legend  he  disputes  the  sovereignty  of  Greek 
cities  w'ith  Athena,  Hera,  and  Helios.  As  a. 
rule  he  was  loyal  to  Zeus,  cheerfully  conced- 
ing to  him  the  supreme  dominion ;  but  in  one 
instance,  at  the  instigation  of  Hera  and 
Athena,  he  conspired  to  dethrone  the  king  of 
the  gods,  but  the  plot  was  revealed  by  Thetis ; 
and  the  hundred-handed  Briareus  was  placed 
beside  the  throne  to  guard  it  against  rebel- 
lions. 

Poseidon  had  his  palace  in  the  deep  waters 
near  -^gse,  on  the  shores  of  Euboea.  Here 
he  kept  his  golden-maned  horses,  which  bore 
him  swiftly  in  a  sea-chariot  over  the  surface 
of  the  deep.  He  controlled  the  ocean  in 
time  of  storms,  lest  it  should  sweep  the  land 
from  its  foundations  and  overwhelm  the  world. 
Unlike  Zeus,  Poseidon  was  subject  to  other 
wills  besides  his  own.  He  was  sometimes  com- 
pelled by  the  authority  of  his  brother  to  do 
great  works  for  men.  He  it  was  who,  to- 
gether with  Heracles,  was  obliged  by  the 
council  of  the  immortals  to  rebuild  the  walls 
of  Troy  for  Laomedon,  who  refused  to  pay 
him  for  his  services.     The  god,  incensed  at 


POSEIDON.— Museo  Chiaromonti. 

this  treatment,  espoused  the  cause  of  Agamem- 
non and  Menelaiis,  and  helped  to  wreak  venge- 
ance on  the  Trojans.  But  the  most  famous 
legend  of  Poseidon  is  that  in  which  he  con- 
tends with  Athena  for  the  naming  of  Athens. 
Zeus  decreed  that  the  name  should  be  given 


GREECE.— MYTH  AND  TRADITION. 


501 


to  that  deity  who  conferred  the  greatest  boon 
on  the  human  family.  Poseidon  created  and 
gave  the  horse.  Athena  offered  as  her  gift 
the  olive-tree.  The  award  was  made  to 
Athena,  for  the  olive,  symbol  of  peace,  was 
'better  than  the  horse  that  men  ride  to  battle. 
Poseidon  had  for  his  wife  the  goddess  Amphi- 
TRITE — that  jealous  Nereid  who  threw  the 
herbs  into  the  well  of  Scylla  and  thus  trans- 
formed her  rival  into  a  monster. 

To  Hades,  brother  of  Zeus  and  Poseidon, 
fell  the  dominion  of  the  unseen  abodes  under 
the  earth,  the  dreary  and  desolate  kingdom 
of  darkness.  The  world  Avas  flat.  Its  surface 
belonged  to  the  cheerful  gods  of  light.  All 
the  gloomy  realm  below  was  the  realm  of  the 
somber  Hades.  He  was  in  some  sort  the  an- 
tagonist of  light  and  life.  He  seized  Per- 
sephone, the  fair  daughter  of  Demeter,  and 
drew  her  down  from  the  upper  world  to  be 
his  wife  in  the  abodes  of  gloom.  Then  the 
bereft  mother  Earth  went  about  all  winter 
long  searching  for  her  daughter  Life^  The 
gloomy  Hades  agreed  to  give  her  up  for  half 
the  year,  but  the  other  half  she  should  dwell 
with  him,  and  the  Earth  should  be  desolate 
in  her  absence. 

Hades  had  charge  of  the  mineral  treasures 
of  the  earth.  They  lay  hidden  in  dark  caves, 
and  were  his  especial  property.  And  more 
especially  since  death  is  a  mystery,  since  it  is 
the  coming  of  darkness,  since  man  goes  away 
into  the  shadows  and  is  seen  no  more — to 
Hades  was  assigned  the  dominion  of  the  dead. 
They  went  to  him.  His  kingdom  was  the 
place  of  the  unseen  spirits.  There,  in  his 
sunless  abode,  must  the  banished  sons  of  mor- 
tality find  their  place.  Hence  was  Hades 
called  Polydegmon,  the  Receiver  of  Many — for 
he  received  many  into  his  cheerless  kingdom. 
Sometimes  Hades  was  called  the  Zeus  of  the 
Nether  World.     His  authority  was  absolute  in 


'Persephone  is  close  to  Eve.  Eve  means  Life, 
and  should  have  been  so  rendered,  and  would 
have  been  but  for  the  blundering  of  th"e  English 
translators.  The  Seventy  very  properly  rendered 
the  Hebrew  word  by  Zoe — "Life;"  but  King 
James's  scholars  fe'd  back  unon  a  corrupt  imitation 
of  the  spelling  of  the  Hebrew  word,  and  the  sense 
was  lost.  The  woman  was  called  Life;  for  she 
was  the  mother  of  all  living. 


his  place  of  darkness.  There  he  had  his  pal- 
ace; and  by  the  portals  sat  the  grim  dogs 
Orthros  and  Cerberus,  the  latter  with  his 
three  terrible  heads,  guarding  the  approach 
to  the  abode  of  his  master. 

Athene  was  the  daughter  of  Zeus.  She 
sprang  from  his  forehead  cleft  by  the  axe  of 
Hephaestus.  That  is,  the  Dawn  sprang  from 
the  forehead  of  Light  split  by  the  Sun ! 
Athene  is  sometimes  called  Tritogenia,  mean- 
ing Daughter  of  the  Sky.  She  was  the  god- 
dess of  the  Greek  people  just  waking  from 
the  night  of  unconscious  barbarism  to  the 
light  of  civilization.  Her  birds  were  the  owl 
and  the  cock ;  the  one  sounding  out  the  night, 
and  the  other  trumpeting  the  clarion  of  day* 
break.  To  wake  from  slumber  is  to  know. 
To  know  is  to  be  wise.  Hence,  Athene  was 
the  goddess  of  wisdom.  She  knew  the  mind 
of  Zeus.  She  is  the  Virgin  Divinity  of  the 
Greek  race.  She  is  serene  and  high.  Only 
once  does  she  act  unworthily.  She  it  was 
who  dressed  Pandora  when  she  was  sent  to 
Epimetheus  bearing  the  fatal  casket  which 
contained  the  woes  of  the  world.  But  she 
gave  the  olive-tree  to  Athens  and  received  the 
name  of  the  city. 

Deiueter  was  the  Earth  and  the  mother  of 
Life  —  that  beautiful  PerseiAone  whom  the 
unfeeling  Zeus  gave  to  Hades.  When  the 
unsuspecting  maiden  was  gathering  flowers  at 
Enna,  the  ground  suddenly  opened,  and 
Hades,  riding  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  coal- 
black  horses,  seized  her  and  bore  her  down 
below.  Demeter  put  on  a  mourning-robe, 
and  wandered  with  a  torch  in  her  hand, 
searching  for  her  daughter.  She  met  Hecate, 
who  told  her  that  she  had  heard  the  cry  of 
Persephone  when  Hades  seized  her.  The 
mother  then  went  to  Helios,  the  Sun,  and  he 
told  her  the  story  of  her  daughter's  doom. 
Then  she  wandered  to  Olympus,  refusing  to 
be  comforted.  Nor  did  the  Earth  any  more 
yield  her  increase  of  fruits  or  flowers  until 
Hermes  was  sent  below  to  bring  back  Life 
from  the  darkness. 

Hestia  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Cronos 
and  Rhea.  She  was  the  goddess  of  that  sacred 
fire  that  burned  on  the  hearthstone  of  home. 
The  primitive  theory  of  society  was  that  all 


502 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


men  are  enemies  until  reconciled.  The  hearth 
was  the  place  of  reconciliation;  the  fire  was 
its  symbol;  Hestia,  the  divinity  by  whose 
agency  it  was  accomplished.  Of  her  but  few 
myths  are  recorded.  One  recites  that  she  was 
solicited  to  become  the  wife  of  Poseidon,  but 
refused.  The  influence  of  this  goddess,  how- 
ever, was  as  deeply  felt  as  that  of  any  other 
of  the  Olympians.  Her  worshij)  required  the 
performance  of  actual  religious  duties.  Her 
altar  became  the  conservator  of  home.  He 
who  acted  treacherously,  who  broke  the  peace, 
who  violated  the  laws  of  humanity,  could 
never  be  a  true  votary  of  Hestia.  She  re- 
quired truth  in  the  inner  parts,  purity  of 
heart,  uprightness  of  action,  sincerity  of  pur- 
pose and  of  life. 

The  peace  of  the  domestic  hearthstone  was 
not  enough.  Each  town  had  its  Pnjtaneiwn, 
where  a  sacred  fire  was  kept  burning  on  a 
public  hearth;  and  if  at  any  time  it  was 
extinguished,  it  must  be  rekindled  either  by 
rubbing  together  pieces  of  wood  or  with  a 
burning-glass ;  for  a  common  fire  was  profane. 
Around  this  holy  flame  kindled  from  above 
the  prytanes,  or  elders  of  the  city,  assembled 
and  debated  in  homelike  spirit  the  peace  and 
welfare  of  the  state.  Likewise — so  recounted 
the  myth — there  was  in  the  center  of  the 
earth  a  hearthstone  on  which  the  fire  was  kept 
forever  burning — the  hearth  or  Prytaneium  of 
the  whole  world. 

Ares,  son  of  Zeus  and  Hera,  was  the  god 
of  the  tumult  of  Avar.  He  was  not,  as  is 
popularly  believed,  the  deity  who  gave  direc- 
tion and  decided  the  issues  of  war,  but  rather 
the  god  of  din,  of  uproar,  of  slaughter.  He 
had  little  steadiness  of  character  or  purpose. 
He  changed  from  side  to  side.  He  was  any 
thing  for  a  continuance  of  the  noise  and  con- 
fusion of  battle.  He  was  an  enemy  of  men, 
sending  among  them  violence,  plagues,  fam- 
ines. He  was  of  gigantic  stature,  and  when 
fallen  his  body  measured  rods  on  the  earth. 
He  might  be  wounded,  and  in  that  event  his 
roaring  was  like  the  groans  of  ten  thousand. 
He  was  called  the  "Grinder,"  for  he  ground 
into  dust  the  hopes  and  pleasures  of  mankind. 
He  gained  Aphrodite  for  his  wife,  but  when 
she  was  seen  to  prefer  Adonis,  Ares  converted 


himself  into  a  wild  boar  and  wounded  his 
rival  to  death.  Having  slain  Halirrhothius, 
son  of  Poseidon,  Ares  was  tried  before  the 
Olympian  council,  and  being  acquitted,  was 
honored  with  the  name  of  the  great  court  of 
Athens,  the  Areopa.gus,  which  held  its  sittings 
on  the  Hill  of  Mars. 

Aphrodite  sprang  from  the  foam  of  the  sea. 
One  legend  of  her  origin  made  her  the  daugh- 
ter of  Uranus  and  Hemera,  the  Heaven  and 
the  Day.  In  another — and  this  is  the  story 
of  the  Iliad — she  is  called  the  daughter  of 
Zeus  and  Dione.  She  was  the  goddess  of 
beauty,  of  love,  of  passion.  She  was  ever 
attended  by  the  Horse  and  the  Charites.  In 
honor  of  her  origin  she  was  given  the  names 
of  Enalia  and  Pantia.  Sometimes,  as  tho 
goddess  of  pure  afl!ection,  she  was  called 
Urania.  The  principal  legend  of  this  divin- 
ity is  that  which  recites  the  award  to  her  of 
the  prize  of  beauty.  At  the  marriage  of 
Peleus  and  Thetis,  Eris,  the  god  of  Strife, 
threw  down  a  golden  apple  with  the  inscrip- 
tion. To  tlie  most  Beautiful.  It  was  claimed  by 
Hera,  Athene,  and  Aphrodite.  Zeus  left  the 
award  to  be  made  by  Paris,  the  son  of  Priam, 
and  by  him  the  prize  was  given  to  Aphrodite. 
She  gave  him  in  return  the  most  beautiful 
woman  in  Greece,  Helen  of  Sparta,  wife  of 
Menelaiis.     And  hence  the  Trojan  war. 

Aphrodite  had  for  her  husband  Hephsestus, 
but  she  preferred  Adonis,  who  loved  her  not 
in  return.  Once  she  was  beloved  by  Posei- 
don; once,  by  Ares.  Her  human  lover  was 
Anchises  of  Troy,  by  whom  she  became  the 
mother  of  -^neas,  the  ancestor  of  the  Ro- 
mans. The  myths  of  Aphrodite  are  many 
and  sometimes  contradictory.  Her  charactei 
is  that  of  vicissitude.  She  changes.  Some- 
times she  is  pure  and  tender;  sometimes 
vehement  and  passionate.  In  the  Spartan 
temple  she  was  represented  as  a  victorious 
goddess,  conquering  rather  than  winning, 
subduing  rather  than  sustaining  the  spirits  of 
her  votaries. 

Hephsestus  was  the  presiding  genius  of  the 
Olympian  smithy.  He  was  puny  at  birth, 
but  powerful — as  well  as  lame  and  ugly — 
when  grown  up.  His  delight  was  the  forge. 
Here  he  fashioned  the  weapons  of  the  gods 


GREECE.— MYTH  AND  TRADITION. 


503 


and  the  heroes.  His  career  was  hard  and 
inglorious.  His  mother,  Hera,  was  so  dis- 
pleased with  his  ugliness  that  she  would  ban- 
ish him  from  Olympus.  Afterwards  he  es- 
poused her  cause  in  a  quarrel  with  Zeus,  and 
by  him  was  hurled  down  into  the  island  of 
Lemnos.  He  subseqently  regained  a  measure 
of  favor,  but  never  rose  to  a  dignity  higher 
than  that  of  cupbearer  to  the  gods.  One  of 
his  myths  is  that  when  the  armor  of  Achilles 
had  been  taken  by  Hector  from  the  body  of 
Patroclus,  Hephaestus,  at  the  prayer  of  The- 
tis, made  for  her  son  a  new  suit  burnished 
till  it  flashed  like  the  sun.  His  good  fortune 
in  winning  Aphrodite  for  his  wife  was  blasted 
by  the  wandering  of  her  affections  to  Adonis. 

Apollo  had  nearly  always  the  epithet  of 
Phoebus.  He  was  the  overpowering  Bright- 
ness of  the  Sun.  He  did  not,  however,  have 
his  residence  in  the  great  orb  of  day,  that 
being  reserved  for  Helios.  Phoebus  was  the 
son  of  Zeus  and  Leto.  His  mother  wandered 
through  many  lands  until  she  came  at  last  to 
Delos,  and  promised  that  in  return  for  shelter 
the  island  should  become  famous  as  the  birth- 
place of  her  son.  Here  Phoebus  was  born ; 
and  the  pledge  of  the  mother  was  fulfilled ; 
for  from  henceforth  Delos  became  one  of  the 
eacred  places  of  the  Hellenes.^  The  island, 
once  rocky  and  sterile,  was  covered  with 
flowers  and  verdure.  The  nymphs  came  and 
wrapped  the  infant  Apollo  in  a  white  robe. 
Themis  fed  him  with  nectar  and  ambrosia. 
He  took  a  harp  in  his  hand  and  declared 
himself  the  revealer  of  the  will  of  Zeus  to 
mankind. 

As  a  god,  Phoebus  was  the  bringer  of  the 
light.  Light  was  the  harbinger  of  knowl- 
edge. He  became  the  patron  of  learning 
and  art  and  song.  It  was  the  ushering  in 
of  the  Beautiful,  not  only  for  Greece,  but  for 
all  the  world.  Barbarism  drew  a  cowl  over 
his  leaden  eyes  and  slunk  into  a  cavern. 
The  morning  of  civilization  arose  with  the 
Tesplendent  sun,  drawn  in  the  car  of  Phoebus. 


*  "  The  isles  of  Greece,  the  isles  of  Greece, 
Where  burning  Sappho  loved  and  sung, 
Where  grew  the  arts  of  war  and  peace, 
Where  Delos  rose  and  Phoebus  sprung." 

— Bvron. 


Darkness  shivered  and  died  in  the  sweet  dawn 
of  poesy.  The  flash  of  beauty  and  the  vic- 
tory of  thought  began  in  the  luminous  myth 
of  Apollo. 

He  had  limbs,  for  strength  and  whiteness, 

Like  the  war-maid  Amazon's, 
And  his  eye  shot  forth  the  brightness 

Of  the  Oriental  sun's. 
By  his  mighty  side  and  shoulder 

Hung  the  quiver  and  its  darts ; 
And  the  world  has  grown  no  older 

Since  Apollo  gave  the  arts! 

The  great  oracle  of  Phoebus  was  at  Del- 
phi— the  most  famous  of  all  the  shrines  of 
the  Hellenes.  Here  it  was  that  Apollo  slew 
the  Typhon,  the  terrible  dragon  of  darkness 
that  had  so  long  kept  the  world  in  terror. 
Here  it  was  that  the  inspiration  of  the  gods, 
breathing  from  the  crevice  of  the  rocks,  gave 
the  Pythia  her  prophetic  powers  and  made 
men  acquainted  with  the  future.  Of  all  the 
worship  known  to  the  Greeks  that  of  Apollo 
was  most  widely  spread  and  influential.  His 
voice,  speaking  through  the  oracle,  not  infre- 
quently changed  the  current  of  Hellenic  his- 
tory. Under  the  shadow  of  his  temple  the 
Amphyctionic  council  of  the  Greek  states, 
the  greatest  and  wisest  body  of  the  nation, 
held  its  meetings,  as  if  to  gain  for  their  de- 
liberations the  highest  sanctions  of  wisdom 
and  religion. 

Like  unto  Apollo  was  his  sister,  Artemis. ' 
She  possessed  in  general  the  same  powers  and 
attributes  with  her  brother.  With  her  name, 
however,  are  associated  fewer  myths  than  with 
most  of  the  other  divinities.  She  took  part 
in  the  affairs  of  men  more  as  a  friend  than  an 
enemy.  She  gave  to  Procris  her  hound  and 
spear.  She  healed  JEneas  when  he  fell 
wounded  before  Troy.  But  she  insisted  that 
Iphigenia  should  be  sacrificed,  and  was  im- 
placable. 

Hermes,  son  of  Zeus  and  Maia,  began  his 
career  by  extemporizing  a  cithara  from  a  tor- 
toise shell.  From  this  he  proceeded  to  the 
theft  of  the  cattle  of  Phoebus.  Then  he  kin- 
dled fire  by  the  friction  of  wood,  and  thus 
gave  to  the  world  the  warmth  of  the  cheerful 
flame :  all  this  during  the  first  day  of  his  life. 
Then  followed  the  contest  between  himself 
and   Phoebus   respecting  the  stolen   herd,  the 


504 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


trial  of  the  cause  in  the  court  of  Zeus,  the 
placation  of  Apollo's  temper  by  the  device  of 
music,  the  interchange  of  the  lyre  of  Hermes 
for  the  wisdom  of  Phoebus,  and  to  the  treaty 
between  the  two  deities — one  of  the  most 
elaborate,  interesting,  and  witty  myths  of  the 
Greeks. 

Such  was  the  Olympian  hierarchy.  Be- 
sides the  ''twelve  gods,"  however,  there  were 
many  others  believed  in  by  the  Hellenes. 
Such  was  Dionysus,  the  wine-god,  to  whom 
frequent  reference  has  already  been  made. 
As  to  his  parentage  the  myths  are  various, 
the  most  rational  being  that  he  was  the  son 
of  Zeus  and  Semele,  daughter  of  Cadmus, 
king  of  Thebes.  She,  tempted  to  her  ruin, 
was  visited  by  Zeus,  and  was  destroyed  by  his 
lightnings ;  but  Dionysus  was  born  in  the 
midst  of  the  thunderbolts.  He  was  brought 
up  in  Naxos,  and  passed  through  many  and 
grievous  toils  before  coming  to  his  fame.  His 
principal  legend  is  that  which  recounts  the 
history  of  the  introduction  of  the  vine. 
Dionysus  stood  on  a  cliff  by  the  sea.  Some 
Tyrrhenians  passing  in  a  ship  saw  him  and 
took  him.  They  bound  him  with  withes,  but 
these  were  broken  off.  As  they  sailed  away  a 
stream  of  wine  flowed  over  the  deck  of  the 
vessel,  and  a  vine  clambered  up  the  masts. 
In  the  midst  of  the  leaves  hung  bunches  of 
luscious  grapes. 

One  of  the  most  famous  of  the  myths  was 
that  of  Heracles.  He  was  the  son  of  Zeus 
and  Alcmene.  By  his  father  the  greatness  of 
his  physical  strength  was  predicted.  In  his 
cradle,  as  he  lay  sleeping,  two  serpents  coiled 
themselves  around  him;  but  on  waking  he 
clutched  them  by  the  throats  and  choked 
them  to  death.  As  he  grew  he  became  the 
abused  servant  of  Eurystheus,  grandson  of 
Perseus,  who  by  the  craft  of  Juno  was  sub- 
stituted for  Heracles  in  the  kingdom.  The 
latter  was  condemned  for  twelve  years  to  toil 
for  the  benefit  of  man.  His  whole  life  was 
spent  in  performance  of  heavy  tasks,  too 
grievous  to  be  undertaken  by  any  other  than 
this  divine  toiler.  Twelve  stupendous  "la- 
bors" were  imposed  upon  him,  but  neither  did 
his  patience  fail  nor  his  strength  prove  inade- 
quate to  his  tasks.     He  strangled  the  great 


lion  that  infested  the  Nemsean  valley.  He 
slew  the  huge,  nine-headed  Lernsean  hydra. 
He  captured  the  Arcadian  stag  that  had 
golden  horns  and  brazen  feet,  of  surpassing 
swiftness  and  strength.  He  took  the  Eryman- 
thian  boar,  having  chased  him  through  the 
deep  snow  until  exhausted  he  was  caught  in  a 
snare.  He  cleansed  the  Augean  stables, 
where  three  thousand  oxen  had  been  stabled 
for  thirty  years.  To  wash  out  the  horrid  ag- 
gregation the  rivers  Alpheus  and  Peneus  were 
turned  into  the  stalls,  and  the  woi'k  was  done 
in  a  single  day.  He  destroyed  the  birds  of 
Stamphalia,  terrible  creatures  with  claws  and 
wings  and  beaks  of  brass,  feeding  upon  the 
flesh  of  men.  He  captured  the  mad  bull  of 
Crete  that  Minos  had  neglected  to  sacrifice 
when  sent  by  Poseidon.  He  carried  away  the 
wild  mares  of  Diomedes  that  fed  upon  human 
beings,  and  brought  them  tamed  to  Mycenae. 
He  took  away  the  girdle  of  Hippolyte,  queen 
of  the  Amazons,  which  she  had  received  as  a 
gift  from  Ares.  He  seized  the  red  oxen  of 
Geryones,  guarded  as  they  were  by  the  giant 
Eurytion  and  the  two-headed  dog  Orthrus. 
He  obtained  the  golden  apples  of  the  Hes- 
perides,  given  by  Rhea  to  Juno  and  protected 
by  the  dragon  Ladon.  Finally,  he  seized  and 
carried  to  the  upper  world  the  three-headed 
dog  Cerberus  that  stood  guard  at  the  portals 
of  Hades.  In  his  further  career  he  went 
about  doing  good  to  men,  in  beating  back  the 
adverse  forces  of  nature  and  subduing  the 
monsters  that  infested  the  primeval  world. 

In  tracing  the  course  of  Grecian  mythology, 
it  is  quite  impossible  to  tell  precisely  where 
the  godlike  ends  and  the  heroic  begins. 
There  is  a  point  at  which  the  deeds  of  the 
actor  become  the  exploits  of  a  man — exagger- 
ated doubtless  beyond  the  range  of  human 
performance,  but  still  essentially  the  exploits 
of  a  man.  At  that  point  the  m}i;h  proper 
descends  into  a  legend ;  the  element  of  the 
supernatural  gradually  disappears  ;  and  tradi- 
tion begins  to  lay  the  foundation  of  history. 
But  before  entering  the  domain  of  what  may 
be  called  the  traditions  and  legends  of  Greece 
as  distinguished  from  her  mythology  proper — 
or  so  much  of  it  as  appertains  to  the  lives 
and  deeds  of  the  gods — it  will  be  appropriate 


GREECE.— MYTH  AND  TRADITION. 


605 


to  add  a  few  paragraphs  on  the  signification 
of  the  Hellenic  myths.  What  did  they  mean  f 
How  did  they  originate  ?  How  did  the  gods 
of  the  Greeks  become  what  they  were  in  the 
imagination  of  the  people?  These  questions 
are  not  to  be  answered  with  over-assurance  of 
certainty,  but  with  a  modest  caution  and 
reserve. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  the  mythology  of 
the  Hellenic  race  should  be  regarded  a  System 
of  Natural  Philosophy.  It  was  an  effort  of  the 
human  mind  to  interpret  Nature.  Knowledge 
consists  in  a  perception  of  cause.  To  be  able 
to  refer  one  fact  to  another  as  its  antecedent 
and  that  to  another,  is  the  first  step  in  natu- 
ral science,  and  indeed  in  any  science.  Na- 
ture has  always  presented  herself  to  the  mind 
as  a  mystery  to  be  solved.  Her  ever-varying 
and  beautiful  phenomena  are  precisely  of  a 
sort  to  fascinate  the  senses  and  challenge  the 
reason  of  men.  She  has  thus  offered  herself 
to  all  races,  but  her  petition  to  be  known  has 
been  felt  as  an  ardent  appeal  by  only  a  few 
peoples  of  vigorous  intellect  and  active  imag- 
ination. Of  this  sort  were  the  Aryan  races, 
who  have  all  manifested  a  keen  interest  in 
the  great  mystery  which  at  once  evokes  their 
admiration  and  awakens  their  curiosity.  The 
Aryans,  under  favorable  conditions,  have 
always  been  a  people  of  the  liveliest  setise- 
perception.  They  have  seen  with  keener  ap- 
preciation the  beautiful  pictures  of  Nature, 
and  heard  with  purer  delight  the  rhythm  of 
her  melodies  than  have  any  other  of  the 
families  of  mankind. 

Among  these  Aryan  races — Indians,  Per- 
sians, Medes,  Italicans,  Germans,  Celts — the 
Greeks  were  preeminently  the  people  of  high- 
est intellectual  power  and  liveliest  imagina- 
tion. They  were  especially  curious  to  hnoxv — 
eager  to  hear,  to  see,  to  understand.  Their 
senses  were  susceptible  of  the  most  vivid  im- 
pressions. Their  interest  in  the  great  pano- 
rama of  Nature  was  unflagging.  Imagination 
and  reason  were  ever  on  the  alert  to  explain 
the  shifting  scenery  of  the  visible  world. 

So  the  Greeks  began  to  put  into  language, 
to  describe,  to  interpret  the  phenomena  of 
earth  and  sky  and  sea.  Here  at  the  outset 
they  were   opposed  with   a    serious    obstacle. 


Nature  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  as  in 
Egypt  and  Chaldsea,  displays  herself  in  a  suc- 
cession of  orderly  aspects.  She  varies  but 
little.  Day  after  day,  through  cloudless  skies, 
the  great  sun  travels  the  prescribed  path  to 
his  western  exit  into  darkness.  Night  after 
night  the  tremendous  wheel  of  the  silent 
universe  is  revolved  in  solemn  grandeur  over- 
head. There  is  little  variation.  Observation 
is  stimulated  by  the  regularity  and  steadiness 
of  the  phenomena,  and  the  lines  of  causation 
from  consequent  to  antecedent,  unbroken  by 
interferences  or  accident,  are  easily  traced  from 
step  to  step.  But  in  Greece  the  exact  op- 
posite of  all  this  is  true.  Here,  if  anywhere 
in  the  world,  Nature  knows  no  law.  The 
coasts  of  Hellas  are  bounded  by  a  line  of  in- 
describable irregularity.  The  sea  gnaws  at 
the  shore,  and  the  shore  thrusts  out  to  sea. 
The  surface  of  the  country  is  set  at  all  slopes 
and  angles.  Hills  rise  from  the  valleys,  and 
mountains  overtop  the  hills.  Forests,  glens, 
grottoes,  vistas,  fountains,  sequestered  spots, 
thickets  of  tangled  vines,  rocky  chasms  with 
the  murmur  of  waters  in  the  bottom,  patches 
of  the  bluest  sky  seen  through  gnarled 
branches  of  hoary  oaks, — every  aspect  of 
smile  or  frown  which  Nature  can  well  assume, 
is  here  the  expression  of  her  face.  She  is 
whimsical,  capricious.  A  flash  of  warm  sun- 
shine transfigures  the  landscape,  and  then — 

Chill  and  murk  is  the  mighty  blast 
Where  Pindus'  mountains  rise, 

And  angry  skies  are  pouring  fast 
The  deluge  of  the  skies. 

In  the  midst  of  this  almost  infinite  com- 
plexity the  Greek  mind  stood  confused. 
Nature  here  seemed  without  law.  Her  pro- 
cesses were  everywhere  broken  and  interrupted. 
The  consequent  was  detached  from  the  ante- 
cendent.  The  diflferent  parts  of  the  natural 
world  seemed  to  be  under  the  dominion  of 
individual  forces.  Unity  was  indiscoverable 
in  the  multiplex  aspect  of  Nature.  She 
seemed  made  up  of  antagonisms  and  conflicts. 
In  her  moods  was  the  mingling  of  calm  and 
storm,  of  light  and  darkness,  of  joy  and  sor- 
row. The  interpretation  of  such  a  variable 
and  capricious  Fact  as  that  with  which  the 
Greek    found    himself    environed    would    of 


506 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


necessity  be  broken  into  parts,  confused  in 
details,  contradictory  in  statement. 

What,  then,  more  particularly  were  the 
facts  and  "phenomena  which  the  imagination 
and  reason  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  ancestors 
of  the  Greeks,  were  called  upon  to  explain? 
They  were  the  visible  phenomena  of  the  ex- 
ternal world.  Here  were,  first  of  all,  the 
three  great  facts  of  sky  and  earth  and  sea. 
Here,  also,  were  the  two  principal  orbs  of 
heaven,  the  sun  and  the  moon.  Here,  in  the 
next  place,  and  especially,  were  the  attributes 
and  effects  of  those  bodies — light,  heat,  dawn, 
twilight,  day  as  one  fact  and  night  as  another. 
Here  were  clouds  floating  overhead.  Here 
were  fountains  bubbling  from  the  earth. 
Here  were  the  unseen  but  powerful  winds. 
Here  were  the  waves  of  the .  deep  sea — the 
murmur  of  their  music,  the  roar  of  their 
wrath.  Here  was  the  hot  lightning,  flashing 
through  the  vapor-burdened  air  of  summer, 
and  the  deep  roll  of  the  thunder,  shaking 
both  earth  and  heaven. 

Of  these  things  what  explanation?  The 
mind  of  primitive  Arya  stood  before  the  prob- 
lem. It  began  descriptively.  The  first  stage 
of  mythology  is  simple  description.  The  phe- 
nomena of  Nature  and  her  simpler  processes 
were  merely  described.  They  were  described 
as  they  would  be  by  a  people  of  a  vigorous 
sense-perception  and  lively  imagination.  But 
there  was  at  the  outset  no  impersonation — no 
ascription  of  active  causes  to  natural  pkenomena 
outside  of  themselves.  The  facts  and  sequences 
of  Nature  were  at  the  first  merely  expressed 
in  such  words  as  seemed  to  give  the  truest  im- 
pression of  the  things  described.  That  is  to 
say,  the  primitive  natural  philosopher  of  the 
Aryan  race  spoke  of  Nature,  described  her  as 
she  appeared  to  his  senses.  He  said :  The 
sun  rises.  He  rises  from  the  sea.  The  light 
comes  from  the  east.  The  light  is  from  the 
sun.  The  dawn  precedes  the  day.  Darkness 
flees  befox-e  the  dawn.  Darkness  goes  under 
the  world  when  day  comes.  The  sun  dries 
up  the  dew.  The  clouds  give  rain.  The 
clouds  are  the  creatures  of  the  air.  The  sky 
is  over  all.  The  sky  is  the  highest  thing. 
The  sky  thunders.  The  sky  lighten.?.  Fire 
is     from     the    sun.       Fire    warms.       Water 


quenches.  The  sea  is  troubled.  Man  is 
afraid.  The  powers  are  stronger  than  he. 
Underground  is  dark.  Love  is  sweet.  War 
crushes.     All  things  go  on  and  on. 

Such  was  the  natural  language  of  man 
attempting  to  depict  and  explain  the  things 
which  he  saw.  It  was  merely  the  rudiments 
of  a  natural  philosophy,  which  in  a  literary 
and  enlightened  age  would  erelong  have  be- 
come Scie7ice;  but,  being  in  a  pre-literary  and 
unenlightened  age,  it  became  Mythology.  It 
only  remains,  then,  to  explain  the  process  by 
which  the  rudiments  of  the  primitive  natural 
philosophy  of  the  Aryan  races  were  mytholo- 
gized — converted  into  myths.  The  explana- 
tion of  this  process  is  to  be  sought  and  found, 
whole  and  perfect,  in  the  history  and  muta- 
tions of  human  speech.  It  is  to  the  Science 
of  Language  that  we  must  look  for  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  metamorphosis  of  the  prim- 
itive philosophy  of  nature  into  myths. 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  original 
Aryan  tribes  of  Bactria  broke  up  and  rolled 
away  in  migratory  bands  in  several  directions. 
The  tribes  filled  India,  the  Great  Plateau  of 
Iran,  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor,  the  islands 
and  mainland  of  Greece,  Italy,  Germany, 
Scandinavia,  the  whole  of  Europe.  These 
peoples  had  an  original  language,  which  was 
spoken  before  the  tribal  separation.  It  wot* 
during  ilie  migration  and  settlement  of  these  na- 
tions in  distant  -paHs  that  Nature  became  an  ob- 
ject of  study  and  description.  But,  while  this 
process  was  going  on,  while  the  Indians  were 
becoming  Indians  and  the  Greeks  Greeks,  the 
languages  of  the  nations  about  to  be  were 
undergoing  rapid  processes  of  growth  and 
decay :  growth — for  the  new  objects  which 
constantly  appeared  before  a  migratory  and 
developing  people,  especially  if  those  people 
were  possessed  of  lively  sensibilities,  would 
constantly  demand  new  names  and  new 
descriptions ;  decay — for  the  transfer  of  place 
and  scene  and  sentiment  would  with  equal 
certainty  remand  large  numbers  of  words  and 
phrases,  descriptive  of  things  no  longer  seen 
and  heard,  to  the  ever-increasing  list  of  obso- 
lete and  obsolescent  fragments  which  time  and 
change  were  daily  tossing  into  the  waste-basket 
of  human  speech. 


GREECE.— MYTH  AND  TRADITION. 


507 


Now,  it  is  this  waste-basket  of  human 
speech  that  contains  the  mythology  of  the  an- 
cients. The  words,  phrases,  and  scraps  of  de- 
scription which  were  cast  therein  were,  when 
so  dropped  among  the  debris,  merely  unfig- 
urative  expressions  for  the  things  previously 
seen  and  heard.  But  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  in  a  pre-literary  age  this  mass  of 
waste  fragments  of  dying  speech  would  for  a 
long  time  be  carried  along  with  the  migrating, 
and  even  by  the  settled,  tribes,  and  that  obso- 
lete and  obsolescent  words  and  phrases  would 
continue  to  be  heard  on  the  tongues  of  people 
who,  having  no  lexicon  in  which  the  original 
meanings  of  such  words  and  phrases  were 
crystallized,  would  use  them  in  a  neiv  sense 
unknown  to  their  fathers.  It  thus  came  to 
pass  that  the  alphabet  and  rudimentary  les- 
sons of  the  primitive  natural  philosophy,  be- 
ing couched  in  an  obsolescent  phraseology, 
were  gradually  transformed  into  myths.  The 
old  word  which  had  been  merely  a  name  or 
descriptive  epithet  became,  when  its  meaning 
was  lost  and  when  that  meaning  was  expressed 
by  a  new  word  coined  in  the  fertile  brain  of 
invention,  the  name  of  a  person  rather  than  the 
name  of  a  thing.  And  this  is  the  sum  and 
substance  of  the  mythologizing  process  by 
which  the  merely  descriptive  jDhrases  of  early 
science  were  transformed  under  a  natural  law 
of  linguistic  change  into  a  new  sense  descrip- 
tive of  imaginary  Causes  and  Personal  Agen- 
cies apart  from  the  facts  to  be  interpreted. 
It  is  thus  that  the  Science  of  Language,  not 
by  theory  and  speculation,  but  by  the  actual 
demonstration  of  truth,  has  revealed  the  true 
origin  and  nature  of  the  myths  of  antiquity. 
It  only  remains  to  elucidate  the  subject  with 
a  few  examples  and  illustrations  caught  almost 
at  random  from  the  language  of  mythology. 

The  word  zeus  meant  originally  the  blue 
sky.  It  had  no  other  signification.  "This 
meaning  was  not  known  to  the  Greeks  them- 
selves. The  true  sense  of  the  word  has  been 
discovered  only  in  recent  times,  by  an  exam- 
ination of  the  cognate  Sanskrit  in  which  dyaus 
pitar  (==zeus  pater  in  Greek)  means  simply 
father  of  the  sky,  the  dyaus  being  the  word 
for  sky.  Neither  Socrates  nor  Plato  ever 
dreamed   of   such  a  fact   in    their   language. 


To  them  the  word  Zeus  had  issued  from  the 
prehistoric  shadows  as  the  name  of  the  su- 
preme god  of  their  race — nothing  more,  noth- 
ing less.  But  it  is  now  clearly  seen  that 
sometime  during  the  Hellenic  migration  the 
word  zeus  became  mythologized — lost  its  old 
scientific  meaning  of  sky,  passed  through  the 
stage  of  sky-god,  and  then,  since  the  sky  is  the 
highest  thing,  became  the  name  of  the  Father 
of  gods  and  men,  the  supreme  deity  of  the 
race.  This  simple  method  of  illustration  can 
be  carried  forward  with  entire  satisfaction 
through  the  whole  list  of  the  gods  and  god- 
desses of  Greece,  the  fictions  thus  unraveled 
being  of  the  highest  beauty  in  the  light  of 
the  new  interpretation. 

Thus,  for  instance,  dew  in  the  original 
Aryan  speech  was  called  procris.  One  of  the 
names  of  the  sun  was  cephalus.  The  child  at 
early  morning,  beholding  the  dew-drops  on 
the  grass,  might  well  wonder  and  grieve  to 
see  them  disappear  in  the  sunlight.  The  par- 
ent would  explain  that  cephalus  had  taken  p>rO' 
oris  away— had  killed  her  with  kisses.  So  the 
phrase  would  arise  that  cephalus  loved  procris 
and  devoured  her.  It  is  at  first  a  poem  in  pri- 
mary science.  But  so  soon  as  the  original 
meanings  of  cephalus  and  procris  have  been 
supplanted  by  other  words  and  the  original 
words  have  become  obsolescent,  then  the 
myth-making  imagination,  retaining  the  old 
phrase-poem,  preserves  it  in  the  legend  that 
the  god  Cephalus,  loving  the  maiden  Procris, 
devoured  her  with  kisses.  In  the  same  way 
Phoebus,  the  sun,  pursues  Daphne,  the  dawn, 
and  gives  her  no  rest  from  his  fierce  passion ; 
but  she  returns  in  the  twilight  of  evening  to 
watch  with  faithful  tenderness  beside  the 
couch  of  her  dying  lord.  The  myth  of  Cro- 
nos devouring  his  oflfspring  means  no  more — 
whatever  it  may  have  meant  to  the  Greek — 
than  that  time  eats  up  the  days  and  years  as 
soon  as  they  are  born.  It  is  all  a  mutation 
of  speech,  beginning  with  an  attempt  ta 
explain  in  plain  language  the  phenomena  of 
Nature,  and  ending  by  the  giving  to  obsolete 
words  of  a  new  sense  significant  of  a  Cause 
rather  than  descriptive  of  a  Fact.  It 
was  thus  that  the  wonderful,  the  beautiful 
fabric  of  Grecian  mythology  was  built  up  un- 


508 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


consciously  out  of  an  attempt  of  the  primitive 
Hellenes  to  formulate  a  system  of  natural 
philosophy,  and  out  of  the  transformation  of 
that  system  by  the  mythologizing  processes 
of  human  speech. 

After  the  myth  of  Heracles,  there  is  a 
gradual  descent  in  the  system  of  the  Greeks 
to  the  plane  of  human  possibility.  Thus, 
though  Perseus  is  still  the  son  of  Zeus,  he  be- 
gins to  appear  as  one  of  the  mortals.  He 
was  brought  up  by  King  Polydectes,  by  whom 
he  was  sent  to  fetch  the  head  of  the  gorgon 
Medusa.  To  save  himself  from  being  con- 
verted into  stone  on  beholding  the  monster, 
Perseus  employed  the  device  of  a  mirror,  and 
thus  succeeded  in  cutting  off  Medusa's  head. 
Finding  Polydectes  to  have  been  treacherous, 
he  converted  him  and  his  household  into 
stone  by  displaying  the  head  of  the  dead 
gorgon.  After  this,  being  unwilling  to  return 
to  Argos,  of  which  he  is  the  reputed  founder, 
Perseus  exchanged  governments  with  King 
Megapeuthes,  and  received  for  his  kingdom 
Tiryns,  in  return  for  his  own  city  of  Argos. 

Of  like  character  is  the  tradition  of  The- 
seus, the  legendary  hero  of  Attica.  His 
parents  were  mortals,  his  father  being  ^geus, 
king  of  Athens,  and  his  mother  the  daughter 
of  Pittheus,  king  of  Troezena.  His  royal 
parentage  was  concealed  from  him  until  his 
maturity,  when  he  returned  to  Athens  and 
was  about  to  be  destroyed  by  Medea.  He 
afterwards  engaged  in  a  series  of  adventures, 
or  labors,  like  those  of  Heracles,  undertaken 
for  the  good  of  his  countrymen.  He  even 
devoted  himself  to  death  by  a  self-offering  to 
the  Minotaur  of  Crete,  but  Ariadne,  daughter 
of  King  Minos,  furnished  him  a  sword  and  a 
ball  of  thread,  by  means  of  which  he  traced 
the  labyrinth  and  slew  the  Minotaur  in  his 
den.  On  his  return  to  bis  own  country  with 
Ariadne  he  forgot  to  hoist  the  white  sail, 
which  was  to  be  the  signal  of  his  victory,  and 
King  ^geus,  believing  his  sou  destroyed, 
threw  himself  into  the  sea.  Theseus  thus  be- 
came king  of  Attica.  He  afterwards  subdued 
the  Amazons,  went  on  the  Argonautic  expe- 
dition, and  fought  against  the  Centaurs,  those 
fabulous  horse-man  monsters  that  inhabited 
the  plains  of  Thessaly. 


Similar,  also,  is  the  legend  of  CEdipus,  the 
great  hero  of  Thebes.  On  account  of  a  warn- 
ing from  the  Delphic  oracle  he  was  exposed 
at  birth  by  his  father,  Laios,  but  was  rescued 
and  taken  to  Corinth,  where  he  was  adopted 
as  the  son  of  Polybus  and  Merope.  Journey- 
ing towards  Thebes,  he  met  an  old  man  in  a 
chariot,  who  ordered  him  out  of  the  way  and 
struck  him.  CEdipus  was  enraged  and  slew 
him,  and  the  dead  man  afterwards  proved  to 
be  his  father,  Laios.  Not  knowing  what  he 
had  done,  CEdipus  went  on  to  Thebes.  There 
the  merciless  Sphinx  had  brought  drought  and 
distress  upon  the  city;  for  none  could  answer 
the  riddles  which  the  monster,  sitting  on  the 
brow  of  the  hill  above  the  city,  propounded 
to  the  people.  But  CEdipus  solved  the  dark 
sayings  of  the  Sphinx,  and  she  threw  herself 
down  from  the  height  and  perished.  The 
deliverer  was  rewarded  by  the  gift  of  locaste, 
the  queen,  who  was  bestowed  on  him  in  mar- 
riage. Now,  locaste  was  his  mother!  So  the 
oracle  was  fulfilled.  A  plague  came  on  the 
city.  CEdipus  tore  out  his  eyes,  and  locaste 
died  of  despair. 

Nor  should  the  legend  be  omitted  of  Cad- 
mus and  EuROPA.  They  were  the  children  of 
Agenor  and  Telephassa.  In  childhood,  Europa 
was  carried  away  by  Zeus,  who  appeared  in 
the  form  of  a  white  bull.  Then  the  mother 
and  brothers  went  to  search  for  her  who  was 
abducted.  In  Thessaly,  Telephassa  died,  but 
Cadmus,  under  direction  of  Phoebus  Apollo, 
went  on  to  Delphi  and  found  his  sister. 
After  the  discovery,  he  was  directed  by  the 
god  to  follow  a  cow  that  should  appear  before 
him,  and  where  she  should  lie  down  there  he 
should  found  a  city.  He  did  so,  and  thus 
laid  the  foundation  of  Thebes. 

The  founding  of  Athens  by  Cecrops  intro- 
duces another  interesting  legend.  According 
to  one  myth  this  great  hero  was  of  Pelasgic 
origin,  but  the  commonly  received  tradition 
made  him  an  Egyptian  from  Sa'is.  He  is 
said  to  have  brought  a  colony  into  Attica  and 
to  have  founded  the  Acropolis.  In  the  tem- 
ple of  Artemis  a  statue  was  placed  to  his 
honor;  for  in  a  dispute  between  that  goddess 
and  Poseidon  he  had  decided  for  her,  and 
the   olive-tree,   instead    of   the   trident,   was 


GREECE.— MYTH  AND  TRADITION. 


509 


taken  as  the  symbol  of  Athens.  After  the 
foundations  of  the  city  were  laid,  Cecrops  di- 
vided Attica  into  twelve  communities.  He 
gave  good  laws,  established  marriage,  abol- 
ished bloody  sacrifices,  encouraged  agriculture 
and  the  building  of  ships,  brought  in  the 
dawn  of  civilization. 

Many  other  legends  of  like  sort  might  be 
recited  from  the  treasure-house  of  Grecian 
story.  One  of  peculiar  interest  is  that  of 
AsCLEPios. '  He  was  the  reputed  son  of  Apollo 
and  the  nymph  Coronis.  At  his  birth  Phoebus 
left  the  mother  and  went  his  ways.  Then 
came  Ischys  from  Arcadia  and  won  her  love. 
For  this  disloyalty  Artemis  slew  Coronis,  but 
Asclepios  was  saved  alive.  He  was  reared  by 
the  centaur  Cheiron,  who 
taught  him  the  mysteries  of 
the  healing  art,  by  which 
the  pupil  gained  a  world-wide 
fame.  He  even  raised  the 
dead;  but  by  doing  so  he  pro- 
voked the  wrath  of  Hades, 
who  complained  to  Zeus  that 
his  kingdom  would  be  unpeo- 
pled. Zeus  thereupon  smote 
Asclepios  with  a  thunderbolt. 
For  this,  Apollo,  being  en- 
raged, slew  the  Cyclopes, 
servants  of  Zeus ;  but  the  lat- 
ter squared  the  account  by 
condemning  Apollo  to  serve  for  a  year  in 
the  house  of  Admetus,  king  of  Pherse. 

Deucaliox  Avas  the  son  of  Prometheus  and 
Clymene.  In  him  is  preserved  the  tradition 
of  the  Grecian  flood.  In  the  time  of  King 
Lycaon  and  his  sons  the  wickedness  of  the 
world  became  intolerable.  Zeus  resolved  to 
destroy  mankind  with  a  deluge  of  water.  So 
he  sent  a  flood.  As  the  waters  rose  Deuca- 
lion entered  the  ark  which  he  had  prepared 
in  accordance  with  the  warning  of  his  father, 
Prometheus,  and  for  eight  days  was  borne  on 
the  breast  of  the  waters.  Then  the  ark  rested 
on  Parnassus.  Deucalion  came  out  with  his 
wife  Pyrrha,  and  prayed  for  the  restoration 
of  mankind.  Hermes,  in  answer,  told  him 
that  he  and  Pyrrha,  in  descending  the  moun- 

^  Usual  y  known  by  his  Latin  name  of  ^scu- 
lapius. 


tain,  should  cover  their  faces  with  mantles 
and  cast  behind  them  the  bones  of  their 
mother.  Deucalion  was  a  rationalist.  By 
"mother"  he  understood  the  earth,  and  by 
"  bones"  he  understood  stones  ;  for  the  stones 
are  the  bones  of  the  earth.  So  he  and  Pyrrha 
did  as  Hermes  had  bidden ;  the  stones  which 
they  flung  behind  them  became  human  beings, 
and  the  world  was  repeopled. 

Another  interesting  legend  is  that  of  Pro- 
metheus and  Epevietheus,  the  Forethought 
and  Afterthought  of  the  Grecian  myth.  The 
story  of  Prometheus  has  already  been  given. 
On  one  occasion  he  slew  an  ox  in  sacrifice, 
and,  placing  the  flesh  and  entrails  under  the 
skin  in  one  place  and  the  bones  under  the  fat 


RUINS  OF  TROAS. 


in  another,  told  Zeus  to  take  his  choice.  The 
ruler  of  gods  and  men  chose  the  fat  and  got 
the  bones.  Finding  himself  outwitted,  and 
Prometheus  being  gone,  Zeus  proceeded  to 
punish  Afterthought  in  his  stead.  He  ordered 
Hephaestus  to  make  a  clay- woman.  He  com- 
manded Athene  to  clothe  her  in  beautiful 
robes,  and  Hermes  to  give  her  the  power  of 
speech  to  deceive  and  betray  mankind.  So 
Pandora  was  made  and  given  to  Epimetheus 
for  a  wife!  "When  she  was  received  into  his 
house  she  there  opened  a  great  cask,  out  of 
which  flew  all  the  plagues  of  the  world. 
Every  thing  escaped  except  Hope,  and  she  was 
left  imprisoned ! 

In  the  domain  of  exploits  the  two  most 
famous  preserved  in  the  legendary  lore  of  the 
Greeks  were  the  Argonautic  Expedition 
and  the  Trojan  War.     The  first  of  these  was 


510 


UmVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


undertaken  by  the  Grecian  chiefs  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  Golden  Fleece.  This  fleece 
belonged  to  the  ram  of  Phrixus.  He  was  the 
son  of  Athamas  and  Nephele.  When  Nephele 
died  Athamas  married  Ino.  Phrixus  and 
Helle,  his  sister,  were  very  unhappy  until  the 
ram  with  the  golden  fleece  came  and  carried 
them  away.  While  he  bore  them  aloft  Helle 
fell  off"  and  was  drowned  in  the  narrow  strait 
thenceforth  called  the  Hellespont.  Phrixus  rode 
onward  to  the  palace  of  -S^etes,  king  of  Col- 
chis. By  him  was  the  ram  sacrificed  to  Zeus 
and  the  fleece  hung   up   in  the  palace  until 


among  the  armed  men  that  sprang  up  from 
the  teeth  of  the  dragon.  On  doing  this,  the 
armed  men  fell  to  slaying  each  other.  Then 
Medea  lulled  the  dragon  to  sleep.  Jason 
quickly  slew  him  and  bore  away  the  Golden 
Fleece  in  triumph. 

The  story  of  the  Trojan  War  is  perhaps 
the  most  famous  tradition  of  antiquity.  In 
the  poems  of  Homer  it  has  acquired  an  im- 
mortality of  fame.  The  circumstances  lead- 
ing to  the  war  have  already  been  referred  to 
in  the  myth  of  Venus,  to  whom,  by  the  judg- 
ment of  Paris,  was  awarded  the  golden  apple 


Paris.  Diomedes.  Odiseeua. 

HEROES  OF  THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


Agamemnon. 


what  time  the  chiefs  of  the   Greeks  should 
come  and  recover  it. 

The  Greek  leaders  were  gathered  for  this 
mission  by  Jason.  They  sailed  away  in  the 
good  ship  Argo — Heracles,  Meleagros,  Am- 
phiaraos,  Admetus,  and  many  others.  They 
passed  the  rocks  called  the  Symplegades,  that 
opened  and  closed  so  quickly  that  scarcely 
might  a  bird  dart  through  with  safety.  They 
traversed  the  land  of  the  Amazons,  and  came 
to  Colchis.  JEetes  refused  to  surrender  the 
fleece  until  Jason  should  plow  the  land  with 
the  fire-breathing  bulls  and  sow  it  with  the 
teeth  of  the  dragon,  who  guarded  the  fleece. 
Medea  aided  him.  She  anointed  his  body  so 
that  the  breath  of  the  bulls  should  not  destroy 
him,    and    instructed    him    to   throw  a  stone 


thrown  by  Strife  among  the  deities  at  their 
banquet.  When  it  was  known  that  Helen 
was  abducted  from  the  house  of  her  lord,  Men- 
elaiis,  king  of  Sparta,  there  was  a  general 
uprising  among  the  princes  of  Greece  for  her 
recovery.  A  great  expedition  was  undertaken 
by  water  against  Troy,  the  city  of  Priam,  on 
the  upper  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  The  gods 
and  goddesses  were  nearly  all  involved  in  the 
conflict.  Hera  and  Athene  were  for  the 
Greeks ;  Aphrodite  for  the  Trojans.  The  city 
Avas  besieged  for  ten  years,  and  was  finally, 
when  naked  valor  had  failed,  taken  by  the 
device  of  the  Wooden  Horse.  Famous  in 
all  the  world  is  the  story  of  the  stratagem. 
The  Greeks  made  of  sawn  fir  a  huge  effigy 
of  a  horse,   and  filled  the   cavernous    bod^ 


GREECE.— MYTH  AND  TRADITION. 


511 


with  a  company  of  soldiers.  This  monstrous 
enigma  they  left  standing  on  the  sand,  and 
then  saUed  away  as  if  they  were  giving  up 
the  siege.  They  took  care,  however,  to  con- 
vey to  the  Trojans  a  lie  so  carefully  contrived 


carried  off,  Helen  herself  recovered  and  borne 
back  to  her  Spartan  home.  The  condition  of 
Greece  in  the  time  of  the  return  of  the  expe- 
dition— the  social  life,  manners,  and  institu- 
tions  of  the   race — are    depicted    with    great 


THE  WOODEN  HORSE. 


as  to  induce  them  to  cut  their  walls  and  draw 
in  the  dangerous  horse.  At  night  the  pent- 
up  soldiers  came  forth ;  the  Greeks  sailed  back 
from  Tenedos,  and  Troy  was  taken.  Priam's 
palace   was  sacked   and   burnt,   its   treasures 


beauty  in  the  imperishable  pages  of  the 
Odyssey. — Such,  then,  are  the  mythological  and 
legendary  antecedents  of  that  brilliant  people 
whose  career  in  peace  and  war  is  now  to  be 
narrated. 


512 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


CHAPTER    XIvII.— THE     HELLENIC     DAWN. 


T  what  time  and  In  what 
manner  the  states  of 
Hellas  were  first  colo- 
nized can  not  now — per- 
haps never  will  —  be 
known.  History  opens 
upon  the  scene  with  set- 
tled tribes,  walled  cities,  and  petty  kings  al- 
ready established  in  the  country.  Still,  at 
the  very  dawn  of  Greek  history,  we  are  met 
with  a  commotion  among  the  tribes,  a  general 
jostling  of  one  race  by  another  to  the  ex- 
tent of  undoing  a  previous  condition  and  the 
establishment  of  a  new  in  its  stead.  One  of 
the  earliest  of  these  movements  is  that  of  the 
Boeotians  from  Thessaly  into  their  own  coun- 
try, known  as  the  Bceotian  Migration.  Their 
original  seat  was  in  the  district  of  -^olis  in 
Central  Thessaly,  from  which  position  they 
were  driven  by  the  incoming  of  rude  tribes 
from  Epirus.  Being  thus  dispossessed,  the 
Boeotians  moved  to  the  south  and  obtained  a 
footing  in  the  country  afterwards  called  Boeo- 
tia.  There  was  thus  begun  from  the  north  a 
movement  which  jostled  tribe  after  tribe  of 
the  primitive  Hellenes  from  their  seats  until 
nearly  all  the  states  had  felt  the  influence  of 
the  agitation.  The  date  of  this  migration  is 
uncertain.  Presumably,  the  event  was  subse- 
quent to  the  Trojan  War;  for  neither  this 
migration  of  the  Boeotians,  nor  the  later  one 
of  the  Dorians,  is  mentioned  in  the  Iliad  or 
Ody^setj. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  removal  of 
the  Boeotians  into  Central  Greece  gave  the 
initial  impulse  in  the  larger  and  more  impor- 
tant movement  of  the  Dorians,  known  as  the 
Dorian  Migration  or  the  Return  of  the 
Heraclid^.  Here  there  is  a  mingling  of 
history  and  fable.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the 
people,  displaced  by  tne  Boeotians  from  their 
little  state  of  Doris  in  Central  Greece,  would 
in  turn  fall  upon  some  of  the  tribes  further 
south,  and  that  thus  the  wave  of  agitation 
would  roll  on  into  Peloponnesus.     But  tradi- 


tion has  taken  up  the  lay  and  gives  a  more 
elaborate  account  of  the  movement. 

The  Dorians,  according  to  their  belief, 
had  original  claims  in  Peloponnesus.  These 
claims  Avere  based  uj^on  the  relations  of  this 
people  with  the  descendants  of  Heracles.  To 
him  belonged  the  rightful  sovereignty  of 
Southern  Greece ;  but  of  this  he  was  deprived 
by  the  wiles  of  Hera,  who  contrived  to  have 
Eurystheus  preferred  for  the  kingdom  of  Ar- 
gos.  Heracles  was  condemned  to  service,  and 
his  descendants  to  exile.  Under  the  lead  of 
Hyllus,  the  son  of  Heracles,  they  had  at- 
tempted to  regain  their  lost  patrimony ;  but 
Hyllus  Avas  slain  by  Echemus  of  Tegea,  and 
they  themselves  were  bound  to  renounce  all 
efforts  at  recovery  for  the  space  of  a  hundred 
years.  Finally,  however,  the  century  elapsed, 
and  the  grandsons  of  Hyllus — Temenus,  Cres- 
phontes,  and  Aristodemus — determined  to 
recover  their  birthright.  In  this  effort  they 
were  joined  by  the  Dorians,  who  retained  a 
grateful  recollection  of  how  Heracles,  in  for- 
mer times,  had  aided  their  king  -^gimius  in  a 
war  with  the  Lapithse.  So  the  Heraclidse 
and  the  Dorians  made  common  cause  in  the 
attempt  to  gain  possession  of  Peloponnesus. 

Meanwhile,  the  sons  of  Heracles  were 
warned  by  an  oracle  not  to  attempt  to  pass 
through  the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  but  to  cross 
the  gulf  at  its  mouth.  They  were  given  free 
passes  through  -^tolia,  the  king  himself  act- 
ing as  their  guide.  The  Ozolian  Locrians, 
also,  lent  their  aid  by  giving  them  a  harbor 
in  which  to  construct  the  necessary  ships,  and 
this  place  was  henceforth  known  as  Naupac- 
tus  or  Shiptown.  Aristodemus  died  here,  but 
his  two  sons,  Eurysthenes  and  Procles,  and 
the  remaining  brothers  led  the  people  across 
the  gulf  into  Achaia. 

At  this  time  the  most  powerful  chief  in 
Peloponnesus  was  Tisamenus,  son  of  Arestes. 
Against  him  the  Heraclidse  and  the  Dorians 
marched,  and  he  was  defeated  in  battle. 
Gathering  his  subjects  together,  however,  he 


GREECE.— THE  HELLENIC  DAWN. 


51» 


retired  into  the  northern  districts  of  Southern 
Greece,  then  occupied  by  the  lonians.  Them 
he  expelled,  and  then  took  possession  of  their 
country.  The  victory  of  the  Heraclidae  being 
complete,  they  proceeded  to  divide  among 
themselves  and  the  Dorians  the  conquered 
states  of  Peloponnesus.  Oxylus,  the  ^tolian, 
received  the  kingdom  of  Elis.  Temenus  and 
Crasphontes  and  the  two  sons  of  Aristode- 
mus  then  drew  lots  for  the  three  states  of 
Sparta,  Argos,  and  Messenia,  The  first  fell 
to  the  children  of  Aristodemus;  Argos,  to 
Temenus ;  and  Messenia  to  Cresphontes.  Nor 
was  there  serious  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  people  of  the  country.  The  Epeans,  who 
were  the  primitive  people  of  Elis,  submitted 
after  the  death  of  their  king.  Bands  of 
^tolians  were  brought  into  the  country  from 
the  north  of  the  gulf,  and  from  henceforth 
the  new  people  were  called  Eleans.  Temenus 
secured  Argos  without  difficulty  ;  and  his  sous 
soon  enlarged  the  kingdom  by  conquering 
Troezenia,  Epidauria,  Egina,  and  Sicyonia, 
thus  extending  the  state  of  Argolis  to  the 
limits  defined  in  a  preceding  chapter.  The 
state  of  Sparta  was  secured  to  the  sons  of 
Aristodemus  by  the  treachery  of  the  Achaean 
Philonomus,  who  was  rewarded  with  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Amyclse.  The  towns  of  Sparta 
all  submitted  with  the  exception  of  Helos, 
whose  people,  the  Helots,  were  for  their  ob- 
stinacy reduced  to  servitude.  Of  them  much 
will  hereafter  be  said  as  the  servile  class  in 
Sparta.  Melanthus,  king  of  Messenia,  gave 
up  without  a  struggle,  and  withdrew  with  a 
large  part  of  his  subjects  into  Attica. 

A  short  time  subsequent  to  these  events 
the  state  of  Corinth  was  also  taken  by  the 
Dorians.  When  the  Heraclidae  were  about 
to  embark  from  Naupactus,  on  their  mission 
of  conquest,  one  of  the  leaders,  named  Hip- 
potes,  had  killed  a  priest  by  the  name  of 
Carnus,  and  for  this  he  was  banished  by  the 
other  sons  of  Heracles  and  forbidden  to  share 
with  them  in  the  division  of  Peloponnesus. 
For  ten  years  he  was  an  exile;  but  after  his 
death  his  son,  Aletes,  revived  his  father's 
claims,  marched  into  Corinth  with  a  body  of 
Dorians,  overthrew  the  dynasty  of  the  Sisy- 
phids,  and  took  the  kingdom.     The  original 


^Eolian  inhabitants  were  banished  from  the 
country.  Thus  were  the  Heraclidae  established 
as  the  rulers  of  all  Peloponnesus.  But  no 
date  can  yet  be  assigned  for  these  half-legend- 
ary movements  of  the  Hellenic  tribes. 

The  previous  political  condition  of  the 
country  thus  overrun  by  the  Dorians  may  be 
briefly  noticed.  Peloponnesus  was,  during  the 
Heroic  Age,  the  seat  of  those  kingdoms  from 
which  the  most  of  the  Greek  chiefs  were 
gathered  for  the  conquest  of  Troy.  That 
most  ancient  city  Mycenae,  in  Argolis,  was  the 
capital  of  Agamemnon,  known  as  the  "king 
of  men."  His  brother  Menelaiis  was,  at  the 
same  time,  king  of  Sjmrta,  and  from  him  was 
his  wife  Helen,  the  beautiful  cause  of  the 
woes  of  the  Greeks,  taken  away  by  the  con- 
trivance of  Aphrodite  and  the  willingness  of 
Paris.  At  the  same  time  Argos  was  ruled  by 
Diomedes,  who  bore  so  heroic  a  part  in  the  siege 
of  Troy.  Other  i^rinces  held  sway  in  different 
portions  of  the  country.  The  central  mount- 
ainous region  was  inhabited — as  it  continued 
to  be  after  the  Dorian  conquest — by  the  Ar- 
cadians, a  primitive  race  thought  to  have 
been  the  descendants  of  the  Pelasgiaus.  The 
two  principal  towns  of  this  region  were  Tegea 
and  Mantiuea.  The  rest  of  the  country  was 
occupied  with  villages  and  rustic  settlements, 
which,  from  their  seclusion,  bore  no  active 
part  in  the  history  of  Greece.  Such  was  that 
condition  of  affairs  which  was  superseded  by 
the  establishment  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
Heraclidae  in  Southern  Hellas. 

Meanwhile,  other  tribal  movements  had 
been  precipitated  by  the  invasion  of  the  Do- 
rians. Many  of  the  original  inhabitants  of 
Peloponnesus,  driven  from  their  homes  by  the 
Heraclidae,  sought  refuge  in  foreign  lands. 
The  coasts  of  Asia  Minor  became  the  principal 
resort  of  these  fugitives  and  exiles.  The 
first  band  was  made  of  those  Achaeans  of  Pel- 
oponnesus, who,  jostled  from  their  native 
haunts  on  the  Corinthian  gulf,  went  first  into 
Bceotia.  Then  they  were  joined  by  others, 
principally  of  the  ^olian  race,  and  soon  de- 
parted for  new  homes  on  the  other  side  of  the 
JEgean.  They  settled  along  the  northern 
coast  of  Asia  Minor,  taking  possession  of  the 
islands  of  Lesbos  and  Tenedos ;  and  here  they 


514 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


laid  the  foundations  of  those  cities  -which 
were  afterwards  joined  in  the  ^olian  Con- 
federation. 

More  important  by  far  was  the  migration 
of  the  lonians.  These  people  had  been  ex- 
pelled by  the  Achseans  from  their  native  seats 
on  the  Corinthian  Gulf,  and  had  sought  refuge 
in  Attica.  Here  they  were  joined  by  others 
of  the  same  race,  just  as  the  -lEolians  had 
gathered  head  in  Boeotia.  Many  strangers, 
exiles,  and  refugees  also  assembled  with  the 
emigrants  who  departing  from  Attica  were 
led  by  the  family  of  Codrus,  the  last  king  of 
Athens,  to  their  chosen  homes  among  the  Cy- 
clades  and  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Here 
was  founded  the  Ionian  Confederation. 
The  country  in  which  the  cities  of  this  league 
were  located  lay  along  the  shore  from  the 
river  Hermus  to  the  Meander,  and  has  already 
been  described  in  the  Book  on  the  History  of 
Persia.  The  two  principal  islands  belonging 
to  Ionia  were  Chios  and  Samos,  with  which 
were  included  many  others  of  smaller  import- 
ance. Twelve  cities  in  this  part  of  Asiatic 
Greece  belonged  to  the  confederation,  many 
of  them  of  great  importance  both  commer- 
cially and  politically. 

In  the  partition  of  Peloponnesus  it  hap- 
pened that  some  of  the  Dorian  chiefs  could 
not  be  provided  with  a  "kingdom"  on  the 
main-land  of  Greece.  For  this  reason,  they 
with  their  followers  and  many  of  the  native 
Achseans,  also  left  the  country  and  established 
themselves  in  Asia  Minor.  The  part  of  the 
coast  selected  lay  to  the  south  of  Ionia,  and 
included  the  two  important  islands  of  Rhodes 
and  Cos.  In  the  former  three  of  the  six 
cities  belonging  to  the  colonies  known  as  the 
Doric  Hexapolis  were  founded — Lindus, 
lalysus,  and  Camirus.  On  the  main-land 
were  situated  the  two  important  towns  of 
Halicarnassus  and  Cnidus. 

So  runs  the  tradition  of  the  various  migra- 
tions— Dorian,  Ionian,  ^olian — which  oc- 
curred at  the  close  of  the  Heroic  Age  of 
Greece.  These  narratives  can  not  be  accepted 
without  many  grains  of  allowance.  It  is  now 
well  known  that  Ionia  was  the  oldest  civilized 
«tate  of  the  Greeks,  and  that  enlightenment 
spread    westward    from    the    shores    of    Asia 


Minor,  until,  diffused  among  the  Cyclades,  it 
finally  flashed  its  radiance  into  Hellas  Proper. 
From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  only  rational 
view  to  be  taken  of  the  alleged  migrations 
from  the  West  is  that  which  represents  the 
lonians  of  the  main-land,  disturbed  by  the 
movement  of  the  Dorians  from  the  North,  as 
going  back  and  settling  among  their  own 
countrymen,  already  for  a  long  time  the  dom- 
inant people  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor. 
Nor  is  there  any  thing  incongruous  in  this 
view  of  the  case;  for  people,  when  driven  by 
invasion  from  their  homes,  are  just  as  likely 
to  return  to  their  kinsmen  as  to  strike  out 
into  unoccupied  regions.  Criticism,  therefore, 
simply  demands  that  the  migration  of  the 
JEolians,  lonians,  and  Dorians  shall  be  read 
the  return  of  the  ^olians,  etc.,  which  is,  in- 
deed, the  very  language  given  by  tradition  to 
the  movement  of  the  Heraclidse  from  the 
North  into  Peloponnesus. 

The  colonies  sent  out  by  the  Greeks  in 
these  early  times  were  not  all  directed  to  the 
Cyclades  and  Asia  Minor.  Tradition  also  de- 
scribes a  migration  of  Dorians  into  Crete. 
This  island  had  been  the  scene  of  many  pre- 
historic wonders.  Here  Minos,  the  great  law- 
giver and  hero,  had  established  his  institutions 
in  the  old  mythological  dawn,  when  Zeus's  love 
for  Europa  gave  a  benefactor  to  men  before 
the  days  of  Deucalion.  For  that  fabulous 
naA'igator  was  the  son  of  Minos.  He,  having 
from  his  father  a  pledge  that  all  of  his 
prayers  should  be  granted,  and  aspiring  to  be 
king  of  Crete,  prayed  that  a  bull  might  come 
from  the  sea  as  a  sacrifice  for  Poseidon.  But 
when  the  animal  appeared  he  was  so  beautiful 
that  another  was  led  to  the  altar  instead  of 
that  sent.  Poseidon  was  offended,  and  as  a 
punishment  afflicted  the  wife  of  Minos  by  in- 
spiring her  with  an  insane  passion  for  the 
bull.  So  was  born  the  monster  INIinotaur, 
whom  ]\Iinos  shut  up  in  the  Cnossian  Laby- 
rinth. He  then  obtained  the  throne  of  Crete 
and  became  famed  as  a  law-giver.  From  him 
Lycurgus  was  said  to  have  obtained  the 
models  of  those  institutions  which  he  gave  the 
Spartans.  So  into  Crete,  at  the  close  of  the 
Heroic  Age,  a  band  of  Dorians,  driven  by 
Sparta  from  the  town  of   Amyclse,   was  led 


GREECE.— THE  HELLENIC  DAWK 


515 


and  colonized.  There  they  founded  the  two 
cities  of  Gortyna  and  Lyttus.  The  new- 
comers represented  themselves  as  being  of  the 
same  race  with  the  primitive  Cretans,  and 
Claimed  the  glories  of  Minos  as  their  own. 
There  was  thus  effected  a  solidarity  of  Dorian 
interests,  not  only  in  Southern  Peloponnesus, 
but  also  in  the  islands  of  Crete,  Melos,  and 
Thera.  In  the  political  struggles  of  after- 
times,  the  Spartans  could  always  depend 
upon  these  island  populations  for  sympathy 
and  aid. 

These  migratory  movements  of  the  Hellenic 
tribes,  in  the  shadowy  era  just  subsequent  to 
the  Heroic  Age,  are  the  events  in  which  the 
myths  and  traditions  of  the  preceding  times 
gradually  melt  away,  and  the  day  dawn  of  ac- 
tual history  is  ushei'ed  in.  From  this  time 
forth  dates  may  be  fixed  with  approximate 
certainty ;  yet  actual  certainty  is  not  attained 
until  the  establishment  of  the  Olympic  games ; 
and  since  this  event  is  the  Year  One  of  Gre- 
cian chronology,  it  will  be  proper  here  to  re- 
count the  circumstances  of  the  establishment 
of  the  Olympiad,  and  of  the  other  great 
periodic  gatherings  of  the  Greeks. 

After  their  belief  in  a  common  descent 
and  the  possession  of  a  common  language, 
the  facts  which  most  closely  allied  the  Hellenes 
were  their  great  periodic  games  and  festivals. 
To  participate  in  these  was  to  be  Greek ;  not 
to  participate  Avas  to  be  barbarian.  A  spirit 
of  union  was  engendered  among  all  the  states, 
which,  though  not  always  triumphant  over 
jealousy  and  faction,  was  nevertheless  of  in- 
calculable advantage  in  promoting  the  com- 
mon interests  of  the  race  in  its  competitions 
and  struggles  with  the  outside  world.  Of 
these  national  festivals,  in  which  the  predom- 
inating feature  was  the  game  or  contest,  there 
were  four  in  number:  the  Olympic,  the 
Pythian,  the  Isthmian,  and  the  Nemean. 
They  were  open  to  all  persons  of  the  Hellenic 
race,  and  were  attended  by  enormous  throngs 
gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  Grecian  world 
and  from  kingdoms  beyond  the  seas.  At 
what  time  they  were  instituted  is  not  known ; 
for  they  came,  like  most  of  the  other  institu- 
tions of  Greece,  out  of  the  shadows  of  the 
mythical  ages. 

N. — Vol.  I — 33 


The  Olympian  Games,  the  ftiost  famous 
and  popular  of  all,  took  their  name  from  the 
town  of  Olympia,  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Alpheus,  in  Elis.  Here  stood  an  ancient 
temple  of  the  Olympian  Zeus;  and  here,  at 
some  time  in  the  prehistoric  period,  the  games 
began  to  be  celebrated.  As  yet  they  were 
only  a  local  institution,  and  continued  such 
until  they  were  revived  and  amplified  by 
Iphitus,  king  of  the  Eleans,  and  Lycurgus, 
the  law-giver  of  Sparta.  This  important 
event  took  place  in  the  year  B.  C.  776.  So 
great  was  the  celebrity  which  the  games  under 
the  new  patronage  at  once  achieved,  that 
henceforth  their  mythical  history  was  neg- 
lected and  the  celebration  above  referred  to 
was  numbered  as  the  First  Olympiad  ;  and 
from  that  were  dated  all  the  subsequent  events 
of  Grecian  history.  So  strong  a  hold  did  this 
Era  obtain  in  public  usage  throughout  all 
Greece  and  the  civilized  world,  that  the 
method  of  dating  by  Olympiads  was  not  aban- 
doned until  the  close  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  then  only  by  an  edict  of  the  Roman  Em- 
peror Theodosius. 

The  Olympian  games  were  celebrated 
every  fourth  year.  In  the  first  stages  of  their 
development  they  embraced  merely  a  contest 
for  the  palm  in  foot-racing,  the  celebration 
lasting  for  but  a  single  day.  In  a  short  time, 
however,  the  competition  was  extended  to 
other  sports.  Trials  of  strength,  as  well  as 
of  fleetness,  were  introduced.  Then  came  the 
competition  of  skill.  AVrestling,  boxing, 
jumping,  throwing  the  quoit,  hurling  the 
javelin,  were  the  more  common  of  the  sports. 
Afterwards,  the  exciting  horse-race  and  the 
chariot-race  were  added.  The  driver  entered 
the  course  with  four  fiery  steeds,  harnessed 
abreast  to  the  car  in  which  himself  was 
mounted,  and  went  whirling  away  like  mad 
to  gain  a  place  in  advance  of  his  competitors. 
At  the  same  time  that  the  scope  of  the  con- 
test was  enlarged,  the  period  was  extended 
from  one  day  to  five.  During  the  festival 
almost  every  hour  witnessed  a  renewal  of  the 
sport.  The  competition,  though  of  the  keen- 
est edge,  was  always  friendly,  and  during  the 
whole  time  of  the  prevalence  of  the  institution 
fighting  with  weapons  was  forbidden. 


516 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  only  prize  with  which  a  victor  in  the 
Olympian  games  was  rewarded  was  a  wreath 
of  wild  olive;  but  this  was  considered  the 
greatest  honor  which  a  Greek  could  achieve. 


No  other  distinction  conferred  in  peace  or  war 
was  reckoned  of  equal  honor.  The  winner 
was  gratified  with  every  mark  of  appreciative 
regard  which  it  was  possible  for  an  enthu- 
siastic ]ieople  to  bestow.     His  name  was  pro- 


claimed before  all  Greece,  and  applauded 
by  all  his  countrymen.  His  family  was 
ennobled  by  his  victory.  His  statue  was 
set  up  in  the  sacred  grove  of  the  Olympian 

Zeus.  On  his  re- 
turn to  his  own 
city  he  was  re- 
ceived without  the 
walls  by  a  proces- 
sion, and  was  es- 
corted to  his  home 
with  shouting  and 
the  music  of  flutes. 
The  rhapsodists  re- 
cited his  praises. 
Rewards  were 
voted  to  him  by 
the  citizens.  His 
taxes  were  re- 
mitted, and  he 
was  given  a  dis- 
tinguished seat  in 
all  public  assem- 
blies. If  a  Spar- 
tan, he  might 
henceforth  in  batr 
tie  fight  next  to 
the  person  of  the 
king.  His  victor's 
wreath  was  hung 
up  as  a  precious 
legacy  to  his  chil- 
dren's children, 
who  were  thereby 
to  be  reminded 
of  a  glorious  an- 
cestry. 

The  attendance 
at  the  Olympic  fes- 
tival was  enor- 
mously large,  and 
embraced  the  best 
people  of  all 
Greece.  The  gen- 
eral management 
was  intrusted  to  a  committee  of  Eleans, 
who  appointed  a  court  of  judges,  called  the 
Hellanodicce.  These  decided  all  the  contests 
and  made  the  awards  to  the  victors.  During 
the  continuance  of  the  festival  all  violence 


GREECE.— THE  HELLENIC  DAWK 


517 


ceased.  No  act  of  hostility  was  permitted  in 
all  Greece.  The  territory  of  Elis  became 
sacred,  and  the  marching  of  any  armed  force 
upon  it  was  an  act  of  sacrilege.  Every  thing 
that  could  add  to  the  interest  of  the  great 
celebration  was  carefully  attended  to.  With 
the  progress  of  the  contests  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
throng  rose  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  a  feeling 
of  unity  and  goodfellowship,  most  essential  to 
the  welfare  of  the  Hellenic  states,  was  gener- 
ously cultivated.  Especially  was  this  true 
after  artistic,  musical,  and  poetical  contests 
were  added  to  those  of  mere  bodily  skill  and 
endurance.  The  humanizing  tendency  of  the 
festival  was  felt  as  a  creative  force  in  all  the 
highest  branches  of  human  achievement,  and 
not  a  few  of  the  great  works  of  the  Greek 
mind  might  without  sophistry  be  traced  to  the 
influence  of  the  national  games. 

After  the  Cirrhsean  war,  in  B.  C.  585,  a 
new  festival  called  the  Pythian  was  instituted 
by  the  Amphictyonic  Council.  It  was  cele- 
brated once  in  three  years  in  the  Cirrhsean 
plain,  and  was  on  the  same  general  plan  as 
the  Olympic  games.  The  Amphictyons  pre- 
sided, and,  since  the  festival  was  in  honor  of 
Apollo,  music  and  poetry,  as  well  as  bodily 
contests,  were  from  the  first  a  part  of  the  ex- 
ercises. So  great  was  the  success  of  the  in- 
stitution thus  established  that  the  Pythian 
games  became  second  only  to  those  at  Olympia. 

The  Nemean  festival  was,  as  indicated  by 
its  name,  celebrated  in  the  valley  of  Nemea, 
in  Argolis.  It  was  instituted  in  the  fifty- 
second  Olympiad,  B.  C.  572,  and  was  held  in 
each  alternate  year.  Before  this  time  there 
had  been  local  games  at  Nemea,  running 
back  in  their  origin  to  the  mythical  ages. 
The  celebration  was  in  honor  of  the  Nemean 
Zeus,  and  was  at  the  first  open  only  to  war- 
riors; but  afterwards  this  restriction  was  re- 
moved, and  all  Greeks  might  participate.  In 
the  contests,  however,  some  military  features 
were  preserved,  such  as  that  between  foot- 
racers  clad  in  armor.  But  in  general  the 
competition  was  like  that  in  the  Olympic  and 
Pythian  games.  At  the  beginning,  the  victor 
in  a  Nemean  contest  was  crowned  with  a 
chaplet  of  wild  olive,  but  afterwards  the 
olive  was  replaced  with  parsley. 


The  Isthmian  games  were  celebrated  on  the 
Isthmus  of  Corinth,  in  the  month  of  April, 
on  each  second  and  fourth  year  of  the  Olym- 
piad. They  are  said  to  have  been  first  insti- 
tuted by  Athamas,  king  of  Orchomenus. 
Afterwards  they  were  revived  by  Theseus  in 
honor  of  Poseidon,  and  finally,  in  the  sixth 
century  before  our  era,  were  made  a  national 
festival  for  all  Greeks.  The  celebration  was 
conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Corin- 
thians and  the  Athenians,  but  at  a  later  period 
the  Sicyonians  held  the  exclusive  right  of  ■ 
presiding  and  deciding  the  contests.  After 
Greece  had  fallen  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Romans,  gladiatorial  shows  were  introduced, 
as  were  also  contests  of  wild  beasts — a  kind 
of  sport  always  repulsive  to  the  refined  tastes 
of  the  Hellenes.  The  prize  offered  for  victory 
in  an  Isthmian  contest  was  a  garland  of  pine 
leaves,  and  to  this  a  law  of  Solon  added  a 
reward  of  a  hundred  drachmse. 

In  connection  with  these  great  games,  con- 
sidered as  institutions  calculated  to  create  and 
foster  a  pan-Hellenic  spii'it,  mention  should 
also  be  made  of  the  Amphictyonic  Council. 
Its  general  character  was  that  of  a  kind  of 
sacred  congress.  It  had  a  mythical  and  re- 
ligious origin.  Amphictyon,  the  reputed 
founder,  was  one  of  the  heroes.  The  associ- 
ation was  in  the  first  place  a  religious  body, 
which  met  at  stated  intervals  to  perform  sac- 
rifices and  supervise  the  rites  of  the  country. 
Having  their  head-quarters  in  the  great  temple 
at  Delphi,  to  which  all  Greece  was  wont  to 
look  for  the  omens  of  prophecy,  the  Amphic- 
tyons gradually  acquired  an  ascendency  over 
other  associations  of  like  sort  in  diflTerent  parts 
of  the  country.  Influence  grew  into  author- 
ity, and  the  Council  came  to  be  recognized 
as  a  determining  influence  in  the  weightiesi 
affairs  of  the  Greeks.  It  was  the  great  court  ^ 
of  appeal  to  which  inter-state  disputes  were 
referred  for  settlement ;  but  its  power  to  reg- 
ulate and  determine  questions  of  national  im- 
portance never  rose  to  true  congressional 
proportions,  else  the  destiny  of  the  Hellenic 
communities,  resolved  into  a  Union,  might 
have  withstood  both  Philip  and  the  Romans. 

The   Council  held   two   sessions  annually, 
the  first  in  the  spring  at  the  shrine  of  Apollo, 


518 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


in  Delphi,  and  the  other  in  the  autumn,  in 
the  temple  of  Demeter,  at  Therm  opylse.  Its 
members  were  called  Ajniphictyons,  and  were 
chosen  as  deputies  by  the  twelve  states  repre- 
sented in  the  court.  The  delegates  from  each 
state  consisted  of  a  Hieromnemon,  or  chief, 
and  several  subordinates  called  Pylagorce;  but 
each  delegation  acted  as  a  unit  in  the  Coun- 
cil, and  cast  two  votes  in  the  name  of  the 
state  represented.  The  different  tribes  who, 
by  the  appointment  of  deputies,  recognized 
the  authority  of  the  Amphictyons  were  the 
Thessalians,  the  Boeotiaus,  the  Dorians,  the 
lonians,  the  Perrhsebians,  the  Magnetes,  the 
Locrians,  the  CEtseans,  the  Achseans,  the  Pho- 
cians,  the  Dolopians,  and  the  Malians.  From 
the  names  of  these  constituent  peoples  it  will 
readily  be  seen  how  ancient  was  the  Amphic- 
tyonic  institution ;  for  several  of  these  tribes 
had  virtually  disappeared  before  the  classical 
age  of  Greece. 

Among  the  first  duties  of  the  great  Coun- 
cil was  to  uphold  the  influence  of  the  oracle 
and  temple  of  Delphi.  The  interests  of  the 
states  represented  were  carefully,  though  not 
always  efficiently,  guarded.  On  the  assump- 
tion of  their  duties  the  deputies  were  required 
to  take  the  following  oath:  "We  will  not 
destroy  any  Amphictyonic  town,  or  cut  it  off 
from  running  water  in  war  or  peace.  If  any 
one  shall  do  so,  we  wUl  march  against  him 
and  destroy  his  city.  If  any  one  shall  plun- 
der the  property  of  the  god,  or  shall  be  cogni- 
zant thereof,  or  shall  take  treacherous  counsel 
against  the  things  in  his  temple  at  Delphi, 
we  will  punish  him  with  foot  and  hand  and 
voice,  and  by  every  means  in  our  power." 

It  is  clear  from  the  tenor  of  this  obligation 
that  the  primary  objects  of  the  Council  were 
religious  rather  than  secular.  It  was  only 
in  later  developments  that  the  Amphictyons 
became  an  important  power  in  the  political 
affairs  of  Greece ;  nor  did  their  influence  ever 
become  so  great  as  to  entitle  them  to  be  con- 
sidered a  congress,  in  the  modern  sense  of  that 
word.  Perhaps  the  most  important  general 
result  of  the  organization  was  that  it  tended 
to  the  nationality  of  Greece.  The  line  was 
thus  drawn  more  distinctly  than  ever  between 
Greek    and    Barbarian.      The    Amphictyons 


were  themselves  united  in  one  body,  and  the 
unity  of  the  twelve  states  represented  was 
thereby  symbolized  and  stimulated.  The  name 
of  Hellenes,  applied  to  the  whole  Greek  people, 
acquired  a  new  significance  because  of  this  fed- 
eral title  adopted  by  the'  Council. 

A  second  result  of  scarcely  less  importance 
was  that  of  a  fixity  of  territorial  limits  for  the 
several  Greek  states.  This  was  one  of  the 
matters  of  which  the  Amphictyony  took  spe- 
cial cognizance.  The  determination  of  borders 
w^hich  might  not  be  disputed  was  a  matter  of 
great  moment  in  the  maintenance  of  peace 
and  the  promotion  of  civilization. 

The  early  character  of  the  CouncU  may  be 
inferred  from  its  relation  to  the  First  Sacred 
War,  which  occurred  between  the  years  B.  C. 
595  and  585.  The  Phocian  town  of  Crissa 
was  situated  on  the  heights  of  Parnassus,  near 
the  oracle  of  Apollo.  Its  territory  extended 
from  the  mountains  to  the  gulf  of  Corinth. 
Its  seaport  was  the  little  town  of  Cirrha. 
Having  commercial  advantages  it  grew  to  im- 
portance. The  visitors  who  came  from  all 
parts  of  the  Grecian  world  to  consult  the  ora- 
cle landed  and  embarked  at  Cirrha.  With 
the  increase  of  population  the  place  became 
ambitious.  Crissa,  not  without  cause,  grew 
jealous;  and,  when  the  Cirrhseans  proceeded 
to  enrich  themselves  by  levying  exorbitant 
contributions  upon  the  pilgrims  going  to  and 
from  the  shrine  of  Apollo,  took  cognizance  of 
the  matter  and  declared  war.  The  Thessalians 
and  Athenians  were  summoned  to  the  aid  of 
Crissa,  and  for  ten  years  Cirrha  was  invested 
by  the  forces  of  the  Council.  At  last  the 
town  was  taken  by  a  stratagem  not  very  hon- 
orable in  so  sacred  a  cause.  It  is  said  that, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Solon,  the  lawgiver  of 
Athens,  the  waters  of  the  river  Plistus,  which 
flowed  through  the  besieged  city,  were  poi- 
soned, and  the  Cirrhseans  were  thus  driven 
to  surrender.  The  town  was  leveled  to  the 
ground.  The  rich  plain  in  which  it  stood, 
extending  northward  towards  Delphi,  was 
consecrated  to  Apollo,  and  curses  were  pro- 
nounced upon  him  who  henceforth  should 
ever  attempt  its  cultivation.'     Thus,   by  the 

^  It  was  in  this  plain  that  the  Pythian  games 
were  celebrated.    See  p.  517. 


€> 


GREECE.— GROWTH  AND  LAW. 


523 


diligence  of  the  great  Council  was  the  honor 
of  Phoebus  vindicated.  From  this  time  forth 
his  oracle  was  more  consulted  than  ever,  and 
richer  gifts  were  poured  into  his  treasury.  The 
influence  of  the   Amphictyons   was  extended 


throughout  all  Greece.  It  was  seen  that  in 
them  the  national  religion  and  traditions  had 
found  an  immovable  bulwark  against  aggres- 
sion— a  power  jealous  of  whatever  seemed  to 
threaten  the  unity  and  renown  of  Hellas. 


CHAPTER    XIvIII.— GROWTH     AND     LAW. 


iOST  notable  of  the  facts 
belonging  to  the  second 
period  of  Greek  develop- 
ment— a  period  extending 
from  the  epoch  of  the 
Dorian  migrations  to  the 
revolt  of  the  Ionian  cities 
against  the  Persians — were  the  growth  and  pre- 
ponderance of  Sparta  and  Athens  as  the  two 
leading  Hellenic  states,  and  the  establishment  of 
institutions  by  the  legislation  of  liycurgus  and 
Solon.  The  first  fact  unfortunately  involved 
a  rivalry  of  the  two  commonwealths  which 
became  the  bane  of  Greek  history,  but  the 
other  contained  those  legislative  germs  which, 
springing  here  and  there  in  the  soil  of  free- 
dom, have  contributed  not  a  little  to  the 
growth  of  human  liberty. 

After  the  agitations  consequent  upon  the  Re- 
turn of  the  Heraclidse  had  somewhat  subsided, 
there  appeared  in  Peloponnesus  the  three 
leading  states  of  Laconia,  Argos,  and  Mes- 
senia.  It  was  in  the  first  of  these  that  the 
new  Dorian  population  from  the  North  became 
most  easily  and  completely  predominant. 
Argos  was  not  so  much  revolutionized,  and 
Messenia  was  still  less  affected  in  her  popula- 
tion and  institutions  by  the  invasions.  A 
period  followed  in  which  the  new  masters  of 
Southern  Greece  had  to  struggle  and  fight  for 
the  maintenance  of  their  supremacy.  By  and 
by,  when  that  supremacy  was  fully  established 
and  acknowledged,  the  two  leading  states  of 
Peloponnesus — Sparta  and  Argolis — fell  into 
quarrels  and  went  to  war.  After  the  Dorian 
invasion  of  Argolis,  that  state  still  remained 
for  a  while  a  confederacy  of  free  cities.  Such 
were  Argos  —  the  capital — Cleonse,  Phlius, 
Sicyon,     Epidaurus,     Troezen,     and     -^gina. 


These  were  leagued  together  in  the  common 
worship  of  Apollo,  and  each  of  the  cities 
maintained  a  temple  in  his  honor.  The  cen- 
tral shrine  was  in  Ai-gos,  and  from  this  place 
the  authority  of  the  confederacy  was  exer- 
cised. Her  privileges  inci'eased  until  the  time 
of  Phidon,  who  was  king  of  Ai-gos,  and  who, 
about  B.  C.  747,  reduced  the  free  cities  and 
established  himself  in  a  desj^otism. 

It  seemed  that  Argolis  under  his  leader- 
ship was  going  to  win  an  easy  supremacy 
over  all  the  Dorian  states.  He  made  a  con- 
quest of  Corinth.  He  claimed  to  be  par  ex- 
cellence the  representative  of  the  great  ancestor, 
Heracles,  and  in  his  name  demanded  the  sub- 
mission of  his  kinsmen,  the  leaders  of  the 
Heraclidse.  In  the  Eighth  Olympiad  he  in- 
terfered with  the  presidency  of  the  games, 
deprived  the  Eleans  of  their  privileges,  took 
the  presidency  himself,  and  then  set  up  the 
Pisatans  instead  of  their  deposed  rivals. 

This  act,  however,  soon  led  to  his  down- 
fall. For  the  Eleans,  unwilling  to  lose  the 
honorable  prerogative  of  presiding  over  the 
Olympic  festival,  appealed  to  Sparta  to  aid  in 
the  maintenance  of  their  rights.  The  appeal 
was  favorably  heard.  The  Spartans  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  petitioners,  went  to  war  with 
Phidon,  defeated  him  in  battle,  and  destroyed 
the  pretensions  of  Argolis  to  the  leadership  of 
Southern  Greece.  From  this  time  forth  there 
was  never  any  doubt  that  Sparta  was  destined 
to  the  first  place  among  the  Peloponnesian 
states. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  when  the 
Heraclidse  drew  lots  for  the  distribution  of 
territories,  Laconia  fell  to  the  two  sons 
of  Aristodemus.  This  fact  remained  a  pre- 
cedent     in     Spartan      institutions,     and     a 


524 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


double,  instead  of  a  single,  royal  house  was  a 
part  of  the  primitive  constitution  of  the  coun- 
try. Up  to  the  time  of  the  war  with  Argolis 
and  the  establishment  of  the  supremacy  of 
Sparta,  that  state  had  had  the  same  general 
type  of  civilization  and  development  as  the 
other  Dorian  communities  and  cities;  but 
from  this  time  onward  a  separation  took  place 
between  Sparta  and  all  the  other  Hellenic 
commonwealths,  until  she  was  almost  as  much 
distinguished  in  her  institutions  and  popular 
characteristics  from  her  sister  Doric  states  of 
Argos  and  Corinth  as  she  was  from  Thebes 
and  Athens.  Only  with  Crete  did  the  cus- 
toms, manners,  and  laws  of  the  Spartans  hold 
them  in  fellowship  and  sympathy.  This  sepa- 
ration— amounting  to  an  isolation — of  Sparta 
from  the  other  Grecian  states,  and  her  conse- 
quent assumption  of  an  independent  career, 
were  traceable  to  the  work  of  her  great  law- 
giver, Lycurgus. 

The  dissensions  in  Laconia  between  the  old 
and  the  new  populations  constituted  a  serious 
drawback  to  the  progress  of  that  state.  The 
Dorian  warriors,  who  had  taken  possession  of 
the  country,  were  too  strong  to  be  displaced, 
but  the  mass  of  the  people  smarted  under 
their  exactions,  and  would  have  rebelled  but 
for  fear  of  the  consequences.  Besides  this 
source  of  trouble,  the  evil  of  a  double  royal 
house,  involving  the  reign  of  two  kings 
simultaneously,  was  felt  as  a  dangerous  ob- 
stacle to  the  public  welfare.  The  Spartans, 
moreover,  were  by  nature  and  previous  his- 
tory a  lawless  tribe,  little  disposed  to  accept 
the  restraints  of  civilized  society.  All  of 
these  embarrassments  combined  in  producing 
a  necessity  for  a  complete  revision  of  existing 
laws,  and  in  short  for  the  establishment  of  a 
fixed  constitution  of  government. 

The  preparation  of  such  a  constitution  was 
committed  to  Lycurgus.  Tradition  makes 
him  to  have  been  of  the  Heraclidse.  He  Avas 
the  son  of  Eunomus,  a  brother  of  the  King 
Polydectes.  AVhen  the  latter  died,  Lycurgus 
became  guardian  of  his  son  Charilaiis,  who 
was  heir  to  the  throne.  In  spite  of  the  tempta- 
tion to  which  he  was  subjected  by  the  widow 
of  the  late  king,  Avho  wished  Lycurgus  to 
murder  the  child  and  marry  her,  he  remained 


true  to  the  state,  and,  taking  Charilaiis  into 
the  agora,  had  him  proclaimed  as  king.  He 
himself    left    Sparta    and    went    into    Crete. 

Here  he  became  a  student  of  the  laws  and 
institutions  of  Minos,  and  them  he  is  said  to 
have  made  the  basis  of  the  code  which  he 
afterwards  reported  to  his  countrymen.  From 
Crete  he  traveled  into  Egypt  and  Ionia,  and 
even — if  the  tradition  may  be  trusted — as  far 
as  India.  While  abroad  he  became  acquainted 
wath  the  Homeric  poems,  which  had  not 
hitherto  been  recited  in  Peloponnesus.  On 
his  return  to  his  own  people  he  found  the 
state  in  anarchy,  and  a  common  belief  that  he 
was  to  be  the  agent  of  the  rescue  of  his  coun- 
try. He  accordingly  yielded  to  public  solici- 
tation, consulted  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  and 
undertook  the  preparation  of  a  new  frame  of 
government.  The  oracle  itself  furnished  the 
fundamental  articles  of  the  constitution,  so 
that  Lycurgus  returned  from  Delphi  with  the 
sanction  of  Apollo.  Apjoearing  in  the  agora 
with  thirty  leading  citizens,  he  made  known 
his  mission,  which  was  gladly  accepted  by  a 
majority  of  the  people ;  but  Charilaiis  and  a 
few  of  his  partisans  yielded  with  reluctance, 
and  were  overawed  by  the  popular  voice. 

Lycurgus  thus  came  to  his  countrymen  in 
the  double  character  of  a  law-giver  and  a 
messenger  from  Delphi.  Necessity  and  Phoe- 
bus Apollo  were  the  joint  sponsoi's  of  his 
legislation.  After  a  season  the  new  constitu- 
tion was  prepared  and  given  to  the  state.  It 
was  wisely  based  upon  the  fundamental  con- 
ditions which  were  present  in  the  country. 
The  Doric  race  w'as  recognized  as  in  every  re- 
spect predominant.  The  whole  body  of  the 
population  was  divided  into  three  classes* 
first,  the  Spartans  of  Dorian  descent,  who  con- 
stituted the  ruling  caste  ;  second,  the  Perioecse, 
or  Laconians,  who  far  outnumbered  the  Spar- 
tans;   and  third,  the   Helots  or  slaves. 

The  Dorians  had  taken  the  land  by  conquest. 
They  were  accordingly  retained  as  the  soldier- 
class  forever.  No  work,  no  business,  was  ever 
to  interfere  with  their  profession  of  arms. 
Estimating  their  numbers  at  nine  thousand, 
Lycurgus  divided  the  fruitful  valley  and 
plain  of  the  Eurotas  into  nine  thousand  equal 
parts,   and  to  each   soldier   one  part  was  as- 


GREECE. —GRO  WTH  AND  LA  W. 


525 


signed  for  his  support.  But  the  tillage  of  the 
land  was  reserved  for  the  servile  class,  the 
Helots,  who  were  bound  to  the  soil  by  a  sys- 
tem of  serfdom.  The  remaining  lands  of 
Laconia,  chiefly  consisting  of  mountainous 
districts  in  the  interior,  were  divided  into 
thirty  thousand  parts  and  distributed  to  the 
original  inhabitants  of  the  country,  thence- 
forth called  Perioecse,  or  "  dwellers  around." 
The  Perioecse  were  to  remain  free,  but  were  to 
devote  themselves  to  agriculture,  trade,  and 
commerce.  They  were  also  subject  to  mili- 
tary service  at  the  call  of  the  dominant  class 
of  Spartans.  There  was  thus,  as  nearly  as 
practicable,  an  adaptation  of  all  classes  to  the 
previous  conditions  existing  in  the  state. 

As  another  conservative  measure,  the  two 
kings  were  left  undisturbed,  but  their  preroga- 
tives were  reduced  to  a  mere  dignity  and  to 
leadership  in  war.  The  legislative  power  was 
given  to  two  assemblies.  The  first  and  high- 
est consisted  of  thirty  members  called  the 
Gerontes,  or  "  old  men,"  of  whom  the  kings 
were  two,  whatever  might  be  their  ages.  The 
remaining  twenty-eight  must  be  over  sixty 
years  old.  The  right  to  originate  all  laws 
and  measures  of  state  polity  belonged  to  this 
body.  The  other  assembly  embraced  as  mem- 
bers all  male  Spartans  over  the  age  of  thirty. 
These  met  once  a  month  and  voted  upon  the 
measures  proposed  by  the  Gerontes.  The 
voting  was  to  be  by  acclamation,  aye  or  710 ; 
and  no  debate  was  permissible.  From  the 
first  all  discussions  and  wrangling  were  odious 
to  the  Spartan  spirit. 

The  constitution  of  Lycurgus  also  estab- 
lished an  overseership  of  six  Ephors,  or  magis- 
trates. To  them  was  intrusted  a  supervisory 
power  over  the  laws  passed  by  the  assembly, 
and  a  final  voice  in  all  public  matters.  Even 
the  kings  were  accountable  to  the  Ephors  for 
then-  conduct.  The  kingly  oflace  was  thus  so 
greatly  hedged  with  restrictions  as  to  be  re- 
duced to  a  minimum  of  influence,  and  in  this 
shorn  condition  was  permitted  to  survive  in 
Sparta  long  after  the  complete  destruction  of 
royal  prerogative  in  the  other  states  of  Greece. 
The  Lycurgian  statutes  next  proceeded  to 
the  education  of  the  Spartans.  The  theory 
of  the  government  was  that  all  classes  existed 


for  the  benefit  of  the  state.  The  individual 
was  for  the  commonwealth — nothing  else. 
There  has,  perhaps,  never  been  in  all  history 
another  instance  in  which  the  idea  of  indi- 
vidual subordination  to  the  public  good  was 
carried  to  such  lengths  as  in  Sparta.  The 
principle  lay  at  the  very  bottom  of  Spartan 
society,  and  explained  many  otherwise  inex- 
plicable circumstances  and  peculiarities  of  the 
national  character.  It  followed  naturally 
from  this  theory  that  the  citizenship  should 
be  adapted  by  proper  training  to  the  uses  of 
the  state.  Of  the  dominant  Spartans  this 
would  be  true  in  the  highest  measure. 

The  system  contemplated  simply  the  mak- 
ing of  soldiers.     At  birth   the  child  Avas  in- 
spected to  determine  its  fitness  to  live.     There 
was  no  compunction.     It  was  simply  business. 
The  Ephors  decided  the  question.     If  weak  or 
deformed  the  babe  was  exposed  in  the  hill's  of 
Taygetus  to  perish.     If  robust  and  promising 
it  was  given  to  the  mother  for  the  first  seven 
years  and  then  taken  from  her.     Henceforth 
the  lad  belonged  to  the  state.     He  was  put  to 
school.     The   school  was   a  gymnasium.     No 
metaphysical  nonsense  was  allowed  about  the 
establishment.     It   was    for   the   development 
and    hardening   of  the   body.     A   course  of 
rigid  discipline  and  athletic  exercises  was  pre- 
scribed, so  severe  and  heartless  as  to  defy  a 
parallel.     The  youth  must  wear  the  same  gar- 
ment   winter  and   summer.     Hunger,   thirst, 
and    exposure    must    be    endured   without   a 
murmur.     When    starving    for  food   the   lad 
might  steal,  but  if  caught  in  the  act  he  was 
punished  for  that.     One  boy  stole  a  fox,  hid 
it  under  his  garment,  and  suflfered  the  beast 
to  tear  out  his  bowels  rather  than  betray  the 
theft.     Once  in  his  life  each  youth  was  taken 
before  the  altar  of  Artemis  and  scourged  till 
his  back  ran  gore.     The  boy  was  obliged  to  be 
silent  or  to  say  yes  and  no — no  more.   Whatever 
was  more  than  these  came  of  evil.     He  must 
be  laconic,  impassive.     He  must  endure  j)ain 
and  smile.     So  must  the  Spartan  girl ;  for  the 
discipline   was   nearly   alike   for   both    sexes. 
All    feeling   must   be    eliminated.     She   who 
must  presently  give  up  her  own  babe   to  fill 
the   belly   of  a  Laconian   wolf   must    do    so 
smiling.     At  the  age  of  thirty  the  boy  was 


526 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


promoted  to  manliood.  He  might  then  marry 
and  engage  in  public  affairs.  He  still,  how- 
ever, belonged  to  the  state  in  the  same  sense 
as  before.  He  slept  in  the  public  barracks, 
and  was  not  released  from  military  service 
until  he  reached  the  age  of  sixty. 

One  feature  of  the  Lycurgian  system  is  de- 
serving of  special  mention,  and  that  is  the 
public  mess.  A  table  was  spread,  at  which 
every  male  citizen  was  obliged  to  take  his 
meals.  The  institution  was  called  SijssiUa, 
that  is,  "eating  together."  Each  table  was 
arranged  for  the  accommodation  of  fifteen 
persons,  and  no  others  than  those  eating 
regularly  at  this  bench  could  be  admitted  ex- 
cept by  unanimous  consent.  The  system  was 
communistic.  Each  eater  sent  to  the  table 
monthly  his  quantum  of  provisions,  consisting 
of  a  little  barley-meal,  wine,  cheese,  and  figs. 
A  small  money  contribution  was  also  levied 
for  the  purchase  of  meats  and  fish.  These 
articles,  however,  were  only  eaten  on  occasion. 
At  the  common  meal  the  principal  dish  was  a 
kind  of  black  broth,  which  was  unsavory  ex- 
cept to  the  half-starved  whose  ravenous  stom- 
achs craved  filling,  no  matter  with  what. 

As  to  intellectual  accomplishments,  the 
Lycurgian  system  provided  for  two — singing 
and  playing  on  the  lyre.  But  the  idea  in 
both  was  warlike.  The  song  was  a  psean  for 
battle.  The  lyre  was  merely  to  waken  martial 
enthusiasm.  The  poets  of  Sparta  were  the 
bards  of  the  barracks.  They  sang  and  shouted 
nothing  but  war.  In  the  times  of  Spartan 
greatness  Homer  was  the  favorite.  Tyrtseus 
was  a  popular  hero.  Archilochus,  who  in  one 
of  his  poems  chanced  to  mention  his  own 
flight  from  the  battle-field,  was  banished  from 
the  country! 

What  the  Greeks  of  Central  Hellas  re- 
garded as  civilization  was  abhoi'red  on  the 
banks  of  the  Eurotas.  Elaborate  speech,  po- 
liteness, affable  companionship,  lively  man- 
ners, these  were  frivolities  of  which  a  Spartan 
would  not  be  guilty.  Luxury  was  more  to 
be  dreaded  than  the  plague.  Riches  meant 
inequality.  Money  was  a  necessary  evil.  To 
make  it  as  little  desirable  as  possible  Lycur- 
gus  decreed  that  the  coin  of  Sparta  should  be 
of  iron.     So  should  he  be  satirized  and  pun- 


ished who  traded,  and  he  who  took  valuables 
to  market  would  require  a  cart  and  oxen  to 
bring  home  his  money. ^  In  such  a  school  of 
roughness  and  austerity  were  the  warlike  vir- 
tues of  the  Dorians  nursed  into  full  vigor. 

The  system  bore  its  fruits.  The  man  be- 
came a  soldier,  utterly  indifferent  to  hardship, 
exposure,  death.  The  woman  became  the 
mother  of  such  men,  and  was  proud  of  it. 
She  gave  her  son  a  shield  with  the  injunc- 
tion, "  Return  tvith  it  or  on  it."  When  he  was 
brought  home  stark  from  the  battle-field,  she 
said  no  word.  The  Spartan  mother  must  not 
disgrace  herself!  She  had  only  given  her  son 
to  the  state.  It  was  for  that  she  bore  him. 
He  had  died  on  his  shield.  Why  grieve  for 
one  who  had  served  his  country  ? — Thus  it 
was  that  the  Spartans  became  a  race  of  sol- 
diers ;  and  such  were  their  valor  and  stoicism 
in  fight  that  there  was  just  one  way  to  defeat 
them,  and  that  was  to  destroy  the  last  man! 
As  long  as  one  remained,  Sparta  was  in- 
vincible. 

All  of  the  early  history  of  Peloponnesus 
is  involved  with  that  of  Sparta.  Two-thirds 
of  the  peninsula  was  completely  under  her 
control ;  and  the  rest  acknowledged  her  lead- 
ership. With  one  state,  however,  she  had  a 
protracted  and  obstinate  contest.  This  was 
Messenia,  on  the  west,  a  commonwealth  in 
which  the  supremacy  of  the  Dorians  had 
never  been  fully  established  or  quietly  ac* 
cepted.  It  was  only  a  question  of  time  when 
the  domination  of  Sparta  would  lead  to  an 
outbreak.  The  date  assigned  for  the  begin- 
ning of  the  first  conflict  is  B.  C.  743.  Before 
this,  one  of  the  Spartan  kings  had  been  killed 
by  the  Messenians  at  the  temple  of  Artemis, 
on  Mount  Taygetus,  but  the  murderers  gave 
such  an  account  of  the  affair  as  justified  the 
killing.  Shortly  afterwards,  however,  a  pri- 
vate quarrel  led  to  open  war.  Polychares,  a 
leading  Messenian,  who  had  won  a  crown  at 
an  Olympic  festival,  was  robbed  of  his  cattle 

1  It  has  been  urged  with  some  plausibility  that 
the  statute  for  iron  money  did  not  properly  be- 
long to  the  laws  of  Lycurgus,  but  to  a  later  date. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  no  gold  or  silver  money  had 
as  yet  been  coined  in  Greece ;  and  the  practical 
satire  of  the  Lycurgian  system  would,  under  the 
circumstances,  be  no  satire  at  all. 


GREECE.— GROWTH  AND  LAW. 


527 


by  a  Spartan,  Eusephnus,  who  added  to  the 
crime  by  murdering  the  son  of  Polychares, 
who  was  sent  for  redress.  The  father  ap- 
pealed to  the  Spartan  Ephors  for  justice,  but 
was  turned  away.  He  then  took  matters  into 
his  own  hands,  and  gave  his  herdsmen  orders 
to  kill  all  the  Lacedtcmonians  whom  they 
should  meet.  The  Spartans,  who  w^ere  prob- 
ably not  displeased,  secretly  prepared  for  hos- 
tilities, marched  across  the  frontier,  took  the 
fortress  of  Amphia,  and  killed  the  garrison. 

War  broke  out  in  earnest.  For  four  years 
the  Messenians  defended  themselves  with 
vigor,  but  in  the  fifth  they  were  defeated  and 
driven  into  their  stronghold,  the  old  fortress 
of  Tthome.  They  appealed  to  the  Delphic 
oracle,  and  answer  was  given  that  the  king's 
daughter  would  have  to  be  sacrificed  to  Hades 
in  order  to  secure  victory.  The  king  w^as 
about  to  comply  when  the  girl's  lover  inter- 
fered, and  she  was  killed  in  a  scandalous  man- 
ner. Although  this  was  no  sacrifice,  the 
superstitious  Spartans  were  kept  at  bay  by 
the  news  for  several  seasons.  In  the  thir- 
teenth year  of  the  war,  however,  the  struggle 
was  renewed.  The  king  of  Messenia  was 
killed  in  battle,  and  was  succeeded  by  Aris- 
todemus,  who  fought  bravely  for  his  country. 
Theopompus,  king  of  Sparta,  marched  against 
him,  and  his  forces  were  augmented  by  a  large 
band  of  Corinthians.  The  Messenians  were 
aided  by  the  Arcadians  and  Sicyonians.  In 
the  eighteenth  year  of  the  struggle  a  great 
battle  was  fought  in  which  the  Spartans  were 
defeated  and  driven  into  their  own  territories. 

It  was  now  their  turn  to  apply  to  the  ora- 
cle. An  answer  was  returned  which  promised 
success  on  condition  of  a  stratagem.  Mean- 
while, however,  Aristodemus  was  dismayed  by 
dreams.  His  murdered  daughter  appeared 
and  beckoned  him  to  follow.  In  despair  he 
went  to  her  tomb  and  killed  himself.  The 
Messenians  were  disheartened,  and  abandoned 
Ithome.  The  Spartans  thereupon  gained  pos- 
session and  leveled  the  fortress  to  the  ground. 
The  whole  of  Messenia  was  quickly  overrun. 
Some  of  the  inhabitants  fled  into  Arcadia ; 
others  to  Eleusis  and  Athens.  Those  who  re- 
mained were  reduced  to  a  condition  of  servi- 
tude   like    that    of   the    Helots.     Thev   were 


obliged  by  the  conquerors  to  pay  them  one- 
half  of  the  produce  of  their  lands  and  to 
submit  to  intolerable  marks  of  degradation. 

After  thirty-nine  years,  however,  the  spirit 
of  the  Messenians  revived.  In  B.  C.  685 
Aristomenes  claimed  the  kingdom,  and  soon 
showed  himself  to  be  a  warrior  worthy  to  lead 
his  people  to  freedom.  A  revolt  broke  out, 
which,  before  it  was  quelled,  drew  into  the 
vortex  of  war  nearly  all  the  states  of  Pelopon- 
nesus. The  haughty  conduct  of  Sparta  had 
borne  the  natural  fruits  of  disloyalty,  and  the 
Argives,  Arcadians,  Sicyonians,  and  Pisatans 
all  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Messenians 
against  their  oppressors.  As  in  the  previous 
war,  however,  the  Corinthians  sided  with 
Sparta  and  sent  her  a  contingent  of  troops. 

The  first  conflict  was  indecisive,  but  the 
advantage  was  with  Aristomenes.  As  a  piece 
of  efl^rontery  he  crossed  the  Spartan  frontier 
by  night,  went  to  the  temple  of  Athena  of 
the  Brazen  Horse,  and  hung  up  a  shield  with 
this  inscription  :  "Dedicated  by  Aristomenes  to 
the  goddess  from  the  Spartan  spoils."  Such 
was  the  eflfect  of  this  piece  of  audacity  that 
the  Spartans  again  cried  to  the  Delphic  oracle 
for  advice.  The  answer  was  returned  that 
they  should  apply  to  the  Athenians  for  a 
leader.  This  was  wormwood  to  both  the 
parties ;  but  the  Athenians,  fearing  to  dis- 
obey the  voice  of  Phoebus,  selected  a  lame 
schoolmaster  and  poet  named  Tyrtseus,  and 
sent  him  to  lead  the  warrior  Spartans  to  vic- 
tory !  The  latter  received  him  with  honor, 
and  he  soon  showed  both  them  and  the  senders 
what  a  bard  may  do  in  war.  He  began  to 
compose  martial  songs  so  inspired  with  the 
spirit  of  battle  that  the  courage  of  the  Spar- 
tans was  revived  and  themselves  fired  with 
the  greatest  zeal  for  the  conflict.  Tyrtseus 
was  made  a  citizen  of  the  state,  and  the  war 
was  renewed  with  vigor. 

At  the  first  battle,  however,  fought  at  the 
Boar's  Grave,  in  the  plain  of  Stenyclerus,  the 
Spartans  and  Corinthians  were  defeated  with 
great  losses.  During  the  second  year  Aristo- 
menes still  kept  his  foe  at  bay,  but  in  the 
third  a  decisive  battle  was  fought  which, 
through  the  treachery  of  one  of  the  allied 
chiefs,   resulted    in    a   signal   disaster   to    the 


528 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Messenians.  Aristomenes  was  obliged  to  re- 
tire from  the  open  field  to  the  mountain 
fortress  of  Ira,  where  for  eleven  years  he 
maintained  the  cause  of  his  country.  From 
this  stronghold  he  would  as  occasion  offered 
sally  forth  in  successful  raids  against  the  foe. 

Such  was  his  prowess  that  three  times  he 
celebrated  the  sacrifice  of  Hecatomphonia  for 
having  in  each  instance  slain  with  his  own 
hand  a  hundred  of  the  enemy.  Three  times 
he  was  taken.  Twice  he  broke  away  from 
his  captors,  but  in  the  thii'd  case  he  was  car- 
ried with  fifty  others  to  Sparta  and  thrown 
into  a  deep  pit.  All  the  rest  were  killed,  but 
he  fell  to  the  bottom  unhurt.  The  next  day 
he  saw  a  live  fox  in  the  pit,  and  seizing  the 
beast  by  the  tail,  he  followed  it  through  the 
fissures  in  the  rocks  till  he  found  an  exit  and 
escaped.  Equal  was  the  surprise  both  to  his 
own  friends  and  the  enemy  when  he  reap- 
peared at  Ira. 

Nevertheless,  the  indomitable  energy  of 
the  Spartans  gradually  gained  the  ascendency. 
Aristomenes  was  said  to  have  forfeited  the 
favor  of  the  gods.  He  was  wounded,  and, 
while  in  a  disabled  condition,  was  attacked  by 
the  Lacedsemonians,  who  succeeded  in  captur- 
ing Ira.  Aristomenes  escaped  with  a  band  of 
followers.  They  fled  first  into  Arcadia,  and 
afterwai'ds  into  Rhodes,  where  the  hero  passed 
the  rest  of  his  days.  Many  others  of  his 
countrymen,  led  by  his  sons,  left  Messenia  and 
found  refuge  in  Rhegium  in  Southern  Italy. 
The  memory  of  their  brave  king  was  long 
cherished  by  the  Messenians,  whose  bards  re- 
cited his  heroism  and  recounted  his  reappear- 
ance in  battle. 

Thus,  in  the  year  B.  C.  668,  ended  the 
Second  Messenian  War.  The  people  were  again 
reduced  to  serfdom.  For  three  hundred  years 
they  remained  in  a  state  of  abject  dependence 
upon  the  wills  of  their  conquerors.  Their 
history  during  this  long  period  is  known  only 
in  connection  with  that  of  the  dominant  state. 
Their  territory  Avas  annexed  to  Laconia, 
whose  limits  were  thus  extended  across  Pelo- 
ponnesus from  sea  to  sea.  The  supremacy  of 
the  Spartan  oligarchy  was  thus  completely 
established  in  all  the  southern  portion  of  the 
peninsula.      The  adjacent    parts   of    Arcadia 


were  also  brought  under  their  sway,  and  as 
far  north  as  the  gulf  of  Corinth  there  were 
none  left,  except  the  Tegeans,  courageous 
enough  to  dispute  their  leadership. 

The  city  of  Tegea,  however,  situated  in 
the  south-eastern  portion  of  Arcadia,  deter- 
mined to  fight  for  independence.  The  people 
Avere  brave  and  had  a  warlike  history.  Twice 
they  had  already  measured  spears  successfully 
with  the  Spartans.  In  the  reign  of  Charilaiis, 
nephew  of  Lycurgus,  the  Lacedaemonians  had 
marched  against  Tegea,  but  were  disastrously 
defeated.  Their  king  and  all  the  survivors 
of  the  battle  were  captured.  In  B.  C.  580, 
the  Spartans  again  invaded  the  territory  and 
were  again  routed.  The  prisoners  were  taken 
and  enslaved,  being  obliged  to  toil  in  the  very 
chains  which  they  had  brought  for  the  Te- 
geans. The  latter  thus  maintained  their  in- 
dependence for  thirty  years.  In  B.  C.  560, 
however,  the  struggle  was  renewed  by  the 
Spartan  kings,  Anaxandrides  and  Ariston. 
The  Delphic  oracle  sent  the  Spartans  a  mes- 
sage that  they  should  be  successful  when  they 
secured  the  bones  of  Orestes,  son  of  Agamem- 
non, now  buried  at  Tegea.  This  feat  was  ac- 
complished by  a  stratagem,  and  the  relics 
were  carried  in  triumph  to  Sparta.  Then  the 
tide  turned  against  the  Tegeans.  They  Avere 
defeated  in  several  engagements,  their  city 
was  taken,  and  themselves  reduced  to  depend- 
ency. In  this  case,  however,  the  conquering 
state  preferred  the  alliance  rather  than  the 
enslavement  of  the  people,  and  Tegea  was 
spared  the  fate  of  Ira  and  Ithome. 

The  Spartans  also  succeeded  in  annexing 
the  district  of  Cynuria  to  their  territories. 
This  province  had  belonged  to  Argos,  and  the 
attempt  of  that  city  to  recover  their  possession 
brought  on  war.  It  Avas  agreed  between  the 
tAvo  states  that  the  question  should  be  decided 
in  a  single  combat  between  three  hundred 
chosen  AA^arriors  on  each  side.  The  picked 
force  of  Argives  and  Spartans  Avent  into  bat- 
tle, and  so  fierce  was  the  fight  that  only  two 
of  the  former  and  one  of  the  latter  were  left 
alive.  The  tAvo  Argives,  believing  themselves 
A'ictorious,  bore  the  ucaa'S  to  Argos,  but  the 
Spartan  remained  on  the  field,  stripped  the 
bodies  of  the  dead,  and  claimed  the  Aactory. 


GREECE.— GEOWTH  AND  LAW. 


529 


Thereupon  the  armies  of  the  two  states 
marched  out  and  fought  a  decisive  battle,  in 
which  the  Argives  were  defeated.  Othryades, 
the  Spartan  who  had  survived  from  the  pre- 
vious conflict,  slew  himself  in  despair  because 
he  was  left  alive.  Cynuria  remained  to 
Sparta,  and  Argos  no  longer  dared  to  oppose 
any  impediment  to  the  will  of  the  conqueror. 

Meanw^hile,  in  other  parts  of  Greece,  im- 
portant political  changes  had  taken  place,  by 
which  the  form  of  the  government  in  most  of 
the  states  had  been  altered  to  what  is  known 
as  a  despotism.  In  all  of  the  commonwealths 
except  Sparta  the  kingly  office  had  been 
abolished.  Indeed,  in  such  small  states  the 
institution  of  royalty  could  not  flourish,  for 
the  king  was  seen  and  known  as  a  man  rather 
than  as  a  ruler.  At  his  death  his  son  some- 
times succeeded  to  his  power,  but  was  fre- 
quently limited  to  a  term  of  years.  The  next 
step  was  the  choice  of  some  nobleman  or 
chief,  who,  with  the  title  of  Archon,  exercised 
the  same  authority  hitherto  possessed  by 
the  king;  but  the  officer  so  chosen  was  not 
recognized  as  having  a  dignity  much  above 
that  of  his  fellow  nobles.  So  the  government 
virtually  rested,  after  the  abolition  of  royalty, 
in  the  hands  of  the  few,  and  was  designated 
as  an  oligarchy,  distinguished  on  the  one  side 
from  kingly  prerogative,  and  on  the  other 
from  democracy. 

Such  was  the  general  political  condition  at 
the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  B.  C, 
when  a  new  factor  appeared  in  Greek  politics. 
This  was  the  despot.  He  generally  came  in 
the  character  of  some  leading  citizen,  who  by 
espousing  the  cause  of  the  people  gained  suf- 
ficient power  to  overthrow  the  oligarchy  and 
make  himself  ruler  of  the  city.  He  w^as  gen- 
erally designated  by  the  Greeks  themselves  by 
the  name  of  Tyrant,  but  the  Greek  sense  of 
that  word  is  so  different  from  the  English 
equivalent  as  to  make  the  word  Despot,  or 
Master,  a  better  translation.  As  a  rule  the 
despot  arose  from  the  ranks  of  the  artisans, 
but  sometimes  a  noble  would  take  advantage 
of  his  position  to  become  a  popular  leader. 
The  authority  of  such  a  ruler  when  once 
established  was  generally  exercised  in  an  ar- 
bitrary and  tyrannical  manner,  and  not  infre- 


quently the  Greeks  had  cause  to  deplore  the 
revolution  by  which  such  a  system  of  govern- 
ment had  been  substituted  for  the  oligarchy. 
In  such  cases  the  hatred  of  the  people  for 
their  own  tool  w^ho  had  now^  become  their 
master  was  intense,  and  this  led  to  the  next 
step  in  the  political  evolution,  namely  the 
substitution  of  democracy  for  the  despotism. 

It  will  readily  appear  that  Sparta,  wherein 
the  old  form  of  kingship  had  been  retained 
by  the  Lycurgian  statutes,  was  natui-ally  thrown 
in  her  sympathies  on  the  side  of  the  oligar- 
chies of  Greece,  as  against  the  despotisms  and 
the  growing  tendencies  towards  democracy. 
The  oligarchy  stood  next  to  royalty,  and  in 
the  light  of  this  fact  the  conduct  of  the  Spar- 
tan government  in  its  numerous  interferences 
in  the  affiiirs  of  other  Greek  states  must  be 
interpreted.  Such  interference  became  a  ne- 
cessity of  the  situation,  made  so  by  the  natu- 
ral desire  of  the  Spartans  to  maintain  a  pre- 
ponderating influence  throughout  Greece. 

Just  west  of  the  isthmus  of  Corinth  was 
the  city  of  Sicyon.  Like  the  other  states, 
Sicyonia  had  been  under  the  oligarchical  form 
of  government;  but  in  B.  C.  676,  a  popular 
leader  named  Orthagoras  arose,  and  a  despot- 
ism was  established  instead.  The  primitive 
population  of  the  country,  who  had  never  been 
exterminated  by  the  Dorian  conquerors,  sup- 
ported Orthagoras,  and  he  was  thus  enabled 
to  fix  his  tyranny  so  firmly  that  the  dynasty 
lasted  for  a  hundred  years.  The  last  of  the 
line  was  Clisthenes,  who  was  famed  in  his 
time  for  a  victory  won  in  a  chariot  race  at 
the  Olympic  games.  He  died  in  B,  C.  560, 
and  leaving  no  son  the  despotism  became 
extinct, 

A  similar  tyranny  flourished  in  Corinth  for 
seventy-four  years.  It  began  its  career  with 
the  overthrow  of  the  Bacchiadse  in  B.  C.  655, 
and  w^as  established  by  Cypselus.  He  was 
himself  descended  from  the  nobles,  but  es- 
poused the  cause  of  the  popular  party.  After 
conducting  the  government  well  for  thirty 
years,  he  left  it  to  his  son  Periander,  who  was 
greatly  detested  for  his  cruelty  and  exactions. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  under  his  iron  rule  that 
Corinth  became  one  of  the  leading  cities  of 
Greece — a  place  which   she  held   for  several 


530 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


centuries.  The  tyrant  patronized  art  and 
letters,  and  invited  the  most  learned  men  of 
his  times  to  his  court.  After  reigning  for 
forty  years  he  was  succeeded  by  a  relative, 
Psammetichus,  who  reigned  four  years,  and 
with  him  the  dynasty  perished. 

The  despotism  in  Megara  was  established 
by  Theagenes,  in  B,  C.  630.  He  appeared  in 
the  usual  way  as  a  leader  of  the  people,  over- 
threw the  oligarchy,  and  made  himself  master 
of  the  state.  After  holding  authority  for 
thirty  years,  he  was  driven  from  the  govern- 


tion  to  the  close  of  the  sixth  century  B.  C. 
Meanwhile  a  state  had  arisen  in  Central 
Greece  whose  fame  was  destined  to  be  ever- 
lasting. 

The  story  of  the  founding  of  Athens  by 
Cecrops  has  already  been  given.  From  that 
time  until  the  age  of  Solon,  who  gave  to  the 
state  its  constitution,  the  history  of  Attica 
contains  only  traditions.  One  of  the  principal 
of  these  is  the  consolidation  by  Theseus  of  the 
twelve  districts  into  which  Cecrops  had  di- 
vided the  peninsula.     Another  is  that  of  the 


DEATH  OF  COD RUS.— Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


ment,  but  his  party  punished  the  offense  by 
despoiling  the  homes  of  the  nobles.  An  edict 
was  passed  by  which  all  existing  debts  were 
canceled,  and  the  rich  made  to  refund  the 
interest  which  they  had  received  on  loans. 
These  actions,  however,  so  exasperated  the 
party  of  the  nobles  that  the  latter  rallied  a 
strong  force  and  the  party  of  Theagenes  was 
suppressed.  The  oligarchy  was  reestablished, 
and  remained  as  the  fixed  form  of  government 
for  several  generations.  Such,  then,  was  the 
general  course  of  events  in  Peloponnesus  from 
the  establishment  of  the  Lycurgian  constitu- 


abolition  of  royalty.  In  the  time  of  the  Do- 
rian invasion  of  Attica  the  Delphic  oracle 
gave  answer  to  the  invaders  that  they  would 
be  successful  if  the  life  of  the  Athenian  king 
was  spared.  The  name  of  that  ruler  was 
CoDEus.  Hearing  the  report  of  the  oracle,  he 
disguised  himself,  went  before  the  walls  of 
Athens,  provoked  a  quarrel  with  the  Dorian 
soldiers,  and  permitted  himself  to  be  killed. 
Learning  what  they  had  done  the  Dorians 
broke  up  their  camp  and  retired  from  Attica. 
The  Athenians,  in  joy  for  their  deliverance, 
declared  that  no  one  was  worthy  to  succeed 


GREECE.— GROWTH  AND  LAW. 


531 


Codrus  in  the  government,  and  accordingly  abol- 
ished the  office  of  royalty,  substituting  there- 
for the  archonship.  The  right  to  be  Archou, 
however,  was  for  the  time  limited  to  the  fam- 
ily of  Codrus.  Eleven  members  of  that  family 
succeeded  one  another  in  the  government, 
and  then,  in  B.  C.  752,  the  office  was  limited 
to  a  period  of  ten  years.  Thirty-eight  years 
later  the  restriction  to  the  family  of  Codrus 
was  removed  and  the  archonship.  thrown  open 
to  all  the  nobles.  The  next  step  in  the  road 
to  democracy  was  taken  in  B.  C.  683,  when 
the  office  was  limited  to  one  year's  duration, 
and  distributed  to  nine  persons  instead  of  one. 
Of  these  nine,  however,  one  continued  to  be 
the  chief  archon  and  the  rest  associates.  None 
but  the  nobles  were  eligible  to  the  archonship ; 
so  that  the  government  of  Athens  was  peace- 
ably transferred  from  royalty  to  oligarchy  in 
the  same  manner  as  in  the  states  of  Pelopon- 
nesus. As  yet  the  people  had  no  voice  in 
the  direction  of  public  affairs. 

The  class-distinctions  of  the  Athenian  pop- 
ulace were  arranged — so  says  tradition — by 
Theseus.  There  were  three  castes:  the  Eupa- 
tridce,  or  nobles;  the  Geomori,  or  husband- 
men ;  and  the  Demiurgi,  or  artisans.  The 
first  exercised  all  the  political  and  religious 
rites  of  ttie  people ;  the  husbandmen  tilled 
the  soil ;  the  artisans  plied  their  respective 
crafts ;  but  neither  wielded  any  considerable 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  state. 

From  the  institution  of  the  annual  archon- 
ship, in  B.  C.  683,  the  more  authentic  history 
of  Athens  begins.  Of  the  nine  archons  who 
were  then  appointed  instead  of  the  one  W'ho 
had  held  authority  previously,  one  was  the 
President,  called  Archon  Epoynjmus;  for  the 
year  took  its  name  from  him.  He  was  the 
representative  of  the  State,  and  decided  all 
matters  of  public  importance.  The  second 
archon  was  called  Basileus;  and  to  him  was 
committed  the  oversight  of  Religion.  The 
third  bore  the  title  of  Polemarch,  and  com- 
manded the  army.  The  remaining  six  were 
called  Thesmothetce,  or  legislators.  The  con- 
stitution of  the  Court  of  Areopagus,  or  Sen- 
ate of  Athens,  has  already  been  described.  Such 
was  the  character  of  Athenian  political  society 
in  the  times  preceding  the  legislation  of  Solon. 


The  government  of  the  oligarchy  was  se- 
vere and  arbitrary.  There  were  no  written 
laws,  and  the  precedents  of  the  state  were 
not  well  established.  It  was  withal  a  govern- 
ment of  partiality,  administered  by  the  nobles 
for  the  nobles.  After  about  a  half  a  century 
the  public  discontent  became  so  great  that  a 
nobleman  namejj  Draco,  of  whose  previous 
history  but  little  is  known,  was  appointed  to 
draft  a  code  of  written  laws.  The  work  was 
undertaken  in  B.  C.  624.  The  lawgiver 
adopted  the  constitution  of  Athenian  society 
as  it  was,  and  gave  his  attention  almost 
wholly  to  the  question  of  crime  and  its  pun- 
ishment. His  laws  were  characterized  by  ex- 
treme severity.  All  crimes  were  punishable 
with  death!  The  theory  was  that  a  petty 
theft  deserved  death,  and  for  murder  no 
greater  penalty  could  be  affixed.  It  was  said 
that  his  statutes  were  written  i"n  blood.  Per- 
haps, however,  the  code  was  as  merciful  as 
the  spirit  of  the  age ;  for  the  age  cared  noth- 
ing for  the  sacredness  of  human  life. 

The  code  of  Draco  was  of  little  utility. 
Violence  and  discontent  continued  to  prevail 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  prevent  the  growth 
and  endanger  the  stability  of  the  state.  After 
a  few  years  of  trouble  a  revolution  was  un- 
dertaken by  the  malcontents  headed  by  Cy- 
lon,  one  of  the  Eupatridse.  He  was  the  son- 
in-law  of  Theagenes,  the  tyrant  of  Megara, 
from  whom  he  learned  the  lesson  of  despot- 
ism as  a  cure  for  public  troubles.  Obtaining 
from  the  Delphic  oracle  an  answer  which  he 
regarded  as  favorable,  he  seized  the  Acropolis 
and  undertook  to  maintain  himself  against  the 
authorities  of  the  city,  but  he  was  soon  over- 
thrown and  driven  from  the  country.  Many 
of  his  adherents  were  hunted  down  and  were 
slain  even  at  the  very  altars  of  the  gods  where 
they  had  taken  refuge. 

This  act  of  sacrilege,  however — done  as  it 
was  by  the  orders  of  Megacles,  one  of  the 
archons — terrified  the  people  to  such  a  degree 
that  the  family  to  which  Megacles  belonged 
was  put  under  the  ban  and  their  trial  de- 
manded by  the  court.  But  the  offending 
nobles  could  not  for  the  time  be  brought  to 
justice,  and  the  confusion  in  the  state  grew 
from  bad  to  dangerous,  until  Solon  persuaded 


532 


UIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  family  of  the  Alcmseonidse,  to  which  Me- 
gacles  belonged,  to  submit  their  cause  to  trial. 
The  court  adjudged  them  guilty,  and  they 
were  banished  from  Attica.  Still  the  Athe- 
nians were  terrified  at  the  imagined  anger  of 
the  gods,  and  a  plague  in  the  city  was  attrib- 
uted to  the  vengeance  of  those  w^hose  altars 
had  been  profaned  by  the  shedding  thereat 
of  human  blood.  Nor  could  the  public  mind 
be  quieted  until,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
Delphic  oracle,  the  Cretan  sage  Epimenides 
was  brought  to  Athens  to  purify  her  from 
pollution. 

In  this  business,  which  resulted  in  produc- 
ing comparative  quiet,  the  guiding  hand  of 
Solon  again  appeared.  To  him  the  people  of 
the  city  began  to  look  as  to  one  who  by  his 
wisdom  and  prudence  was  able  to  save  the 
state  from  anarchy.  This  remarkable  man 
was  born  in  the  year  B.  C.  638.  He  was  on 
his  father's  side  descended  from  Codrus,  and 
by  his  mother  was  related  to  Pisistratus.  In 
youth  he  learned  a  trade,  and  afterwards 
traveled  as  a  merchant  in  Greece  and  Asia. 
He  was  a  poet  of  no  mean  ability,  and  while 
yet  comparatively  young  was  reckoned  as  one 
of  the  Seven  Wise  Men  of  his  country.  Re- 
turning from  his  travels,  he  became  interested 
in  public  affairs,  and  soon  acquired  a  great 
reputation  for  probity  and  learning.  In  B.  C. 
600  he  rendered  the  state  most  valuable  ser- 
vice by  commanding  the  Athenian  expedition 
for  the  recoveiy  of  Salamis,  which  had  re- 
volted to  Megara.  After  a  tedious  struggle 
the  decision  of  the  question  was  left  to  the 
arbitration  of  Sparta.  Solon  went  thither  as 
the  ambassador  of  Athens,  and  managed  the 
cause  so  skillfully  as  to  obtain  a  judgment  in 
favor  of  his  country.  Soon  afterwards  his 
fame  was  further  heightened  by  the  influence 
which  he  wielded  over  the  Amphictyonic 
Council  in  inducing  that  body  to  declare  war 
against  the  town  of  Cirrha,  thus  precipitating 
the  Sacred  War. 

At  the  age  of  Solon  the  Athenian  common- 
wealth embraced  three  classes  of  citizens. 
These  were  first  the  Pedimi,  or  wealthy  class, 
who,  living  mostly  in  the  open  country  in 
and  about  Athens,  were  designated  as  The 
Plain  ;    second,  the  Diacrii,   or  poor  people 


of  the  hilly  districts,  who  were  called  The 
Mountain;  third,  the  Parali,  or  mercantile 
class,  living  mostly  on  the  sea-coast,  and 
known  as  The  Shore.  These  classes  were 
arrayed  against  each  other  politically,  and  a 
reconciliation  of  their  interests  seemed  impos- 
sible. The  poor  were  in  great  distress.  The 
rich  had  loaned  them  money,  and  had  charged 
exorbitant  rates  of  interest.  Both  the  prop- 
erty and  the  person  of  the  debtor  were  mort- 
gaged to  the  rapacious  creditor.  Payment 
was  in  most  instances  impossible.  Many  of 
those  who  had  been  bankrupted  had  become 
the  slaves  of  those  whom  they  owed.  Others 
had  been  actually  sold  to  barbarians.  The 
materials  of  a  disastrous  insurrection  were 
ready  to  be  fired  by  the  first  spark  of  agitation. 

The  oligarchs  became  alarmed,  and  ap- 
pealed to  Solon  for  aid.  They  knew  that  he 
had  the  confidence  of  the  Mountain  and  the 
Shore,  as  well  as  their  own.  In  B.  C.  594 
he  was  chosen  archon,  and  was  authorized  to 
exercise  unlimited  powers  in  remodeling  the 
constitution  of  the  state.  All  parties  accepted 
his  appointment  as  an  earnest  of  reform. 
Such  was  the  universality  of  his  influence 
that  he  might  easily  have  usurped  all  the 
functions  of  the  government,  overthrown  the 
oligarchy,  and  made  himself  master  of  Athens ; 
but  his  virtue  was  equal  to  his  ability,  and  he 
rebuked  those  who  tempted  him  to  such  a 
course.  He  entered  upon  his  work  without 
the  least  bias  of  personal  ambition. 

As  a  preliminary  measure  he  abolished  all 
the  laws  of  Draco  except  that  relating  to 
murder.  He  then  divided  the  people  into 
classes,  according  to  their  property  assessment. 
This  division  was  made  the  basis  of  the  new 
political  system  ;  for  a  man's  right  to  political 
preferment  rested  henceforth  on  the  amount 
of  property  of  which  he  was  possessed.  As  a 
measure  of  present  relief,  he  canceled  all 
mortgages  which  had  been  given  on  the  score 
of  interest.  Debtors  sold  into  slavery  were 
set  free.  The  lands  of  the  state  were  freed 
from  encumbrances.  The  power  to  mortgage 
the  person  for  debt  was  annulled.  No  general 
abolition  of  debt  was  attempted  ;  but,  as  a 
measure  of  relief,  the  standard  of  the  coinage 
was  lowered  about  one-fourth,  so  that  the  new 


GREECE.— GROWTH  AND  LAW. 


533 


silver  mina  contained  but  seventy-three  parts 
in  a  hundred  of  its  former  value.  It  was 
found  that  Solon  himself  was  a  loser  by  this 
measure;  for  he  had  loaned  five  talents, 
which  were  paid  back  in  units  of  the  lower 
standard. 

In  the  property  division  of  the  citizens  the 
first  class  was  made  to  consist  of  those  whose 
annual  incomes  were  in  excess  of  five  hun- 
dred measures  of  corn.  These  were  called  the 
Pentacosiomedimni.    The  second  class  embraced 


other  classes  in  numbers,  being  the  common 
people  of  Attica. 

As  to  public  honors,  all  the  higher  offices, 
including  the  archonship,  were  reserved  for 
citizens  of  the  first  class.  The  inferior  offices, 
however,  might  be  held  by  persons  of  the 
second  and  third  classes.  Citizens  of  the 
fourth  rank  might  hold  no  public  trust  what- 
ever. But  these  discriminations  were  counter- 
balanced by  a  just  distribution  of  burdens. 
An  income-tax  was  levied  on  the  first  three 


SOLON  DICTATING  HIS  LAWS. 
Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


all  whose  incomes  ranged  between  three  hun- 
dred and  five  hundred  measures.  They  were 
called  the  Knights,  from  the  fact  that  each  in 
this  rank  was  considered  able  to  furnish  a 
war-horse  to  the  state.  The  third  class  was 
made  of  those  whose  annual  revenues  were 
between  two  hundred  and  three  hundred 
measures  of  corn.  Those  belonging  to  this 
class  were  called  Zeugitce,  from  the  fact  that 
each  was  reckoned  able  to  own  a  yoke  of 
oxen.  The  fourth  rank  embraced  all  whose 
incomes  amounted  to  less  than  two  hundred 
measures.  The  members  of  this  class  were 
designated  as  Thetes,  and  were  in  excess  of  the 


classes,  but  the  fourth  class  was  exempt. 
Citizens  of  the  second  and  third  ranks  were 
subject,  as  well  as  the  first,  to  military  service, 
the  second  furnishing  the  cavalry  and  the 
third  the  heavy-armed  foot.  The  light-armed 
troops  were  furnished  by  the  fourth  rank. 
The  disqualification  of  the  common  people  for 
holding  office  was  compensated  by  the  right 
of  suffrage.  The  right  to  vote  in  the  public 
assembly  was  conceded  to  the  Thetes,  who, 
being  in  the  majority,  might  control  the  elec- 
tion of  the  archons  and  other  officers;  and 
since  the  archon,  at  the  end  of  his  year  of 
office,  was  subject  to  prosecution  before  the 


534 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


assembly  for  his  public  acts,  the  check  of  the 
Fourth  Estate  upon  the  admiuistration  of 
affairs  was  very  salutary. 

As  a  counterpoise  to  this  eulargemeut  of 
the  Assembly,  Solou  instituted  a  Senate,  or 
Council  of  Four  Hundred,  with  whom  all 
matters  of  discussion  in  the  popular  body 
must  originate.  The  senators  were  elected  by 
the  Assembly,  and  in  turn  presided  over  its 
deliberations.  Like  the  archons,  they  held 
office  for  a  year,  and  were  amenable  at  the 
end  of  the  term  for  their  conduct.  The  old 
Court  of  Areopagus  was  retained  by  Solon, 
but  additional  duties  were  imposed  upon  it. 
Besides  its  ancient  powers,  it  was  given  a  gen- 
eral supervision  of  the  laws  and  the  duty  of 
supervising  the  lives  and  occupations  of  the 
people. 

In  the  punishment  of  crime  the  legislation 
of  Solon  was  merciful.  The  thief  must  re- 
turn double  the  value  of  the  thing  stolen. 
Slander  of  either  the  living  or  the  dead  was 
prohibited.  Foreigners  were  invited  to  settle 
in  Attica.  The  father  must  teach  his  son 
some  useful  trade  or  run  the  risk  of  being 
left  uncared  for  in  his  old  age.  He  who  took 
a  prize  in  the  Olympic  or  Isthmian  games 
should  be  rewarded  and  honored.  He  who  in 
case  of  a  civil  sedition  stood  aloof  and  took 
no  sides  was  devoid  of  public  spirit  and  should 
be  disfranchised. 

When  the  Constitution  was  completed  it 
was  inscribed  in  rollers  and  tablets  and  depos- 
ited in  the  Acropolis.  Solon  acknowledged 
that  the  work  was  imperfect,  but  held  it  to  be 
the  best  that  the  Athenians  were  able  to  bear. 
When  the  task  was  completed,  he  bound  the 
Athenians  by  an  oath  to  keep  his  statutes  for 
ten  years,  and  then,  to  avoid  the  annoyance 
of  those  who  were  sure  to  want  alterations 
and  amendments,  he  went  abroad  as  a  trav- 
eler. He  visited  Egypt  and  Cyprus,  and  in 
the  latter  place  was  honored  with  the  found- 
ing of  a  new  town  named  Soli,  in  his  honor. 

Afterwards  he  went  to  Sardis  and  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Croesus.  It  was  on  this  occa- 
sion that  the  celebi'ated  interview  occurred 
which  has  been  so  much  repeated  for  its  lesson. 
Croesus,  desiring  to  make  an  impression  on  his 
visitor,  took  him  into  his  treasury  and  showed 


him  his  riches.  He  then  inquired  of  the  im- 
passive philosopher  whom  he  considered  the 
happiest  man  he  had  ever  seen.  Solon,  after 
some  little  reflection,  named  two  obscure 
Greeks  whom  the  Lydian  had  never  heard  of. 
Mortified  at  being  unable  to  extort  a  compli- 
ment, Croesus  expressed  his  disgust,  but  Solon 
explained  that  no  man  can  well  be  accounted 
happy  until  his  life  is  ended,  since  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  human  affairs  may  soon  bring  even 
the  proudest  to  the  level  of  the  beggar.  For 
the  time  the  lesson  made  no  impression  on  the 
proud  monarch;  but  in  after  years,  when  his 
kingdom  was  overturned  and  himself,  a  pris- 
oner, was  about  to  be  burned  to  death  by  the 
orders  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  Croesus  in  his  an- 
guish cried  out  the  name  of  Solon.  Cyrus 
inquired  upon  what  god  the  condemned  was 
calling,  and  was  told  the  story  of  the  philoso- 
pher's interview  and  saying.  The  lesson  was 
so  well  suited  to  the  Persian  king  that  he  or- 
dered Croesus  to  be  liberated  and  made  him 
his  friend. — It  is  unfortunate  that  this  story 
is  mythical  rather  than  authentic. 

After  ten  years  Solon,  in  B.  C.  562,  re- 
turned to  Athens.  He  found  a  very  un- 
happy state  of  circumstances.  The  Shore,  the 
Mountain,  and  the  Plain  could  not  be  recon- 
ciled. At  the  head  of  the  three  parties  stood 
Megacles,  one  of  the  Alcmseonidse ;  Pisistratus, 
a  cousin  of  Solon ;  and  Lycurgus,  a  wealthy 
Athenian.  The  second  of  these  partisan  chiefs 
had  by  far  the  greatest  influence.  He  was 
an  able  general,  an  accomplished  orator,  and 
a  demagogue.  He  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
Mountain,  not  for  the  Mountain's  sake,  but 
for  his  own ;  for  he  was  ambitious  to  become 
master  of  Athens.  His  plans  were  already 
well  matured  when  Solon  returned  to  Athens. 
The  latter  attempted  to  dissuade  Pisistratus 
to  desist  from  his  ambitious  schemes,  but  fail- 
ing to  influence  him,  he  next  addressed  the 
people  of  the  city  in  poems,  directed  to  the 
political  dangers  which  menaced  the  state. 
These  also  were  ineffectual.  Meanwhile,  a 
crisis  was  precipitated  by  Pisistratus.  Hav- 
ing wounded  himself  and  hacked  his  chariot 
mules  until  they  were  bloody,  he  drove  to 
the  market-square  and  showed  himself  bleed- 
ing to  the  people,  whom  he  told  that  the  Plain 


GREECE.— GROWTH  AND  LAW. 


535 


had  attempted  to  kill  him  for  defending  pop- 
ular liberty.  A  tumult  followed.  The  strat- 
agem was  successful.  The  people  ran  to- 
gether in  an  assembly,  and  against  the  protest 
of  Solon,  voted  Pisistratus  a  body-guard  of 
fifty  men.  He  gradually  increased  the  num- 
ber, and  when  sufficiently  strong  seized  the 
Acropolis  and  made  himself  master  of  the 
city.  It  was  expected  that  Solon  would  be 
banished    or    put    to    death,    but    Pisistratus 


tures  to  Pisistratus,  to  whom  he  proposed  to 
give  his  daughter  in  marriage.  A  scheme 
was  concocted  for  the  return  of  the  exiled 
tyrant.  It  was  arranged  that  a  tall  and  beau- 
tiful woman,  named  Phya,  should  go  to  him 
and  accompany  his  return  in  the  character  of 
Pallas  Athene !  So  the  factitious  goddess 
mounted  the  chariot  beside  the  despot  and 
rode  into  Athens,  the  awe-struck  people 
looking   on   in    wonder   at    the    prodigy,  and 


CRCESUS  SHOWING  SOLON  HIS  TREASURES. 
Drawn  by  H.  Leutemann. 


treated  him  with  kindness,  and  even  solicited 
his  advice  in  matters  of  administration.  But 
the  old  sage  did  not  long  survive.  He  died 
in  B.  C.  558,  and  his  ashes  were,  according 
to  his  will,  sown  in  the  island  of  Salamis,  which 
he  had  won  in  his  youth  for  Athens. 

After  the  usurpation  of  Pisistratus  the 
other  leaders,  Lycurgus  and  Megacles,  were 
for  a  time  driven  from  the  city.  Soon,  how- 
ever, they  combined  against  him,  and  he  in 
turn  was  driven  into  exile.  But  the  Shore 
and   the   Plain   could  not    long    agree.     The 

leaders  quarreled,  and  Megacles   made   over- 
N. — Vol.  I — 33 


quietly    permitting   Pisistratus  a  second  time 
to  usurp  the  powers  of  the  state. 

The  tyrant  married  the  daughter  of  Mega- 
cles, but  soon  treated  her  with  contempt.  He, 
offended  at  this,  abandoned  Pisistratus,  and 
again  made  common  cause  with  Lycurgus. 
After  a  brief  struggle  the  despot  was  again 
driven  off.  His  exile  in  Euboea  lasted  for  ten 
years,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  crossed 
over  into  Attica,  collected  his  partisans  at 
Marathon,  defeated  the  forces  of  his  rivals, 
and  a  third  time  made  himself  supreme  in  the 
city.     The  pardon  which  he  offered  to  those 


536 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


who  had  opposed  him  was  generally  accepted, 
and  those  who  did  not  accejDt  were  exiled. 

The  government  of  Pisistratus  during  the 
Third  Tj^ranny  was  firm  and  severe.  He 
maintained  his  authority  by  means  of  a  band 
of  Thracian  mercenaries.  The  children  of 
those  who  were  suspected  of  j^lotting  against 
him  were  seized  and  sent  to  Naxos.  But  in 
the  matter  of  exactions  his  rule  was  milder 
than  that  of  the  oligarchy.  He  kept  the  stat- 
tutes  of  Solon  without  alteration,  and  was 
himself  obedient  to  the  law.  He  won  the 
applause  of  the  Fourth  Estate  by  throwing 
open  his  gardens  to  the  poor  of  the  city.  He 
adorned  Athens  with  public  buildings.  He 
encouraged  art  and  literature.  He  established 
the  first  public  library  in  Greece,  and  laid  all 
the  world  under  obligation  by  the  collection 
of  the  Homeric  poems.  For  thirty-three 
years  he  kept  Athens  in  a  state  of  tranquillity 
which  she  had  never  known  before.  Dying, 
he  bequeathed  the  government  to  his  two 
sons,  Hippias  and  Hipparchus,  and  they,  in 
B.  C.  527,  began  an  administration  of  the 
same  character  as  that  of  their  father.  Hip- 
parchus was  the  more  noted  of  the  two.  He 
promoted  literature  by  maintaining  at  his 
court  the  poets  Anacreon  and  Simonides.  To 
his  time  belongs  the  setting  up  of  the  Hermce, 
or  small  statues  of  Hermes,  which  were  placed 
along  the  streets  and  in  other  j)laces  to  denote 
boundaries,  and  by  the  inscriptions  which 
they  bore  to  remind  the  people  of  moral  obli- 
gations. 

Matters  were  going  well  in  the  government 
until  a  private  feud  led  to  the  assassination 
ot  Hipparchus.  A  certain  Harmodius,  hav- 
ing given  offense  to  the  two  rulers,  Hippias 
sought  revenge  by  a  public  insult  to  his  sister. 
Harmodius  and  his  friend  Aristogiton  deter- 
mined to  appease  their  anger  by  killing  both 
of  the  governors.  At  the  festival  of  the 
Panathensea  they  stood  with  daggers  hid  in 
their  myrtle  leaves  waiting  their  opportunity. 
But  Hippias  was  seen  conversing  with  one 
who  was  in  the  secret,  and  the  conspirators 
believed  themselves  betrayed.  They,  how- 
ever, made  a  rush  on  Hipparchus  and  cut  him 
down  ;  but  Hippias  escaped.  He  immediately 
arrested   those  who  were  found  to  be  in  the 


conspiracy,  and  they  were  either  executed  or 
banished.  This  was  but  the  beginning  of  a 
career  of  cruelty.  Many  citizens  were  con- 
demned on  mere  suspicion.  The  taxes  were 
increased,  and  the  whole  body  of  the  people 
grievously  oppressed.  There  were  loud  mut- 
terings  of  discontent,  and  the  exiled  family 
of  the  Alcmseonidse  made  an  effort,  though 
without  success,  to  overthrow  the  government 
of  Hippias.  Finally,  however,  through  the 
influence  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  the  Spartans, 
though  hitherto  friendly  to  the  family  of 
Pisistratus,  were  induced  to  interfere  against 
the  Athenian  tyrant.  Their  first  attempt 
ended  in  failure,  but  in  a  second  invasion  of 
Attica,  Hippias  was  defeated  and  obliged  to 
go  into  exile.  He  fled  to  Sigeum,  on  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor,  and  became  a  fruitful 
source  of  disturbance  in  the  relations  between 
the  Greeks  and  the  Persians.  The  expulsion 
of  the  tyrant  was  regarded  by  his  countrymen 
as  a  deliverance  from  thralldom  and  oppression. 

At  this  time  Clisthenes,  the  son  of  Mega- 
cles,  appeared  in  the  theater  of  Athenian  poli- 
tics. The  Spartans,  after  expelling  Hippias, 
had  left  the  people  to  their  own  ways.  It  was 
Clisthenes  who  had  by  his  strategy  won  over 
the  oracle  to  declare  against  the  family  of 
Pisistratus.  To  him  Athens  now  looked  for 
further  assistance.  He  came  as  the  leader  of 
the  popular  party,  and  was  opposed  by  IsAG- 
ORAS,  who  was  backed  by  the  nobles.  Ac- 
cording to  the  statutes  of  Solon  the  First 
Estate  had  a  monopoly  of  the  highest  offices, 
and  this  fact  gave  the  advantage  to  Isagoras. 
But  Clisthenes  laid  the  axe  at  the  root  of  the 
tree  by  proposing  a  change  in  the  constitu- 
tion, by  which  the  Third  Estate  should  be 
admitted  to  a  share  in  the  government.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  the  Athenian  democracy. 

As  a  measure  precedent  to  the  contemplated 
change,  the  four  classes,  or  castes,  into  which 
the  Athenians  had  been  divided  were  abol- 
ished, and  the  whole  body  of  the  populace 
distributed  into  ten  new  tribes.  Until  this 
time  great  numbers  of  residents  in  Attica  had 
not  had  the  rights  of  citizenship,  from  the 
fact  that  they  had  never  been  classified  with 
either  of  the  four  estates.  The  Clisthenian 
plan  proposed  that  all  should  be  included  in 


GREECE.— GROWTH  AND  LAW. 


537 


the  redistribution  of  the  population.  By  this 
plan  the  aggregate  citizenship  of  the  state  was 
vastly  increased  in  numbers,  and  the  increase 
nearly  all  went  to  the  credit  of  the  democracy. 
The  new  distribution  was  not  based  upon 
class-distinctions,  but  on  territory,  the  only 
true  basis  of  political  division.  The  territory 
of  each  tribe  was  called  a  deme,  and  every 
person  living  within  the  district  was  obliged 
to  enroll  himself  as  a  citizen.  Each  deme 
managed    its  local    affairs   in    its    own    way, 


transfer  the  government  from  archons,  or 
governors,  to  the  people,  and  to  substitute  for 
the  close  and  arbitrary  methods  of  the  oligarchy 
the  open  discussions  of  a  public  assembly, 
thus  preparing  the  way  for  the  age  of  Pericles. 
The  military  arrangement  was  based  upon 
the  tribal  distribution.  Each  tribe  elected  its 
own  general,  so  that  an  Athenian  army  was 
generally  commanded  by  ten  officers  of  equal 
rank.  The  old  rank  of  polemarch,  however, 
was  retained  from  the  times  of  the  arclionship 


CLISTHENES  IN  THE  OLYMPIC  GAMES. 


and    had    its     own    magistrate,     called    the 
Demarchus. 

Another  change  introduced  by  Clisthenes 
was  the  enlargement  of  the  senate  to  five 
hundred  members,  or  fifty  from  each  tribe. 
The  powers  of  the  body  were  also  multiplied, 
so  that  a  good  share  of  the  administration  of 
the  state  was  included  in  its  functions.  It 
sat  the  year  around,  and  was  presided  over 
by  the  senators  in  turn.  The  Ecclesia,  or 
Assembly,  met  forty  times  a  year,  and  was 
also  presided  over  by  certain  senators  detailed 
for  that  duty.  The  general  effect  of  the 
whole  movement  directed  by  Clisthenes  was  to 


to  the  date  of  the  Persian  wars.  It  will 
readily  be  seen  that  the  efficiency  of  an 
Athenian  army  would  depend  rather  upon 
valor  and  discij^line  than  upon  generalship, 
for  no  generalship  could  well  be  developed 
under  a  system  which  required  each  command- 
ing officer  to  be  general  for  a  day  and  to  give 
place  to  another  on  the  morrow. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  Athens  was  now 
such  as  to  afford  unusual  opportunities  for  the 
ambitious  citizen  to  become  first  a  demagogue 
and  then  a  despot.  As  a  counterpoise  against 
this  danger,  Clisthenes  introduced  the  Ostra- 
cism.    The  plan  was,  in  brief,  to  banish  by  a 


538 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


popular  vote  for  a  period  of  ten  years  any 
one  who  might  be  considered  dangerous  to  the 
state.  The  method  was  this.  If  the  Senate 
and  Ecclesia  should  first  decide  that  the  state 
was  menaced  by  a  citizen,  the  question  was 
submitted  to  the  people.  Each  citizen  who 
desired  to  vote  wrote  the  name  of  the  person 
whom  he  wished  to  have  banished  on  anostracon, 
or  oyster-shell,  and  dropped  it  into  the  urn. 
If,  when  the  shells  were  counted,  it  was  found 
that  six  thousand  votes  had  been  cast  against 
any  person,  the  measure  was  carried  as  to  him. 
No  special  charge  need  be  preferred  against 
the  person  considered  dangerous.  He  was 
allowed  no  opportunity  of  trial  or  defense. 
The  only  cheering  symptom  of  his  case  was 
that  he  might  return  without  serious  dispar- 
agement at  the  end  of  his  term  of  condemna- 
tion, or  might  be  recalled  at  any  time  by  the 
same  power  which  had  condemned  him  to 
banishment.  None  the  less,  the  abuses  of 
such  an  arbitrary  and  extraordinary  system 
were  fewer  than  might  have  been  expected. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  not  easy  to  get  six 
thousand  free  citizens  to  vote  for  the  exile  of 
another  free  citizen  unless  they  thought  that 
there  were  good  grounds  to  suspect  his  pa- 
triotism. 

The  constitution  proposed  by  Clisthenes 
greatly  heightened  his  reputation  with  his 
countrymen.  His  rival,  Isagoras,  was  driven 
to  the  unwise  extreme  of  inviting  foreign  in- 
fluence to  counteract  what  he  himself  could 
not  successfully  oppose.  So  he  sent  word  to 
the  Spartan  king  Cleomenes  that  one  of  the 
accursed  family  of  the  Alcmseonidse  was  mas- 
ter of  Athens,  and  invoking  his  aid  to  secure 
the  expulsion  of  Clisthenes.  The  Spartan 
accepted  the  invitation  and  marched  a  force 
into  Attica.  But  Clisthenes,  seeing  himself 
the  cause  of  trouble  to  his  country,  retired 
from  Athens  before  the  arrival  of  Cleomenes. 
The  latter,  however,  attempted  to  undo  the 
new  constitution.  He  reduced  the  Senate  to 
three  hundred  men,  and  then  expelled  seven 
hundred  families  of  those  who  w^ere  the  prin- 
cipal supporters  of  the  recent  statutes.  These 
proceedings  so  angered  the  people  that  they 
took  up  arms,  drove  Cleomenes  and  Isagoras 
into  the  citadel,  and  compelled  them  to  sur- 


render. Clisthenes  came  back  on  the  rising 
tide,  and  the  Spartan  king  was  allowed  to  re- 
tire in  disgrace.  Isagoras  went  into  exile, 
but  many  of  his  leading  adherents  in  Athens 
were  put  to  death.  The  reaction  was  so 
strong  as  to  secure  the  complete  establishment 
of  the  new  constitution  as  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  state. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Sparta  would 
tamely  bear  the  recent  humiliation  of  her  king 
by  the  Athenian  democrats.  Clisthenes  clearly 
foresaw  that  Cleomenes  would  renew  the  con- 
flict at  the  earliest  practicable  moment.  He 
accordingly  determined  to  strengthen  himself 
by  a  foreign  alliance.  Messengers  were  sent 
to  Tissaphernes,  satrap  of  Lydia,  requesting 
his  support  for  Athens  in  the  expected  struggle 
with  the  Spartans.  The  message  was  kindly 
received  by  the  Persian  governor,  who  re- 
turned answer  that  if  the  Athepians  would 
send  earth  and  water  as  tokens  of  submission 
to  the  Great  King  he  would  defend  them 
against  their  enemies.  The  messengers  ac- 
cepted the  terms,  but  on  their  return  to 
Athens  the  conditions  were  repudiated  with 
proper  disgust. 

Meanwhile,  Cleomenes  called  together  his 
allies  from  Peloponnesus,  and  marched  a  large 
force  into  Attica  to  Eulusis.  The  Spartan 
kept  to  himself  as  long  as  possible  the  des- 
tination of  the  expedition,  and  when  he  was 
finally  obliged  to  divulge  his  purpose  the 
Corinthians  refused  to  proceed.  His  colleague 
Demaratus  also  opposed  the  further  prosecution 
of  the  campaign.  So  the  whole  movement 
fell  to  pieces.  Unfortunately  for  themselves, 
the  Thebans  and  Chalcidians  of  Euboea  had 
been  induced  by  Cleomenes  to  join  in  the 
movement  against  Athens.  That  city  now 
found  herself  free  to  punish  the  defection  of 
those  from  whom  she  had  a  right  to  expect 
friendship  and  had  received  enmity.  She  ac- 
cordingly sent  a  force  against  Thebes  and  in- 
flicted upon  her  a  severe  defeat.  Thence 
marching  into  Euboea,  the  Chalcidians  were 
still  more  severely  dealt  with.  Their  estates 
were  confiscated  and  divided  among  four 
thousand  of  the  Athenian  poor. 

These  marked  successes  of  Athens  so  fired 
the  jealousy  of  the  Spartans  that  they  deter- 


GREECE.^THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


539 


mined  to  make  a  third  effort  to  undo  the 
democratic  institutions  of  their  rival.  The 
tyrant  Hippias  was  sent  for  from  Sigeum, 
and  coming  to  Sparta  represented  to  her 
assembled  allies  the  great  benefits  from  his 
restoration  to  authority.  But  the  Corinthians 
refused,  as  before,  to  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  the  enterprise.  They  denounced  the 
system  of  despotism  which  Sparta  would 
establish  in  Athens  as  a  wicked  and  bloody 
thing,  and  the  other  allies  were  scarcely  less 
outsjjoken  in  their  denunciations.  Further 
interference  with  Athenian  affairs  had  to  be 
abandoned,  and  Hippias  returned  to  his  exile, 
first  at  Sigeum  and  afterwards  at  the  court  of 
Darius.  Athens  thus  relieved  of  her  perils, 
pursued  her  own  course  under  the  auspices  of 
democracy,  and  was  not  long  in  taking  the 
foremost  rank  among  the  cities  of  Greece. 

Up  to  this  point  in  their  history  a  general 
view   of  the  progress    of    the    Greek    states 


Avould  show  them  pursuing  independent  ca- 
reers and  tending  to  antagonisms  rather  than 
to  unity  among  themselves.  The  final  causes 
of  this  condition  have  already  been  referred 
to  as  existing  in  the  peculiar  country  which 
the  Greek  tribes  settled  and  the  spirit  of  free- 
dom and  individuality  peculiar  to  the  race. 
As  long  as  these  primary  forces  of  develop- 
ment were  left  free  to  work  out  their  own 
results  the  Grecian  commonwealths  preferred 
a  certain  local  completeness  to  any  possible 
union  of  the  Hellenes  in  one  nation.  It  was 
only  when  this  excessive  individuality  was 
overcome  by  the  presence  of  a  common  dan- 
ger that  cooperation  was  rendered  possible 
and  unity  considered  a  good.  The  time  came, 
however,  when  such  a  danger  appeared  im- 
minent and  overwhelming,  and  it  will  be  the 
purpose  of  the  following  chapter  to  recount 
the  heroism  of  the  Greeks  in  the  shadow  of 
the  peril. 


Chapter  xliv.— the   Persian   wars. 


r  will  be  remembered  that 
the  ambition  of  Darius 
the  Great  led  him  into 
an  expedition  against  the 
Scythians  inhabiting  the 
great  plain  between  the 
Don  and  the  Danube. 
The  circumstances  of  that  campaign  have 
already  been  narrated  in  the  History  of  the 
Persian  Emj^ire.'  In  the  conduct  of  the  in- 
vasion the  king  was  in  many  things  depend- 
ent upon  the  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor,  especially 
those  living  on  the  shores  of  the  Hellespont. 
The  course  taken  by  the  expedition  was  deter- 
mined by  the  advice  of  one  of  the  Grecian 
generals,  and  the  bridge  of  boats  by  which 
Darius  crossed  into  Europe  was  built  by 
Greek  carpenters,  and  it  was  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  same  friends  that  the  bridge  was 
left  standing  to  insure  an  easy  return  if  the 
Persians  should  meet  with  disaster.  It  will 
also  be  recalled  that  while  Darius  was  prose- 
^  See  Book  Sixth,  p.  360. 


cuting  the  campaign  a  body  of  Scythians 
came  suddenly  to  the  Hellespont,  reporting 
that  the  Persians  were  defeated,  and  urging 
the  guards  of  the  bridge  to  burn  it  down, 
make  common  cause  with  themselves,  and 
overwhelm  the  invaders.  This  advice  was 
seconded  by  Miltiades,  an  Athenian,  now 
despot  of  the  Thracian  Chersonesus,  and  many 
of  the  Ionian  Greeks  favored  the  same  policy ; 
but  Histiseus  of  Miletus  supported  the  king, 
reminding  the  Ionian  governors  that  if  their 
master  was  destroyed  they  would  perish  with 
him.  This  view  prevailed.  So  Darius  on 
his  return  found  a  safe  exit  from  the  perils 
that  were  gathering  around  him. 

Megabazus  was  left  with  an  army  of 
eighty  thousand  men  to  finish  the  work  on  the 
Hellespont.  He  quickly  reduced  the  rem- 
nant of  the  Greek  cities  which  had  not 
yielded  to  Persia,  and  then,  in  B.  C.  510, 
carried  his  conquest  through  Thrace  to  the 
borders  of  Macedonia.  From  this  point  he 
sent  an  embassy  to   Amyntas,  the  king,  de- 


540 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— TRE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


manding  earth  and  water,  and  these  were  im- 
mediately sent.  This  proceeding  extended 
the  limits  of  the  Empire  to  Thessaly,  so  that 
any  further  enlargement  in  that  direction 
would  involve  a  direct  conflict  Avith  the  Eu- 
ropean Greeks.  Meanwhile,  however,  His- 
tiaus  fell  under  the  suspicion  of  Megabazus, 
who  induced  Darius  to  summon  him  to  Susa. 
Once  there,  he  was  detained  under  the  pre- 
text that  the  Persian  king  could  not  spare  the 
society  of  so  refined  a  gentleman.  The  Greek 
was  soothed  by  permission  to  appoint  his  son- 
in-law,  Aristagoras,  as  ruler  of  Miletus  in  his 
absence. 

There  now  followed  a  few  years  of  calm 
until  a  mere  spark,  struck  from  the  rocks  of 
Naxos,  fired  a  universal  conflagration.  This 
island,  in  B.  C.  502,  was  the  scene  of  a  pop- 
ular insurrection  by  which  the  oligarchical 
party  was  overthrown  and  exiled.  The  lead- 
ers went  to  Miletus  and  applied  to  Aristago- 
ras for  help.  The  latter  readily  consented, 
but  feeling  himself  unable  to  take  up  the 
enterprise  alone,  he  sent  to  Artaphernes,  the 
Persian  satrap  of  Lydia,  to  furnish  the  means 
of  restoring  the  oligai'chs,  assuring  him  that 
by  good  management  the  limits  of  the  Em- 
pire might  thus  be  stretched  across  the  Cyc- 
lades  and  made  to  include  even  the  large 
island  of  Euboea,  lying  in  sight  of  the  main- 
land of  Greece. 

The  very  flattering  overture  was  eagerly 
caught  by  the  Persian.  A  fleet  of  two  hun- 
dred ships  was  equipped  and  the  command 
given  to  Aristagoras.  A  large  land  force, 
commanded  by  Megabates,  was  put  on  board 
with  the  exiled  oligarchs,  and  the  expedition 
weighed  anchor  for  Naxos.  At  Chios  the 
fleet  made  a  brief  pause,  and  here  the  com- 
manders quarreled.  Megabates  was  so  en- 
raged at  the  conduct  of  Aristagoras  that  he 
sent  a  message  to  the  Naxians  and  warned 
them  of  their  danger.  The  latter  immedi- 
ately put  their  city  in  a  state  of  defense ; 
and  after  a  four  months'  siege,  the  forces  of 
Aristagoras  were  obliged  to  withdraw  in  dis- 
grace. The  commander,  on  reaching  Miletus, 
found  himself  in  a  condition  so  critical  that 
he  meditated  an  abandonment  of  the  Persian 
cause  and  a  revolt  of  the  Greek  cities  as  the 


best  means  of  saving  himself  from  ruin.  At 
this  juncture  a  message  came  from  Histiseus 
urging  the  very  course  which  Aristagoras  was 
on  the  eve  of  adopting.  So  the  latter  at  once 
called  together  the  magistrates  of  the  city, 
exi^lained  his  purposes,  resigned  his  authority, 
and  suggested  that  the  other  Greek  cities 
should  be  at  once  advised  to  throw  off  their 
despots  and  the  Persian  yoke  with  them. 
This  popular  impulse  rolled  like  a  wave  down 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Every  city  became 
inflamed  with  the  hope  of  freedom,  and  in 
B.  C.  501  a  general  declaration  of  indepen- 
dence of  Persia  was  adoj)ted. 

The  Asiatic  Greeks  were  wise  enough  to 
know  that  they  had  undertaken  a  contract 
which  must  be  rendered  valid  by  an  indorse- 
ment of  blood.  Aristagoras  at  once  repaired 
to  European  Greece  to  solicit  alliances.  Go- 
ing first  to  Sparta,  he  laid  the  great  cause 
before  Cleomenes,  but  the  latter  could  not  be 
induced  either  by  patriotic  considerations  or 
by  bribes  to  undertake  the  cause  of  the  re- 
volted cities.  In  Athens,  however,  Aristago- 
ras met  with  a  different  reception.  Here  he 
found  an  abundance  of  sympathy,  and  the 
assembly  promptly  voted  an  armament  of 
twenty  ships  to  aid  the  cause  of  the  lonians.^ 
The  city  of  Eretria  furnished  five  ships,  and 
the  fleet  repaired  to  Asia  Minor.  In  the  follow- 
ing spring  Aristagoras,  thus  reenforced,  began 
a  march  into  the  interior  of  Lydia.  Sardis 
was  taken  and  burned  by  a  handful  of 
Greeks,  mostly  Athenians ;  but  to  maintain 
themselves  in  so  distant  a  part  was  impossible. 
A  hasty  retreat  from  the  scene  of  their  au- 
dacity was  all  that  remained  for  them  to  do. 
They  were  followed  by  the  avenging  Persians, 
and  before  they  could  reach  the  cities  on  the 
coast  were  severely  punished  for  their  daring 
deed  of  invasion. 

When  the  news  was  carried  to  Darius  in 
his  palace  at  Susa,  he  gave  way  to  rage.  He 
called  for  his  bow  and  shot  an  arrow  high  in 
air,  and  called  on  the  gods  to  give  him 
vengeance.  He  had  never  heard  of  the  Athe- 
nians and  made  inquiry  who  they  were.     He 

^  This  is  the  act  which  is  declared  by  Herodo- 
tus to  have  been  the  "  beginning  of  mischief  be- 
tween the  Greeks  and  the  barbarians." 


GREECE.— THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


541 


commanded  an  attendant  to  call  out  to  him 
three  times  a  day,  "Lord,  remember  the 
Athenians ! " 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  the  Asiatic 
Greek  towns  could  not  maintain  themselves 
in  the  unequal  struggle.  The  Phoenicians 
furnished  the  Persians  with  fleets.  The  revolt 
in  Cyprus  was  soon  suppressed.  The  Ionian 
cities  fell  one  after  another.  Aristagoras 
abandoned  the  cause  and  was  killed  in  Thrace. 
In  the  meantime  the  crafty  Histiseus  per- 
suaded Darius  to  send  him  into  Ionia  to  help 
the  Persian  generals.  Artaphernes,  however, 
was  not  deceived,  and  openly  accused  the 
Greek  of  having  made  a  shoe  for  Aristagoras 
to  wear.  HistiiBus,  however,  escaped  to  the 
island  of  Chios  and  offered  his  services  to 
the  Greeks;  but  all  were  suspicious  of  him. 
Finding  himself  an  object  of  universal  distrust 
he  turned  pirate,  and  sailed  with  eight  Les- 
bian galleys  towards  Byzantium.  He  preyed 
on  whatever  he  could  find  on  land  and  sea 
until  finally  he  was  overtaken  on  the  coast  of 
Mysia.  Being  carried  to  Sardis,  Artaphernes 
had  him  crucified  and  his  head  sent  to  Darius, 
The  Great  King  seeing  the  pallid  visage  of 
the  man  who  had  once  saved  his  life,  showed 
his  own  humanity  by  having  the  bloody  tro])hy 
honorably  buried. 

Several  of  the  Greek  cities  still  held  out 
against  the  Persians.  Chief  of  these  was 
Miletus,  which  was  besieged  by  a  large  army, 
as  well  as  on  the  side  of  the  ^gean  by  a 
Phoenician  fleet.  The  Greeks  knowing  them- 
selves to  be  strongest  as  sailors  gathered  their 
forces  from  the  various  towns  and  embarked 
them  on  ships.  Their  armament  numbered 
three  hundred  and  fifty-three  vessels  while 
that  of  the  Persians  counted  six  hundred  sail. 
But  the  latter  were  wary  of  their  antagonists 
and  stood  off"  from  battle.  The  Greek  fleet 
lay  by  the  shore  at  Sade,  near  Miletus.  The 
exiled  despots,  now  on  board  of  the  Persian 
ships,  knowing  the  rivalries  and  dissensions 
existing  among  the  Greeks,  became  the  secret 
agents  of  overtures  made  to  them  for  peace 
on  terms  advantageous  to  all  who  would  sail 
away  and  return  to  their  allegiance.  At  first 
these  overtures  were  refused  by  all ;  but  when 
the   Samians  saw   the  jealousies  and   conten- 


tions which  prevailed  to  the  extent  of  destroy- 
ing all  discipline,  they  renewed  the  negotia- 
tions and  agreed  to  withdraw  in  case  of  a 
battle. 

The  Persian  fleet  now  no  longer  forbore 
to  attack,  and  when  the  fight  began  the  Sa- 
mians, according  to  promise,  sailed  out  of  line 
and  bore  away.  They  were  followed  first  by 
the  Lesbians  and  then  by  others  until  the 
hundred  brave  ships  of  Chios  were  left  to 
contend  alone.  These  were  soon  overpowered 
and  destroyed.  Miletus  was  soon  afterwards 
taken,  and  resistance  to  Persian  authority  was 
at  an  end.  Those  who  had  been  engaged  in  the 
revolt  were  treated  with  the  utmost  severity. 
Some  were  put  to  death,  some  sold  into  sla- 
very, and  some  deported  into  foreign  parts. 
The  cities  declined  in  wealth  and  population. 
A  new  sui'vey  of  the  country  was  made  and 
a  tribute  assessed  upon  each  of  the  districts 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Persian  treasury. 

Shortly  after  the  suppression  of  the  Ionian 
revolt,  the  Persian  king  sent  his  son-in-law, 
Mardonius,  to  succeed  Artaphernes  as  satrap 
of  Lydia.  His  government  included  the 
provinces  recently  in  insurrection.  To  him 
Darius  gave  a  large  armament,  with  instruc- 
tions to  seize  and  take  to  Susa  those  Athe- 
nians and  Eretrians  who  had  assisted  in  the 
Ionian  rebellion.  Mardonius,  in  B.  C.  492, 
set  out  on  this  mission.  He  had  a  strong  land 
force  and  a  large  fleet.  He  proceeded  down 
the  coast  of  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  and 
ordered  his  ships  to  join  him  below  Mount 
Athos.  But  while  doubling  this  dangerous 
promontory  a  storm  arose,  which  destroyed 
three  hundred  vessels  and  twenty  thousand 
men.  Soon  afterwards  Mardonius  was  him- 
self defeated  by  the  Brygiaus,  a  race  of  white 
Thracians,  who  slaughtered  a  large  part  of 
his  army.  He  was  glad  to  make  his  way  back 
into  Asia,  covered  with  disgrace. 

Darius  now  determined  to  undertake  the 
conquest  of  Greece  in  person.  In  order  to 
ascertain  the  temper  of  the  Hellenic  states  he 
sent  heralds  to  each,  demanding  earth  and 
water.  All  complied  except  Sparta  and 
Athens,  The  authorities  of  the  former  city 
threw  the  messenger  of  the  Great  King  into 
a  well,  and  the  Athenians  cast  the  herald  into 


542 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


a  pit  and  bade  him  take  his  earth  and  water 
from  there.  At  this  time  Athens  was  at  war 
with  ^gina.  The  ^ginetans  were  of  those 
who  sent  tokens  of  submission  to  Darius. 
The  Athenians  now  called  upon  Sparta  as  the 
leading  Grecian  state  to  punish  the  people  of 
JEgina  for  deserting  the  cause  of  the  country. 
Cleomenes,  the  Spartan  king,  readily  took  up 
the  cause,  and,  proceeding  against  the  ^gine- 
tans,  seized  ten  of  the  leaders  and  gave  them 
to  the  Athenians  as  hostages. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  spring  of  B.  C.  490, 
the  preparations  of  the  Persians  being  com- 
plete, Darius  began  his  invasion  of  European 
Greece.  A  vast  army  was  assembled  in 
Cilicia.  The  fleet  which  was  to  accompany 
the  expedition  numbered  six  hundred  galleys, 
besides  the  transports.  The  command  was 
given  to  the  Median  Datis  and  Artaphernes, 
a  son  of  the  former  satrap  of  Lydia  of  that 
name.  Their  instructions  were  to  conquer  all  the 
Greek  states  that  had  not  already  made  their 
submission,  and  to  take  special  vengeance  on 
Athens  and  Eretria  by  burning  them  to  the 
ground  and  selling  the  inhabitants  into  slav- 
ery. Manacles  were  prepared  and  sent  to  the 
commanders,  with  which  the  Greeks  were  to 
be  bound  and  led  into  captivity.  The  dreams 
of  the  Persian  were  not  troubled  by  any 
specter  prophesying  failure. 

The  expedition  of  Datis  and  Artaphernes, 
departing  from  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  pro- 
ceeded across  the  ^gean  by  way  of  the 
Cyclades.  Naxos  was  taken  and  its  principal 
city  reduced  to  ashes.  All  the  other  islands 
submitted,  nor  did  the  Persians  meet  any  op- 
position until  they  came  to  Euboea.  Eretria 
bravely  defended  herself  for  six  days,  and 
was  then  taken  through  the  treachery  of  two 
citizens,  who  opened  the  gates.  The  city  was 
burnt,  and  the  principal  inhabitants  put  into 
chains,  according  to  the  command  of  the  king. 
It  only  remained  for  Datis  to  cross  the  strait 
and  do  likewise  to  Athens  and  her  imperti- 
nent democracy. 

Here  was  the  rub.  For  the  Athenians  had 
prepared  for  the  crisis  such  means  of  resist- 
ance as  seemed  most  likely  to  stay  the  deluge. 
According  to  the  custom,  ten  generals  had 
been  chosen  to  command  the  army.     Of  these 


the  men  of  greatest  ability  were  Miltiades, 
Themistocles,  and  Aristides.  The  first  was 
the  same  previously  mentioned  as  that  despot 
of  the  Thracian  Chersonesus,  who  advised  the 
destruction  of  the  bridge  of  the  Hellespont  in 
order  to  secure  the  destruction  of  Darius.  In 
the  struggle  of  the  Persians  and  the  Ionian 
cities  Miltiades  had  taken  the  side  of  his 
countrymen,  and  had  captured  Lemnos  and 
Imbros  from  the  enemy.  After  the  revolt  of 
the  Greek  cities  had  been  suppressed  he  fled 
to  Athens  for  safety. 

As  soon  as  the  Athenians  heard  of  the  de- 
struction of  Eretria  they  sent  a  courier  to 
Sparta  imploring  assistance.^  The  Spartans 
returned  a  favorable  answer,  but  the  moon 
was  now  near  her  full,  and  they  could  lend 
no  aid  until  after  the  change !  Such  was 
their  custom.  The  Athenians  took  their 
station  at  Marathon  and  awaited  the  onset. 
Five  of  the  generals  desired  to  delay  until 
after  the  arrival  of  the  Spartans,  but  the 
other  five  washed  to  fight  at  once  while  the 
spirit  of  the  people  was  up  to  the  point  of 
battle.  Finally  the  polemarch,  Callimachus, 
who,  retained  by  the  old  statutes  of  the  oli- 
garchy, now  constituted  the  eleventh  officer, 
gave  his  vote  for  an  immediate  engagement, 
and  it  was  agreed  by  all  that  Miltiades  should 
have  supreme  command  until  the  issue  of  the 
conflict  should  be  determined. 

At  this  critical  moment  a  thousand  Boeo- 
tians from  the  little  town  of  Platsea  arrived 
as  a  voluntary  reenforcement  of  their  country- 
men. Miltiades  could  now  muster  ten  thou- 
sand men  of  heavy  armor,  besides  a  few  light- 
armed  troops,  who  were  not  of  much  moment 
in  battle.  The  Persian  army  numbered  one 
hundred  and  ten  thousand. 

The  plain  of  Marathon  lies  on  the  coast, 
at  the  distance  of  twenty-two  miles  from 
Athens.  It  is  a  tract  semicircular  in  shape, 
defined  at  each  extreme  by  a  promontory 
reaching  into  the  sea.  Between  these  two 
head-lands  the  plain  stretches  along  the  shore, 
a  distance  of  six  miles.     Its  greatest  breadth 


'The  messenger  who  carried  the  petition  of 
Athens  to  Sparta  on  this  occasion  was  Phidippides. 
He  is  said  to  have  run  the  whole  distance  of  a- 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  forty-eight  hours ! 


GREECE.— THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


543 


from  the  sea  to  the  mountains  is,  near  the 
center,  about  two  miles.  The  Persians  were 
arranged  along  the  shore,  and  the  Greeks 
stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  plain  about 
the  middle,  backed  by  the  hills.  Seeing  the 
impossibility  of  giving  strength  to  so  long  a 
line  with  so  small  a  force,  Miltiades  massed 


a  run.  They  traversed  the  mile  of  interven- 
ing space  and  fell  like  two  thunder-clouds  on 
the  astonished  foe.  The  battle  raged  furiously. 
Both  w'ings  of  the  Greeks  drove  the  enemy 
before  them,  but  the  center,  being  weak,  was 
in  turn  broken  through  by  the  Persians.  As 
soon,  however,  as  Miltiades  perceived  himself 


BATTLE  OF  MARATHON. 


his  troops  in  the  two  wings.  He  gave  com- 
mand of  the  right  to  Callimachus,  and  placed 
the  contingent  of  Platseans  on  the  left.  Thus 
at  last  the  Hellenes  stood  face  to  face  with 
the  Medes  and  Persians,  long  regarded  as  the 
invincible  soldiery  of  the  East. 

Miltiades,  anxious  for  battle,  gave  the  or- 
der for  the  onset.     The  Greeks  advanced  on 


victorious  on  the  flanks,  he  recalled  his  wings 
and  fell  upon  the  Persian  center.  Here  were 
the  best  troops  of  Datis's  army.  It  was 
already  late  in  the  afternoon.  The  sun  look' 
ing  over  the  hills  of  Greece  flashed  his  full 
beams  in  the  face  of  her  foes.  After  a  sharp 
resistance  they  broke  and  fled  under  such  on' 
sets  as  they  had  never  felt  before.     They  were 


544 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


pursued  to  the  beach,  where  their  ships  saved 
them  from  annihilation.  As  it  was,  six 
thousand  four  hundred  of  their  soldiers  lay 
dead  on  the  field.  The  Athenians  attempted 
to  fire  the  fleet,  but  only  succeeded  in  de- 
stroying seven  vessels.  The  rest  made  their 
escape,  carrying  the  Persians  with  them.  The 
Athenian  loss  was  one  hundred  and  ninety-two 
meu,  but  among  these  was  the  brave  pole- 
march  Callimachus,  who  here  gave  his  life  for 
the  freedom  of  his  country.^ 

Just  at  the  close  of  the  battle  a  bright  but 
traitorous  shield  was  seen  raised  aloft  on  a 
distant  mountain  in  the  direction  of  Athens. 
It  was  a  signal  for  the  Persian  fleet  to  sail 
thitherward  and  take  the  city  before  the 
soldiers  of  Miltiades  could  return  to  her  de- 
fense. It  was  noticed,  moreover,  by  the 
Greeks  that  the  vanishing  armament  departed 
in  the  direction  of  Cape  Sunium.  Accord- 
ingly, Miltiades  marched  with  all  haste  to- 
wards the  city.  His  conjectures  were  correct ; 
for  just  as  he  arrived  the  Persian  fleet  hove 
in  sight.  But  when  the  army  of  Datis,  about 
to  debark,  saw  before  them  the  same  dusty 
heroes  from  whom  they  had  so  recently  fled 
at  Marathon,  they  could  not  be  induced  to 
land.  They  turned  their  prows  instead  to  the 
shores  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the  ^gean  soon 
rolled  between  Athens  and  her  perd. 

iNIarathon  was  to  the  Greek  what  Bunker 
Hill  is  to  the  American.  After  the  battle  the 
Athenians  gave  themselves  up  to  raptures. 
The  day  became  historic.  Poetry  brought  her 
magic  song  and  imagination  her  legends  to 
add  to  and  hallow  the  remembrance  of  a  deed 
so  great.  It  was  said  that  Theseus  reappeared 
in  the  battle.     At  night  ever  afterwards,  the 

^  It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  genius  of  Byron, 
on  viewing  Marathon,  broke  forth  in  an  unusual 
strain : 

"The  battle-field  where  Persia's  victim  horde 
First  bowed  beneath  the  brunt  of  Hellas'  sword, 

As  on  the  morn  to  distant  glory  dear, 
"When  Marathon  became  a  magic  word, 
Which  uttered,  to  the  hearer's  eye  appear 
The  camp,  the  host,  the  fight,  the  conqueror's 
career — 

The  flying  Mede,  his  shaf tless,  broken  bow ; 

The  fiery  Greek,  his  red  pursuing  spear ; 
Mountains  ahove,  earth's,  ocean's  plain  below, 

Deatli  in  the  front,  destruction  in  the  rear!" 


old  heroes  of  Athens  marshaled  their  hosts  in 
the  clouds,  and  the  noise  of  invisible  warriors 
shouting  to  the  charge,  the  uproar  of  chariots 
and  horses,  and  the  moans  of  dying  spirits, 
could  be  heard  above  that  haunted,  glorious 
field. 

Miltiades  became  the  hero  of  the  day.  No 
mark  of  honor  or  gratitude  was  omitted. 
Besides  the  great  tumulus  or  mound  which 
public  patriotism  and  affection  reared  over  the 
one  hundred  and  ninety-two  immortals  who  fell 
at  Marathon,  a  separate  monument  was  erected 
on  the  field  to  the  memory  of  Miltiades.  His 
influence  became  unbounded ;  but  he  seems  to 
have  belonged,  after  all,  to  that  type  of  heroes 
who  are  able  to  bear  adversity  better  than 
success.  The  memory  of  an  old  resentment 
rose  within  him,  and  forgetting  his  great- 
ness, he  asked  the  Athenians  to  give  him  an 
armament  of  seventy  sail  without  explaining 
his  intentions.  AVhen  the  fleet  was  voted,  he 
sailed  away  to  the  island  of  Paros  and  at- 
tacked the  capital  city;  for  against  a  leading 
citizen  of  that  place  he  harbored  a  grudge  of 
many  years.  But  the  Parians  defended  them- 
selves with  such  vigor  that  Miltiades  was 
about  to  despair  of  success  when  a  priestess  in 
the  temple  of  Demeter  promised  him  success 
if  he  would  visit  the  temple  by  night.  In 
attempting  to  do  so  he  wounded  himself  on 
the  wall,  and  was  barely  able  to  reach  his 
ship.  In  this  miserable  condition  he  was 
obliged  to  return  to  Athens.  He  could  give 
no  honorable  account  of  himself  or  of  the  use 
which  he  had  made  of  his  country's  fleet. 
Charges  were  preferi'ed  against  him,  and  he 
was  brought  in  with  his  gangrened  wound 
and  laid  before  the  judges.  It  was  asked  that 
he  be  condemned  to  death,  but  such  a  sen- 
tence could  not  be  obtained  against  the  hero 
of  Marathon.  He  was  severely  punished  by  a 
fine  of  fifty  talents,  but  before  the  sum  could 
be  raised  he  died  of  his  injury. 

The  next  important  event  in  the  career  of 
Athens  Avas  her  war  with  JEgina.  For  a  long 
time  there  had  been  between  the  city  and  this 
island  a  feeling  of  suppressed  hostility.  In 
B.  C.  506  the  ^ginetans  had  given  aid  to 
the  Thebans  in  a  strife  with  the  Athenians,  and 
had  even  invaded  the  territory  of  Attica  with- 


GREECE.— THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


545 


out  a  declaration  of  war.  These  acts  were 
laid  to  heart  by  the  city ;  and  when  ^giua 
made  haste  to  abandon  the  Greek  cause  by 
sending  earth  and  water  to  the  Persian  king, 
the  feeling  of  resentment  against  her  was 
greatly  increased.  It  will  be  recalled  that 
Cleomenes,  one  of  the  Spartan  kings,  had,  on 
account  of  this  act  of  the  J^giuetans,  and  at 
the  instigation  of  Athens,  gone  to  the  island 
and  inflicted  a  severe  punishment.  After  the 
battle  of  Marathon  the  authorities  of  JUgiua 
demanded  back  the  hostages  which  they  had 
been  compelled  to  give  to  the  Athenians,  and 
the  refusal  of  the  latter  to  do  so  led  to  a  dec- 
laration of  Avar.  Hostilities  were  vigorously 
waged  on  both  sides,  but  the  conflict  had  not 
long  continued  until  Athens  discovered  the 
great  disadvantage  at  which  she  was  j^laced 
by  having  no  navy.  It  was  clearly  impossi- 
ble to  carry  on  a  successful  war  at  sea,  or 
with  a  country  lying  in  or  beyond  the  sea, 
without  the  employment  of  a  fleet.  The  little 
island  of  ^gina  was  able,  in  the  present  con- 
dition of  affairs,  to  look  across  the  Sarouic 
gulf  and  laugh  at  Attica.  Moreover,  it  was 
seen  by  the  wise,  and  especially  by  Themisto- 
CLE8,  who  had  now  become  the  political  leader 
of  the  Athenians,  that  it  was  only  a  question 
of  time  when  the  Persian  king  would  renew, 
on  a  still  more  formidable  scale,  the  attempt 
against  Grecian  freedom.  The  prudent  states- 
men of  the  city  discerned  in  this  remote  dan- 
ger far  greater  ground  of  apprehension  than  in 
the  petty  imbroglio  with  the  ^ginetans. 

So  Themistocles  introduced  in  the  assembly 
that  important  measure  by  which  the  whole 
current  of  Athenian  history  was  changed — the 
proposition  to  build  a  large  fleet  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  state.  It  was  fortunate  that 
the  treasury  of  Athens  was  now  in  a  condition 
to  warrant  the  proposed  action.  The  silver 
mines  of  Laurium  had  recently  yielded  so 
largely  that  a  surplus  was  at  the  disposal  of 
the  city,  and  a  proposition  was  actually  pend- 
ing at  the  time  to  distribute  the  same  among 
the  citizens.  Themistocles  took  advantage  of 
all  these  facts  in  the  advocacy  of  his  measure, 
and  had  the  good  fortune  to  secure  its  passage. 
It  was  ordered  that  a  fleet  of  two  hundred 
vessels  be  at  once  built  and  equipped  at  pub- 


lic expense,  and  to  this  was  added  another 
clause  that  hereafter  twenty  ships  should  be 
annually  added  to  the  navy. 

Thus  was  Greece  made  ready  for  the  com- 
ing storm.  For  Darius  was  nursing  his 
wrath  for  a  final  explosion.  In  the  interval 
between  the  battles  of  Marathon  and  Sala- 
mis — a  period  of  ten  years — the  public  affairs 
of  Athens  were  directed  by  Themistocles  and 
Aristides,  two  of  the  greatest  Greeks.  The 
first  owed  his  preeminence  to  talent  and  pol- 
icy ;  the  second,  to  integrity.  In  the  adapta- 
tion of  means  to  ends  and  in  that  far-sighted 
discernment  by  which  the  plans  of  men  and 
states  are  peneti*ated  and  laid  bare,  the  palm 
must  be  awarded  to  Themistocles;  but  in 
soundness  of  moral  perception  and  undevi- 
ating  conformity  to  the  right  as  the  best 
means  of  reaching  the  desired  object,  Aristi- 
des stands  first  among  the  Greeks,  if  not 
among  all  the  statesmen  of  antiquity.  He 
was  named  the  Just,  and  posterity  has  not 
challenged  the  title. 

Such  was  the  then  condition  of  Athenian 
society  that  these  two  eminent  men  were 
brought  into  constant  antagonism.  Themis- 
tocles was  the  progressive  and  Aristides  the 
conservative  leader.  They  broke  heavy  lances 
over  the  question  of  building  the  fleet.  Aris- 
tides held  that  to  do  so  was  to  change  the 
habits  of  the  people  to  the  injury  of  the  state. 
He  urged  that  the  heavy  armed  soldiers  were 
a  better  protection  in  Greece  than  any  number 
of  ships,  and  that  out  of  Greece  the  Athenians 
had  no  business  to  be  engaged  in  war.  But 
the  logic  of  events  w'as  against  him.  Not 
only  did  the  arguments  of  Themistocle's  pre- 
vail with  the  assembly  and  senate,  but  the 
public  voice  was  so  strongly  against  Aristides 
that  the  ostracism  was  turned  to  his  downfall 
and  he  was  sent  into  exile.  This  act  of  the 
Athenians  left  Themistocles  without  a  rival, 
and  in  this  attitude  of  leader  he  stood  in  the 
hour  of  the  most  tremendous  crisis  that  Greece 
had  ever  witnessed. 

For  Darius  had  not  forgotten  Athens. 
How  he  spent  years  in  preparing  the  ava- 
lanche which  was  to  fall  upon  and  overwhelm 
the  impudent  cities  of  European  Greece ;  how 
the  Great  King,  when   his  preparations  were 


546 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


well-nigh  completed,  was  surprised  and  de- 
tained by  a  revolt  in  Egypt,  and  how  ere  this 
was  suppressed  he  suddenly  died — has  been 
narrated  in  the  preceding  pages/  And  how 
Xerxes,  inheriting  his  father's  hatred  of  the 
Greeks,  coming  to  the  throne  in  the  full  flush 
of  early  manhood,  and  receiving  the  vast 
array  of  men  and  ships  already  marshaled 
and  equipped  by  Darius,  determined  to  pros- 
ecute the  great  scheme  of  Grecian  subjection, 
has  been  recounted  in  the  same  connection. 

To  make  sure  of  an  easy  and  expeditious 
advance  Xerxes  sent  forward  his  builders  to 
construct  a  bridge  of  boats  across  the  Helles- 
pont, and  his  diggers  to  cut  off  the  neck  of 
Mount  Athos.  By  the  one  structure  he  would 
make  his  way  with  dignity  from  Asia  into 
Europe,  and  by  the  other  work  would  secure 
a  safe  passage  for  his  fleet  from  the  Strymouic 
into  the  Singitic  gulf.  The  construction  of 
the  great  bridge  and  the  dramatic  passage  of 
the  Hellespont  by  the  countless  hosts  of  the 
Persians  have  been  heretofore  described  in 
the  History  of  Persia,  and  need  not  be  here 
recounted. 

After  he  had  traversed  for  some  distance 
the  coast  line  of  Thrace  the  king  paused  in 
the  plain  of  Doriscus  to  number  his  forces. 
The  enumeration  and  method  of  making  it  have 
already  been  given  in  Book  Sixth,  to  which 
the  reader  is  referred  once  for  all  for  an  ac- 
count of  the  Persian  progress  from  Sardis  to 
Thermopylae.''' 

The  fleet  kept  in  close  relation  with  the 
land  force  as  far  as  the  canal  which  had  been 
cut  by  the  king's  command,  but  after  making 
the  passage  was  ordered  to  double  the  two  re- 
maining promontories  of  Sithonia  and  Pallene 
and  rejoin  the  army  at  the  city  of  Therma, 
now  Thessalonica,  on  the  coast  of  Macedonia. 
After  passing  Olympus,  Xerxes  entered  a 
country  not  hitherto  subdued  to  his  authority, 
and  from  this  point  the  invasion  proper  began. 

The  Greeks,  meanwhile,  were  on  the  alert 
to  repel  as  well  as  they  might  the  terrible  host 
which  was  rolling  down  upon  them.  A  con- 
gress of  the  states  was  called  to  meet  at  Cor- 
inth, with  a  view  to  uniting  the  whole  race  in 
an   effort  to  save  their  native  land  from  de- 

1  See  Book  Sixth,  p.  362.    ''Ibid.  pp.  363,  364. 


struction ;  but  the  meeting  was  unsuccessful. 
To  most  of  the  cities  it  seemed  preposterous 
to  attempt  to  resist  the  Persians.  Many  sent 
earth  and  water.  Only  a  few  would  attend 
the  congress.  Some  of  these  opposed  defens- 
ive measures  and  withdrew.  The  whole 
brunt  of  protecting  the  Hellenic  world  against 
the  barbarians  fell  on  Sparta  and  Athens.  In 
all  Central  Greece  only  the  Athenians  and 
Phociaus  and  the  people  of  the  two  small 
towns  of  Platsea  and  Thespia  in  Boeotia  stood 
firm  for  the  defense  of  native  land.  Such 
states  as  Thebes,  with  its  grudge  against 
Athens,  and  Argolis,  with  its  deep-seated  an- 
tipathy to  Sparta,  witnessed  the  approach  of 
Xerxes  with  indifference,  if  not  with  pleasure. 
Neither  the  distant  states  nor  the  colonies 
sent  any  aid  to  those  who  had  determined  for 
the  sake  of  Greece  to  throw  themselves  across 
the  path  of  the  invader. 

The  Athenians  in  this  emergency  behaved 
Avith  great  magnanimity.  They  effected  a  recon- 
ciliation with  the  people  of  ^gina,  and  thus 
gained  the  codperation  of  their  fleet.  They 
conceded  to  the  Spartans  the  supreme  com- 
mand in  the  approaching  conflict.  Themisto- 
cles,  both  in  the  congress  and  the  field,  waived 
his  claims  in  favor  of  his  allies.  The  two 
states  bound  themselves  in  a  solemn  covenant 
to  resist  to  the  death,  and  it  was  agreed  that 
in  case  of  success  one-tenth  of  the  property 
of  every  Greek  city  that  had  refused  to  sup- 
port the  national  cause  should  be  consecrated 
to  the  Delphian  Apollo. 

All  preparations  being  completed,  it  was 
determined  to  meet  the  enemy  in  the  pass  of 
Thermopylae.  Where  Mount  QEta  comes 
down  to  the  sea,  pressing  for  the  distance  of 
a  mile  the  morass  along  the  margin  of  the 
Malian  Gulf,  and  barely  leaving  space  at 
the  entrance  and  exit  for  the  passage  of  a 
wagon  road,  lay  the  defile  through  which  the 
Persian  host  must  pour  into  Central  Greece. 
The  place  was  defensible  in  the  highest  de- 
gree. The  narrow  strait  of  Euboea,  lying  be- 
tween the  island  of  that  name  and  the  main- 
land, could  easily  be  blockaded  by  an  inferior 
fleet,  and  the  enemy  be  thus  prevented  from 
carrying  troops  to  the  southern  extremity  of 
the    pass.     It   was   thus   provided  by  nature 


GREECE.  — THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


547 


that  a  small  but  resolute  band  of  men  might 
be  able  to  stand  for  an  indefinite  time  in  the 
face  of  an  overwhelming  foe. 

The  fleet  of  the  allies,  under  command  of 
the  Spartan  Eukybiades,  now  sailed  to  the 
north  of  Euboea  and  took  its  station  ofi"  Cape 
Artemesium.  At  the  same  time  a  small  body 
of  troops  was  sent  to  occupy  the  pass  of 
Thermopylse.  It  was  the  eve  of  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Olympic  games,  and  the  people  of 
Sparta,  with  that  strange  nonchalance  for 
which  the  race  is  noted,  preferred  to  attend 
to  the  festival  first  and  the  Persians  after- 
wards. It  was  believed  that  the  handful  of 
men  already  advanced  to  Thermopylae  could 
hold  the  pass  until,  the  games  being  over,  the 
main  body  should  arrive    for  their  support. 

The  advance  which  was  thus  sent  forward 
to  keep  Asia  at  bay  for  a  week  consisted  of 
three  hundred  Spartans,  three  thousand  heavy- 
armed  troops  from  the  other  states  of  Pelo- 
ponnesus, seven  hundred  Thespians,  four  hun- 
dred Thebans,  one  thousand  Phocians,  and 
about  the  same  number  of  Locrians.  With 
this  force  of  nearly  seven  thousand  men,  Leon- 
IDAS,  the  young  king  of  Sparta,  who  had  been 
placed  in  command  with  the  simple  order  to 
defend  Thermopylae  against  the  Persians,  took 
possession  of  the  pass  and  awaited  the  onset. 
Having  ascertained  from  the  Phocians  that 
there  was  a  route  over  the  mountains  by  which 
it  was  practicable  for  the  enemy  to  make  his 
way  into  Central  Greece,  he  placed  the  Pho- 
cian  contingent  on  the  heights  with  orders  to 
thwart  any  such  movement  should  it  be  begun. 

With  the  approach  of  the  Persians  there 
was  much  trepidation  among  the  Peloponnesian 
troops,  and  many  desired  to  retreat  to  the 
isthmus  of  Corinth,  and  there  make  a  stand 
at  the  doorway  of  Southern  Greece;  but  the 
influence  of  Leonidas  prevailed  over  such  un- 
patriotic fears,  and  the  battle  began  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  pass.  Here,  when  the  Per- 
sian's came  in  sight,  they  beheld  a  few  Spar- 
tans running  and  leaping  as  if  in  sport,  while 
others  were  combing  their  long  hair  as  though 
preparing  for  a  festival.  Demaratus,  the  ex- 
iled Spartan  king,  who  accompanied  Xerxes 
on  the  expedition,  explained  to  the  monarch 
that  this  conduct  on  the  part  of  his  country- 


men meant  that  they  were  devoting  themselves 
to  death,  and  that  nothing  might  be  expected 
except  resistance  as  long  as  one  man  was  left 
alive. 

Not  able  to  appreciate  such  strange  conduct, 
Xerxes  tarried  four  days,  believing  that  the 
absurd  project  of  defense  would  be  abandoned 
and  that  the  Spartans  would  disperse.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  sent  a  demand  to  Leonidas 
to  give  up  his  arms.  The  true  Laconic  reply 
was,  "Come  and  take  them."  When  the 
Spartan  was  told  that  the  Persians  were  so 
numerous  that  a  discharge  of  their  darts 
would  cloud  the  sky,  he  answered,  "That  is 
good ;  we  shall  fight  in  the  shade  ! " 

On  the  fifth  day  a  band  of  Medes  was  sent 
forward  to  clear  the  pass.  They  were  killed. 
Others  were  sent  forward,  and  were  killed. 
Xerxes  leaped  up  in  rage  and  agony  from  the 
seat  which  had  been  prepared  for  him  from 
which  to  witness  the  battle.  The  Immortals 
were  ordered  to  the  charge,  and  were  cut  to 
pieces.  On  the  second  day  the  scene  was  re- 
newed. Heap  after  heap  of  Pei'sian  slain 
was  piled  at  the  upper  entrance  to  the 
pass.  The  darts  of  the  barbarians  fell  harm- 
less on  the  bronze  shields  of  the  Spartans. 
The  rage  of  the  bafiled  king  knew  no  bounds, 
but  just  as  he  was  about  to  despair  of  forcing 
his  way  through,  the  secret  mountain-path  was 
revealed  to  him  by  a  traitorous  Malian,  and 
he  at  once  ordered  his  generals  to  begin  an 
advance  by  that  route.  A  large  detachment, 
led  by  the  informant,  set  out  at  nightfall. 
The  Phocians  who  had  been  appointed  to 
guard  the  path  were  alarmed  at  the  unex- 
pected approach  arid  retired  to  the  heights. 
The  passage  of  the  Persians  to  the  rear  of 
Leonidas  was  thus  unopposed. 

The  Spartan  called  a  council  of  war,  and 
there  was  much  division  of  opinion.  The 
greater  number  favored  a  retreat  while  it  was 
yet  possible.  The  privilege  of  taking  this 
step  was  freely  conceded  by  Leonidas,  but  as 
for  him  and  his  Spartans  there  was  but  one 
course  to  pursue.  The  laws  and  customs  of 
their  country  did  not  permit  them  to  abandon 
a  post  which  had  been  committed  to  their 
charge.  The  order  of  the  king  was  specific ; 
he  was  to  defend  the  pass.    That  he  would  do. 


548 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Death  was  nothing.  The  seven  hundred 
Thespians  resolved  to  share  the  fate  of  such  a 
leader  and  his  men.  The  four  hundred  The- 
bans  who  had  been  obliged  to  join  the  expe- 
dition rather  as  hostages  than  as  soldiers  were 
detained  to  face  an  unwilling  death.  The 
remainder  retired  from  the  pass  and  escaped. 

As  soon  as  Xerxes  supposed  that  the  de- 
tachment sent  over  the  mountains  had  reached 
the  southern  entrance  to  the  pass,  he  ordered 
a  renewal  of  the  attack.  Leonidas  and  his 
comrades  now  advanced  into  the  open  space 
and  fought  like  lions.  Every  man  became  a 
hero,  and  before  each  one  was  a  heap  of  Per- 
sian dead.  By  and  by,  as  the  Persian  hosts 
were  thrust  forward  by  those  in  the  rear,  the 
heroic  ranks  began  to  thin.  Their  lances 
were  broken,  and  they  were  obliged  to  take 
their  swords.  They  were  beaten  back  inch 
by  inch.  Every  man  kept  his  face  to  the 
foe.  They  retired  within  the  pass  and  gained 
possession  of  a  hillock,  where  they  huddled  to 
die  together.  The  Thebans  begged  for  quar- 
ter, and  explained  that  they  fought  against 
their  will.  They  were  spai'ed.  Around  the 
remnant  on  all  sides  the  Persians  closed  rank 
on  rank.  It  was  the  ever-narrowing  circle  of 
doom.  Javelins  were  showered  in  their  faces 
by  thousands.  Man  by  man  they  sank  and 
perished.  Not  one  remained  alive  from  the 
glorious  sacrifice.  Persia  had  another  taste 
of  Hellas. 

On  the  hillock  where  the  heroes  died  a 
marble  lion  was  set  up  in  honor  of  Leonidas — 
fit  emblem  of  his  valoi'.  The  inscription  said  : 
' '  Four  thousand  Poloponnesians  here  fought 
with  three  millions  of  the  foe."  Another 
couplet,  intended  for  the  Spartans,  ran  thus: 

"  Go,  tell  the  Spartans,  thou  that  passest  by, 
That  here  obedient  to  their  laws  we  lie." 

In  the  meantime,  the  Greek  fleet  under 
Eurybiades  had  had  a  terrible  battle  with  the 
Persian  armament  at  Artemesium.  Before 
th3  engagement,  however,  a  great  storm  driv- 
ing shoreward  had  struck  the  enemy's  fleet 
while  anchored  at  Aphetse  and  wrecked  no 
fewer  than  four  hundred  ships.  Still,  they 
were  so  much  superior  to  the  Greeks  in  num- 
bers— the  latter  having:  but  two  hundred  and 


seventy-one  vessels — that  it  was  with  diflBculty 
that  Eurybiades  and  Themistocles  induced 
their  captains  to  hazard  battle.  As  a  pre- 
cautionary measure  they  withheld  the  attack 
until  nearly  nightfall,  so  that  in  case  of  dis- 
aster they  might  have  the  advantage  of  dark- 
ness. But  the  onset  of  the  Greek  ships  was 
successful,  and  when  night  fell  the  advantage 
lay  with  the  allied  fleet.  Nevertheless,  so 
great  was  the  apprehension  of  the  sailors  that 
the  use  of  Eubcean  gold  in  the  hands  of  The- 
mistocles was  that  night  necessary  to  keep 
the  armament  steady  for  the  work  of  the 
morrow. 

During  the  night,  however,  another  violent 
storm  arose  and  wrought  such  fearful  havoc 
with  the  Persian  fleet — at  the  same  time  in- 
juring the  Greeks  but  little  on  account  of 
their  sheltered  position — that  in  the  morning 
the  enemy  declined  battle.  In  the  course  of 
the  day  a  squadron  of  fifty-three  additional 
ships  from  Athens  arrived  as  a  reenforcement, 
and  the  spirits  of  the  Greeks,  fired  by  good 
omens  and  encouraged  by  home  support,  rose 
to  a  pitch  of  enthusiasm  flaming  for  the 
fight.  On  the  following  day  the  Persian  fleet 
formed  a  semicircle  and  bore  down  for  battle. 
The  Greeks,  in  order  not  to  be  surrounded, 
supported  themselves  by  the  shore.  Through 
the  whole  day  the  conflict  ivaged  furiously. 
The  Persians  did  not  surrender  the  mastery 
of  the  world  without  a  struggle  worthy  of  a 
better  cause.  Their  overwhelming  force  of 
ships  and  sailors  gave  them  the  advantage 
even  against  the  superior  valor  of  the  Greeks. 
At  nigthfall  the  Persians  had  lost  most  ships, 
but  the  allied  fleet  had  suffered  so  greatly 
that  it  was  deemed  prudent  not  to  continue 
the  fight.  At  this  juncture,  moreover,  news 
arrived  of  the  fall  of  Leonidas,  and  it  was  at 
once  resolved  to  withdraw  from  the  Eubcean 
coast  for  the  defense  of  Attica.  So,  during 
the  night  after  the  battle,  the  fleet  fell  back 
through  the  strait,  doubled  CajDC  Sunium,  and 
anchored  at  Salamis. 

Notwithstanding  the  enormous  losses  which 
had  been  inflicted  on  the  Persians,  they  were 
steadily  bearing  down  for  the  accomplishment 
of  their  object.  Attica  lay  open  to  invasion. 
The  fatal  folly  of  the  Spartans  in  neglecting 


GREECE.— THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


549 


to  send  their  whole  force  to  the  north  to  stay 
the  Persian  advance  at  Thermopylae  was  now 
bearing  its  disastrous  fruit  in  the  exposure  of 
Southern  as  well  as  Central  Greece.  Several 
cities  hitherto  wavering  now  went  over  oiienly 
to  the  enemy.  Xerxes  was  only  six  days' 
march  from  Athens.  Themistocles  urged  the 
people  to  gather  together  their  effects  and 
abandon  the  city.  The  advice  was  accepted 
with  reluctance;  but  the  Delphic  oracle 
added  its  voice  to  the  persuasion  of  the 
Athenian  leaders.     The  Sacred  Serpent  kept 


money.  The  Areopagus  voted  funds  to  re- 
pair the  fleet  and  to  support  the  emigrant 
population. 

On  his  way  down  from  Thessaly  Xerxes 
ravaged  the  country.  Phocis  was  severely 
punished  for  her  refusal  to  submit.  Her  de- 
serted towns  were  destroyed  and  her  people 
driven  to  the  hills.  The  patriotic  cities  of 
Thespiee  and  Platsea  were  plundered  and 
burned.  At  Delphi  occurred  an  extraordi- 
nary episode.  Apollo,  by  his  oracle,  forbade 
the   removal  of  the  treasures  of  his  temple. 


DISCOMFITURE  OF  THE  PERSIANS  AT  DELPHI. 


in  the  temple  of  Athene  Polias,  on  the  Acrop- 
olis, left  the  altar  and  escaped.  So  the  terri- 
fied people  were  induced  to  follow.  Some 
went  to  Mgina,  others  to  Troezen,  many  to 
Salamis. 

The  Delphic  oracle  had  said  that  a  "  wooden 
wall"  should  protect  the  Athenians.  Albeit, 
a  wooden  wall  might  mean  the  fleet.  So 
the  oracle  Avas  interpreted  by  Themistocles. 
Others  said  it  meant  the  walls  of  Athens. 
Not  all  of  the  people  would  leave  their  homes. 
For  once  dissension  ceased.  On  the  proposi- 
tion of  Themistocles  all  sentences  of  banish- 
ment   were    revoked.     The    rich    gave    their 


On  came  the  Persians  to  lay  sacrilegious  hands 
on  the  accumulated  gifts  of  centuries  of  de- 
votion. They  began  defiling  through  one  of 
the  gorges  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Parnassus, 
making  their  way  towards  the  temple.  Of  a 
sudden  there  were  peals  of  thunder  overhead. 
Great  crags  were  loosened  from  their  places 
and  rolled  down  upon  the  terrified  ranks  o£ 
the  barbarians.  The  gods  had  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Greeks.  Spectral  warriors  of 
gigantic  stature  were  seen  hovering  with  re- 
vengeful look  in  the  rear  of  the  terror-stricken 
host  as  it  turned  to  fly  from  its  profane  pur- 
pose of  plunder. 


550 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  Athens  a  few  desperate  persons  seized 
the  Acropolis  and  determined  to  defend  it. 
When  Xerxes  reached  the  city  he  found  the 
stronghold  surrounded  by  wooden  walls,  but 
these  he  soon  fired  Avith  burning  arrows.  The 
hill  was  presently  carried  and  its  defenders 
slaughtered.  The  temple  and  other  buildings 
situated  there  were  sacked  and  burned.  The 
city  was  pillaged  and  given  to  the  flames. 
The  Persian  had  remembered  Athens ;  but  it 
was  noticed  that  in  the  space  of  two  days  the 
sacred  olive-tree  on  the  Acropolis  suddenly 
thrust  forth  a  green  shoot  a  cubit  in  length. 
Athene  saw  her  city  in  ashes,  but  spoke  by 
the  olive  branch  the  promise  that  she  should 
arise  from  her  despair  and  ruin. 

Meanwhile,  the  Persian  fleet,  re-collecting 
its  energies  after  the  dubious  victory  of  Arte- 
mesium,  sailed  into  the  bay  of  Phalerum. 
There  were  still  more  than  a  thousand  ships 
spared  from  the  vengeance  of  the  sea  and  the 
prowess  of  the  Greeks.  In  opposition  to  this 
immense  squadron  the  allies  could  number 
but  three  hundred  and  sixty-six  vessels,  of 
which  two  hundred  were  Athenian  galleys, 
and  the  rest  from  the  confederate  states.  As 
soon  as  Xerxes  reached  the  coast  he  inspected 
his  fleet  and  held  a  council  of  w^ar.  It  was 
determined  to  make  an  immediate  attack 
upon  the  Greek  armament  and  at  the  same 
time  to  send  forward  the  land  forces  towards 
Peloponnesus.  This  decision  was  reached 
with  great  unanimity  by  the  Persian  com- 
manders, only  Queen  Artemesia,  of  Halicar- 
nassus,  opposing   the   views  of  the  majority. 

On  the  other  side  there  were  dissensions 
among  the  Greeks.  The  Peloponnesian  com- 
manders were  eager  to  abandon  Salamis  and 
sail  southward  for  the  protection  of  their  own 
coasts ;  JHit  Themistocles  with  great  vehe- 
mence urged  the  necessity  of  fighting  where 
they  were.  He  showed  the  great  importance 
of  giving  battle  in  the  narrow  strait  where 
the  superior  numbers  of  the  Persians  would 
give  them  but  little  advantage.  Nevertheless, 
the  opposite  opinion  prevailed  and  it  w'as 
voted  to  retreat. 

After  the  council  Themistocles  repaired  to 
the  ship  of  Eury blades,  and  succeeded  in 
winning    him    over    to    the    idea   of  present 


battle.  The  commanders  were  again  called 
together,  and  after  some  discussion  were  or- 
dered by  Eurybiades  to  prepare  for  action. 
Later  in  the  night,  however,  news  arrived 
from  Sparta  representing  the  distress  of  the 
people  on  account  of  the  absence  of  the  fleet, 
and  begging  for  its  return.  The  council  was 
a  third  time  convened,  but  Themistocles  had 
now  determined  to  accomplish  by  a  stratagem 
what  he  could  not  effect  by  argument.  He 
despatched  a  trusted  messenger  to  Xerxes, 
and  informed  him  that  the  Greek  fleet  was 
about  to  sail,  and  advising  the  Persian  to 
divide  his  squadron,  send  one-half  around  the 
island  to  the  other  extremity  of  the  strait  and 
shut  up  the  Greeks  in  their  present  predica- 
ment. This  advice  was  acted  on  by  Xerxes; 
and  before  the  adjournment  of  the  council 
Aristides,  returning  from  his  banishment, 
reached  Salamis,  came  into  the  assembly,  and 
informed  the  body  that  the  Persian  fleet  now 
occupied  both  ends  of  the  strait,  and  that 
they  must  fight  or  perish.  The  scheme  of 
Themistocles  had  succeeded. 

With  the  morning  Xerxes  had  a  throne 
erected  on  Mount  ^galeos,  op2:)osite  the  bay 
of  Salamis,  and  from  this  perch  he  would 
view  the  battle.  Necessity  had  now  brought 
the  Greeks  to  their  work,  and  w'ith  ardor  they 
prepared  for  battle.  Themistocles  was  in  his 
glory.  The  Greek  seamen  were  early  at  their 
posts;  nor  were  the  Persians,  now  under  the 
eye  of  their  king,  slow  in  preparing  for  battle. 
At  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  the  allied  fleet 
moved  forward  to  the  attack.  Just  about  to 
engage  the  foe,  however,  they  were  seized 
with  alarm  and  fell  back  to  the  beach.  But 
then  appeai'ed  above  the  ships  a  female 
figure,  perhaps  the  august  Athene  herself, 
and  waved  them  to  the  attack.  The  Athenian 
vessels  thereupon  bravely  made  the  onset, 
followed  by  the  rest,  nor  was  there  any  fur- 
ther wavering.  All  day  long  the  fight  con- 
tinued. The  Persian  fleet  became  more  and 
more  confused  in  the  narrow  waters,  which 
aflforded  no  room  for  evolutions.  The  ships 
were  crowded  upon  each  other  and  became 
helpless.  The  attacks  of  the  Greeks  grew 
constantly  more  audacious.  The.  fate  of  their 
country  now  depended  on    the   blows  which 


GREECE.— THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


551 


they  dealt  upon  the  barbarians.  Every  ship 
that  went  to  the  bottom  brought  a  revival  of 
hope,  a  promise  of  freedom.  As  the  sun  sank 
low,  victory  declared  for  the  Greeks.  Two 
hundred  of  the  Persian  ships  had  been  de- 
stroyed. Many  more  were  captured.  The 
whole  bay  was  covered  with  the  wreck  of 
Asia.  As  the  issue  declared  itself  Xerxes,  in 
the  extremity  of  terror  and  despair,  rose  and 
fled.  The  residue  of  the  fleet  was  scattered 
to  the  winds. 

The  episode   of  the  battle   of  Salamis  oc- 


landed  on  the  island  were  attacked  by  a  body 
of  heavy-armed  soldiers  led  by  Aristides,  and 
were  destroyed  to  a  man.  The  victory  was 
complete,  and  the  sun  set  on  one  of  the  most 
glorious  days  in  Grecian  history.^ 

Xerxes,  becoming  concerned  for  his  per- 
sonal safety,  quitted  the  country  with  all 
haste.  There  was  no  need  for  such  a  flight; 
for  his  army  was  but  little  reduced  in  num- 
bers, and  of  his  fleet  there  still  remained  a 
squadron  much  larger  than  that  of  the  Greeks ; 
but  the  king  had  enough    of   that   peculiar 


BATTLE  OF  SALAMIS. 


cured  when  Artemesia,  queen  of  Caria,  who 
had  tried  to  dissuade  the  king  from  risking 
all  in  the  straits  of  Salamis,  performed  prodi- 
gies of  valor  in  the  fight.  "  My  men  are 
women  to-day,  and  my  women  men,"  said 
Xerxes,  as  he  beheld  her  bravery.  Finally, 
turning  to  fly,  she  struck  a  galley  commanded 
by  one  of  her  own  countrymen,  and  sent  both 
it  and  the  crew  to  the  bottom.  The  Greek 
commanders,  seeing  the  deed  and  believing  it 
to  have  been  purposely  done,  allowed  the 
queen  to  escape  without  pursuit.  In  the 
meantime  the  Persian  troops  that  had  been 
N.— Vol.  1—34 


glory  which  came  of  battles  with  the  Greeks, 
and  was  eager  to  leave  the  land  which  his 
father  had  been  so  anxious  to  remember. 
Pressing  forward  as  rapidly  as  he  could 
through  Boeotia  and  Thessaly,  he  came,  after 
a  march  of  forty-five  days,  to  the  Hellespont. 

'  Lord  Byron's  graphic  verse  on  the  battle  of 
Salamis  should  not  be  omitted : 

"A  king  sate  on  the  rocky  brow 

Which  looks  o'er  sea-born  Salamis; 
And  ships  by  thousands  lay  below, 

And  men  in  nations;  all  were  his! 
He  counted  them  at  break  of  day — 

And  when  the  sun  set  where  were  they? 


552 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  guard  which  had  accompanied  him  were 
reduced  by  famine  and  disease.  Here  the 
fleet  had  been  ordered  to  congregate  after  the 
defeat  at  Salamis.  The  king  found  his  ships, 
but  the  great  bridge  had  been  destroyed  by 
the  storms.  He  and  his  forces  were  carried  to 
the  opposite  side,  and  were  safe  in  Asia. 
And  in  the  company  there  were  no  Athenians 
wearing  fetters! 

As  soon  as  the  Greek  commanders  at  Sala- 
mis saw  themselves  victorious  they  began  a 
pursuit  of  the  Persian  fleet.  This  they  kept 
up  as  far  as  the  island  of  Andros.  The  peo- 
ple of  many  of  the  Cyclades  had  sided  with 
the  Persians  in  the  recent  struggle,  and  were 
now  made  to  feel  severely  the  folly  of  such  a 
course ;  for  Themistocles  punished  them  with 
little  mercy  for  their  defection  from  the  na- 
tional cause.  From  Andros  onward  the  Persian 
armament  pursued  its  course  without  molesta- 
tion to  the  Hellespont,  where  it  received  the 
king  and  a  remnant  of  his  forces,  and  carried 
them  across  to  Asia. 

Xerxes  did  not  regard  his  flight  from 
Greece  as  an  abandonment  of  the  purposes 
for  which  the  expedition  was  undertaken. 
Before  determining  his  own  course  after  the 
battle  of  Salamis,  he  held  a  conference  with 
Mardonius,  to  whom  he  intrusted  the  com- 
pletion of  the  conquest  of  Greece.  For  this 
purpose  three  hundred  thousand  men  were 
left  under  his  command.  Mardonius  flattered 
his  master  with  the  assurance  that  the  reverses 
which  he  had  suffered  were  but  temporary 
checks  to  the  general  progress  of  subjugation, 
that  one  great  object  of  the  invasion — the  de- 
struction of  Athens — had  been  accomplished, 
that  in  the  following  spring  he  himself  would 
complete  the  work,  and  that  Xerxes  might 
now  retire  from  the  country  without  dishonor. 
This  specious  theory  of  the  results  of  the  in- 
vasion had  a  soothing  effect  on  the  king,  who 
gladly  left  his  son-in-law  behind  to  finish  or 
be  finished,  and  himself  speedily  returned  to 
the  ease  of  his  own  capital.  His  throne  in 
the  palace  of  Susa  was  an  easier  seat  than 
that  which  he  had  filled  for  a  day  on  the 
cliff"  above  Salamis! 

While  the  battle  of  Salamis  was  fighting, 
another    conflict    was     raging    between    the 


Greeks  of  Sicily  and  the  Carthaginians,  who 
had  invaded  the  island.  The  people  of  Sicily 
were  like  the  Greeks  of  Hellas,  divided  into 
two  parties.  One  of  these  favored  the  pre- 
dominance of  Carthaginian  influence  in  the 
island,  while  the  other  upheld  the  national 
spirit,  favoring  independence.  A  certain 
Terillus,  governor  of  Himera,  had  been  ex- 
pelled by  Theron,  the  despot  of  Agrigentum. 
The  deposed  ruler  and  his  adherents  invited 
in  the  Carthaginians,  who,  in  B.  C.  480, 
came  three  hundred  thousand  strong  under 
the  lead  of  Hamilcar,  and  proceeded  to  be- 
siege Himera.  But  Gelon,  the  governor  of 
Syracuse,  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  city  with 
an  army  of  fifty-five  thousand  troops,  and 
with  this  force — comparatively  small  as  it 
was — attacked  and  routed  the  Carthaginians 
with  a  loss,  if  we  may  trust  Diodorus,  of  one- 
half  of  their  army,  Hamilcar  being  among 
the  slain.  The  Carthaginian  fleet  was  then 
set  on  fire  and  consumed.  The  victory  of 
the  Sicilian  Greeks  was,  if  possible,  more  com- 
plete than  that  which  their  countrymen  were 
at  that  hour  winning  in  the  bay  of  Salamis. 

With  the  opening  of  spring  the  remnant 
of  the  Persian  fleet  in  the  jEgean,  numbering 
four  hundred  vessels,  gathered  at  the  island 
of  Samos.  At  this  time  the  Grecian  squadron 
of  one  hundred  and  ten  ships  lay  at  -^gina ; 
but,  notwithstanding  the  great  disparity  in 
the  numerical  strength  of  the  two  armaments, 
the  Persians  made  no  sign  of  a  disposition  to 
venture  a  battle.  It  was  their  business  rather 
to  keep  a  watch  on  the  Ionian  cities,  which 
were  again  showing  signs  of  insurrection. 

Meanwhile,  Mardonius  began  his  campaign 
for  the  comj)letion  of  the  conquest  of  the 
Greek  states.  His  first  measures  were  diplo- 
matic. He  consulted  the  oracles  of  Boeotia 
and  Phocis,  and  promulgated  the  idea  of  a 
Perso-Athenian  alliance  against  the  Spartans. 
Alexander,  the  then  king  of  Macedonia,  was 
sent  to  the  authorities  of  Athens  with  flatter- 
ing overtures.  Their  city  should  be  restored. 
Their  territory  should  be  extended.  The  king 
of  Persia  would  become  their  friend.  Sparta 
should  be  humiliated.  The  first  place  should 
be  given  to  Athens.  But  the  seductions  of 
the  foe  were  all  in  vain.     Alexander  was  dis- 


GREECE.— THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


553 


missed  with  words  to  the  effect  that  his  j^er- 
sonal  safety  would  better  be  consulted  before 
he  became  the  bearer  of  another  such  a  mes- 
sage to  the  Athenians.  Sparta,  however,  was 
anxious,  and  sent  envoys  to  counteract  the 
dangerous  temptations  held  out  by  the  Per- 
sians. To  these  messengers  Athens  replied  that 
all  that  was  expected  of  Sparta  was  that  she 
should  send  an  array  into  Attica  to  help  pro- 
tect the  northern  frontier  against  the  coming 
attack  of  Mardonius.  The  envoys  promised, 
then  went  home,  and  then,  with  their  usual 
perfidy,  pleaded  adverse  omens  as  a  reason  for 
non-fulfillment. 

In  May  of  B.  C.  479  Mardonius  again 
advanced  into  Attica  and  occupied  Athens. 
The  people  of  the  city  retired  as  before  to 
Salamis.  From  hence  they  sent  a  hurried 
embassy  to  Sparta,  imploring  aid  against  the 
common  foe  and  intimating  (what  they 
never  intended)  that  circumstances  might 
compel  them  to  accept  the  overtvires  of  the 
Persians.  No  answer  was  returned  for  the 
space  of  ten  days,  and  the  Athenians  were  on 
the  edge  of  despair,  when  the  aged  Chileos  in 
the  Spartan  council  reminded  them  that  if  an 
alliance  should  be  effected  between  the  Athe- 
nians and  the  Persians,  the  ships  of  the  former 
might  easily  bring  the  whole  army  of  the  lat- 
ter into  the  heart  of  Peloponnesus.  The 
Spartans  were  thrown  into  the  utmost  alarm 
by  the  suggestion,  and  a  force  of  ten  thousand 
men,  besides  a  still  larger  body  of  Perioeci 
and  Helots,  was  at  once  dispatched  into  Cen- 
tral Greece.  The  command  of  this  army  was 
given  to  Pausanias,  the  Spartan  regent  for 
the  son  of  Leonidas. 

Mardonius,  seeing  that  diplomacy  was  use- 
less, destroyed  what  remained  of  Athens,  and 
retiring  into  Boeotia  took  his  station  near  the 
little  town  of  Plat^a.  Here  he  laid  off  a 
camp  a  mile  and  a-quarter  square,  and  forti- 
fied it  with  barricades.  The  Spartans,  ad- 
vancing by  way  of  the  isthmus,  were  reen- 
forced  by  eight  thousand  Athenians,  three 
thousand  Megarians,  and  six  hundred  Platse- 
ans.  The  total  force  gathered  for  the  battle 
numbered  thirty-eight  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred heavy-armed  soldiers,  seventy  thousand 
Helots  and  other  troops  of  light  armor,  and 


one  thousand  eight  hundred  Thespians — - 
amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and  tea 
thousand  men. 

Crossing  the  range  of  Cithaeron,  the  Greeks 
came  in  sight  of  their  foe  drawn  up  in  order 
of  battle.  Having  no  cavalry,  Pausanias 
occupied  the  rougher  grounds  and  aimed  to 
draw  the  Persian  from  the  position  which 
gave  freedom  to  his  horse.  Mardonius  or- 
dered a  charge  against  his  antagonist,  and  the 
same  was  bravely  made.  The  Greeks  suffered 
not  a  little  from  the  onset,  but  were  success- 
ful in  killing  Masistius,  the  commander  of  the 
cavalry.  They  threw  his  body  into  a  cart  and 
exhibited  it  along  the  lines.  When  the  Persians 
fell  back  from  the  onset,  Pausanias  descended 
from  the  heights  for  a  general  battle  on  the 
grounds  chosen  by  the  Persians.  The  right 
wing,  being  the  post  of  honor,  was  held  by 
the  Spartans,  and  the  left  by  the  Athenians. 
The  little  river  Asopus  lay  between  the  two 
armies.  Mardonius,  with  the  best  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  took  his  position  in  the 
left  wing,  so  as  to  face  Pausanias  and  his 
Lacedaemonians,  the  Persian  right,  numbering 
fifty  thousand  men,  being  allotted  to  the 
Greek  allies  of  the  enemy.  Then  there  was 
a  pause.  Destiny  from  one  side  of  the  river 
glared    in    the    face    of   Fate    on    the  other. 

Both  armies  were  reluctant  to  begin  the 
contest.  For  eight  days  each  maintained  its  po- 
sition, fearing  the  awful  hazard  of  the  onset. 
Finally,  Mardonius  succeeded  in  cutting  oflf 
the  supply  train  of  the  Greeks,  and  captured 
five  hundred  of  their  beasts  of  burden  in  de- 
files of  the  Cithseron.  He  was  then  advised 
to  follow  up  this  policy,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  try  the  effect  of  bribes  upon  the  leaders  of 
the  Greeks.  But  Mardonius  rejected  the  ad- 
vice and  gave  the  orders  for  a  general  attack. 

On  the  following  night  an  incident  oc- 
curred highly  illustrative  of  the  spirit  and 
disposition  of  the  age  and  people.  Alexander 
of  Macedon  stole  out  of  the  Persian  camp  in 
the  darkness,  rode  to  the  Greek  outposts, 
called  for  Aristides,  and  informed  him  of  the 
impending  attack.  As  an  excuse  for  his 
treachery,  he  added:  "I  am  myself  a  Greek 
by  descent,  and  with  sorrow  would  I  see 
Hellas  enslaved  by  these  Persians." 


554 


UNIVERSAL  mSTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Aristides  at  once  informed  the  generals  of 
the  Greeks  of  what  might  be  expected  on  the 
morrow,  and  preparations  were  made  accord- 
ingly for  the  coming  battle.  Still,  with  the 
morning  dawn,  each  army  hesitated  to  make 
the  onset.  Finally  the  Persian  cavalry  began 
the  fight,  and  succeeded  in  cutting  off  the 
Greeks  from  the  fountain  of  Gargaphia, 
fv'hich  supplied  the  camp  with  water.  This 
was  the  only  important  movement  of  the  day. 

With  the  coming  of  night  Pausanias  gave 
orders  for  the  Greeks  to  fall  back  a  mile  and  a 


soon  as  the  front  line  of  the  Persians  had  re- 
coiled from  the  shock,  Pausanias  gave  the  or- 
der to  charge.  The  fighting  became  at  once 
general  and  desperate.  The  Persians  exhib- 
ited unusual  valor.  They  flung  themselves 
with  reckless  courage  upon  the  spears  of  the 
Spartans,  only  to  be  transfixed  by  the  thou- 
sand. The  invincible  Lacedaemonian  phalanx 
moved  forward  like  an  avalanche  in  its  work 
of  destruction.  It  seemed  a  huge  beast  forti- 
fied on  every  side  with  bristling  quills,  urging 
its  way  now  to  the  right  and  now  to  the  left, 


SPARTANS  AT  PLAT.EA. 


half  to  a  position  which  he  considered  more 
favorable  for  the  battle.  This  change  of  po- 
sition, however,  was  not  accomplished  without 
considerable  confusion  ancl  dispute  among  the 
officers  of  the  allied  army.  On  seeing  the 
Spartans  in  full  retreat — a  sight  not  often 
witnessed  by  a  Persian  general — Mardonius 
at  once  gave  orders  for  pursuit.  The  Persians 
dashed  across  the  Asopus,  ascended  the  hill 
recently  occupied  by  the  Greeks,  and  fell 
upon  the  Lacedaemonians,  hastily  but  steadily 
deployed  into  line  of  battle.  The  onset  made 
but  little  impression   on  the  Greeks,  and  as 


trampling  in  the  bloody  dust  the  mangled 
bodies  of  the  barbarians.  Mardonius  at- 
tempted in  vain  to  stay  the  battle.  At 
the  head  of  his  body-guard  of  a  thousand 
men,  he  fought  with  conspicuous  bravery 
until  he  was  pierced  with  a  Grecian  dart  and 
fell  dead  from  his  charger.  It  was  the  signal 
of  the  rout. 

The  Persians,  immemorially  accustomed 
to  attribute  victory  and  defeat  to  their 
leader,  broke  and  fled  beyond  the  Asopus. 
So  rapidly  had  the  work  of  destruction  been 
accomplished  by  the  allied  army  that  a  divi- 


GREECE.— THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 


555 


sion  of  forty  thousand  Persians,  commanded 
by  Artabazus,  did  not  reach  the  field  until 
after  the  rout.  More  panic  struck,  however, 
than  his  fellow-generals  who  had  participated 
in  the  battle,  he  broke  away  without  deliver- 
ing a  blow,  and  fled  in  the  direction  of  the 
Hellespont.  The  allied  Greeks,  flushed  with 
victory,  pursued  the  main  body  of  the  Per- 
sians to  their  fortified  camp  beyond  the  Aso- 
pus,  stormed  the  barricades,  and  slaughtered 
the  disorganized  barbarian  host  till  the  whole 
area  ran  with  blood.  Rarely  in  the  annals 
of  war  had  such  a  scene  of  carnage  been  wit- 
nessed as  the  infuriated  Greeks  enacted  in 
this  final  arena  of  the  great  invasion.  Such 
was  the  fearful  destruction  that  of  the  three 
hundred  thousand  soldiers  in  the  army  of 
Mardonius,  only  three  thousand  or  four  thou- 
sand escaped  with  their  lives.  The  sword  of 
Hellas  had  pierced  the  heart  of  Asiatic 
pomp  and  the  huge  carcass  of  despotism  was 
stretched  upon  the  plain  of  Platsea,  never  to 
rise  again. 

Ten  days  were  consumed  in  dividing  the 
spoils  of  the  battle.  The  body  of  Mardonius 
was  decently  buried  by  Pausanias.  The 
sword  and  silver-footed  throne  of  the  Persian 
commander  and  the  breast-plate  of  Masistius 
were  carried  in  triumph  by  the  Athenians  to 
Athens  and  deposited  among  the  trophies  of 
the  Acropolis.  Immense  was  the  booty  gath- 
ered from  the  field  and  camp.  Every  thing 
with  which  oriental  luxury  and  magnificence 
could  decorate  an  army  was  strewn  for  miles 
in  the  dust.  Of  this  one  portion  was  set  aside 
for  the  Delphic  oracle  ;  another  share  went  to 
the  temple  of  the  Olympian  Zeus;  and  still 
another  to  the  Isthmian  Poseidon.  Pausanias 
himself  was  largely  rewarded  from  the  wreck 
of  Asia,  and  the  remaining  enormous  aggre- 
gate of  booty  was  divided  among  the  allied 
forces  in  proportion  to  their  numbers. 

Of  all  the  Greek  cities  that  had  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  Persians,  the  most  conspicu- 
ous in  her  treason  to  the  national  cause  was 
Thebes.  In  the  recent  battle  the  Theban 
contingent  had  been  posted  by  Mardonius  op- 
posite the  Athenians,  and  had  fought  Avith 
desperate  valor.  To  punish  them  and  their 
city  seemed  to  the  allies  to  be  the  first  duty 


incumbent  after  the  destruction  of  the  Persian 
army.  Accordingly  the  Spartans  proceeded 
to  ravage  the  Theban  territory  and  besiege 
the  city.  A  demand  was  made  upon  the 
authorities  that  those  leaders  who  had  led  the 
people  into  the  unnatural  alliance  with  the 
Persians  should  be  given  up  for  punishment. 
When  this  was  refused  on  the  part  of  the 
city,  the  leaders  made  a  voluntary  surrender 
of  themselves,  expecting  that  a  large  ransom 
would  procure  their  relief.  It  was  a  fatal 
mistake.  For  no  sooner  were  they  in  the 
power  of  Pausanias  than  they  were  sent  to 
Corinth  and  executed  without  trial. 

On  the  same  day  of  the  battle  of  Platsea, 
which  completed "  the  wreck  of  the  Persian 
army,  the  final  destruction  of  the  great  fleet 
was  accomplished  on  the  coast  of  Asia  ]\Iinor. 
After  transferring  across  the  Hellespont  that 
remnant  of  the  Persian  army  which  accom- 
panied Xerxes  on  his  homeward  flight,  what 
remained  of  the  Persian  squadron  from  the 
havoc  of  Artemesium  and  Salamis  dropped 
down  the  coast  and  anchored  at  the  headland 
of  Mycale,  near  the  city  of  Miletus.  Thither 
they  were  pursued  by  the  Spartan  leader 
Leotychides;  but  before  his  arrival,  the  Per- 
sians, rather  than  hazard  another  sea-fight 
with  the  victorious  Greeks,  drew  their  remain- 
ing ships  ashore,  surrounded  them  with  a  ram- 
part, and  placed  for  their  defense  an  army  of 
sixty  thousand  Persians  under  command  of 
Tigranes. 

The  Greeks  followed,  came  to  anchor,  made 
a  landing,  and  immediately  joined  battle.  No 
sooner  were  the  first  defenses  of  the  Persians 
carried  by  the  impetuosity  of  the  attack 
than  they  turned  and  fled.  They  were  hotly 
pursued  into  the  principal  fortification,  which 
was  soon  carried  by  the  assailants,  though  not 
without  some  desperate  fighting.  As  soon, 
however,  as  the  Spartan  reserve  came  up 
and  the  Ionian  Greeks  in  the  army  of  Ti- 
granes mutinied  in  the  ranks,  the  victory  was 
completed.  Tigranes  and  Mardontes,  the 
other  Persian  general,  were  both  killed;  the 
fleet  was  burned  to  ashes,  and  as  the  coast 
wind  scattered  them  along  the  shore  and  bay^ 
the  last  fragments  of  the  greatest  expedition 
known   in   the  annals  of   the    ancient  world 


556 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


were  tossed  into  dust  and  oblivion.  The 
dreams  of  him  who  three  times  daily  at  his 
own  command  was  reminded  to  remember  the 
Athenians,  and  the  proud  .visions  of  his  son, 
cherished    from    the    jialace    of   Susa    to   the 


Hellespont,  and  from  the  Hellespont  to  Thes- 
saly,  had  been  so  completely  dissipated  that 
no  ambitious  imagination  of  Oriental  king  or 
general  ever  durst  again  evoke  them  from 
the  shadows. 


CHAPTER  x:ivV.— The  Athenian  Ascendency. 


0  general  of  the  Greeks 
ever  showed  himself  less 
able  than  Pausanias  to 
bear  success  with  equa- 
nimity. After  the  battle 
of  Platsea,  he  began  at 
once  to  disj)lay  his  vanity, 
his  insolence,  his  disloyalty.  He  hired  Si- 
mouides,  the  poet,  to  attribute  the  victory 
solely  to  himself;  and  a  like  piece  of  vain- 
glory was  manifested  in  an  inscription  which 
he  caused  to  be  i:)laced  on  a  tripod  at  the 
shrine  of  Delphi.  Still  he  remained  in  com- 
mand of  the  Spartan  army,  and  conducted  a 
successful  campaign  against  Byzantium.  At 
the  capture  of  this  place,  several  members  of 
the  royal  household  fell  into  his  power.  This 
fact  furnished  him  with  an  opportunity  to 
open  negotiations  with  the  Persian  court,  in- 
volving his  own  perfidy  and  treason.  He 
sent  privately  to  Xerxes  the  members  of  his 
family,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  it  out  to 
his  own  countrymen  that  his  high-born  Persian 
captives  had  escaped.  Along  with  this  princely 
present  to  the  Great  King,  he  sent  to  him  a 
letter  to  the  following  eflJect: — 

"Pausanias,  the  Spartan  commander,  wish- 
ing to  oblige  thee,  sends  back  these  prisoners 
of  war.  I  am  minded,  if  it  please  thee,  •  to 
marry  thy  daughter  and  to  bring  Sparta  and 
the  rest  of  Greece  under  thy  dominion.  This 
I  hold  myself  able  to  do  with  the  help  of  thy 
counsels.  If,  therefore,  the  project  at  all 
pleases  thee,  send  down  some  trustworthy  man 
to  the  coast  through  whom  we  may  carry  on 
aur  future  correspondence." 

This  letter,  being  so  full  of  perfidy,  was 
of  precisely  the  kind  to  delight  a  Persian 
monarch — particularly    Xerxes.      He    imme- 


diately responded  in  a  manner  highly  flatter- 
ing to  Pausanias.  The  princess  was  promised 
to  him  in  marriage ;  lavish  supplies  of  money 
were  sent  forward,  and  he  was  urged  to  prose- 
cute his  plans  as  rapidly  as  possible,  with  the 
assurance  that  the  king  of  Persia  would  not 
be  slow  in  supplying  all  his  needs.  It  was  in 
the  nature  of  Pausanias  to  discount  his  pros- 
pects. He  began  to  realize  on  the  possible 
by  assuming  the  dress  and  manners  of  a  Per- 
sian prince.  His  command  of  the  fleet  was 
in  that  style  of  elaborate  flummery  j^eculiar 
to  eastern  officers.  This  thing  was  from  the 
first  exceedingly  distasteful  to  the  captains 
and  seamen  of  the  allied  fleet.  The  news 
reached  Sparta,  and  that  sedate  commonwealth, 
shocked  at  the  shameless  disloyalty  of  her 
officer,  immediately  dispatched  Dorcis  to  super- 
sede him.  But  before  the  arrival  of  the  latter, 
the  captains  of  the  fleet,  disgusted  with  the 
conduct  of  Pausanias,  had  themselves  trans- 
ferred the  command  from  him  to  the  Athe- 
nians. 

Such,  however,  was  the  strict  subordination 
of  the  Spartans  to  authority  that  the  larger 
part  of  their  squadron  accompanied  the  dis- 
graced Pausanias  on  his  return  home."  This 
left  Dorcis  with  so  few  ships  at  his  disposal 
that  he  could  not  resist  the  transfer  of  the 
command  to  the  fleet  of  Athens,  which  ever 
since  the  battle  of  Salamis  had  given  to  that 
city  a  preponderating  reputation  and  influence 
in  the  afl^airs  of  Greece.  This  circumstance 
became  the  central  fact  in  the  Athenian  Su- 
premacy. The  Ionian  cities  of  Asia  Minor 
and  most  of  the  adjacent  islands,  inhabited  as 
they  were  by  people  of  the  same  race  with 
the  Athenians,  were  well  pleased  with  this  in- 
crease of  power  on  the  part  of  their  kinsmen 


GREECE.— THE  ATHENIAN  ASCENDENCY. 


557 


in  European  Greece,  for  they  saw  in  this  fact 
the  possible — even  the  probable — deliverance 
of  themselves  from  the  thralklom  of  Persia. 
The  leadership  of  Athens  was  therefore  gladly 
recognized  by  all  the  louiaus,  and  the  senti- 
ment spread  until  the  islands  of  Rhodes,  Cos, 
Lesbos,  and  Tenydos,  together  with  the  Greek 
towns  on  the  Chalcidician  peninsula,  joined 
in  the  league,  by  which  was  formed,  under 
the  patronage  of  Athens  and  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Aristides,  the  Confederacy  of 
Delos.  It  was  agreed  that  hereafter,  in  the 
interests  of  Greece,  deputies  from  all  the 
states  represented  in  the  league  should  an- 
nually assemble  at  the  temple  of  Apollo  and 
Artemis,  in  the  island  of  Delos,  to  discuss 
questions  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  con- 
federation and  the  honor  of  the  Greek  name. 

As  soon  as  the  league  was  formed  the  com- 
mand of  the  allied  fleet  was  transferred  from 
Aristides  to  Cimon.  He  immediately  set  out 
on  an  expedition  against  the  town  of  Eion, 
on  the  river  Strymon.  This  place  was  deliv- 
ered from  Persian  rule,  and  in  B.  C.  470,  the 
island  of  Scyros  was  reduced  by  the  fleet  and 
colonized  with  Athenians.  This  rapid  growth 
of  the  power  of  Athens  was  hailed  by  most 
of  the  states  of  Greece  as  a  reward  fairly 
earned  by  her  heroic  conduct  in  the  Persian 
wars.  But  to  Sparta  this  splendid  rise  of  her 
rival  from  the  ashes  of  despair  was  gall  and 
wormwood.  She  looked  with  a  lack-luster 
and  jealous  eye  on  the  doings  of  the  Confed- 
eracy of  Delos  and  the  extension  of  Athenian 
reputation.  Nor  were  the  agencies  by  which 
Athens  at  home,  among  the  extinct  cinders 
of  her  recent  overthrow,  had  again  become 
so  suddenly  the  pride  of  Central  Greece,  more 
pleasing  to  the  narrow-minded  Lacedaemonians 
who  were  more  stung  with  the  arrows  of  jeal- 
ousy than  by  the  darts  of  the  enemy.  For 
this  sudden  development  of  reviving  energy 
was  traceable  most  of  all  to  the  superhuman 
energies  of  two  Athenian  statesmen,  Themis- 
tocles  and  Aristides.  To  the  latter,  as  already 
said,  was  due  the  formation  of  the  Confeder- 
acy of  Delos,  and  to  the  former  the  growth 
and  extension  of  the  maritime  power  of  the 
state. 

Meanwhile,  the  city  so  recently  consumed 


by  Persian  wrath  was  rapidly  rebuilding. 
The  houseless  fugitives  came  back  from  Trce- 
zen,  J^gina,  and  Salamis.  The  streets  were 
widened  and  extended.  Ambition  rose  with 
the  occasion.  Beauty  was  consulted ;  and 
also  safety.  For  it  was  determined  to  sur- 
round Athens  with  walls  and  fortifications 
against  which  the  waves  of  barbarism  would 
hereafter  beat  in  vain.  These  measures,  so 
natural  and  necessary,  greatly  excited  the 
jealousy  of  the  J^ginetans,  and  knowing  the 
disposition  of  Sparta,  they  sent  to  her  an  em- 
bassy earnestly  advising  the  Lacedaemonians 
to  interfere  and  prevent  the  completion  of 
the  works  by  which  Athens  would  be  ren- 
dered independent  alike  of  foreign  and  do- 
mestic animosity.  The  Spartans  would  gladly 
have  undertaken  this  work,  but  the  crafty 
Themistocles  outwitted  them  in  negotiation 
until  what  time  the  fortifications  were  so  well 
advanced  as  no  longer  to  require  concealment 
or  apology.  Themistocles,  thus  freed  from  inter- 
state difficulties,  devoted  himself  assiduously 
to  the  increase  of  the  navy  and  development  of 
Athenian  commerce.  The  harbor  of  Piraeus 
was  improved  and  surrounded  with  an  im- 
pregnaljle  wall  sixty  feet  in  height.  Every 
exposed  part  of  the  peninsula  was  rendered 
defensible,  and  Athens  felt  secure  behind  her 
ramparts. 

In  this  period  of  rapid  recovery  political 
rancor  in  a  great  measure  subsided.  Themis* 
tocles  and  Aristides  made  common  cause  in 
rehabilitating  the  state.  The  latter  had  so 
far  modified  his  opinions  as  to  accept  the 
democratic  tendencies  of  his  countrymen  as 
natural  and  right.  He  himself  brought  for- 
ward and  secured  the  passage  of  a  law  by 
which  all  restrictions  were  removed  from  the 
Thetes  or  Fourth  Estate,  and  themselves  made 
eligible  to  the  highest  offices  in  the  gift  of 
the  state. 

Thus  at  last  the  archonship  and  also  mem- 
bership in  the  court  of  Areopagus  were 
opened  to  the  humblest  citizen  of  the  com- 
monwealth. Under  the  impulse  of  these  pro- 
gressive measures  every  enterprise  of  the 
Athenians  sprang  forward  with  unwonted 
rapidity  and  success.  The  only  drawback 
upon  the  prosperity  of  the  city  and  state  was 


558 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  spirit  of  party  and  the  untrustworthiness 
of  political  leadership.     These   dangers  were 


elective    officer.      He    put    on    pomp.      He 
boasted  of  what  he  had  done  for  the  state. 


mimA 


wlmkr    ji; 


if'fl 


'^liiiiilil; 


g^m 


m 


'•!ifl^!' 


specially  manifested  in  the  case  of  Themisto- 
cles.  Coming  to  consider  himself  infallible, 
he    assumed   a  carriage    unbecoming    in    an 


He  acquired  luxurious  habits ;  and  these  had 
to  be  supported  by  peculation  and  corruption 
in  office.     When  sent  out  with  a  squadron  to 


GREECE.— THE  ATHENIAN  ASCENDENCY. 


559 


restore  order  among  the  Cyclades  by  putting 
down  certain  irresponsible  governors  who  had 
usurped  authority  during  the  Persian  wars, 
he  compounded  with  several  of  the  petty 
despots  for  money. 

Meanwhile  Cimon  and  Alcmseon  had  be- 
come the  leaders  of  what  remained  of  the  old 
aristocratic  party  in  Athens.  They  made  no 
concealment  of  their  preference  for  the  con- 
stitution of  Sparta  over  the  too  democratic 
institutions  of  their  own  city.  In  this  fact 
was  laid  the  foundation  of  a  Lacedsemonian 
faction  in  the  heart  of  Athens ;  and  it  was 
not  long  in  making  itself  felt,  to  the  injury  of 
the  state.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Pau- 
sanias  had  been  deposed  from  the  command 
of  the  allied  fleet  at  Byzantium  on  account 
of  his  too  manifest  intrigues  with  the  Per- 
sians. The  party  of  Cimon  was  now  insti- 
gated from  Sparta  to  prefer  the  same  charge 
against  Themistocles,  and  he  was  accordingly 
accused  of  being  in  collusion  with  the  court 
of  Susa.  This  charge,  however,  could  not  be 
sustained,  but  the  manners  and  conduct  of 
their  leader  had  become  so  distasteful  to  the 
Athenians  that  in  a  short  time  an  appeal  was 
made  to  the  ostracism  and  Themistocles  was 
banished. 

He    went    first   to    Argos,    where   he  re- 
mained five  years.     Before  the  expiration  of 
that  time,  however,  proofs  were  discovered  of 
his  being  implicated  with  Pausanias  in  a  trea- 
sonable   correspondence    with    Persia.       The 
Spartan  leader  after  his  downfall  had  returned 
to  the  service  as  a  private,  had  then  lived  in 
Asia  Minor,   had  time   and  again  been  sus- 
pected  of    disloyalty,    had    been    recalled   to 
Sparta,  but  not  brought  to  trial  on  account  of 
the  trepidation  of  the  Ephors  in  the  presence 
of  the  criminal.      By  and  by  Pausanias  dis- 
patched a  slave  to  bear  a  letter  to  Asia;  but 
the  slave  remembering    that  his  fellows  who 
had   previously   gone   on   such    missions    had 
never  returned,  broke  the  seal  and  read  how 
he  himself  was   to  be   killed  as  soon  as  the 
letter  was  delivered.     He  went  in  terror  and 
gave  the  missive  to  the  Ephors.     The  latter 
thus  obtained  convincing  proofs  of  the  guilt  of 
Pausanias,  and  were  about  to  arrest  him  when 
he  fled  to  the  temple  of  Poseidon.    Not  daring 


to  drag  him  from  the  altar  they  ordered  masons 
to  build  up  the  doors,  and  in  this  work  the  mother 
came   and   laid   the   first    stone.      When   the 
wall   was    built   solid   the   roof  was  removed 
and  Pausanias   was   left   to   starve   to  death. 
When  in  the  agonies  of  death,  however,  his 
body  was  carried  out  lest  it  should  pollute  the 
altar.      His    correspondence    was    rifled    and 
letters  were  found  showing  that  Themistocles 
was  also  in  the  conspiracy  to  deliver  Greece 
to  Persia.      Sparta    thereupon    renewed   her 
demand  that  the  great   Athenian   should  be 
brought  to  trial.    When  about  to  be  arrested, 
hoAvever,  Themistocles  fled,  first  to  the  court 
of  Admetus,  king  of  the  Molossians,  thence 
to  Asia  Minor,  and   thence  to  Artaxerxes  at 
Susa.     Here  he  became  a  resident,  in  close 
confidence    of    the    Persian   king.      By  him, 
after  a  year,  the  Greek  was  sent  to  Magnesia 
and  given  the  revenues  of  that  city  for  sup- 
port— this  with   the   understanding   that  the 
plans  now  matured  for  delivering  his  country 
to  Artaxerxes  should  be  carried  out.     But  in 
a  short  time  Themistocles  died,  nor  was  the 
suspicion  wanting  that  he  killed  himself  in  a 
fit  of  despair.     Thus  in   utter  disgrace  per- 
ished the  heroes  of  Plataea  and  Salamis. 

Aristides  held  out  faithful  to  the  end.  He 
died  four  years  after  the  banishment  of  The- 
mistocles, and  such  was  his  poverty  that  he 
was  buried  at  the  public  expense.  Neverthe- 
less he  kept  until  the  hour  of  his  death  his 
hold  upon  the  public  confidence,  and  he  was 
at  that  time  archon  eponymos  of  the  city. 
His  sterling  virtues  had  served  a  better  pur- 
pose in  the  great  issue  of  life  than  the  bril- 
liant talents  of  Themistocles  or  the  military 
genius  of  Miltiades.  His  reputation  remained 
untarnished  to  the  last,  and  the  historians  of 
his  country  have  transmitted  his  spotless  fame 
to  an  admiring  posterity. 

By  the  death  of  the  great  leader,  CraoN 
was  left  in  the  lead  of  Athenian  politics. 
Although  his  antecedents  placed  him  in  th6 
ranks  of  the  old  oligarchical  party,  his  man- 
ners, talents,  and  address  rendered  him  popu- 
lar with  the  masses.  He  was  a  citizen  of  un- 
doubted patriotism,  and  expended  a  good  part 
of  his  revenue  in  adorning  the  city.  His  own 
house   was  a   public  resort,    in    which   every 


560 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD, 


thing  was  open  and  free,  even  to  people  of 
the  poorest  class.  He  was,  however,  a  soldier 
rather  than  a  statesman,  and  possessed  but 
little  taste  for  literature  and  art. 

During  his  leadership  occurred  the  revolt 
of  Naxos  against  the  Confederacy  of  Delos. 
In  B.  C.  466,  this  island  renounced  the  com- 
pact and  took  up  arms,  but  the  insurrection 
was  quickly  suppressed  by  Cimon,  and  the  Nax- 
ians  were  obliged  to  resume  their  tributary  re- 
lations to  Athens.  Soon  afterwards  the  allied 
squadron  sailed  to  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor, 
and  gained  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Eury- 
medon  a  great  victory  over  the  fleet  and 
army  of  the  Persians.  Thus  by  means  of 
their  naval  superiority  did  the  Athenians  es- 
tablish on  a  still  firmer  foundation  their  su- 
premacy over  the  members  of  the  confederacy. 

In  the  next  year  after  the  reduction  of 
Naxos,  the  government  of  Athens,  then  pursu- 
ing a  policy  of  colonization,  was  opposed  in 
making  a  settlement  by  the  people  of  Thasos, 
and  this  island  was  subjected  to  a  blockade 
and  siege.  Before  the  same  was  concluded, 
the  Thasians  sent  to  Sparta  and  requested 
that  state  to  make  a  diversion  in  their  favor 
by  an  invasion  of  Attica.  This  proposition, 
base  as  it  was,  was  about  to  be  accepted  by 
the  Lacedsemonians  when  they  were  prevented 
by  a  series  of  calamities  which  brought  the 
state  to  the  lowest  ebb  of  fortune.  First 
came  a  violent  earthquake,  which  laid  the 
city  in  ruins  and  killed  twenty  thousand  of 
the  inhabitants.  Hard  after  this  followed  a 
revolt  of  the  Helots,  who,  believing  that  Po- 
seidon had  shaken  down  the  stronghold  of 
their  oj^pressors,  rose  with  what  weapons  they 
could  gather  and  began  to  kill  and  burn. 
They  were  joined  by  the  Messenians,  who, 
through  generations  of  hatred,  awaited  an 
opportunity  to  be  revenged.  When  the  mot- 
ley crew  of  insurrectionists  were  beaten  back 
from  Laconia,  they  shut  themselves  up  in  the 
old    fortress    of   Ithome   and   were    besieged. 

The  Spartans,  having  little  skill  in  taking 
fortified  towns,  sent  for  the  Athenians  to  help 
them,  although  at  this  very  time  they  were 
engaged  with  the  Thasians  in  a  perfidious 
scheme  to  invade  Attica.  Athens  responded 
to  the  call,  and  sent  down  a  large  force  to 


aid  in  the  reduction  of  Ithome ;  but  the  Spar- 
tans, unable  to  conceal  their  spleen,  soon  dis- 
missed them  with  contempt  and  carried  on 
the  siege  alone.  The  troops  had  been  sent 
into  Messenia  through  the  influence  of  Cimon, 
an  avowed  friend  of  the  Spartans,  and  their 
dismissal  was  so  flagrant  an  insult  as  to  break 
down  Cimon's  party  and  put  the  conduct  of 
affairs  into  the  hands  of  the  democrats.  The 
latter  were  now  under  the  leadership  of  a 
young  man,  who,  as  a  politician  and  states- 
man, was  destined  soon  to  surpass  all  his  pred- 
ecessors— Pericles,  the  orator  and  scholar. 

In  the  Athenian  government,  as  it  was 
now  constituted,  the  venerable  court  of  Areop- 
agus was  the  last  hold  of  the  old  oligarchical 
party.  Its  right,  to  exercise  a  general  super- 
vision over  the  citizens  as  it  respected  their 
manners  and  vocations  was  so  exceedingly  un- 
democratic as  to  be  borne  with  extreme 
impatience  by  the  progressive  element  in 
Athenian  politics.  Even  Aristides,  strongly 
conservative  as  he  was,  had  consented,  in 
obedience  to  the  popular  demand,  that  the 
membership  of  the  court  should  no  longer  be 
limited  to  the  Eupatridse,  or  First  Estate; 
but  this  concession  was  not  enough,  and 
Pericles  succeeded  in  striking  at  the  founda- 
tions of  privilege  by  making  the  members  of 
the  court  to  be  chosen  by  lot.  Other  innova- 
tions followed,  until  not  only  this  august 
body  of  ancient  Greece,  but  also  the  Senate 
of  Five  Hundred,  was  reduced  to  a  mere 
specter  of  its  former  self.  Finally,  the  tables 
of  the  laws  of  Solon  were  brought  down  from 
the  Acropolis  and  deposited  in  the  market- 
place, as  if  to  say  that  henceforth  the  powers 
of  the  Athenian  commonwealth  were  to  be 
exercised  directly  by  the  people. 

These  measures — amounting  to  a  revolu- 
tion— were  not  accomplished  but  with  an 
excess  of  party  strife.  Ephiaites,  the  friend 
of  Pericles,  by  whose  efforts  the  Solonian 
tablets  had  been  brought  down  to  the  market- 
square,  was  assassinated.  Cimon  was  ostra- 
cized for  ten  years.  The  oligarchical  party 
went  down  in  ruins,  and  the  leadership  of 
Pericles  was  firmly  established. 

The  new  statesmen  belonged  to  the  school 
of  Themistocles.     His  policy   looked   to    the 


GREECE.— THE  ATHENIAN  ASCENDENCY. 


561 


extension  of  the  influence  of  Greece  in  Eu- 
rope. Sparta  and  Spartan  institutions  he 
held  in  undisguised  contempt.  To  weaken  by 
every  possible  means  the  influence  of  the 
Lacediemoniaus  was  one  of  his  leading  polit- 
ical principles.  Without  hesitation  he  allied 
himself  freely  with  Argos  and  Megara,  the 
traditional  enemies  of  Sparta.  By  these  overt 
acts  the  jealousy  of  Sparta  was  heated  into 
animosity  soon  to  burst  into  the  flames  of  war. 

In  the  mean  time  the  allied  fleet,  under  the 
lead  of  the  Athenians,  was  successfully  ex- 
tending the  dominion  of  Greece  on  the  sea. 
While  cruising  on  the  coast  of  Cyprus  and 
Phoenicia,  the  squadron  was,  in  B.  C.  460, 
called  upon  by  the  revolt  of  Inarus  to  inter- 
fere in  the  affairs  of  Egypt.  The  Greek 
sailed  up  the  NUe,  and  bore  an  active  part  in 
the  overthrow  of  Persian  authority.  For  four 
or  five  years  they  conducted  a  siege  of  the  so- 
called  White  Fortress,  in  which  the  Persians 
had  shut  themselves  up.  With  the  coming  of 
Megabyzus  and  his  army,  the  Athenians  were 
in  turn  besieged  in  the  island  of  Prosopitis, 
and  were  finally  obliged  to  surrender.  Con- 
trary to  the  stipulated  terms,  the  greater 
number  of  the  captives  were  put  to  death, 
Inarus  himself  being  crucified.  The  fleet  was 
mostly  destroyed,  and  fifty  additional  ships 
which  arrived  just  after  the  surrender  were 
also  captured  and  burnt. 

During  the  occurrence  of  these  events,  the 
inhabitants  of  -lEgina,  unable  longer  to  re- 
strain their  jealousy,  induced  the  Corinthians 
and  Epidaurians  to  join  them,  and  gave  battle 
to  an  Athenian  squadron  near  their  own 
island.  '  It  was  the  first  act  of  actual  hostility 
between  the  Dorian  and  Ionian  races  in  Eu- 
ropean Greece.  The  Athenians  were  com- 
pletely victorious,  capturing  seventy  ships 
from  the  -^ginetans,  lauding  a  large  force  on 
the  shore,  and  laying  siege  to  their  principal 
city.  Sparta  meanwhile  was  unable  to  inter- 
fere on  behalf  of  her  friends ;  for  the  Helots 
were  still  in  insurrection,  and  gave  the  Lace- 
daemonians full  occupation  in  their  own  coun- 
try. So  alarming,  however,  was  the  growth 
of  Athens,  that  even  before  the  siege  of 
Ithome  had  been  brought  to  a  successful  issue 
the  Spartan  government  ordered  an  army  of 


one  thousand  five  hundred  heavy -armed  sol- 
diers and  ten  thousand  allies  to  march  into 
Doris,  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  aiding  that 
state  against  the  Phocians,  but  with  the  real 
object  of  checking  the  progress  of  Atheus  in 
Central  Greece.  The  true  purjDOse,  however, 
was  soon  discovered,  for  the  Spartans,  after 
having  settled  to  their  satisfaction  the  affairs 
of  Doris  and  Bceotia,  took  up  a  menacing 
position  at  Tanagra,  on  the  very  borders  of 
Attica.  This  was  more  than  the  Athenians 
could  tamely  bear.  They  marched  out  with 
such  forces  as  they  could  rally  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  fought  a  bloody  battle  with  the 
Spartans,  in  which,  though  the  results  were 
indecisive,  the  latter  had  the  advantage.  They 
next  crossed  over  into  Attica,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded homewards,  ravaging  as  they  went. 

The  general  effect  of  this  digression  was 
favorable  to  Athens.  Party  strife  was  hushed 
in  the  presence  of  the  common  danger.  CH- 
mon  himself  on  the  eve  of  the  recent  battle 
left  the  place  of  his  banishment,  repaired  to 
the  Athenian  army,  and  asked  permission  to 
fight  in  the  ranks  with  his  countrymen. 
When  this  was  refused,  he  set  up  his  armor 
on  the  battle-field  and  exhorted  his  friends  to 
rally  to  it  and  strike  home  for  Athens.  Such 
was  the  eflTect  of  this  patriotic  conduct  that  a 
measure,  recalling  him  from  exile,  was  at  once 
proposed  by  Pericles  and  passed  by  the  as- 
sembly. 

The  concord  which  was  thus  introduced  into 
the  stormy  arena  of  Athenian  politics  was  so 
marked  that  the  city  bounded  forward  on  a 
new  career  of  prosperity.  Within  two  months 
after  the  battle  of  Tanagra,  the  Athenians 
again  marched  into  Bceotia  and  met  the  army 
of  that  state  on  the  bloody  field  of  (Eno- 
PHYTA.  Here  under  the  command  of  Myron- 
ides,  they  gained  a  complete  and  over- 
whelming victory.  Thebes,  the  capital,  and 
all  the  other  Boeotian  towns  were  taken  by  the 
Athenians.  The  oligarchical  government,  re- 
cently established  by  the  influence  of  the 
Spartans,  was  overthrown,  and  democracies 
instituted  in  their  stead.  The  Athenian  army 
then  marched  through  Phocis  and  Locris, 
compelling  them  also  to  conform  to  the  new 
democratic  reghne,  which  was  thus  extended 


562 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


from  the   gulf   of   Corinth    to    the    pass    of 
Thermopylae. 

In  the  mean  time  Pericles  had  undertaken 
and  completed  those  celebrated  works  known 
as  the  Long  AValls,  by  which  the  two  sea- 
ports of  Athens — Phalerum  and  Pirseus — were 
joined  with  the  city.  One  of  these  walls 
was  four  miles  and  the  other  four  and  a-half 
miles  in  length.  They  were  built  so  thick 
and  high  as  to  be  impregnable  to  any  ordi- 
nary assault,  and  furnished  an  abundant  pro- 
tection to  the  commercial  and  foreign  inter- 
ests of  Athens.  The  ascendency  thus  gained 
by  the  city  was  so  undisputed  that,  for  a 
number  of  years,  not  even  the  Spartans  dared 
to  break  the  peace  which  the  Athenians  had 

enforced  in  Cen- 
tral Greece.  A 
five  years'  truce 
was  concluded  be- 
tween them,  dur- 
ing which  time 
Cimon,  in  the 
prosecution  of  his 
cherished  ambi- 
tion against  the 
Persians,  con- 
ducted an  expe- 
dition to  Cyprus 
and  laid  siege  to 
the  town  of  Cit- 
ium.  While  this 
was  in  progress 
the  great  general 
died  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Anaxicrates,  who  abandoned  the 
siege,  but  soon  afterward  gained  a  decisive 
victory  over  the  combined  fleets  of  Phoeni- 
cians and  Cilicians. 

In  a  short  time  after  these  events  a  general 
peace  was  made  between  the  Persians  and 
the  Greeks.  It  was  agreed,  half  informally 
and  half  by  actual  stipulations,  that  the  Per- 
sian king  would  no  longer  tax  or  disturb,  in 
any  way,  the  Greek  colonies  on  the  coast  of 
Asia  Minor;  nor  would  he  send  any  vessel 
01  war  to  the  west  of  a  line  drawn  from  the 
Thracian  Bosphorus  to  Phaselis,  in  Lycia.  As 
for  the  Athenians,  they  should  refrain  from 
all    further   aggression,   and    concede    to    the 


PERICLES. 

London,  British  Museum. 


Persians  the  undisturbed  possession  of  Cyprus 
and  Egypt. 

By  this  time  the  sway  of  Athens  had  be- 
come so  complete,  not  only  in  European 
Greece,  but  among  the  Cyclades,  that  the 
Confederacy  of  Delos  was  virtually  extin- 
guished by  her  authority.  Even  the  treasury 
of  the  league  had  been  quietly  transferred 
by  the  Athenians  from  Delos  to  their  own 
city.  In  Central  Greece  the  states  of  Mega- 
ris,  Boeotia,  Phocis,  and  Locris,  and  in  Pelo- 
ponnesus Trcezenia  and  Achaia  had  been 
almost  completely  subordinated  to  Athenian 
domination.  It  was  virtually  a  Greek  empire 
under  the  leadership  of  Athens.  The  city 
was  now  at  the  acme  of  her  influence  and 
sj)lendor.  For  a  few  years,  at  the  middle  of 
the  fifth  century  B.  C,  it  may  fairly  be  al- 
lowed that,  for  intellectual  greatness,  archi- 
tectural achievement,  and  artistic  fame  Athens 
far  surpassed  any  city  of  the  ancient,  and  per- 
haps of  the  modern,  world.  It  was,  however, 
politically  speaking,  a  short-lived  glory.  The 
nature  of  the  bonds  which  united  Athens  to 
the  dependent  states  were  such  as  at  any  mo- 
ment to  be  snapped  asunder. 

In  B.  C.  447,  Boeotia  threw  oflf  the  Athe- 
nian yoke  and  made  herself  independent.  In 
a  futile  attempt  to  suppress  the  insurrection, 
Tolmides,  with  one  thousand  heavy-armed 
soldiers — a  force  entirely  inadequate  to  such 
an  enterprise — was  disastrously  defeated  and 
himself  slain.  Then  followed  in  quick  suc- 
cession similar  revolts  in  Phocis,  Locris,  Eu- 
boea,  and  Megaris.  Ilien  came  the  Spartans, 
headed  by  the  king,  Pleistoanax,  and  entered 
the  Attic  territory.  Nor  is  it  certain  that 
Athens  herself  would  not  then  have  fallen 
into  the  power  of  the  Lacedsemonians  but  for 
the  means  employed  by  Pericles,  who  is  said 
to  have  bribed  the  invaders  to  withdraw  from 
the  country.  To  compensate  for  these  losses, 
the  Athenian  leader  had  nothing  to  boast  ex- 
cept the  reconquest  of  Euboea.  Such  had 
been  the  collapse  of  Athenian  pretensions 
that,  in  B.  C.  445,  Pericles  was  glad  to  enter 
into  a  truce  of  thirty  years  with  Sparta,  by  the 
terms  of  which  the  Athenians  agreed  to  aban- 
don all  conquests  except  in  the  Gulf  of  Corinth, 
and  to  leave  the  other  states  to  their  freedom. 


Y 


?Jfc'   •" 


^1* 


<m 


^\ 

\ 

c 

o 

« 

1 

s.    „ 

II 

Xfi 

*  5,1 

-        H   S 

5^ 

t. 

Q 

•  ^  s 

?| 

s 

£WgS 

z   1 

IfJ 

<  W^o 

0)       ° 

^>     [ 

^ 

'S   S 

C3     M  g 

t 

-^ 

k 

-t- 

E 

; 

n. 

^ 

«?. 


\^ 


\^ 


Q 


> 


o 


J5>' 


^ 


^    s: 


4-: 


WvK,e 


(i'>' 


.^5  -9    t 


=&•* 


Cb^ 


'^ 


-^ 


T^I 


«5- 


"¥ 


^, 


^ 


^^ 


^ 


^ 


\ 


^ 


^ 


^ 


A 


% 


«  g 


0313^/  y 


^. 


O? 


GREECE.— THE  ATHENIAN  ASCENDENCY. 


565 


These  disasters  of  Athens,  bringing  with 
them  a  decline  in  the  influence  of  Pericles, 
gave  opportunity  in  the  city  for  the  revival 
of  the  party  of  the  oligarchy.  This  was  ef- 
fected under  the  leadership  of  Thucydedes,  a 
man  of  distinguished  abilities,  but  not  of  such 
commanding  genius  as  to  be  a  fit  opponent 
for  Pericles.  It  was  the  circumstances  rather 
than  the  preeminent  talents  of  the  leader  that 
made  him  the  competitor  of  the  great  demo- 
crat. Nor  were  the  methods  which  he  and 
his  adherents  adopted  better  calculated  to  win 
the  favor  of  the 
Athenian    populace.  i^^"^"" 

After  beating  in  vain 
for  a  season  against 
the  democratic  ma- 
jority, Thucydides 
was  relieved  of  the 
cares  of  party  leader- 
ship by  being  ostra- 
cized. His  party  was 
broken  up  by  his 
downfall,  and  Peri- 
cles, during  the  rest 
of  his  life,  remained 
the  undisputed  leader 
of  Athenian  politics. 

With  the  over- 
throw of  the  party 
of  the  aristocracy, 
Athens,  as  a  city, 
was  raised  to  the 
highest  pitch  of 
glory.   Whatever  art 

and  letters  and  refinement  could  do  to  gild 
the  splendid  capital  was  bestowed  without 
stint.  Now  it  was  that  the  Acropolis  was 
crowned  with  the  magnificent  Parthenon,  de- 
signed by  Callicrates  and  Ictinus  and  adorned 
by  Phidias.  On  the  summit  was  reared  the 
ivory  statue  of  Athene  Promachos,  forty-seven 
feet  in  height,  looking  serenely  towards  the 
sea.  Now,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  was  built 
the  great  Odeum  for  the  musical  and  dramati- 
cal entertainment  of  the  people.  Now,  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Acropolis,  were  con- 
structed the  Propyl^a,  or  entrances  to  the 
temple,  second  only  in  magnificence  to  the 
Parthenon  itself.     Nor  were  the  useful  works 


of  the  city  neglected.  A  third -wall  was  ex- 
tended to  the  Piraeus.  The  hax'bors  and  docks 
of  Attica  were  improved  and  beautified,  and 
the  public  markets  greatly  enlarged.  The 
expense  of  these  works  is  said  to  have  ex- 
ceeded $3,500,000,  It  was  at  this  time  that 
the  dominion  of  Greek  thought — of  philoso- 
phy, of  oratory,  of  art — was  established  on  a 
basis  which  has  not  been  materially  shaken  by 
the  revolutions  of  twenty-two  centuries,  and 
which  seems  destined  to  be  everlasting. 

A  second  part  of  the  policy  of  Pericles 


THE  ACROPOLIS,   RESTORED. 

was  the  extension  of  the  Athenian  race  by 
colonization.  It  was  not  the  theory  of  Athens 
that  companies  of  stragglers  and  vagabonds 
should  represent  her  on  foreign  coasts,  but 
rather  that  bands  of  reputable  citizens,  well 
organized  and  well  supplied,  should  go  abroad 
and  establish  Greek  civilization  in  its  integ- 
rity. At  one  time  during  the  administration 
of  Pericles,  a  company  of  a  thousand  Athe- 
nians settled  in  the  Thracian  Chersonesus; 
another  band  of  five  hundred  in  Naxos,  and 
a  third  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  Andros. 
A  still  larger  colony  was  established  at  Thurii, 
near  the  site  of  ancient  Sybaris,  in  Southern 
Italy.     Among   those   who    joined   this    com- 


566 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


pany  were  the  orator  Lysias  and  the  historian 
Herodotus.  In  B.  C.  437,  another  settlement 
of  equal  importance  was  made  at  Amphipolis, 
on  the  river  Strymon,  in  Macedonia — a  de- 
pendency which  afterwards  played  a  conspicu- 
ous part  in  Greek  history. 

A  more  liberal  and  less  ambitious  policy 
on  the  part  of  Pericles  might  have  postponed 
or  possibly  averted  the  coming  disasters  of  his 
country.  But,  in  his  eagerness  to  make 
Athens  glorious,  there  was  but  little  thought 
given  to  justice  and  equity  of  administration. 
Especially  was  this  manifested  in  the  exorbi- 
tant tribute  which  was  collected  from  the 
Athenian  dependencies.  The  members  of  the 
Confederacy  of  Delos  were  taxed  to  the  ex- 
tent of  six  hundred  talents  annually,  and  this 
too  when  the  occasion  for  which  the  tribute 
was  originally  levied  had  entirely  passed 
away.  The  peace  with  the  Persians  made 
such  an  imposition  no  longer  necessary  as  a 
measure  of  defense;  but  the  ambition  of 
Pericles  still  exacted  it  as  a  measure  of  luxury. 

At  this  time  the  only  members  of  the  Con- 
federacy which  retained  their  freedom  and 
continued  to  consult  with  the  Athenians  on 


terms  of  comparative  equality,  were  Samos, 
Lesbos,  and  Chios.  The  first  of  these  islands 
became  embroiled  with  the  Milesians,  and  the 
latter  appealed  to  Athens  for  a  settlement  of 
the  difficulty.  The  Samian  government  wag 
still  under  the  control  of  an  oligarchy,  and 
this  furnished  Pericles  with  a  good  excuse  for 
interference.  In  B.  C.  440  an  expedition 
was  sent  to  reduce  the  Samians  by  force.  A 
democracy  was  established  in  the  island,  and 
many  leading  Samians  were  sent  to  Lemnos 
as  hostages.  This  state  of  things,  however, 
was  soon  undone  by  a  counter  revolution 
backed  by  the  satrap  of  Sardis ;  but  the  Athe- 
nians returned,  put  down  the  revolt,  and  re- 
established their  own  style  of  government  over 
the  Samians.  The  latter  were  obliged  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  the  war,  amounting  to  a 
thousand  talents,  and  to  give  hostages  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  peace. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  in  B.  C. 
435,  when  a  petty  quarrel  between  Corinth 
and  her  dependency  Corcyra  applied  the  spark 
to  the  long  smouldering  animosities  and  jeal- 
ousies of  the  Greeks,  and  set  their  country  in 
the  flames  of  civil  war. 


CHAPTER  XLVi.— The  peloponnesian  wars. 


ARLY  in  her  history  the 
city  of  Corinth  had  es- 
tablished, on  the  island 
of  that  name,  the  colony 
of  Corcyra.  Afterwards 
Corcyra  sent  out  a  colony 
and  founded  Epidamnus 
on  the  coast  of  Epirus.  The  latter,  however, 
as  well  as  the  former,  regarded  Corinth  as  her 
mother  city.  The  Epidamnians,  like  the 
other  Greek  states,  expelled  the  oligarchical 
party,  and  the  latter  brought  in  the  Illyrians 
to  restore  them.  The  authorities  appealed  to 
Corcyra  for  aid,  which  was  refused ;  for  the 
Corcyrseans  sympathized  with  the  oligarchs. 
The  Epidamnians  then  applied  to  Corinth. 
The  latter  sent  out  an  expedition,  and  the 
democracy  in  Epidamnus  was  sustained.     But 


the  authorities  of  Corcyra  resented  the  inter- 
ference, sent  a  squadron,  blockaded  the  town, 
and  restored  the  oligarchs.  The  Corcyrseans 
then  tried  to  persuade  the  Corinthians  to  refer 
the  matter  to  arbitration,  but  the  latter  sent 
a  still  larger  fleet  to  the  western  coast,  and 
this  was  defeated  and  destroyed  by  the  Cor- 
ey rsean  squadron  at  Actium.  This  left  the 
Epidamnians  at  the  mercy  of  the  oligarchical 
party. 

The  Corinthians  immediately  went  to  work 
rebuilding  their  fleet.  Within  two  years  they 
had  gathered  with  their  own  exertions  and 
from  their  allies  a  squadron  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  ships.  The  Corcyrseans,  seeing  these 
preparations  and  remembering  that  Corinth 
was  a  member  of  the  Lacedaemonian  league, 
applied  to  Athens  for  support.     The  Athenian 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


567 


assembly,  after  hearing  the  ambassadors,  re- 
solved upon  a  defensive  alliance  with  Corcyra, 
and  agreed  to  defend  the  island  in  case  of  in- 
vasion. To  this  end  a  fleet  of  ten  sail,  under 
command  of  Lacedsemonius,  was  sent  to  the 
Corcyrseans.  In  the  mean  time  the  Corinthian 
fleet  arrived,  and  a  hard  battle  was  fought,  in 
which  the  Corey rseans  were  defeated.  But, 
as  the  Corinthians  were  preparing  to  press 
their  advantage  on  the  morrow,  a  new  contin- 
gent of  twenty  vessels  hove  in  sight  from 
Athens.  The  Corinthian  captain,  believing 
this  to  be  but  a  detachment  of  a  larger  fleet, 
at  once  stood  away  and  sailed  for  home. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs  Perdiccas,  king 
of  Macedonia,  appeared  on  the  scene.  Hav- 
ing certain  grievances  against  the  Athenians, 
he  sought  revenge  by  instigating  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Potidsea,  a  dependency  of  Athens 
occupying  the  neck  of  the  peninsula  of  Pal- 
lene,  to  revolt  against  the  mother  city.  At 
the  same  time  he  urged  the  Spartans,  as  the 
head  of  the  Lacedsemonian  league,  to  make 
an  invasion  of  Attica.  Hereupon  the  Ephors 
called  a  meeting  of  the  Peloponnesian  states. 
The  dissatisfied  delegates  addressed  the  as- 
sembly, and  all  were  loud  in  their  denuncia- 
tions of  the  Athenians.  An  agent  of  Athens 
then  resident  in  Sparta  spoke  in  favor  of  his 
country,  but  the  adverse  opinion  prevailed, 
and  near  the  close  of  B.  C.  432  war  was  re- 
solved upon  by  the  Peloponnesian  league 
against  the  Athenians. 

Sparta  did  not,  however,  proceed  to  imme- 
diate hostility.  With  her  usual  cunning  she 
undertook,  first  of  all,  to  secure  the  over- 
throw of  Pericles.  The  opponents  of  this 
statesman  were  instigated  to  attack  him.  He 
was  charged  with  peculations.  His  friend,  the 
philosopher  Anaxagoras,  was  persecuted  for 
opinion's  sake.  He  was  not  orthodox  on  the 
subject  of  the  gods.  With  him  was  involved 
AsPASiA,  that  paragon  of  beauty  and  genius, 
who  for  years  had  shared  the  counsels  and 
affections  of  Pericles.  The  philosopher  fled, 
but  Aspasia  was  tried.  The  haughty  Pericles, 
who  for  a  generation  had  stood  unmoved  in 
every  storm,  wept  as  he  pleaded  her  cause 
before  the  court.  She  was  acquitted;  but 
the    enemies    of    the   statesman   next  turned 


upon  Phidias,  and  he  was  prosecuted  on  the 
charge  of  having  appropriated  the  gold  which 
had  been  voted  for  the  Acropolitan  statue  of 
Athene.  The  great  sculptor  died  in  prison 
before  the  day  of  trial. 

None  the  less,  the  party  of  Pericles  stood 
firm,  and  he  retained  his  grip  on  the  rudder 
of  the  state.  The  Spartans  continued  to  prod 
him  with  demands,  and  finally  sent  an  ulti- 
matum to  the  effect  that  if  the  Athenians 
would  avoid  war  they  should  at  once  liberate 
all  of  their  dependent  states.  The  assembly 
replied  that  Athens  did  not  desire  war,  that 
she  would  give  satisfaction  for  her  seeming 
violation  of  the  Thirty  Years'  truce,  but  as 
for  the  rest  she  would  resist  force  with  force. 

Actual  hostilities  were  begun  by  the  The- 
bans  who,  in  the  interest  of  the  Peloponne- 
sian league,  fell  upon  Platsea  by  night.  The 
band,  however,  that  thus  unexpectedly  to  the 
Platoeans  gained  possession  of  their  city  was 
soon  overwhelmed,  and  before  daybreak  all 
but  one  hundred  and  eighty  were  killed  and 
the  rest  made  prisoners.  When  the  main 
army  of  Thebes  came  up  it  was  induced  to 
retire  with  the  promise  that  the  prisoners 
should  be  given  up,  but  the  Platseans  took 
advantage  of  the  lull,  gathered  in  their 
friends  and  property  from  the  surrounding 
districts,  and  then  killed  the  prisoners  to  the 
last  man.  This  perfidious  and  desperate  deed, 
though  done  against  a  band  of  guerrillas,  set 
the  states  on  fire.  Passion  spread  like  a  con- 
flagration. The  pent-up  jealousy  of  forty  cit- 
ies, each  with  its  long-smothered  grievance, 
burst  forth  against  the  Athenian  common- 
wealth as  the  common  cause  of  all  the  ills 
that  Greek  flesh  had  inherited.  Delos  was 
rocked  with  an  earthquake.  Crazy  sooth- 
sayers harangued  crowds  of  the  superstitious. 
The  oracles  lifted  up  their  ambiguous  voice 
and  uttered  two-tongued  promises  and  impreca- 
tions. The  blood  was  hot.  Neutrality  was 
hardly  thought  of.  Every  Peloponnesian 
state,  except  Argos  and  Achaia,  ranged  itself 
with  Sparta  ;  and  in  Central  Greece  Megaris. 
Bceotia,  Phocis,  and  East  Locris,  besides  the 
tribes  of  Leucadia  and  Anactoria,  all  gath- 
ered under  the  Lacedsemonian  banners.  One 
might  think,  from  the  sudden  and   universal 


568 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


explosion  of  animosity,  that  the  Greek  race 
had  become  more  wearied  with  hearing  Athens 
called  the  Great  than  the  Athenians  themselves 
had  been  tired  of  hearing  Aristides  called  the 
Jiist:  and  in  either  case  there  was  equal  rea- 
son—or the  want  of  it.  The  continental 
allies  of  Athens  were  Thessaly,  Platsea,  Acar- 
nania,  and  a  part  of  Messenia  about  Naupac- 
tus.  Her  insular  support  embraced  Chios, 
Lesbos,  Corcyra,  Cephallenia,  and  Zacynthus. 
In  those  resources  which  are  said  to  constitute 
the  sinews  of  war  the  Athenians  had  great 
strength.  In  the  treasury  of  the  Acropolis 
was  deposited  a  sum  equal  to  seven  millions 
of  dollars.  The  annual  revenue  of  the  state 
was  very  great,  and  the  riches  of  the  various 
temples  and  shrines — not,  of  course,  to  be 
rashly  touched  by  the  hand  of  war — gave  an- 
other immense  aggregate.  The  fleet  consisted 
of  three  hundred  vessels  ;  the  standing  army 
of  thirty-one  thousand  eight  hundred  men. 
The  forces  of  the  league  were  superior  in  foot 
soldiers,  being  about  sixty  thousand  strong, 
but  greatly  inferior  in  the  matter  of  a  fleet. 
This  defect  the  Spartans  hoped  to  supply  by 
the  help  of  the  Corinthians  and  the  Dorian 
colonies  of  Italy,  or  in  case  of  need  to  call 
upon  their  friends,  the  Persians. 

The  ai'my  of  the  confederation  assembled 
at  the  isthmus  of  Corinth  under  command  of 
Archidamus,  the  Spartan  klag.  From  this 
point  the  expedition  began  against  Attica. 
By  midsummer  of  B.  C  431  the  march  had 
proceeded  to  the  Thriasian  plain,  near  Eleu- 
sis.  By  the  orders  of  Pericles  the  country 
was  abandoned.  The  population  Avithdrew 
within  the  walls  of  Athens,  and  the  city  was 
filled  to  ovei-flowing.  Archidamus  was  disap- 
pointed in  his  hope  of  bringing  on  a  gen- 
eral battle.  The  cooped-up  people  clamored 
greatly  at  the  policy  adopted,  and  the  Athe- 
nian cavalry  was  sent  out  to  harass  the  en- 
emy. From  the  Thriasian  plain  the  Spartans 
next  moved  to  Acharnse,  and  continued  their 
ravages.  To  appease  the  people  as  well  as  to 
punish  the  enemy  Pericles  sent  a  fleet  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  ships  to  fall  upon  the  coast 
of  Peloponnesus.  The  Corinthian  settlement 
of  Sollium,  the  town  of  Astacus,  and  the  island 
of  Cephallonia   which,  until  now,  had  held  a 


dubious  attitude  in  the  conquest,  were  taken 
by  the  squadron.  The  Locrian  towns  of 
Thronium  and  Alope  were  also  captured  by 
another  detachment  of  the  Athenian  fleet, 
and  the  anti-Athenian  party  in  ^gina  was 
suppressed  and  driven  out  of  the  island.  The 
efiect  of  these  bold  diversions  was  such  that 
late  in  the  summer  Archidamus  evacuated 
the  country,  and  his  army  was  presently  dis- 
banded. As  soon  as  this  movement  was 
known  in  Athens,  Pericles  marched  out  with 
thirteen  thousand  heavy  armed  soldiers,  in- 
vaded Megaris,  and  ravaged  the  country  as 
furiously  as  the  Lacedaemonians  had  wasted 
Attica. 

It  was  now  evident  that  the  war  was  des- 
tined to  be  of  long  duration.  The  Athenians 
accordingly  made  every  preparation  to  main- 
tain their  cause.  In  accordance  with  a  reso- 
lution of  the  assembly,  one  thousand  talents 
were  sacredly  set  apart  for  the  service  of  the 
city  in  case  she  should  be  attacked  by  sea; 
and  it  was  further  resolved  that  each  year  a 
hundred  galleys  should  be  retained  for  the 
protection  of  the  city. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  second  campaign, 
B.  C.  430,  Archidamus  again  invaded  Attica. 
At  this  juncture  a  foe  appeared  within  the 
Avails  of  Athens  far  more  more  dreadful  than 
the  enemy  without.  A  dreadful  pestilence 
attacked  the  people,  Avith  which  they  began 
to  sicken  and  die  by  hundreds.  It  Avas  a 
form  of  pestilence  hitherto  unknown  in  the 
city.  The  Greek  physicians  could  in  no  Avise 
stay  its  j^rogress.  Terror  seized  the  public 
mind.  Some  ascribed  the  plague  to  the 
wrath  of  Apollo.  Others  said  that  the  Spar- 
tans had  poisoned  the  Avells.  The  supersti- 
tious mountebank,  who  in  every  age  of  the 
Avorld  has  afflicted  human  society  with  his 
pestilential  presence,  came  out  from  his  place 
and  abetted  the  disease  by  playing  upon  the 
fears  of  the  people.  The  malady  attacked 
the  mind  as  Avell  as  the  body.  A  gloomy  and 
despondent  spirit  foreran  the  approach  of  the 
pestilence.  Athens  was  a  universal  funeral. 
Hundreds  lay  unburied.  The  air  reeked  with 
the  stench  of  corpses.  One  fourth  of  the 
population  died.  The  Lacedsemonian  Avithout 
and   Death   within   stretched  a  pall  over  At- 


1 


I 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


569 


tica.  The  mutteriugs  of  despair  joined  their 
volume  with  the  howl  of  discontent,  and  a 
spirit  less  resolute  than  Pericles  would  have 
succumbed  to  the  clamor.  But  he  stood  like 
a  statue.  To  distract  the  public  mind  from 
its  grief,  and  to  empty  the  stricken  city  of  a 
part  of  its  population,  he  fitted  up  a  squadron 
at  Piraeus,  took  command  himself,  sailed  to 
Peloponnesus,  and  began  to  mete  to  the  towns 
of  the  league  the  same  vengeance  which  they 
had  measured  to  him.  But,  notwithstanding 
his  herculean  efforts,  sedition  broke  out  in 
the  city.  Cleon,  his  political  adversary,  took 
advantage  of  his  absence,  and  preferred 
against  him  the  charge  of  peculation.  Peri- 
cles was  condemned  to  pay  a  fine ;  and  for 
awhile  it  seemed  that,  at  last,  the  influence 
of  the  great  leader  over  the  minds  of  his 
countrymen  was  broken. 

But  public  opinion  soon  reacted ;  he  was 
again  chosen  general  of  the  army,  and  quickly 
regained  his  ascendency.  The  drama  of  his 
life,  however,  was  now  nearing  the  final  scene. 
The  members  of  his  family  were  struck  down 
by  the  plague.  He  himself  survived  an  attack 
of  the  epidemic  ;  but  a  low  fever  supervened, 
the  forces  of  nature  failed,  and  Pericles  lay 
dying.  In  the  last  hours  he  said  to  those 
who  were  recalling  the  exploits  of  his  brilliant 
career :  ' '  What  you  praise  in  me  is  partly 
the  result  of  good  fortune,  or  is,  at  all  events, 
common  to  me  with  many  other  commanders. 
What  I  chiefly  pride  myself  upon,  you  have 
not  noticed:  on  my  account  no  Athenian 
ever  wore  mourning." 

Meanwhile  the  Lacedsemonians  continued 
to  ravage  Attica.  In  a  campaign  of  forty 
days'  duration  they  carried  their  devastations 
into  all  parts  of  the  peninsula.  During  the 
year  also  the  allied  fleet  seized  the  island  of 
Zacynthus,  but  was  not  able  to  retain  it.  The 
fisheries  and  commerce  of  the  Athenians  suf- 
fered not  a  little  from  the  attacks  of  Spartan 
and  Corinthian  buccaneers,  whose  plan  of 
battle  was  to  fight,  filch,  and  flee.  The  pris- 
oners taken  by  these  pirates  were  generally 
put  to  death  without  mercy.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  until  the  Athenians  found  opportu- 
nity to  apply  the  lex  talionis.     A  company  of 

Spartan  envoys,  on  their  way  to  the  court  of 

N.— Vol.  I— 31; 


Persia,  paused  en  route  to  seduce  Sitalces,  king 
of  Thrace,  from  his  allegiance  to  the  Athe- 
nians. But  the  seduction  extended  only  so 
far  as  this — that  they  were  themselves  arrested 
and  sent  to  the  authorities  of  Athens,  by 
whom  they  were  killed  as  so  many  dogs. 
Among  those  who  thus  perished  was  Aristeus, 
one  of  the  ablest  generals  of  the  league. 

In  the  mean  time  the  siege  of  Potidsea  waa 
at  last  brought  to  a  successful  issue.  The 
resistance  had  been  long  and  obstinate.  The 
Potidseans  defended  their  town  Avith  desperate 
valor,  and  when  at  last  reduced  by  famine  to 
the  verge  of  despair,  they  ate  the  bodies  of 
their  dead  sooner  than  surrender.  Only  when 
honorable  terms  were  offered  did  they  flnally 
succumb  to  necessity  and  capitulate  to  the 
besiegers.  The  town  was  then  destroyed  and 
the  territory  occuj)ied  by  a  colony  sent  out 
from  Athens. 

The  third  year  of  the  war  oj)ened  with  the 
siege  of  Platgea  by  the  Spartans.  The  latter 
had  now  gro^vn  weary  of  ravaging  Attica, 
and  determined  to  strike  a  decisive  blow  by 
overwhelming  the  city  by  whose  act  the  con- 
flict had  been  kindled.  On  their  approach 
the  Platseans  sent  out  an  embassy  solemnly 
protesting  against  the  invasion  on  the  grounds 
of  the  oath  of  Pausanias,  who,  after  the  over- 
throw of  the  Persians,  had  jjublicly  vowed  to 
Zeus  Eleutherius  that  henceforth  the  freedom 
and  independence  of  Platsea  would  ever  be 
regarded  and  upheld  by  the  Spartans.  But 
the  oath  of  the  dead  was  not  likely  to  prevail 
with  a  race  whose  notion  of  faith  was  to  break 
it  whenever  it  promised  advantage  to  do  so. 

The  Platseans  were  summoned  to  surrender. 
When  this  was  refused  Archidamus  proposed 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  should  go 
whithersoever  they  pleased,  that  the  Lacedae- 
monians would  till  the  country  until  the  war 
was  ended  and  then  restore  it  to  the  original 
owners.  But  on  referring  the  question  to  the 
Athenians  the  latter  advised  the  Platseans  to 
hold  out  against  the  invaders,  and  the  pro- 
posal was  accordingly  declined. 

The  siege  at  once  began.  The  town  con- 
tained less  than  six  hundi'ed  people,  and  yet 
this  handful  defied  the  army  of  the  league 
and  determined  to  defend  themselves  to  the 


570 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


last.  Archidamus  began  to  build  a  mound 
outside  of  the  wall,  from  the  summit  of  which 
his  soldiers  might  surmount  the  barricade. 
But  the  Platseans  built  a  second  wall  inside 
of  the  first,  and  at  the  same  time  undermined 
the  mound  which  was  thrown  up  outside. 
After  three  months  of  vain  endeavor  the 
Lacedaemonians  were  obliged  to  adopt  the 
policy  of  a  mere  blockade,  which  should  of 
necessity  reduce  the  garrison  by  starvation. 
For  two  years  the  Platteans  held  out,  and 
then  when  their  provisions  were  nearly  ex- 
hausted, two  hundred  and  twelve  of  their 
number,  choosing  a  dark  December  night, 
scaled  the  ramparts  which  the  Spartans  had 
built  around  the  town,  and  escaped.  The 
remainder  still  defended  themselves,  but  were 
at  last  compelled  by  sheer  famine  to  capitu- 
late. There  remained  of  the  garrison  two 
hundred  Platseans  and  twenty-five  Athenians. 

As  soon  as  all  were  surrendered  they  were 
brought  to  trial.  Each  one  was  led  before 
the  Spartan  judges  and  asked  the  question 
whether  during  the  present  war  he  had  ren- 
dered any  assistance  to  the  Lacedaemonians  or 
their  allies f  The  question  was,  of  course,  not 
even  a  decent  mockery,  and  was  necessarily 
answered  in  the  negative.  Thereupon  with- 
out further  ceremony  every  man  of  the  num- 
ber was  led  off"  and  executed.  The  town  of 
Plattea  was  leveled  to  the  earth  and  the  ter- 
ritory given  to  the  Thebans. 

During  this  third  year  of  the  war,  Sitalces, 
king  of  Thrace,  acting  on  the  suggestion  of 
the  Athenians,  invaded  the  dominions  of 
Perdiccas  of  Macedon ;  but  the  expedition 
was  undertaken  at  so  late  a  season  that  its 
serious  consequence  was  to  drive  the  Macedo- 
nians to  take  refuge  in  their  towns  until  the 
Tracians  were  withdrawn.  About  the  same 
time,  the  Spartans,  using  Corinth  as  a  base 
of  operations,  prepared  a  fleet  of  forty-seven 
vessels,  and  proceeded  to  make  an  expedition 
against  Acarnania.  At  this  time  a  small 
Athenian  squadron  of  twenty  sail,  under 
command  of  Phormio,  lay  at  Naupactus. 
Notwithstanding  the  disparity  of  the  fleets, 
the  Athenian  captain  attacked  the  Peloponne- 
sian  armament,  and  gained  a  decisive  victory. 
The  Lacedaemonians,  enraged  at  this  result, 


prepared  a  new  fleet  of  seventy-seven  vessels 
and  again  started  to  cross  the  gulf;  but 
nothing  daunted,  Phormio  a  second  time  gave 
battle,  and  if  not  positively  victorious,  so 
crippled  the  enemy's  squadron  that  the  expe- 
dition had  to  be  abandoned.  As  a  slight 
compensation  for  these  disasters,  the  Spartans 
succeeded  in  surprising  Salamis  by  night  and 
ravaging  a  good  part  of  the  island  before  the 
Athenians  could  rally  and  drive  them  off". 

From  this  time  forth  for  several  seasons 
the  annual  invasion  of  Attica  occurred,  with 
its  monotonous  repetition  of  pillage  and  de- 
struction. 

What  with  these  perpetual  devastations, 
and  what  with  the  wasting  plague,  Athens  was 
becoming  exhausted ;  but  her  sjDirit  rose  with 
the  occasion.  New  levies  were  made  for  the 
fleet  from  the  upper  classes  of  society.  An 
income  tax  was  laid  upon  the  people,  by 
which  two  hundred  talents  were  to  be  annu- 
ally added  to  the  treasury.  The  Lacedsemo- 
nians  were  surprised  by  the  appearance  of 
two  new  squadrons  at  a  time  when  they  were 
imagining  the  maritime  strength  of  the  Athe- 
nians to  be  nearly  extinct.  It  was  fortunate 
for  the  latter  that  they  were  thus  able  to  re- 
cuperate, for  the  fourth  year  of  the  war 
brought  them  a  serious  trial  in  the  revolt  of 
Mitylene.  An  armament  was,  however,  im- 
mediately sent  against  the  rebellious  island, 
and  the  Mityleneans  were  subjected  to  a  rigor- 
ous blockade.  Assistance  was  promised  by 
the  Spartan  government,  and  a  squadron  was 
sent  out  under  Alcidas,  but  before  he  arrived 
off*  Lesbos  the  Athenians  had  compelled  the 
place  to  capitulate. 

During  the  debates  in  the  Athenian  as- 
sembly as  to  what  disposition  should  be  made 
of  the  prisoners,  the  demagogue  Cleon,  already 
mentioned  as  a  would-be  rival  of  Pericles, 
appeared  as  a  leader.  He  had  been  a  leather- 
seller,'  and  ha(,l  every  quality  of  mind  and 
character  requisite  in  a  rabble-rouser.  In  the 
present  instance  he  proposed  in  the  very  face 
of  the  terms  granted  by  Paches,  the  Athe- 
nian commander  before  Mitylene,  that  not 
only  the  prisoners  now  in  the  power  of  the 
authorities,   but    also    the   whole    adult    male 

*  See  the  satire  of  Aris^^ophanes,  supra,  p.  494. 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


571 


population  of"  the  captured  city,  should  be  put 
to  death !  And  the  resolution  was  carried.  A 
trireme  was  immediately  dispatched  to  Lesbos 
to  order  the  execution  of  the  edict.  The  mad 
democratic  mob  that  had  ordered  this  butchery 
then  slept  and  woke  up  sober.  The  atrocity 
of  the  thing  staggered  the  city,  and  on  the 
morrow  a  new  meeting  was  called  to  recon- 
sider. After  an  acrimonious  debate,  a  revo- 
cation of  the  previous  order  was  carried  by  a 
bare  majority.  A  second  trireme,  now  twenty- 
four  hours  behind  the  other,  was  at  once  sent 
away  to  stay  the  execution  of  the  Mityle- 
neaus.  The  galley  reached  Lesbos  just  in 
time.  The  former  order  was  already  in  the 
hands  of  Paches,  and  he  was  preparing  to 
carry  it  into  effect  when  the  panting  oarsmen 
of  the  second  boat  reached  the  shore.  The 
merciful  edict  of  the  assembly,  however,  ex- 
tended only  to  the  citizens  of  Mitylene,  and 
not  to  the  prisoners  who  had  been  taken  in 
the  siege  and  sent  to  Athens.  These,  to  the 
number  of  more  than  a  thousand,  were  led 
out  and  put  to  death. 

The  Mitylenean  atrocity  was  excused  by 
the  Athenians  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a 
measure  of  just  retaliation  for  the  massacre  of 
the  Platseans  by  the  Lacedaemonians.  It  was 
not  long  till  another  scene  of  still  more  fearful 
cruelty  was  enacted  in  Corcyra.  For  some 
time  there  had  been  in  that  island  a  bitter 
struggle  between  the  oligarchical  faction  sup- 
ported by  Sparta  and  the  democratical  party 
backed  by  Athens.  After  much  mutual  vio- 
lence and  several  counter  revolutions,  the  oli- 
garchs were,  by  the  arrival  of  an  Athenian 
fleet,  completely  overthrown.  The  popular 
vengeance  broke  forth  furiously  against  them. 
They  were  pursued  into  their  hiding  places. 
They  were  dragged  from  the  temple-altars  and 
butchered  without  a  sign  of  mercy  or  com- 
punction. For  seven  days  the  horrible 
massacre  continued,  and  then  ceased  only 
because  there  were  no  more  to  murder. 

In  the  next  epoch  of  the  war  the  plague 
reappeared  in  Athens,  and  Peloponnesus  was 
again  shaken  by  an  earthquake.  The  Athe- 
nians, attributing  their  woes  to  the  anger  of 
Apollo,  ordered  a  purification  of  the  island  of 
Delos,  provided  that  ^o  more  births  or  deaths 


should  occur  in  that    sacred  seat,   and   insti- 
tuted a  festival  in  honor  of  the  offended  god. 
In  the   seventh   year's  invasion  of  Attica  by 
the  Spartan  general  Agis,  the  devastation  was 
suddenly  brought  to  an  end  by  the  news  that 
the  Athenians,  under  the  lead  of  Demosthenes, 
had   succeeded   in  establishing  a  military  sta^ 
tion  at  Pylus,  in  Messenia,  thus  menacing  the 
peace   of    all   Western    Peloponnesus.      Agis 
was  recalled  and  ordered   to  dislodge  Demos- 
thenes from    his   foothold  in  Messenia.     The 
latter,  with  a  small  force  of  about  one  thou- 
sand men,  built  fortifications  and  awaited  the 
onset.     A  Spartan  fleet,  commanded  by  Brasi- 
das,  arrived  in  the  bay  and  made  an  unsuc- 
cessful   attack    upon    the    Athenians.      Then 
came  a  squadron  from  Athens,  and  the  Spar- 
tans were  driven  away  wuth   a   loss   of  five 
ships.     They,   however,   continued  to  occupy 
the  densely  wooded  island  of  Sphacteria,  which 
lay  across   the   entrance  to  the  bay  of  Pylus. 
This  place  was  now  closely  blockaded  by  the 
Athenian  squadron,  and  it  presently  became 
apparent  that  the  Peloponnesian  army  was  re- 
duced to  great  straits.     The  Spartan  Ephors, 
after    having    themselves    reconnoitered    the 
situation,  decided  that  there  was  no  hope  but 
to  surrender.     An   embassy  was  accordingly 
sent  to  Athens,  and  the  assembly  at  last  had 
the  inexpressible  joy  of  seeing  a  company  of 
saturnine  Spartan  envoys  humbly  suing  for 
peace!     Cleon  was  in  his  glory,  and,  taking 
advantage  of  the  occasion,  insisted  upon  such 
extravagant  terms  as   could  not   be   granted 
but  by  the  ruin  of  the  Lacedaemonians.     The 
views  of  the  demagogue  prevailed   over  pru- 
dence,  and  the  opportunity  for   a   favorable 
peace   was  thrown   away.      The  envoys   were 
sent   back   to   Pylus,    and   Demosthenes   was 
ordered  to  press  the  siege  of  Sphacteria  to  a 
successful  issue.     The  armistice  broke  up  in 
mutual  bad  faith,  and  hostilities  were  at  once 
renewed. 

The  Spartans,  now  grown  desperate,  suc- 
ceeded by  one  means  and  another  in  getting 
a  considerable  quantity  of  provisions  to  the 
island,  and  the  siege  was  indefinitely  prolonged. 
While  the  Athenians  were  expecting  to  hear 
of  the  capture  of  the  Spartan  army,  a  demand 
came  for   -eenforcements.     There  was  a  reac- 


572 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


tion  in  the  assembly,  and  Cleon  was  about  to 
lose  his  grip ;  but  he  turned  furiously  upon 
Nicias,  one  of  the  generals,  and  accused  him 
of  being  the  cause  of  the  delay  and  disap- 
pointment. The  braggart  then  went  on  to 
declare  that  if  lie  were  strategus,  he  would 
take  Sphacteria  in  twenty  days.  Thereupon 
Nicias  moved  that  Cleon  be  given  the  com- 
mand !  In  spite  of  an  attempted  escape  from 
his  own  trap,  the  demagogue  Avas  obliged  to 
accept  what  the  assembly  now  thrust  upon 
him,  and  without  one  day's  military  experience 
he  departed  with  a  small  force  to  take  com- 
mand at  Pylus! 

On  arriving  at  the  scene  Cleon  found  the 
Athenians  already  preparing  for  an  assault  on 
the  island.  By  accident  a  fire  was  kindled  in 
the  edge  of  the  forest,  which,  blown  into  a  con- 
flagration by  the  wind,  swept  through  the 
island  and  destroyed  the  forest,  which  had 
thus  far  been  the  main  protection  of  the 
Spartans.  The  latter  were  thus  exposed  to  an 
attack.  The  Athenians,  led  by  Demosthenes 
and  Cleon,  landed  in  force,  and  a  battle  of 
unusual  severity  was  fought,  in  Avhich  the 
Spartans  were  completely  defeated.  In  answer 
to  a  demand  for  surrender,  the  remnant  threw 
down  their  shields  and  held  up  their  hands  I 

Such  a  scene  had  not  before  been  witnessed 
in  Greece.  It  was  the  Spartan  code  to  con- 
quer or  die  ;  but  now  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  of  the  supposed  invincibles,  many  of  them 
of  the  best  families  in  Laconia,  gave  them" 
selves  into  the  power  of  an  enemy.  The 
victory  was  complete.  Pylus  was  strengthened. 
The  prisoners  were  taken  to  Athens;  and 
before  the  expiration  of  the  twenty  days 
Cleon,  by  the  strange  favor  of  fortune,  stood 
in  the  assembly  and  presented  his  prisoners! 

After  the  siege  of  Sphacteria,  the  Athenian 
fleet,  under  Eurymedon  and  Sophocles,  pro- 
ceeded to  Corcyra,  and  aided  the  people  of 
that  island  in  reducing  the  last  post  held  by 
the  oligarchs,  the  fortress  of  Istone.  This 
place  was  surrendered  on  condition  that  the 
prisoners  should  be  spared  until  they  should 
be  condemned  after  a  formal  trial  before  the 
assembly  ;  but  they  were  presently  induced  to 
try  to  escape,  for  the  express  purpose  that  a 
pretext  might  be  found  for  their  destruction.  ^ 


Eurymedon  consented  to  this  atrocious  piece 
of  business,  and  all  the  prisoners  were  led  out 
two  by  two  and  put  to  death. 

At  this  juncture  the  Athenians  were  un- 
doubtedly in  a  position  to  have  procured 
terms  of  peace  most  advantageous  to  the 
state ;  but  they  gave  themselves  up  to  passion 
and  continued  hostility.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  eighth  year  they  reduced  the  important 
island  of  Cythera,  and  once  more  ravaged  the 
coasts  of  Laconia.  They  then  undertook  a 
camjDaign  against  the  Megarians,  and  another 
into  Boeotia.  In  the  first  of  these  some  ad- 
vantages were  gained,  and  the  town  of 
Nissffia  was  taken  and  occupied  by  an  Athe- 
nian garrison.  But  the  Boeotian  expedition 
ended  in  disaster.  The  state  was  invaded  on 
both  sides  simultaneously,  by  Demosthenes 
and  Hippocrates.  The  former  found  the 
country  preoccupied,  and  was  obliged  to  re- 
tire, and  the  latter,  after  having  gained  pos- 
session of  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delium, 
and  garrisoned  the  town,  was  overtaken  in 
the  plain  of  Oropus  and  completely  routed. 
Nothing  but  the  approach  of  night  saved  any 
part  of  the  Athenian  army  from  the  fury  of 
the  heavy-armed  soldiers  of  Boeotia.  Delium 
was  retaken,  and  the  campaign  closed  with 
the  complete  recovery  of  the  country  from 
Athenian  influence. 

In  the  mean  time  the  long-cherished  plan 
of  Sparta  to  overthrow  the  rule  of  her  rival 
in  Thrace  was  successfully  carried  out  by 
Brasidas.  With  a  force  of  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  picked  troops  he  made  his  way 
through  Thessaly,  and,  forming  a  junction 
with  the  forces  of  Perdiccas  of  Macedon,  pro- 
ceeded into  Thrace.  Here  his  conduct  was 
such  as  to  win  over  a  large  part  of  those  who 
adhered  to  the  Athenian  cause.  The  two 
towns  of  Acanthus  and  Stagirus  received  him 
gladly.  He  then  urged  his  way  to  the  im- 
portant colony  of  Amphipolis,  on  the  river 
Strymon.  Even  this  place  was  surrendered 
without  a  siege,  as  were  also  most  of  the  towns 
in  the  Chalcidician  peninsulas. 

The  effect  was  such  that  Athens  was  now, 
in  her  turn,  anxious  for  peace.  In  the  ninth 
year  after  the  opening  of  hostilities  (B.  C. 
423),  a  truce  was  agreed  to  for  twelve  months. 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


573 


and  both  parties  found  time  to  breathe  from 
the  long  struggle  in  which  they  had  been  en- 
gaged. In  the  beginning  of  the  next  year, 
however,  the  war  was  renewed,  and  Cleon 
made  an  effort  to  recover  Thrace.  With  a 
large  army  he  went  against  Amphipolis,  which 
was  defended  by  Brasidas.  The  latter,  with 
his  large  military  experience,  was  more  than 
a  match  for  the  loud  democrat  whom  accident 
had  once  led  to  victory.  Brasidas  soon  lulled 
his  antagonist  into  fancied  security,  and  then 
sallied  out  and  inflicted  a  terrible  defeat. 
Cleon  was  killed,  together  with  half  of  the 
Athenian  soldiery.  The  rest  were  scattered 
to  the  winds.  Brasidas,  however,  was  mor- 
tally wounded  in  the  battle,  and  w^as  carried 
into  the  town  to  die.  He  was  buried  in  the 
agora,  and  was  henceforth  honored  as  (Bcisl, 
or  founder  of  Amphipolis. 

The  war  had  now  degenerated  into  per- 
sonal antagonisms  and  recriminations.  By 
the  death  of  the  two  leaders,  the  one  a 
"king"  of  Sparta  and  the  other  the  popular 
despot  of  the  Athenian  assembly,  the  princi- 
pal agents  in  perpetuating  the  strife  were  re- 
moved. Nicias,  who  now  assumed  the  leadership 
in  Athens,  and  Pleistoanax,  the  other  Spartan 
king,  were  both  favorable  to  peace.  In  B.  C. 
421  negotiations  were  opened,  and  were  soon 
brought  to  a  successful  issue  in  a  proclamation 
of  peace  for  fifty  years.  The  leading  princi- 
ple assumed  in  the  pacification  was  a  mutual 
restitution  of  prisoners  and  conquests.  Upon 
this,  however,  there  were  some  restrictions. 
Thebes  was  permitted  to  retain  Platsea. 
Athens  kept  Nisssea — the  seaport  of  Me- 
garis — Anactorium,  and  Sollium.  Several 
towns  regained  their  independence.  Others, 
which  were  left  tributary  to  the  Athenians, 
had  their  tax  reduced  to  the  scale  established 
by  Aristides.  The  allies  of  Athens  were  gen- 
erally pleased  with  the  settlement,  but  the 
dependent  states  of  the  league  against  her 
were  filled  with  resentment  towards  Sparta, 
for  whom  they  had  fought  eleven  years,  and 
by  whom  they  were  now  abandoned.  Boeotia, 
Corinth,  Elis,  and  Megaris  refused  to  sign  the 
treaty,  and  their  attitude  became  so  hostile 
that  Sparta  made  an  alliance  with  Athens  to 
maintain  the  compact. — Thus  did  the  Peace 


OF  Nicias  at  last  afford  to  distracted  Greece 
an  opportunity  to  recuperate  her  powers,  so 
terribly  shattered  by  the  shocks  and  ravages 
of  civil  war. 

Much  difficulty  was  experienced  in  at- 
tempting to  secure  compliance  with  the  terms 
of  the  treaty.  The  Spartans  found  it  impos- 
sible to  surrender  Amphipolis  to  the  Athe- 
nians, for  the  inhabitants  refused  to  accede  to 
the  transfer.  Thereupon  the  authorities  of 
Athens  declined  to  surrender  the  harbor  of 
Pylus.  The  disaffected  Corinthians,  now  en- 
tirely alienated  from  Sparta,  projected  the 
scheme  of  a  new  Lacedaemonian  confederacy, 
with  Argos  at  the  head.  In  the  midst  of 
these  complications,  Alcibiades  appeared  on 
the  stage  of 
Athenian  poli- 
tics. He  soon 
became  one  of 
the  most  strik- 
ing figures  that 
had  risen  in  that 
stormy  arena. 
Young  and  bril- 
liant, of  an  il- 
lustrious de- 
scent, dashing 
and  courageous, 
quick  in  concep- 
tion and  fertile 
in      expedients, 

unscrupulous  and  reckless,  he  possessed  the 
very  qualities  which  in  success  would  make, 
and  in  disaster  mar,  an  Athenian  statesman. 
His  ambition  Avas  as  boundless  as  his  conduct 
was  notorious.  Not  even  the  austere  genius 
of  his  instructor,  Socrates,  could  bring  the 
audacious  and  extravagant  youth  to  any 
thing  like  a  decent  discipline. 

The  first  noted  public  appearance  of  this 
distinguished  youth  w^as  on  the  occasion  of 
the  coming  of  the  Lacedsemonian  ambassadors 
requesting  the  surrender  of  Pylus.  He  at  first 
violently  opposed  the  petition,  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  urge  the  sending  of  an  embassy 
to  Argos  to  solicit  that  city  to  become  a  mem- 
ber in  a  new  Athenian  league.  In  spite  of 
the  earnest  efforts  of  Nicias  and  of  the  pro- 
tests of  the  Spartan  ambassador,  Alcibiades, 


ALCiBi  A  DES. — Visconti. 


574 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— TRE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


by  means  of  intrigue  and  bluster,  succeeded 
in  this  work,  and  not  only  Argos,  but  also 
Elis  and  Mantinea,  agreed  to  maintain  an 
alliance  with  Athens  for  a  hundred  years. 

In  the  next  year,  B.  C.  419,  the  Athenians 
were  again  admitted  to  the  Olympic  games. 
It  was  supposed  that,  just  emerging  from  a 
long  and  ruinous  war,  she  would  present  but 
a  sorry  figure  at  the  great  festival.  What, 
therefore,  was  the  surprise  of  the  assembled 
«tates  when  Alcibiades  himself  entered  for  the 
games  seven  four-horse  chariots,  and  with 
these  gained  both  the  first  and  the  second 
prize?  Besides  his  display  in  the  races,  he 
procured  from  his  countrymen  one  of  tht 
fichest  general  exhibits  ever  presented  on  such 
an  occasion;  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
■celebration  all  Greece  rang  with  the  praises 
of  the  Athenians. 

But  Alcibiades  Avas  a  politician  as  well  as 
a  racer.  He  visited  several  Peloponnesian 
towns,  with  the  purpose  of  alienating  them 
more  and  more  from  the  Spartan  cause. 
These  proceedings  continued  until  the  Lace- 
daemonians were  obliged  to  resist.  They 
marched  into  Argos  and  gained  a  position 
from  which  they  might  soon  have  won  a 
marked  success;  but  Agis,  the  commander, 
permitted  himself  to  be  tricked  into  a  truce 
fcy  the  machinations  of  Alcibiades,  who  then 
gathered  a  force  of  Argives  and  Athenians 
and  invaded  Mantinea.  Near  the  temple  of 
Hercules  they  were  met  by  the  Spartan  army 
under  Agis,  and  were  disastrously  defeated. 
It  was  estimated  that  one  thousand  one  hun- 
dred men  of  the  allied  forces  perished  in  the 
battle.  This  success  induced  the  state  of 
Argolis  to  detach  itself  from  Athens  and  return 
to  its  old  relations  with  the  Lacedaemonians. 

In  the  year  B.  C.  416,  the  Athenians  suc- 
ceeded in  the  capture  of  Melos  and  Thera, 
the  only  islands  in  the  JEgenn  not  hitherto 
brought  under  their  dominion.  In  the  con- 
<[uest  of  the  Melians — whose  only  offense  con- 
sisted in  refusing  to  surrender  to  those  who 
bad  attacked  thera  in  a  time  of  peace — the 
Athenians  crowned  all  their  preceding  atroc- 
ities by  putting  the  male  citizens  of  the  island 
to  death  and  selling  the  women  and  children 
into  slavery. 


In  the  mean  time,  about  B.  C.  428,  the 
Dorian  race  in  Sicily,  under  the  leadership 
of  Syracuse,  had  become  identified  with  the 
Peloponnesian  league,  then  at  war  with 
Athens.  War  had  been  declared  against  the 
towns  of  Leontini  and  Camarina,  as  well  as 
the  Italian  city  of  Rhegium.  Hereupon  the 
Leontinians  sent  their  orator,  Gorgias,  to 
Athens  to  solicit  aid.  At  that  time  the 
Athenians  voted  aid  to  all  the  enemies  of 
Sparta ;  so  a  fleet  of  twenty  sail  was  sent  to 
help  the  anti-Lacedsemonian  league  in  the 
West. 

In  the  following  year  another  squadron 
of  forty  galleys  was  sent  to  Sicily,  and  it  now 
became  apparent  that  Athens  instead  of  help- 
ing others  entertained  the  covert  purpose  of 
helping  herself  to  the  possession  of  the  whole 
island.  A  reaction  occurred  among  the  Sicil- 
ians, and  the  expedition  w^as  obliged  to  sail 
home  in  disgrace.  Three  years  later,  however, 
the  Leontinians  again  asked  for  assistance, 
but  the  Athenians  were  not  then  in  a  condi- 
tion to  give  it ;  but  when,  in  B.  C.  416,  the 
application  was  renewed  from  the  town  of 
Egesta,  then  at  war  with  Selinus,  Alcibiades 
espoused  the  project,  and  a  resolution  of  sup- 
port was  about  to  be  voted;  but  the  cautious 
Nicias  interposed  and  induced  the  assembly 
first  to  send  an  embassy  to  Egesta  to  see 
whether  the  game  was  worth  the  expenditure. 
The  Egestseans  entertained  the  envoys.  They 
took  them  into  the  temple  of  Aphrodite  and 
displayed  a  vast  heap  of  treasures  which  were 
borrowed  for  the  occasion !  They  gave  a  ban- 
quet which  nearly  exhausted  the  resources  of 
the  town.  But  the  ambassadors  were  gener- 
ously hoodAvinked,  and  took  home  a  glowing 
account  of  the  luxury  of  the  western  city! 
So  it  was  at  once  i-esolved  to  espouse  the 
cause  of  these  wealthy  petitioners,  and  a  squad- 
ron of  a  hundred  ships — under  the  joint  com- 
mand of  Nicias,  Alcibiades,  and  Lamachus — 
was  dispatched  to  Sicily. 

No  enterprise  ever  undertaken  by  the 
Greeks  was  more  enthusiastically  prosecuted. 
Crowds  of  volunteers  came  forward  and 
begged  to  be  accepted  for  the  expedition. 
The  three  commanders  vied  with  each  other 
in   the   equipment  of   their   respective   ships. 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


575 


The  Athenians  gave  themselves  to  the  work 
of  preparation  as  if  to  a  holiday.  Finally, 
when  every  thing  was  in  readiness,  and  the 
fleet  was  on  the  eve  of  departure,  an  event 
occurred  which  not  only  dampened  the  public 
ardor  but  stirred  the  superstitions  and  fears 
of  the  people  to  their  profoundest  depths.  In 
a  single  night  the  statues  of  the  god  Hermes, 
which  stood  at  the  street  corners  and  in  all 
the  public  places  of  the  city,  were  mutilated 
and  knocked  to  pieces.  No  such  a  shocking 
sacrilege  had  ever  before  been  known  in  the 
history  of  the  country.  No  reason  could  be 
assigned  for  the  act.  The  universality  of  tiie 
destruction  indicated  that  it  had  been  accom- 
plished by  a  band  of  conspirators  acting  se- 
cretly in  the  dead  of  night.  No  one  was 
detected  in  the  work.  The  people  awoke  in 
the  morning  to  find  th«  sacred  busts  in  front 
of  their  houses  wantonly  disfigured  or  broken 
into  a  shapeless  mass.  The  excitement  and 
indignation  of  the  public  knew  no  bounds. 
A  commission  was  at  once  appointed  to 
examine  witnesses  and  discover  the  perpetra- 
tors of  the  crime ;  but  the  investigation  was 
without  practical  results.  Suspicion  fell 
upon  Alcibiades,  but  no  proof  was  discovered 
against  him.  The  suspicion,  however,  held 
fast,  and  when  no  evidence  could  be  adduced 
of  his  guilt  in  the  mutilation  of  the  Hermce, 
Pythonicus,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Assem- 
bly, preferred  against  him  the  charge  of  hav- 
ing profaned  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  by 
giving  a  representation  of  them  in  private. 
In  proof  of  this  the  testimony  of  a  slave  was 
given  ;  but  Alcibiades  denied  the  charge  and 
demanded  an  investigation.  The  inquiry, 
however,  was,  by  the  machinations  of  his  ene- 
mies, postponed  until  after  the  return  of  the 
expedition.  It  was  thus  contrived  that  Alci- 
biades should  depart  under  a  cloud.  Mean- 
while, the  preparation  of  the  fleet  was  com- 
pleted, and  Corcyra  was  named  as  the  place 
of  rendezvous.  The  departure  of  the  squad- 
ron was  such  a  scene  as  the  Athenians  had 
never  witnessed.  The  force  consisted  of  two 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  heavy-armed 
soldiers.  At  day-break  these  marched  on 
board  of  the  gayly  decorated  vessels  lying  at 
the  wharves  of    Pirseus.     Nearly    the   whole 


population  of  the  city  lined  the  shores.  A 
blast  of  the  trumpet  proclaimed  silence.  Then 
was  heard  the  voice  of  the  herald  lifted  in 
prayer  to  the  country's  gods.  The  war  psean 
of  the  Greek  was  chanted,  and  libations  were 
poured  into  the  sea  from  goblets  of  gold  and 
silver.  Then  each  galley,  as  if  in  a  race, 
started  for  the  island  of  ^gina.  Thence  the 
squadron  sailed  to  Corcyra,  where  it  was  aug- 
mented by  the  arrival  of  thirty-four  galleys 
and  nearly  six  thousand  troops  sent  by  the 
states  in  alliance  with  Athens.  On  arriving 
at  Southern  Italy,  the  Greeks  were  coldly  re- 
ceived. Even  at  Rhegium  permission  to  pur- 
chase supplies  was  granted  Avith  reluctance. 
In  the  mean  time  the  news  was  borne  to  Syra- 
cuse and  preparations  were  immediately  made 
to  defend  the  city. 

While  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Rhegium, 
the  Greek  commanders  fell  into  serious  dis- 
putes about  the  purposes  and  plans  of  the 
expedition.  Nicias  was  in  favor  of  limiting 
the  campaign  to  the  reduction  of  Selinus ; 
while  Alcibiades  and  Lamachus  proposed  that 
the  capture  of  Syracuse  should  be  included  in 
their  conquest.  Lamachus  favored  an  imme- 
diate attack  upon  the  Sicilian  capital  while 
it  was  yet  unprepared  for  defense.  Alcibiades, 
however,  preferred  such  a  delay  as  would 
enable  him  to  procure  assistance  from  the 
Italian  allies  of  Athens.  This  view  prevailed. 
For  the  present  nothing  was  done  except  to 
explore  the  harbor  of  Syracuse  and  to  take 
possession  of  Catana,  which  was  henceforth 
used  as  a  base  of  supplies  and  operations  for 
the  Greek  squadron. 

At  this  point  news  was  received  from 
Athens  indicating  an  extremely  unfortunate 
state  of  affairs  in  the  city.  Terror  had  seized 
tlie  public  mind  on  account  of  the  mutila- 
tion of  the  Hermse.  The  charge  of  having 
committed  that  crime  was  again  brought  for- 
ward against  Alcibiades.  Many  persons  were 
arrested,  among  whom  was  an  orator  named 
Andocides,  who  turned  informer,  and  by 
means  of  his  own  testimony  and  that  of  slaves 
secured  the  conviction  and  execution  of  a 
number  of  citizens.  This  had  the  effect  to 
quiet  public  excitement,  but  the  persons  put 
to  death  were  doubtless  innocent  of  the  crime. 


576 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  charge  of  having  profaned  the  Eleu- 
sinian  mysteries  was  still  unanswered,  and  a 
vote  Avas  passed  by  the  assembly  demanding 
the  return  of  Alcibiades  for  trial.  A  galley 
was  dispatched  to  Sicily  to  bring  him  to 
Athens ;  but  on  his  way  home  he  effected  his 
escape  and  sailed  to  Sparta.  The  Athenian 
court  regarding  this  flight  as  a  confession  of 
guilt,  condemned  him  to  death,  and  ordered 
the  confiscation  of  his  property.  On  hearing 
of  his  sentence,  Alcibiades  remarked  with  non- 
chalance, "  I  will  show  the  Athenians  that  I 
am  still  alive." 

Meanwhile  the  operations  in  Sicily  had 
made  no  progress.  The  Syracusans  were  not 
even  annoyed  at  the  presence  of  an  enemy 
so  little  aggressive.  Their  horsemen  rode 
around  the  Athenian  camp  and  insulted  the 
garrison.  A  rumor  was  now  blown  abroad 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Catana  were  them- 
selves on  the  eve  of  expelling  the  Athenians. 
In  order  to  assist  this  movement,  the  Syra- 
cusan  army  drew  out  of  the  city  and  marched 
to  the  aid  of  the  Catanoeans.  Seizing  the  op- 
portunity afforded  by  their  absence,  Nicias 
succeeded  in  conveying  his  whole  squadron 
into  the  harbor,  effected  a  landing  near  the 
temple  of  the  Olympian  Zeus,  and  threw  up 
fortifications.  Here  he  was  presently  attacked 
by  the  Syracusan  army  returning  from  Ca- 
tana, but  the  victory  remained  with  the  Athe- 
nians, who  presently  withdrew  into  winter- 
quarters  at  Naxos.  From  this  point  Nicias 
sent  messengers  to  Athens  asking  fresh  sup- 
plies of  troops  and  means.  A  reenforcement 
of  cavalry  was  accordingly  sent  out,  with 
three  hundred  talents  in  money. 

With  the  spring,  the  siege  of  Syracuse 
began.  The  city  lay  upon  a  peninsula  be- 
tween the  Great  and  Little  harbors.  On  the 
land  side  it  was  defended  by  a  wall,  and  the 
sea-front  was  protected  by  the  nature  of  the 
ground  and  by  fortifications.  In  the  northern 
suburbs  of  the  city,  however,  was  a  high 
ground  called  Epipolse,  and  of  this  the  Athe- 
nians succeeded  in  gaining  possession.  An 
attempt  of  the  Syracusans  to  dislodge  them 
was  repulsed.  Here  Nicias  constructed  a  fort, 
and  the  siege  was  pressed  by  both  sea  and 
land. 


In  the  mean  time  Lamachus  had  died,  and 
the  whole  command  devolved  upon  Nicias, 
who  was  inferior  to  his  colleague  in  energy. 
By  this  time  the  Syracusans  became  discour- 
aged and  made  overtures  of  surrender:  but 
Nicias,  over-confident  of  success,  paid  little 
attention  to  the  proposals  and  continued  the 
siege.  At  this  juncture,  however,  Gylippus, 
the  Spartan  general,  arrived  with  a  small 
squadron  in  the  bay  of  Tarentum.  Thence 
he  proceeded  to  Himera,  and,  publishing  to 
the  people  that  other  forces  from  his  country 
would  soon  arrive,  he  gathered  an  army  of 
three  thousand  men  and  marched  to  the  relief 
of  Syracuse.  He  succeeded  in  passing  the 
heights  of  Epipolse,  and  entered  the  city 
without  op^DOsition.  Having  effected  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Syracusans,  he  sent  an  audacious 
message  to  Nicias,  allowing  him  five  days  to 
gather  his  effects  and  leave  Sicily. 

It  would  have  been  well  if  Nicias  had 
taken  the  advice  of  his  enemy,  for  the  latter 
very  soon  turned  the  tide  of  success  against 
the  Athenians.  The  Syracusans  in  their  turn 
captured  and  fortified  the  heights  of  Epipolse. 
Nor  was  it  long — such  was  the  activity  of 
Gylippus — until  the  Athenians  were  put  into 
the  attitude  of  a  besieged  rather  than  a  besieg- 
ing army.  Nicias  fell  sick  and  asked  to  be 
recalled.  Instead  of  complying  with  this  re- 
quest, however,  the  Athenians  sent  out  addi- 
tional troops  under  command  of  Demosthenes 
and  Eurymedon.  The  Spartans  also  reen- 
forced  their  Sicilian  army,  and  the  Syracusans 
presently  gave  battle   to  the  Athenian  fleet. 

The  latter  gained  an  indecisive  victory,  but 
while  the  battle  was  in  progress,  Gylippus  made 
an  assault  upon  some  of  the  forts  erected  by 
Nicias  and  captured  them,  with  large  quanti- 
ties of  provisions.  In  a  short  time  the  Syra- 
cusans sailed  boldly  out  into  Great  Harbor, 
and  again  gave  battle  to  the  fleet.  This  time 
the  Athenian  squadron  was  routed,  and  the 
remnant  of  the  ships  was  only  saved  from  de- 
struction by  being  drawn  to  the  shore  under 
protection  of  the  Athenian  works. 

At  this  juncture  a  new  fleet  of  seventy- 
five  vessels,  carrying  five  thousand  heavy 
armed  troops,  arrived  from  Athens.  Demos- 
thenes, the  commander,  immediately  made  an 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


577 


578 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


attempt  to  take  Epipolse,  but  was  repulsed. 
He  then  urged  Nicias  to  withdraw  from  his 
dangerous  position  in  Great  Hai'bor  and  retire 
to  Thapsus;  but  just  as  this  movement  was 
about  to  begin  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  oc- 
curred, and  the  seers  declared  that  the  fleet 
must  not  leave  its  moorings  for  a  lunar 
month/  Their  decision  was  complied  with, 
and  the  Syracusans,  learning  how  matters 
stood,  determined  to  make  a  league  with 
superstition  and  destroy  the  foe  before  the 
next  full  moon.  They  accordingly  blocked 
up  the  mouth  of  Great  Harbor  with  a  cordon 
of  galleys.  So  the  Athenian  squadron  of  one 
hundred  and  ten  triremes  was  cooped  up,  with 
no  opportunity  of  escape   except  by  battle. 

It  was,  however,  resolved  to  break  through 
at  all  hazards.  Accordingly,  on  an  appointed 
morning,  the  fleet  of  Nicias  loosed  its  moor- 
ings and  proceeded  to  the  attack.  Nearly  the 
whole  population  of  the  city  lined  the  shores 
of  the  bay.  The  larger  part  of  the  Athenian 
land-forces  were  put  on  board  of  the  ships,  and 
the  remainder  looked  on  from  the  fortifica- 
tions. The  attack  was  directed  first  against 
the  line  of  galleys  by  which  the  mouth  of  the 
harbor  was  blockaded.  But  the  latter  held 
their  position.  Presently  the  whole  armament 
on  both  sides  was  engaged,  and  for  some  time 
the  battle  hung  dubiously  between  the  com- 
batants. Then  the  Athenians  began  to  give 
way.  Nearly  a  half  of  their  vessels  were 
destroyed,  and  the  rest  driven  back  to  the 
protection  of  the  shore.  The  victory  was  in 
every  respect  complete  and  overwhelming. 

The  Athenians  were  still  about  forty  thou- 
sand strong.  As  soon  as  the  battle  was  de- 
cided, they  determined,  if  possible,  to  escape 
from  their  perilous  position.  The  only  course 
remaining  was  a  retreat  overland  to  the 
shelter  of  some  friendly  town,  where  they 
might  defend  themselves  until  succored  by  re- 
inforcements. But  instead  of  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  confusion  of  the  first  night  after 
his  defeat,  Nicias  waited  till  the  next;  and 
the  Syracusans  thus  found  time  to  gather  and 
fall  upon  the  retreating  column.  In  the  at- 
tempt to  reach  the  coast,  Demosthenes,  who 
commanded  the  rear  division,  was  cut  off*,  and 

'  This  eclipse  occurred  August  27,  B.  C.  413. 


after  fighting  until  his  forces  were  greatly  re- 
duced, was  obliged  to  surrender.  Finally, 
Gylippus  overtook  Nicias,  who,  with  the 
army,  now  numbering  no  more  than  ten 
thousand  men,  was  slill  struggling  to  gain  the 
coast.  Arriving  at  the  river  Erineus,  they 
attempted  to  cross,  but  the  enemy  crowded 
them  down  the  banks  and  into  the  stream. 
All  hope  was  abandoned.  The  army  became 
a  disorganized  mass  and  was  forced  to  surren- 
der at  discretion.  The  remainder  of  the  fleet 
had  been  given  up  at  the  beginning  of  the 
retreat.  Not  a  vestige  remained.  No  such 
complete  destruction  of  an  army  and  squad- 
ron had  ever  been  known.  The  prisoners 
were  sent  to  work  in  the  stone-quarries,  where, 
huddled  together,  driven  to  their  tasks  without 
sufficient  food,  and  exposed  to  the  elements, 
they  soon  began  to  die  of  exhaustion  and 
pestilence,  until  the  survivors  sickened  and 
fell  over  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  All  were 
enslaved  except  the  Athenians  and  the  Sicilian 
Greeks.  Among  these  were  many  men  of 
culture  and  refinement;  and  a  tradition  recites 
that  not  a  few  of  these  gained  the  esteem  of 
their  masters  by  enacting  for  them  the  plays 
of  the  Greek  dramatists.  Demosthenes  and 
Nicias  were  both  condemned  to  death,  the 
only  favor  shown  them  being  the  concession 
of  suicide  instead  of  a  public  execution. 

Soon  after  the  appalling  disaster  just  re- 
corded, the  news  was  carried  into  Athens  by 
a  barber  of  Piraeus.  So  incredible  appeared 
his  story  that  the  authorities  put  him  to  the 
torture.  Presently,  however,  straggling  fugi- 
tives began  to  arrive  with  confirmation  of  the 
awful  intelligence.  The  Athenians  were  first 
furious  and  then  gave  themselves  up  to  de- 
spair. It  was  seen  at  a  glance  that  no  power 
could  much  longer  prevent  the  capture  of 
the  city  by  the  Lacedaemonians.  Neverthe- 
less the  authorities  began  to  bestir  themselves 
for  the  public  defense.  It  was,  however,  the 
misfortune  of  the  city  of  Athens  that  military 
success  was  constantly  necessary  to  preserve 
the  loyalty  of  her  dependent  cities  and  islands. 
Whenever  the  tide  turned  against  her,  these 
dependencies  would  not  only  abandon  her  in- 
terests, but  enter  into  leagues  for  her  de- 
struction. 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


579 


580 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  the  present  emergency  the  first  to 
revolt  was  the  island  of  Chios.  The  insur- 
rection was  instigated  by  Alcibiades,  who, 
now  residing  at  Sparta,  lost  no  opportunity 
to  inflict  on  his  country  some  humiliating 
injury.  He  crossed  over  in  person  to  the 
^land,  and  aided  the  insurgents  in  overthrow- 
ing the  party  favorable  to  Athens.  The 
islands  of  Zeos  and  Lesbos  and  the  city  of 
Miletus  followed  the  example  of  Chios ;  and 
the  Ionian  cities  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor 
were  given  up  by  a  treaty  with  Tissaphernes 
to  their  masters,  the  Persians.  Samos,  how- 
ever, remained  faithful  to  the  Athenians. 
The  oligarchy  in  that  island  was  suppressed, 
and  Samos  became  a  kind  of  stronghold  of 
Athenian  influence  in  the  ^gean. 

In  the  mean  time,  Athens  began  to  recover 
from  her  overthrow.  The  reserve  of  one 
thousand  talents  which  had  lain  undisturbed 
in  the  Acropolis  since  the  administration  of 
Pericles,  was  now  voted  by  the  assembly  to 
be  used  in  the  construction  of  a  fleet.  When 
this  was  completed,  an  expedition  was  fitted 
out  against  Chios,  and  that  island  was  rapidly 
overrun  and  restored  to  its  former  relations. 
A  victory  was  also  gained  over  the  Lacedse- 
monian  squadron  at  Miletus,  but  that  city 
still  remained  under  the  control  of  the  Per- 
sians. The  Spartans  soon  prepared  another 
armament  so  powerful  in  numbers  and  equip- 
ment that  its  ability  to  overcome  all  opposi- 
tion could  not  be  reasonably  questioned. 

Alcibiades,  in  the  mean  time,  from  his  long- 
continued  duplicity,  had  gained  the  distrust 
and  aversion  of  the  Spartan  government. 
The  Ephors  first  denounced  him  as  a  traitor 
and  then  condemned  him  to  death,  but  he 
escaped  the  penalty  by  fleeing  to  the  court  of 
Tissaphernes.  He  at  once  set  about  to  per- 
suade the  sati'ap  to  adopt  a  new  line  of  policy 
with  regard  to  the  Greek  states.  The  wily 
Greek  soon  convinced  him  that  the  interest 
of  Persia  required  that  the  Grecian  common- 
wealths should  be  allowed  to  wear  each  other 
out  in  mutual  conflicts  to  the  end  that  the 
Great  King  might  absorb  the  fragments  into 
his  empire.  ^It  was  this  influence  aided  by 
bribery  that  prevented  the  activity  of  the 
Spartan  squadron.     Persia  was  thus  won  over 


to  favor  the  Athenian  cause.  The  real  pur- 
pose of  Alcibiades  was  to  get  himself  restored 
to  his  country.  He  communicated  with  the 
Athenian  generals  at  Samos,  and  made  it 
appear  that  he  was  able  to  secure  a  Persian 
alliance  and  would  gladly  do  so  on  condition 
of  his  own  restoration,  and  the  substitution 
of  an  oligarchy  for  the  democratic  form  of 
government  in  Athens.  A  proposition  to 
this  effect  was  brought  forward  in  the  assem- 
bly by  Pisander.  The  democracy  was  furious 
at  the  proposal ;  but  the  necessity  of  the  state 
was  so  great  that  a  vote  was  procured  in  favor 
of  the  overthrow  of  the  constitution  of  Clis- 
thenes.  Pisander  was  then  dispatched  at  the 
head  of  an  embassy  to  treat  with  Alcibiades 
and  Tissaphernes  with  respect  to  the  proposed 
alliance ;  but  when  the  ambassadors  were  re- 
ceived by  the  satrap,  Alcibiades,  speaking  on 
his  behalf  and  knowing  his  own  inability  to 
perform  what  he  had  jDromised,  made  such 
extravagant  demands  of  his  countrymen  that 
they  were  obliged  to  break  up  the  conference. 
In  the  mean  time  oligarchical  clubs  were 
multiplied  in  Athens,  and  under  their  influ- 
ence the  democracy  was  subjected  to  a  reign 
of  terror.  Assassination  became  the  order  of 
the  day,  and  it  was  soon  evident  that  the  revo- 
lution in  the  government  would  be  accom- 
plished. Pisander,  on  his  return  from  Asia 
proposed  a  committee  of  ten  to  draft  a  new 
constitution.  The  instrument  when  produced 
j)rovided  first  for  the  overthrow  of  the  exist- 
ing magistrates ;  secondly,  for  the  abolition  of 
all  official  salaries;  thirdly,  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  council  of  Four  Hundred,  with 
whom  the  principal  functions  of  governments 
should  be  lodged;  and  fourthly,  for  the  limi- 
tation of  the  right  of  suffi'age  to  a  body  of 
five  thousand  citizens.  The  revolution  was 
completed  by  force.  The  old  senate  was 
ejected  by  the  Four  Hundred,  who  were  in- 
stalled in  the  ancient  seats  of  authority. 
Then  followed  proscriptions  and  confiscations. 
The  principal  leaders  of  the  democracy  were 
assassinated.  The  next  movement  was  to 
send  an  embassy  to  Sparta  with  overtures  for 
peace;  but  Agis,  the  king,  prefeired  to  com- 
pel a  settlement  on  his  own  terms.  He  ac- 
cordingly made  an  attempt  to  capture  Athens, 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


581 


but  being  foiled,  he  concluded  to  enter  into 
negotiations  with  the  Athenians. 

It  was  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  this 
stormy  period  in  Greek  history  that  the  de- 
mocracy, Avhich  had  been  overthrown  in  its 
original  stronghold,  was  still  upheld  in  Samos. 
The  army  now  in  that  island,  led  by  Thrasy- 
bulus  and  Thrasyllus,  remained  loyal  to  the 
old  institutions  of  Athens.  It  was  through 
the  influence  of  these  leaders  that  Alcibiades, 
who  was  now  on  the  side  of  democracy,  but 
always  on  the  side  of  himself,  was  elected  one 
of  the  generals  of  the  army.  That  distin- 
guished patriot  began  at  once  to  magnify  his 
ofiice  by  passing  to  and  fro  in  the  assumed 
character  of  an  ambassador  between  Asia  and 
continental  Greece.  Thus  would  he  induce 
the  belief  among  his  democratic  countrymen 
that  he  was  busy  with  the  construction  of  the 
Perso-Athenian  alliance. 

As  soon  as  the  Four  Hundred  heard  of 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Samos  they  sent 
thither  an  embassy  to  explain  the  change  in 
the  government  and  to  demand  the  accept- 
ance of  the  same  by  the  people.  The  envoys 
were  met  with  disdain  both  by  the  citizens 
and  soldiery.  A  proposition  had  already  been 
made  in  the  army  to  proceed  against  Athens 
and  overthrow  the  usurpers,  and  but  for  the 
influence  of  the  more  dispassionate  there  is  no 
doubt  that  such  a  movement  would  have  been 
undertaken.  As  it  was  the  ambassadors  were 
dismissed  with  ill-disguised  contempt.  They 
were  told  that  the  Four  Hundred  must  sur- 
render their  places,  and  that  the  old  Senate 
must  be  restored  as  conditions  precedent  to 
the  maintenance  of  peace. 

Already  in  Athens  there  were  symptoms 
of  an  anti-oligarchic  revolution.  The  extreme 
leaders  under  the  new  regime  had  gone  to  the 
length  of  proposing  that  a  Spartan  garrison 
should  be  established  in  Piraeus.  The  Lacedee- 
monians,  however,  did  not  fall  in  with  this 
scheme,  but  sent  a  fleet  to  cruise  in  the  neigh- 
boring waters,  until  a  more  favorable  season. 
In  the  mean  time  the  democracy  gained  con- 
stantly, and  in  a  short  time  an  assembly  was 
held  at  Piraeus  by  which  the  old  forms  of 
government  were  again  instituted. 

About  this  time  a  revolt  broke  out  in  Eubcea, 


instigated  by  the  Spartans  and  supported  by 
their  fleet.  Athens  was  astounded  to  learn 
that  her  greatest  and  nearest  dependency  had 
renounced  her  friendship  and  assumed  her 
freedom.  An  Athenian  fleet  hastily  sent  to 
the  rescue  was  attacked  and  annihilated  by 
the  Lacedaemonian  squadron.  Athens  was 
thus  left  naked  to  her  enemies.  The  popular 
voice  clamored  in  the  streets,  and  an  assembly 
was  called  in  the  Pnyx.  A  vote  was  passed 
by  which  the  Four  Hundred  were  deposed 
and  the  Senate  reinstated  in  its  ancient  au- 
thority. The  old  constitution  was  restored  in 
all  of  its  features,  except  that  the  restriction 
by  which  the  right  of  suffrage  was  limited  to 
five  thousand  citizens  was  allowed  to  stand. 
Those  who  had  participated  in  the  late  oligar- 
chy were  permitted  to  leave  Athens  or  to  hide 
themselves  in  obscurity.  Only  two  of  the 
leaders,  Antiphon  and  Archiptolemus,  were 
condemned  and  executed,  and  a  few  others 
were  punished  by  the  confiscation  of  their 
property,  or  the  destruction  of  their  houses. 
In  a  short  time  the  office  of  archon  was  re- 
created, and  this  was  followed  by  a  vote 
recalling  Alcibiades  and  his  friends  from  exile. 

In  the  conduct  of  the  war  the  next  imjjor- 
tant  movement  was  a  naval  battle  between 
the  Athenians  and  Lacedaemonians  in  the 
strait  between  Sestos  and  Abydos.  The 
former  were  victorious,  and  set  up  a  trophy 
on  the  headland  of  Cynossema,  from  which 
place  the  battle  takes  its  name.  The  Spartan 
squadron,  now  lying  at  Euboea,  hearing  of  the 
disaster  which  had  overtaken  their  friends, 
sailed  for  the  Hellespont,  but  while  doubling 
Mount  Athos  the  fleet  was  caught  in  a  storm 
and  totally  wrecked.  The  remnant  of  the 
other  armament  which  had  survived  the  battle 
was  presently  overtaken  by  Alcibiades,  and 
only  saved  from  total  destruction  by  being 
drawn  ashore,  when  the  vessels  were  defended 
by  the  Persians.  A  short  time  afterwards, 
however,  Mindarus  was  enticed  to  sea,  attacked 
by  the  Athenian  squadron,  followed  to  the 
shore,  and  slain.  Every  Spartan  ship  was 
either  taken  or  destroyed.  The  victory  was 
so  decisive  as  to  recover  for  the  Athenians 
the  whole  of  the  Propontis. 

The  Persians  now  actively  aided  the  Lace- 


582 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


dseraouians,  but  the  energy  of  the  Athenian 
fleets,  now  directed  by  Alcibiades,  secured,  in 
the  years  B.  C.  409  and  408,  complete  control 
of  the  Hellespontine  countries.  Until  this 
time  the  banished  Alcibiades  had  not  returned 
to  Attica.  In  the  spring  of  B.  C.  407  he 
determined  to  avail  himself  of  his  recall  and 
make  a  public  visit  to  Athens.  He  accord- 
ingly sailed  for  PiriBus,  where  he  was  met  by 
nearly  the  whole  population  of  the  city  and 
escorted  in  triumph  to  the  scene  of  his  earliest 
career.  Before  the  Senate  and  the  Assembly 
he  protested  his  innocence  of  the  charges  pre- 
ferred against  him,  and  the  sentences  of  con- 
fiscation and  banishment  were  unanimously 
revoked.  As  for  himself,  he  now  through 
policy  gave  great  attention  to  the  national 
superstitions,  and  publicly  conducted  the  pro- 
cession in  the  celebration  of  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries.  In  the  following  September  he 
put  to  sea,  and  was  presently  worsted  by  the 
Lacedaemonian  fleet  in  the  battle  of  Notium. 
His  conduct,  moreover,  became  as  reckless 
and  dissolute  as  ever.  The  news  of  his  pro- 
ceedings was  carried  to  Athens,  and  the  good 
democracy  of  that  city  voted  him  out  of  com- 
mand and  gave  his  place  to  Conon. 

Meanwhile,  Callicratidas  succeeded  Lysander 
in  the  command  of  the  Spartan  squadron. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  energy,  and  soon  dif- 
ftised  a  new  life  in  the  moribund  frame  of  his 
country.  Shortly  after  assuming  control  of 
the  fleet  he  gained  a  victory  over  the  Athe- 
nians in  the  harbor  of  Mitylene,  but  Conon 
maintained  his  position  until  reenforcements 
arrived  from  Athens,  and  then  took  his  sta- 
tion near  the  islands  of  Arginusse,  close  to  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Here  the  Spartans  gave 
battle.  The  Athenian  fleet  numbered  one 
hundred  and  fifty  vessels,  and  the  Lacedse- 
monian  one  hundred  and  twenty.  The  con- 
flict was  long  and  desperate.  After  losing 
seventy-seven  ships  and  their  brave  com- 
mander, who  was  thrown  overboard  and 
drowned,  the  Spartans  were  disastrously  de- 
feated. The  battle  was  followed,  however,  by 
an  event  which  took  away  the  spirit  of  the 
victors.  Twelve  of  the  Athenian  ships,  which 
were  disabled  during  the  fight,  were  through 
some  carelessness  left  drifting  helplessly  with 


their  crews  of  wounded  and  dying  men  until 
a  sudden  storm,  swooping  down  upon  them, 
sent  the  whole  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

The  Athenians  immediately  summoned  the 
commanding  generals — except  Conon,  who  had 
followed  the  remnant  of  the  enemy's  fleet  to 
Mitylene — to  answer  for  this  neglect.  Passion 
ran  high,  and  in  spite  of  the  protest  of  Socrates 
and  a  few  other  cool-headed  patriots,  the  as- 
sembly voted  that  the  commanders  should  be 
put  to  death.  They  were  accordingly  com- 
pelled to  drink  the  fatal  hemlock.  Among 
those  who  thus  perished  was  the  young  Peri- 
cles, the  promising  son  of  the  great  statesman, 
and  Aspasia. 

After  the  death  of  Callicratidas  the  com- 
mand of  the  Spartan  fleet  was  again  conferred 
on  Lysander.  He — after  the  year  B.  C.  405 
had  been  mostly  consumed  in  recuperating 
the  squadron,  and  in  negotiations  with  Cyrus 
the  younger,  now  satrap  of  Asia  Minor — laid 
siege  to  the  Hellespontine  town  of  Lampsacus. 
Thither  he  was  followed  by  Conon,  but  the 
latter  arrived  too  late  to  save  the  place  from 
capture. 

The  Athenian  fleet  in  September  of  B.  C. 
405  took  its  station  at  ^gospotami,  or  Goat 
River,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  channel 
from  Lampsacus.  The  position  was  an  ex- 
posed one,  but  the  Athenians  were  over-confi- 
dent, and  for  several  days  in  succession  they 
sailed  into  the  open  channel  and  oflfered  bat- 
tle to  the  Spartans.  This,  however,  was  de- 
clined. Lysander  kept  his  forces  in  hand  and 
Avaited  his  opportunity.  Alcibiades,  who  now 
lived  in  a  castle  in  the  neighborhood,  and  was 
to  all  appearances  out  of  politics,  came  down 
to  his  countrymen,  and  besought  them  to  find 
a  stronger  position ;  but  his  precautions  were 
treated  with  indifference.  The  Athenians 
scattered  themselves  about  their  camp  and 
gave  no  further  thought  to  the  situation.  On 
the  fifth  day  of  these  dilatory  proceedings, 
Lysander,  having  watched  his  opportunity, 
swooped  down  upon  the  Athenians  while  a 
large  part  of  them  were  dispersed  through  the 
country,  and  inflicted  upon  them  the  most 
ruinous  defeat  of  the  whole  war.  Of  the  one 
hundred  and  eighty  ships  which  composed  the 
squadron    only    eight    or    ten    succeeded    in 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


583 


J    'J.'^^^ 


93 
H 

S     O 

<i  > 


584 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


escaping.  The  remainder  were  either  captured 
or  destroyed.  The  prisoners,  to  the  number 
of  three  or  four  thousand,  including  the  gen- 
erals— with  the  exception  of  Conon,  who  es- 
caped and  found  a  hiding-place  in  Cyprus — 
were  condemned  and  put  to  death!  The 
whole  force  was  annihilated. 

Athens  was  left  without  a  shadow  of  de- 
fense, except  what  measures  she  could  extem- 
porize, against  the  coming  doom.  When  the 
Paralus'  arrived  at  Piraeus  and  the  news  was 
known,  there  was  universal  despair.  Xeno- 
phon  declares  that  on  that  night  no  man 
slept.  It  was  now  a  question  of  existence  with 
her  who  had  so  long  been  mistress  of  the  sea. 
Two  out  of  the  three  harbors  of  the  city  were 
blocked  up  in  the  vain  hope  of  defending  the 
third.  Lysander  was  in  no  haste.  The  Athe- 
nian supplies  from  the  Euxine  were  wholly 
cut  off,  and  from  afar  Famine  and  Sparta 
both  lifted  a  sword  against  the  doomed  city. 

Beginning  his  progress  towards  the  capital, 
Lysander  compelled  the  garrisons  of  the 
various  towns  en  route  to  quit  their  places  and 
repair  to  Athens.  In  every  city  the  demo- 
cratic form  of  government  was  overthrown, 
and  an  oligarchy,  consisting  of  ten  members 
with  a  Spartan  Harmost  at  the  head,  appointed 
in  its  stead.  In  tlieir  desperation,  the  people 
of  Athens  gathered  in  an  assembly  and  voted 
a  general  amnesty.  The  prisons  were  opened, 
and  all  except  a  few  of  the  worst  criminals 
were  liberated.  Then  the  oligarchic  and  dem- 
ocratic factions  swore  an  oath  of  mutual  for- 
giveness, and  agreed  henceforth  to  labor  only 
for  the  common  weal. 

Finally,  Lysander  made  his  appearance. 
With  a  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  galleys 
he  landed  at  ^gina,  and  then  proceeded  to 
blockade  Pirseus.  Salamis  was  ravaged  by 
the  army,  which  marched  without  opposition 
to  the  very  gates  of  Athens.  Inside  the  walls, 
however,  determination  was  mixed  with  de- 
spair, and  the  first  proposals  made  to  them  by 
the  Spartans  were  rejected.  The  people  began 
to  die  of  hunger,  and  yet  Archestratus  was 
imprisoned  for  proposing  to  accept  the  prof- 

^The  Parahis  was  the  commander's  galley  in 
an  Athenian  fleet,  corresponding  to  the  flag-ship 
in  a  modern  navy. 


fered  terms.  After  three  months  of  dreadful 
suffering,  the  spirit  of  the  people  was  at  last 
completely  broken,  and  Theramenes  was  sent 
to  Sparta  to  conclude  with  the  Ephors  the  best 
treaty  which  they  would  grant. 

The  states  in  alliance  with  the  Lacedae- 
monians, more  particularly  Corinth  and 
Thebes,  insisted  that  the  very  name  of  Athens 
should  be  blotted  out,  and  the  residue  of  her 
population  sold  into  slavery ;  but  the  Spartans 
themselves  interfered  to  prevent  so  brutal  a 
proceeding.  One  of  the  Ephors  even  ven- 
tured on  a  figure  of  sjieech,  and  declared  that 
Sparta  would  never  consent  that  one  of  the  eyes 
of  Greece  should  be  put  out.  Still  the  terms 
were  sufficiently  severe  and  humiliating.  The 
Long  AValls  of  Athens  should  be  thrown  down. 
The  fortifications  of  the  Piraeus  and  Phalerum 
should  be  razed.  The  territorial  limits  of  the 
Athenians  should  be  contracted  to  Attica. 
All  foreign  possessions  should  be  given  up. 
All  ships  of  war  should  be  surrendered.  All 
exiles  should  be  unconditionally  restored. 
The  Athenians  should  become  the  allies  of 
the  SjDartans.  These  terms,  hard  as  they 
Avere,  were  immediately  accepted  by  the  as- 
sembly, and  it  only  remained  for  the  Athe- 
nians to  comply  with  the  conditions. 

The  winter  had  now  worn  away.  In 
March  of  B.  C.  404,  the  city  was  formally 
surrendered.  It  was  the  last  act  in  a  war 
which,  through  every  grade  of  ferocity,  had 
continued  for  twenty-seven  years.  Lysander 
at  once  proceeded  to  exact  the  fulfillment  of 
the  terms  of  the  treaty.  The  dock-yards  were 
burned  and  the  arsenals  destroyed.  All  the 
Athenian  galleys  except  twelve  were  sent  to 
Sparta.  Then  came  the  demolition  of  the 
fortifications.  It  Avas  no  light  task,  for  the 
works  were  of  great  solidity  and  massiveness. 
The  overthrow  of  the  Long  Walls  was  a  task 
tedious  and  difficult.  But  the  Spartans,  in 
mockery,  converted  the  work  into  a  festival! 
Bauds  of  flute-players  and  dancers  wreathed 
with  flowers  accompanied  the  workmen,  and 
as  the  heavy  stones  were  pried  from  their 
beds  and  cast  down,  shout  after  shout  echoed 
the  downfall  of  Athenian  glory.  Nor  did  the 
demolition  cease  until  not  one  stone  was  left 
upon  another.     She  who,  by  the  splendor  of 


GREECE.— THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


585 


her  genius,  had  diffused  a  lustrous  light  into 
the  abodes  of  barbarism,  was  left  naked  to 
her  enemies — a  pitiable  spectacle  of  wretched- 
ness and  despair. 

As  soon  as  the  Spartans  had  completed 
their  work  and  the  dismantled  city  was  left 
to  herself,  there  was  a  revival  of  faction. 
The  oligarchic  minority  was  reenforced  by  the 
return  of  many  exiles  who  owed  their  banish- 
ment to  democratic  votes.  Among  these  the 
most  prominent  character  was  Critias,  the 
uncle  of  Plato.  He,  with  Theramenes,  hav- 
ing organized  clubs  and  perfected  arrange- 
ments for  a  revolution,  invited  Lysander  to 
return  from  Samos,  whither  he  had  gone  after 
the  capitulation  of  Athens,  and  aid  by  his 
presence  and  influence  in  the  contemplated 
coup  d'  Hat  by  which  an  oligarchy  was  to  be 
established  over  the  Athenians.  A  proposi- 
tion was  then  made  in  the  assembly  that  a 
committee  of  thirty  members  be  appointed  to 
revise  the  constitution  and  provide  for  the 
future  government  of  the  city.  Lysander 
himself  addressed  the  assembly,  and  informed 
them  that  their  personal  safety  depended  upon 
an  affirmative  vote.  Of  course  it  was  so  re- 
corded. Critias  and  Theramenes  headed  the 
list  of  committeemen,  who  were  henceforth 
known  as  the  Thirty  Tyrants. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Samos  showed 
herself  to  be  the  last  stronghold  of  Greek 
democracy.  This  island  was  accordingly  in- 
vaded by  Lysander,  after  the  conquest  of 
Attica  had  been  completed,  and,  like  the 
mother  state,  was  soon  driven  to  submission. 
This  was  the  completion  of  the  work  of  the 
Lacedaemonian  fleet  in  the  ^gean.  As  soon 
as  terms  of  surrender  had  been  accepted  and 
the  government  settled  on  a  new  basis  satis- 
factory to  Lysander,  he  sailed  for  Sparta.  No 
other  general  of  those  hitherto  sent  out  by  the 
Ephors  had  ever  returned  so  completely  vic- 
torious. He  brought  home  the  spoils  and 
figure-heads  of  all  the  ships  which  he  had 
taken.  The  booty  was  enormous,  and  besides 
what  he  had  taken  by  force  he  turned  over  to 
the  treasury  four  hundred  and  seventy  talents 
which  had  been  given  him  by  the  Persians 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  Avar, 

In  Athens  the  Thirty  proceeded  to  organ- 
N.— Vol.  1—36 


ize  a  reign  of  terror.  Butchery  was  the  order 
of  the  day.  Sometimes  there  was  a  formal 
condemnation  of  the  accused;  sometimes 
there  was  none.  The  newly  appointed  sen- 
ators— mere  tools  of  the  Tyrants — were  re- 
quired in  voting  to  deposit  their  pebbles 
openly  on  a  table  in  front  of  their  masters — 
this  on  questions  of  life  and  death !  Bands 
of  assassins  were  hired  to  complete  the  work 
of  exterminating  the  democracy.  At  the  last 
a  proscription  list  was  made  out,  and  the  ad- 
herents of  the  Thirty  were  permitted  to  in- 
sert therein  what  names  soever  they  pleased. 

The  object  became  plunder  rather  than  po- 
litical vengeance.  No  such  scenes  had  ever 
before  been  witnessed  in  Athens.  Neither 
rank  nor  virtue  was  spared.  The  orator  Ly- 
sias  and  his  brother  Polemarchus  were  among 
the  condemned.  Theramenes,  refusing  to 
participate  in  the  diabolical  business,  was 
himself  denounced  by  Critias  in  the  senate- 
house,  and  though  clinging  to  an  altar  was 
dragged  away  to  execution.  When  given  the 
cup  of  hemlock  he  swallowed  the  draught, 
threw  a  drop  of  the  poison  on  the  floor,  and 
exclaimed,  "Here's  a  health  to  the  gentle 
Critias."  It  was  amid  such  scenes  that  the 
liberties  of  Greece  went  out  in  darkness. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  these  proscriptions, 
but  not  by  means  of  them,  that  Alcibiades 
met  his  fate.  From  his  castle  in  Thracian 
Chersonesus  he  had  watched  the  downfall  of 
Athens  and  the  progress  of  the  oligarchical 
revolution.  When  the  proscription  began  he 
became  apprehensive  of  danger,  and  with 
good  reason,  for  the  Thirty  had  already  in- 
cluded his  name  in  a  list  of  the  condemned. 
Sacrificing  a  great  part  of  his  property,  he 
fled  for  safety,  with  as  much  of  his  wealth 
as  he  could  carry  with  him,  to  the  court  of 
Pharnabazus,  satrap  of  Phrygia.  From  him 
he  sought  the  privilege  of  continuing  his 
flight  to  Susa,  where  he  thought  to  play  the 
same  part  with  Darius  that  Themistocles  had 
played  with  Artaxerxes.  But  Pharnabazus 
refused  him  conduct  through  the  province, 
and  in  the  meantime  Lysander  sent  a  dis- 
patch to  the  satrap  to  have  the  Athenian  put 
to  death.  Acting  under  this  order,  a  band 
of  assassins  set  fire  to  the  house  of  Alcibiades 


586 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


and  stood  ready  to  cut  him  down.  With  un- 
flinching courage  he  seized  his  sword  and 
rushed  forth  upon  the  dastards;  but  before 
he  could  reach  them  they  pierced  him  through 
with  their  javelins.  Thus,  in  a  foreign  land 
and  unfriended,  save  by  the  woman  Timan- 
dra,  who  remained  faithful  to  him  until  his 
death,  and  performed  alone  for  her  brilliant 
and  eccentric  lord  the  rites  of  sepulture,  per- 
ished the  famous  Alcibiades,  who,  but  for  a 
certain  want  of  principle,  which  was  indeed 
but   the    common   vice    of   his    countrymen, 


Even  Thebes  and  Corinth  turned  their  sym- 
pathies to  the  fallen  Athens.  A  band  of 
Athenian  exiles,  temporarily  domiciled  in  Bce- 
otia,  found  a  leader  in  Thrasybulus,  seized 
the  fortress  of  Phyle,  and  bade  defiance  to 
the  oligarchy.  The  Thirty  marched  out  with 
a  force  of  Spartans  and  native  cavalry,  but 
were  several  times  repulsed.  Nor  was  it  cer- 
tain but  that  the  troops  whom  they  com- 
manded, at  least  such  of  them  as  were  Athe- 
nian born,  sympathized  with  Thrasybulus 
rather  than  with  their  masters.     Encouraged 


DEATH  OF  ALCIBIADES. 


would  have  been  one  of  the  greatest  Greeks 
of  his  age. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  strange,  bad  temper 
of  the  Hellenic  states  that  they  always  turned 
against  the  strongest.  Sparta  was  now,  after 
the  complete  humiliation — almost  extinction — 
of  her  rival,  destined  to  feel  the  force  of  this 
law.  A  reaction  took  place  in  the  Greek 
mind  unfavorable  alike  to  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians and  their  leaders.  Lysander  himself, 
after  a  career  of  unparalleled  popularity, 
power,  and  honor  became,  in  the  course  of  a 
single  year,  an  object  of  suspicion  and  hatred. 


by  his  success  and  the  manifestations  of  pub- 
lic support,  the  Greek  patriot  abandoned 
Phyle  and  seized  Piraeus.  A  large  force  was 
immediately  sent  against  him,  and  a  severe 
battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  army  of  the 
Thirty  was  completely  routed.  Among  the 
best  trophies  of  the  field  was  the  dead  body 
of  Critias,  who  was  killed  in  the  engagement. 
The  death  of  this  unprincipled  tyrant  threw 
the  government  into  the  hands  of  the  more 
moderate  of  the  oligarchical  party,  and  a  new 
revolution  was  effected,  by  which  the  Thirty 
were  deposed,  and  a  council  of  Ten  appointed 


GREECE.— TSE  PELOPONNESIAN  WARS. 


587 


in  their  stead.  Such  were  the  mutterings  of 
discontent  that  the  new  governors  felt  con- 
strained to  call  upon  Pausanias,  the  Spartan 
king,  for  assistance.  The  latter  at  the  head 
of  an  army  marched  into  Attica,  and  had 
several  indecisive  combats  with  Thrasybulus. 
But  a  desire  for  peace  now  pervaded  all  par- 
ties. Pausanias  himself  was  at  enmity  with 
Lysander,  and  for  this  reason  was  less  severe 
in  determining  the  terms  of  settlement.  With 
singular  liberality,  considering  the  circum- 
stances, it  was  agreed  that  the  Athenian  exiles 
now  under  the  banner  of  Thrasybulus  should 
be  unconditionally  re-admitted  to  Athens,  and 
as  for  the  i-est  full  amnesty  should  be  granted 
to  all  except  the  Thirty  and  the  Ten. 

As  soon  as  this  settlement  was  agreed  to, 
Thrasybulus  and  the  exiles  returned  in  tri- 
umph to  the  city.  There  was  a  universal  re- 
vival of  democracy.  An  assembly  was  imme- 
diately convened,  and  a  complete  undoing  of 
the  work  of  the  oligarchy  was  determined  on. 
The  whole  field  where  tyranny  had  so  loug 
cultivated  her  brambles  was  plowed  up  to  the 
subsoil  and  harrowed  to  a  level.  The  laws 
of  Solon  and  Draco  were  revised  by  a  com- 
mittee and  adopted  by  the  assembly  and  the 
Senate.^  The  old  regime  was  revived  in  every 
part,  and  every  effort  was  made  by  the  new 
government  to  obliterate  forever  from  public 
memory  and  the  records  of  the  state  the  his- 
tory and  infamy  of  the  recent  tyrannies  of 
the  Thirty  and  the  Ten. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Socrates,  great- 
est spirit  of  the  pagan  world,  was  arrested 
and  brought  to  his  death.  He  fell  a  victim 
to  superstition.  As  early  as  B.  C.  423  he  had 
been  attacked — but  not  with  great  bitterness — 
by  Aristophanes,  in  the  comedy  of  the  Clouds. 
From  this,  however,  he  rallied  and  continued 
his  teaching.  For  twenty-four  years  he  dis- 
seminated his  views  on  those  subjects  concern- 

'  It  was  in  the  inscription  of  these  revised 
statutes  of  Athens  on  the  walls  of  the  PceciM 
Stoa  that  the  full  Ionic  alphabet  of  twenty-four 
letters  was  for  the  first  time  pubHcly  employed. 
Its  use  for  some  time  previously  had  been  common 
among  the  Athenian  scholars,  but  for  the  public 
acts  of  the  government  the  old  Attic  alphabet  of 
sixteen  or  eighteen  letters  had  always  been 
hitherto  used. 


ing  which  men  have  always  felt  the  deepest 
interest.  Towards  the  close  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury he  fell  under  the  suspicion  of  heterodoxy 
in  the  matter  of  the  national  religion.  Nor 
is  it  likely  that  his  resolute  and  glorious 
genius  did  tamely  bow  to  the  absurdities 
which  he  as  a  teacher  was  expected  to  uphold 
and  honor.  In  B.  C.  399  an  open  accusation 
was  brought  against  him  by  three  fellows 
whose  base  spirits  were  fit  for  nothing  else — 
Meletus,  a  seller  of  leather;  Anytus,  a  third- 
rate    poet;    and    Lycon,   a    bad    rhetorician. 

This  trio  charged  the  philosopher  before  the 
assembly  with  neglecting  the  worship  of  the 
gods,  with  introducing  new  deities,  and  also 
with  corrupting  the  youth  of  the  city.  Soc- 
rates said  little  in  defense,  but  rather  pro- 
voked his  fate  by  a  bold  avowal  of  his  prin- 
ciples. A  small  majority  was  obtained  against 
him.  Even  then  by  the  use  of  means  within 
his  reach  he  might  have  escaped  death,  but 
with  lofty  disdain  he  allowed  the  bigotry  of 
his  countrymen  to  take  its  course,  and' he  was 
sentenced  to  drink  the  hemlock.  He  told  his 
judges  that  instead  of  being  put  to  death  he 
ought  to  be  supported  at  public  expense  to 
teach  in  the  Prytaneum!  He  would  neither 
retract,  nor  modify,  nor  explain,  but  stood 
like  a  Titan  at  bay. 

The  sacred  vessel  which  had  just  gone  to 
the  annual  festival  at  Delos,  until  the  return 
of  which  it  was  unlawful  to  put  any  one  to 
death,  did  not  again  reach  the  city  for  thirty 
days.  During  the  interval  Socrates  remained 
in  prison.  Nor  was  his  manner  of  life  much 
changed  from  what  it  was  before  his  condem- 
nation. He  continued  to  converse  with  his 
friends.  He  refused  to  escape  when  the 
means  were  aflTorded  of  his  doing  so.  He 
spoke  cheerfully  of  his  death  and  of  his  hope 
of  immortality.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
Greeks  when  one  recovered  from  sickness  to 
sacrifice  a  cock  to  ^sculapius.  When  the 
last  hour  came  and  the  cup  of  hemlock  was 
calmly  drained,  the  philosopher  said  to  his 
friend  Crito  who  stood  with  other  comrades 
beside  him:  "Crito,  we  owe  a  cock  to  -^scu- 
lapius;  discharge  the  debt,  and  by  no  means 
omit  it."  Thus  was  eclipsed  the  sublimest 
genius  of  antiquity. 


588 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


But  his  work  survived.  The  teachings 
of  Socrates  can  never  fail  to  interest  and  in- 
struct the  seeker  after  truth.  Every  enlight- 
ened age  will  drink  from  the  exhaustless 
fountain  of  his  wisdom.  The  enunciation  of 
his  doctrines  marked  an  epoch,  not  only  in 
the  ethics  of  Greece,  but  in  the  morality  of 
the  human  race.  His  contribution  to  the 
wisdom  of  mankind  was  greater  than  that 
which  any  other  philosopher  has  brought  into 


to  morals.  His  theme  was  human  conduct. 
He  sought  to  impress  upon  his  hearers  a  con- 
viction of  the  barrenness  of  those  speculative 
systems  in  which  the  Greek  so  much  de- 
lighted. He  would  reduce  the  current  beliefs 
to  an  absurdity.  His  weapon  was  dialogue; 
his  method,  interrogation.  His  antagonist — 
real  or  imaginary — was  a  Sophist  whose  prop- 
ositions were  admitted  only  to  be  quickly 
ground  into  dust  under  a  reductio  ad  absurdum. 


LAST  HOURS  OF  SOCRATES.— After  the  painting  by  David. 


the  store-house  of  ages.  The  breadth  and 
profundity  of  his  understanding,  his  sturdy 
defense  of  the  truth,  his  generous  nature,  his 
masterful  grasp  of  the  greatest  themes,  his 
honest  assaults  on  error,  and  the  pungent 
speech  and  dramatic  method  in  which  his  im- 
mortal aphorisms  are  set  before  us, — all  con- 
spire to  stamp  him  as  the  loftiest  genius  of 
the  ancient  world. 

Socrates  turned  the  mind  of  man  from  idle 
speculation  to  practical  ethics — from  vagaries 


Woe  to  the  fallacy-monger  who  fell  into  the 
power  of  this  inexorable  and  humane  giant! 
The  world  beholds  him  yet,  and  will  ever  be- 
hold him  as  he  sits  among  his  companions 
and  delivers  to  them  his  immortal  sayings. 
His  magnificent,  ugly  face ;  his  tremendous 
head  ;  his  beetling  brows,  and  eyes  that  darted 
their  Promethean  fire  into  the  soul  of  mys- 
tery and  scorched  the  wings  of  falsehood — it 
is  Socrates,  whom  Plato  and  Xenophon  have 
pictured,  whom  hemlock  could  not  kill. 


GREECE.— SPAETAX  AND  TREBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


5S9 


CHAPTER    XLVII.— SPARTAN    AND    THEBAN 
ASCENDENCIES. 


HAT  lias  been  called  the 
Spaktan  Suprejiacy  in 
Grecian  history  may  be 
dated  from  the  battle  of 
^gospotami,  in  B.  C. 
405.  That  conflict  de- 
cided the  fate  of  Athens, 
and  there  was  none  other  of  the  Hellenic 
states  at  all  able  to  compete  either  on  land  or 
sea  with  the  Lacedaemonians.  The  latter, 
therefore,  as  if  by  right,  assumed  the  mastery 
of  Greece,  and  for  a  while  her  dominion  w^as 
as  unlimited  as  it  was  arbitrary. 

Among  her  first  acts  was  the  punishment  of 
certain  states  that  had  in  some  way  injured 
her  interests  or  insulted  her  pride.  The 
Eleans  had  on  a  certain  occasion  excluded 
the  Spartans  from  participation  in  the  Olym- 
pic games,  and  more  recently  had  refused 
permission  to  King  Agis  to  offer  sacrifices  in 
the  temple  of  Zeus.  The  inclination  of  Elis 
to  the  democratic  rather  than  the  oligarchic 
form  of  government  was  especially  distasteful 
to  the  Lacedaemonians,  who  now  determined 
to  regulate  the  affairs  of  their  western  neigh- 
bors and  punish  them  for  previous  misconduct. 
In  B.  C.  402  Agis  began  a  campaign  against 
Elis,  but  was  stopped  by  his  superstition.  An 
earthquake  aroused  his  fears,  and  the  expedi- 
tion was  postponed  until  the  following  year. 
With  the  ensuing  summer,  however,  the 
campaign  was  again  undertaken.  The  allies, 
even  including  a  body  of  Athenians,  joined 
the  expedition,  and  the  Eleans  were  soon  re- 
duced to  submission.  The  pious  Agis  per- 
formed his  sacrifices  and  dictated  the  terms 
of  peace. 

In  the  mean  time,  Lysander,  now  a  private 
but  ostentatious  citizen  of  Sparta,  became  a 
source  of  trouble  in  that  state.  His  ambition 
had  grown  with  what  it  fed  on,  and  he  con- 
templated no  less  than  a  revolution  of  the 
government,  by  which  he  hoped  to  have  Agis 
set   aside  and   himself  made  king.     To  this 


end  he  consulted  the  oracles  of  Zeus  at 
Dodona  and  at  Ammon,  in  distant  Libya,  as 
well  as  that  of  Apollo  at  Delphi ;  but,  though 
he  used  the  persuasive  power  of  money,  the 
answers  were  adverse  to  his  schemes.  He  suc- 
ceeded, however,  in  getting  Leotychides,  the 
eldest  son  of  Agis,  set  aside,  on  the  ground 
that  he  w^as  an  illegitimate  son  of  Alcibiades. 
But  Agesilaus,  a  younger  son,  born  of  another 
mother,  obtained  the  throne,  and  soon  became 
a  popular  and  efficient  ruler.  A  conspiracy 
was  organized  against  him  on  the  ground  of 
his  lameness,  an  old  oracle  having  warned  the 
Spartans  to  beware  "  of  a  lame  reign."  But 
Lysander,  hoping  to  use  the  new  king  for  his 
own  purposes,  explained  that  a  lame  reign  and 
a  lame  hing  were  two  very  different  things; 
so  the  insurrection  was  suppressed,  and  the 
leaders  put  to  death. 

Nearly  all  the  states  of  Greece  were  now 
subject  to  Sparta.  The  system  of  govern- 
ment, established  through  the  agency  of 
Lysander  in  the  dependencies,  was  that  of  the 
Decarchy,  or  Council  of  Ten,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  a  Spartan  Harmost,  or  governor.  It 
was  essentially  a  tyranny,  and  the  Lacedae- 
monian supremacy,  which  was  based  thereon, 
contained  no  element  of  strength  or  perpetuity. 
There  was,  moreover,  in  the  present  state  of 
affairs  a  certain  inconsistency  which  weak- 
ened the  Spartan  authority.  The  state  had 
fought  through  the  whole  of  the  Peloponne- 
sian  wars  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  liberat- 
ing Greece  from  the  dominion  of  Athens. 
What  good  to  substitute  the  dominion  of 
Sparta  ?  On  the  whole,  the  Greek  mind  sym- 
pathized with  the  Ionian  race  and  the  demo- 
cratic tendencies  of  the  Athenians  rather  thaii 
with  the  austere  Dorians  and  their  oligarchy. 

Meanwhile,  a  stirring  drama  had  been 
enacted  in  Asia  Minor.  The  conspiracy  of 
Cyrus  the  Younger  against  his  brother  Arta- 
xerxes  had  gathered  head  and  broken  into 
nothing  at  the  battle  of  Cunaxa.     The  part 


590 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


which  the  Spartans  bore  in  the  great  cam- 
paign, their  heroism  in  the  battle,  their  escape 
from  the  clutches  of  the  Persians,  their  cele- 
brated retreat  and  return  into  Europe,  have 
already  been  recounted  in  the  History  of 
Persia.^ 

As  soon  as  the  great  expedition  had  col- 
lapsed, the  satrapy  held  by  Cyrus  was  con- 
ferred on  Tissaphernes.  The  latter  began  his 
administration  by  attacking  the  Ionian  cities, 
and  the  Spartans  were  obliged  to  send  out  an 
array  under  Dercyllidas  for  their  protection. 
After  holding  his  own  for  a  year  and  gaining 
some  advantages  over  the  Persians,  he  was  con- 
fronted by  Pharnabazus,  who  secured  the  ser- 
vices of  Couon  the  Athenian  as  commander 
of  a  fleet  to  operate  against  the  Lacedae- 
monians. 

King  AgesUaiis  himself  went  to  Asia,  in 
B.  C.  396,  and  took  command  of  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian  army.  After  wintering  at  Ephesus 
he  advanced  upon  Sardis  and  won  a  victory 
over  Tissaphernes  on  the  banks  of  the  Pacto- 
lus.  The  latter  was  soon  afterwards  put  to 
death  at  the  instance  of  Parysatis,  who  still 
proved  herself  to  be  the  mother  of  mischief 
as  well  as  of  Artaxerxes.  The  satrapy  of 
Lydia  was  transferred  to  Tithraustes,  and  he 
soon  induced  Agesilaiis  to  withdraw  into  the 
country  of  his  friend  Pharnabazus,  satrap  of 
Phrygia.  The  latter  had  always  had  the  con- 
fidence of  the  Spartans,  and  he  now  pro- 
tested with  the  king  in  such  manly  terms  that 
the  latter  was  induced  to  withdraw  to  Thebe, 
on  the  gulf  of  Elseus;  and  from  that  place 
he  was  erelong  obliged  to  repair  to  Sparta 
to  protect  his  own  country  from  impending 
dangers. 

For,  in  the  mean  time,  the  energies  of 
Conon,  backed  by  Persian  gold,  had  brought 
into  existence  and  equipped  a  fleet  superior 
to  that  of  the  Lacedseraonians.  The  appear- 
ance of  this  armament  in  the  western  waters 
had  the  effect  to  incite  in  the  island  of  Rhodes 
a  democratic  insurrection  by  which  the  oligar- 
chy had  been  suppressed.  Afterwards,  in 
August  of  B.  C.  394,  the  allied  squadron  of 
Sparta  and  Phoenicia  was  overtaken  at  the 
peninsula  of  Cnidus,  in  Caria,  and  defeated 

'  See  Book  Sixth,  pp.  367-369. 


with  a  loss  of  more  than  half  of  the  arma* 
ment.  The  effect  of  these  successes  of  the 
enemies  of  Sparta  was  such  as  further  to 
weaken  her  hold  upon  her  dependent  states 
and  to  hasten  the  day  of  the  overthrow  of 
her  power. 

About  this  time  Timocrates,  a  prominent 
Rhodian,  was  dispatched  to  the  leading  Greek 
cities,  well  supplied  with  Persian  gold,  to  in- 
duce a  revolt  against  the  Lacedaemonians. 
Thebes,  Corinth,  and  Argos  were  all  induced 
by  his  arguments  to  renounce  the  Spartan 
alliance,  and  hostilities  were  almost  immedi- 
ately begun.  A  quarrel  occurred  between  the 
Locrians  and  Phocians  respecting  the  owner- 
ship of  a  narrow  strip  of  territory,  and  the 
former  appealed  to  Thebes  for  aid.  The  Pho- 
cians on  their  part  called  on  the  Spartans  for 
help,  and  the  latter  at  once  responded  in  full 
force  under  Lysander  himself.  After  devas- 
tating the  Phocian  territory  he  proceeded  to 
attack  the  town  of  Haliartus,  where  the  insur- 
gents were  posted ;  but  the  latter  made  a  des- 
perate sally,  defeated  the  Lacedaemonians  and 
killed  Lysander.  In  the  following  night,  so 
complete  was  the  Theban  victory,  the  invad- 
ers disbanded,  and  left  the  country.  A  few 
days  afterwards,  when  Pausanias,  who  ex- 
pected to  join  Lysander  at  Haliartus,  arrived, 
he  found  only  the  unburied  Spartan  dead  of 
the  recent  battle.  He  was  forced  by  the 
actual  peril  of  the  situation  to  accept  the 
terms  prescribed  by  the  Thebans  and  with- 
draw to  his  own  home.  The  victorious  insur- 
gents followed  in  his  rear  and  virtually  drove 
him  beyond  the  border.  Afraid  to  return  to 
Sparta,  the  king  found  a  hiding-place  in  the 
temple  of  Athene,  at  Tegea,  and  being  con- 
demned to  death  was  obliged  to  save  himself 
by  remaining  at  the  altar  of  the  protecting 
goddess. 

The  eflfect  of  this  decisive  reversal  of  for- 
tune was  to  strengthen  and  encourage  the 
enemies  of  Spartan  rule.  Athens,  Thebes, 
Corinth,  and  Argos  now  entered  into  a  for- 
mal league  against  the  Lacedaemonians.  The 
Eubceans,  the  Ozolian  Locrians,  the  Acarna- 
nians,  the  Ambracians,  the  Leucadians,  and 
the  Thracian  Chalcidicians  were  presently 
added  to  the  alliance,  which   now  made  no 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


591 


concealment  of  its  purpose  of  open  war.  In 
the  beginning  of  B.  C.  394,  the  allies  gath- 
ered at  the  isthmus  of  Corinth  and  bade  de- 
fiance to  the  Peloponnesiaus.  It  was  at  this 
juncture  that  the  Spartan  Ephors,  becoming 
with  good  reason  more  anxious  for  the  safety 
of  the  country  than  for  foreign  conquest,  re- 
called Agesilaiis  from  Asia  Minor  to  defend 
his  own  dominions. 

The  Spartans  rallied  for  the  conflict  with 
unusual  energy.  They  advanced  by  way  of 
Man  tinea  to  Sicyon,  where  they  were  con- 
fronted by  the  allies,  twenty-four  thousand 
strong.  The  latter,  however,  fell  back  to  the 
more  defensible  country  in  the  immediate  vi- 
cinity of  Corinth.  Here  was  fought  a  severe 
battle,  in  which  the  Spartans  won  an  indeci- 
sive victory. 

In  the  mean  time  Agesilaiis  had  left  Asia 
Minor,  and  was  approaching  by  the  old  Thra- 
cian  route  marked  out  by  Xerxes.  He  was 
joined  en  route  by  the  Ten  Thousand  Greeks, 
who  were  now  making  their  way  homewards 
from  the  Euxine.  After  reaching  Phocis, 
Agesilaiis  heard  of  the  defeat  and  death  of 
Pisander  at  the  battle  of  Cnidus,  but  he  con- 
cealed the  news  from  the  army.  On  the  plain 
of  CoRONEA  he  was  confronted  by  the  allied 
army.  The  Thebans,  who  led  the  advance, 
made  a  headlong  charge  and  broke  the  oppos- 
ing lines,  but  in  other  parts  of  the  field  the 
Spartans  were  victorious.  The  Thebans  turned 
about  and  fought  their  way  back  to  their 
friends  in  one  of  the  most  desperate  hand-to- 
hand  conflicts  recorded  in  Grecian  history. 
Though  the  field  remained  to  Agesilaiis,  his 
success  was  so  little  decisive  that  the  only 
mark  of  defeat  on  the  side  of  the  allies  was 
their  petition  for  the  privilege  to  bury  the 
dead.  After  the  battle  the  Spartan  king  at 
once  made  his  way  into  Peloponnesus,  where 
he  was  received  with  great  joy  by  the  alarmed 
Lacedaemonians  and  their  allies.  In  the  three 
battles  which  had  been  recently  fought,  two 
on  land  and  one  at  sea — Corinth,  Coronea, 
Cnidus — the  naval  engagement  had  been  espe- 
cially disastrous  to  the  Spartans,  while  the 
land  conflicts  had  given  them  no  decided  ad- 
vantage. On  the  sea,  Conon  and  Pharna- 
bazus,  acting  in  concert,  were  sweeping  every 


thing  before  them,  and  the  Spartan  dominion 
in  the  ^gean  faded  away  more  rapidly  than 
it  had  been  acquired  by  the  battle  of  ^gos- 
potami. 

In  the  year  B.  C.  393,  the  allied  fleet,  hav- 
ing completed  its  work  among  the  islands, 
bore  down  upon  Greece.  Presently  the  strange 
spectacle  was  witnessed  of  a  friendly  Persian 
armament  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Piraeus! 
Pharnabazus,  in  his  intense  dislike  of  the 
Spartans,  assented  heartily  to  the  plans  of  his 
colleague,  Conon,  who  took  advantage  of  the 
situation  to  secure  the  resurrection  of  Athens. 
The  gold  of  Persia  Avas  freely  used  in  the 
work  of  restoring  the  walls  and  fortifications 
of  the  city.  Nor  was  the  hearty  aid  given  to 
this  enterprise  by  the  Thebans — at  whose  in- 
stance Athens  had  been  dismantled  and  de- 
stroyed— a  less  conspicuous  example  of  the 
mutability  of  parties  among  the  Greeks.  By 
the  assistance  thus  lent  by  her  former  enemies 
most  bitter  and  unrelenting,  the  capital  city 
of  Attica  again  assumed  her  place,  and  though 
shorn  of  her  renown  and  glory,  was  soon  a 
scene  of  busy  life  and  ambitious  projects. 

The  whole  brunt  of  the  war  now  fell  on 
Corinth.  The  allies,  attempting  to  penetrate 
Peloponnesus  by  way  of  the  isthmus,  were 
resisted  by  the  Spartans,  who  from  their  head- 
quarters at  Sicyon  ravaged  the  country  along 
the  gulf  at  will.  They  finally  broke  down  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  long  walls  by 
which  the  city  of  Corinth  was  connected  with 
her  seaport  of  Lechseum,  and  also  gained  a 
victory  over  those  who  tried  to  prevent  the 
demolition.  An  army  of  carpenters  and 
masons  was  soon  sent  out  from  Athens,  and 
the  walls  were  quickly  rebuilt ;  but  Agesilaiis, 
by  the  aid  of  his  brother  Teleutias,  who  com- 
manded the  fleet,  gained  possession  of  Le- 
chaeum,  and  rendered  the  barricades  of  no 
further  use  to  the  city.  Corinth  herself  was 
driven  to  the  verge  of  capitulation,  and  a 
company  of  Thebans,  who  came  as  an  em- 
bassy to  sue  for  peace,  were  treated  with  insult 
and  contempt  by  the  king,  who  was  now  con- 
fident of  his  ability  to  inflict  a  complete  dis- 
comfiture upon  his  enemies. 

Just  at  this  juncture  an  unexpected  turn 
occurred    in    the    relations    of    the    parties. 


592 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Hitherto  the  important  wing  of  a  Greek  army 
had  always  consisted  of  the  ho2dites,  or  heavy- 
armed  soldiers.  The  peltastce.,  or  troops  of 
light  armor,  haa  ever  been  regarded  as  of  but 
secondary  importance  in  battles.  It  was  consid- 
ered the  business  of  the  peltasts  to  skirmish — 
to  annoy  and  distract  the  enemy  rather  than 
actually  to  beat  him  from  the  field  or  into 
the  dust.  That  work  was  reserved  for  the 
hoplites,  who  came  to  the  death  grapple  and 
were  the  actual  combatants — the  determining 
force  of  a  Greek  army. 

Some  of  the  allied  forces  in  Corinth  were 
at  the  time  referred  to  under  command  of 
the  Athenian  Iphicrates.  For  two  years  he 
had  been  engaged  in  the  training  of  a  body 
of  peltasts  with  a  view  to  making  them  more 
formidable  in  battle.  For  the  coat-of-mail 
worn  by  the  hoplites  he  substituted  a  linen 
corselet,  which  did  not  impede  the  freedom  of 
the  body.  He  lessened  the  weight  and  diam- 
eter of  the  shield.  The  length  of  the  javelin 
and  short  sword  hitherto  carried  by  the  pel- 
tast  was  increased  one  half.  The  new  tactics 
laid  stress  upon  rapidity  of  evolution  in  the 
field  rather  than  upon  the  mere  momentum 
of  the  column. 

Having  got  his  corps  well  disciplined, 
Iphicrates  succeeded  in  several  unimportant 
engagements  in  inflicting  considerable  injury 
upon  the  enemy.  An  opportunity  now  oflfered 
to  test  the  value  of  the  new  service  on  a  more 
extensive  scale.  A  body  of  hoplites  from 
Amycla,  desiring  to  participate  in  a  festival 
at  home,  were  escorted  by  a  division  of  Spar- 
tans, also  hoplites;  and  when  the  latter  were 
returning,  Iphicrates,  with  what  appeared  to 
all  a  piece  of  reckless  audacity,  drew  out  his 
corps  of  peltasts,  and  gave  them  battle. 

The  conflict  grew  sharp  and  then  furious. 
The  heavy-armed  Spartans  began  to  fall  on 
every  side  under  the  assaults  of  their  more 
active  and  less  encumbered  assailants.  They 
were  bewildered  at  the  novel  and  dangerous 
onsets  of  the  new  soldiery.  After  a  large 
part  of  their  number  had  been  cut  down 
without  ability  on  their  part  to  inflict  much 
injury  in  return,  they  broke  and  fled.  They 
were  pursued,  decimated,  driven  into  the  sea. 
The  effect  was  such   that  Agesilaiis  withdrew 


from  before  Corinth  and  returned  in  a  very 
humble  plight  to  Sparta.  Iphicrates  there- 
upon sallied  forth  and  retook  nearly  all  the 
towns  in  the  eastern  and  northern  districts  of 
Corinth. 

The  Spartans,  now  thoroughly  alarmed  by 
the  successes  of  the  allies,  and  especially  by 
the  exposure  of  their  coast  to  the  ravages  of 
Conon's  fleet,  liable  at  any  moment  to  drop 
upon  them,  concluded  that  it  was  time  for 
peace.  They  accordingly  opened  negotiations 
by  sending  Antalcidas,  their  best  diplomatist, 
to  the  court  of  Tiribazus,  who  had  succeeded 
Tithraustes  as  satrap  of  Ionia.  For  the  time, 
however,  the  ambassador  was  unsuccessful. 
The  representatives  of  the  allies  were  able  to 
thwart  his  efforts,  although  Tiribazus  was  in 
hearty  sympathy  with  the  Spartan  cause.  It 
was  at  this  juncture  that,  by  the  connivance 
of  the  satrap  and  the  Persian  court,  Conon 
was  seized — a  perfidious  act — and  imprisoned. 
Though  he  soon  afterwards  made  his  escape 
and  returned  to  his  old  refuge  at  the  court  of 
Evagoras  in  Cyprus,  he  never  again  took  part 
in  the  public  affairs  of  his  country. 

By  this  time  Athens  had  suflSciently  re- 
vived to  send  out  a  fleet  of  forty  triremes  to 
recover  her  possessions  on  the  Hellespont. 
The  command  of  the  expedition  was  given  to 
Thrasybulus,  who  had  complete  success  in 
his  mission.  The  Athenian  authority  was 
reestablished,  and  the  toll  of  ten  per  cent 
reimposed  on  all  vessels  sailing  out  of  the 
Euxine.  After  this  work  was  accomplished, 
Thrasybulus  sailed  to  Lesbos  and  deposed 
the  Spartan  governor  of  the  island.  Landing 
on  the  coast  of  Pamphylia,  he  began  to  lay 
contributions  on  the  inhabitants;  but  the  lat- 
ter gathered  a  force,  attacked  his  camp  by 
night,  and  killed  him.  Like  many  another 
illustrious  Greek  Avho  had  served  his  country 
in  the  day  of  her  need,  he  was  doomed  to 
perish  in  an  ignominious  way  on  the  shore  of 
a  foreign  land. 

The  attention  of  the  Athenians  was  next 
called  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  island 
of  ^gina.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Ly- 
sander  had  restored  the  exiled  ^ginetans  and 
reestablished  the  oligarchy.  Without  suf- 
ficient resources  to  create  a  regular  navy,  the 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES^ 


593 


people  of  the  island  began  to  fit  out  privateers 
to  prey  upon  Athenian  commerce.  The  Lace- 
dsemonian  •  commander,  Teleutias,  went  to 
Mgma.  with  a  small  squadron,  and  turned  the 
attention  of  the  buccaneers  to  an  enterprise 
hardly  less  dangerous  but  somewhat  more 
honorable.  This  was  an  attempt  to  capture 
Piraeus.  With  a  fleet  of  only  twelve  ships  he 
sailed  audaciously  into  the  bay,  landed  his 
men  on  the  quays,  seized  all  the  portable 
merchandise  which  was  exposed  about  the 
warehouses,  robbed  most  of  the  ships  in  the 
harbor,  and  sailed  back  to  JEgina. 

In  the  mean  time  Antalcidas,  accompanied 
by  the  Ionian  satrap  Tiribazus,  had  made  his 
way  to  the  Persian  court  at  Susa.  The  Great 
King  was  now  more  inclined  than  hitherto  to 
favor  the  establishment  of  a  general  peace. 
After  much  negotiation  the  conditions  were 
finally  determined ;  and  in  B,  C.  387  the  am- 
bassadors returned  to  Asia  Minor  to  promul- 
gate the  terms  of  the  treaty.  The  forces 
with  which  Antalcidas  was  now  backed  were 
so  overwhelming,  both  by  land  and  sea,  as  to 
render  resistance  well-nigh  hopeless.  Ambas- 
sadors from  the  Grecian  states  were  invited  to 
meet  Tiribazus,  and  before  them,  under  the 
royal  seal  of  Persia,  the  treaty  was  delivered. 
It  was  couched  in  the  following  terms :  ' '  King 
Artaxerxes  thinks  it  just  that  the  cities  in 
'  Asia  and  the  islands  of  Clazomense  and  Cyprus 
should  belong  to  him.  He  also  thinks  it  just 
to  leave  all  the  other  Grecian  cities,  both 
small  and  great,  independent — except  Lemnos, 
Imbros,  and  Scyros,  which  are  to  belong  to 
Athens,  as  of  old.  Should  any  parties  refuse 
to  accept  this  peace,  I  will  make  war  upon 
them,  along  with  those  who  are  of  the  same 
mind,  both  by  land  and  sea,  with  ships  and 
with  money." 

Such  was  the  celebrated  Peace  of  Antal- 
cidas, dictated,  as  it  was,  by  an  Asiatic  mon- 
arch, the  threats  of  whose  ancestors  had  been 
laughed  to  scorn  by  the  Greeks  in  the  heroic 
days  of  old.  Now,  however,  the  conditions 
were  tamely  accepted  by  a  degenerate  race, 
whose  resources  had  been  consumed  in  inter- 
necine strife  and  whose  patriotism  had  per- 
ished in  the  miserable  heats  of  faction.  The 
only  incident  in  the  acceptance  of  the  treaty 


by  the  Greek  states  was  that  Thebes,  instead 
of  taking  the  oath  in  her  own  name  only, 
persisted  in  swearing  for  the  whole  Boeotian 
confederacy,  of  which  she  claimed  to  be 
the  head. 

It  was  this  assumption  of  something  more 
than  local  independence  on  the  part  of  the 
Thebans  that  gave  to  the  Spartans  their  first 
excuse  for  interfering  with  the  terms  of  the 
treaty.  They  accordingly  insisted,  at  the  ear- 
liest opportunity,  that  the  other  Boeotian 
cities,  as  well  as  Thebes  herself,  should  be  lo- 
cally independent.  These  cities,  with  the 
exception  of  Orchomenus  and  Thespise,  all 
preferred  to  remain  in  their  present  relations 
as  members  of  the  confederacy;  but  Sparta, 
determining  to  have  her  will  by  force,  pro- 
ceeded to  establish  garrisons  in  the  two  towns 
which  favored  her  views,  and  at  the  same 
time  undertook  the  resurrection  of  Platsea,  in 
order  to  make  the  same  a  basis  of  her  future 
operations  in  Central  Greece.  After  the  de- 
struction of  this  place,  as  previously  narrated, 
the  Platseans  who  escaped  destruction  became 
domiciled  in  Athens,  and  by  intermarriages 
were  now  distinguished  only  by  tradition  from 
the  other  inhabitants;  but  when  their  city 
was  rebuilt,  most  of  these  descendants  of  the 
exiled  families  were  induced  to  return. 
Thebes,  meanwhile,  looked  on  and  witnessed 
these  insulting  proceedings  without  the  pres- 
ent power  to  interfere. 

As  soon  as  this  work  was  accomplished  in 
the  North,  Sparta  found  time  to  settle  an  old 
grudge  which  she  held  against  the  town  of 
Mantinea,  in  Arcadia.  There  was  nothing 
more  specific  to  be  alleged  against  this  place 
than  that  in  the  course  of  the  Lacedaemonian 
wars  the  Mantineans  had  always  been  un- 
friendly, supplying  encouragement  to  the 
enemies  of  Sparta  and  rejoicing  in  her  mis- 
fortunes. Agesipolis  was  now  dispatched  to 
punish  the  spirit  rather  than  the  overt  acts 
of  Mantinea.  When  the  city  refused  to  de- 
molish her  walls,  the  Spartans  dammed  up 
the  river  Ophis  until  the  back-water,  rising 
against  the  bulwarks  of  sun-dried  bricks, 
undermined  them.  The  people  were  then 
obliged  to  surrender  at  discretion.  All  the 
fortifications  were  destroyed,  and  the  city  was 


594 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


resolved  into  the  five  villages  of  which  it  was 
originally  composed.  Over  each  of  these  vil- 
lages a  petty  oligarchy  was  established,  and 
then  the  Lacedaemonians  retired  to  their  own 

place. 

Meanwhile,  the  city  of  Olynthus,  at  the 
head  of  the  Toronaic  gulf,  in  the  southern- 
most of  the  Chalcidician  peninsulas,  had  be- 
come the  center  of  a  formidable  confeder- 
acy. Nearly  all  the  towns  in  that  region, 
with  the  exception  of  Acanthus  and  Apollo- 
nia,  had  entered  a  league  for  the  maintenance 
of  their  independence.  But  the  two  just 
named,  being  under  the  influence  of  oligar- 
chies, and  threatened  with  war  by  the  confed- 
erate cities,  appealed  to  Sparta  for  aid.  Their 
ambassadors  were  supported  by  Amyntas  of 
Macedon,  and  the  Lacedsemonians  were  not 
hard  to  convince  of  the  propriety  of  taking 
up  arms  against  Olynthus.  An  army  of  ten 
thousand  was  at  once  put  into  the  field,  and 
two  thousand  of  these  were  hurried  to  the 
North. 

This  advance  force  gained  some  advan- 
tages over  the  league,  and  Potidsea  was 
won  over  to  Sparta.  When  the  remainder 
of  the  Lacedsemonian  army,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Phoebidas,  was  sent  forward,  it  passed 
through  Bceotia,  and  by  a  singular  act  of 
treachery  gained  possession  of  Thebes.  The 
Thebans  had  joined  the  Olynthian  alliance,  and 
thus  aggravated  the  existing  animosity  of  the 
Spartans,  but  the  latter  concealed  their  pur- 
poses, and  acting  in  conjunction  with  Leonti- 
ades,  one  of  the  Theban  polemarchs,  laid  a 
plan  to  overthrow  the  government.  It  hap- 
pened that  at  this  time  the  festival  of  the 
Thesmophoria  was  celebrating  in  Thebes,  and 
that  in  accordance  with  the  custom  the  Cad- 
mea  or  citadel,  was  given  up  to  the  women. 
While  the  city  was  thus  in  a  defenseless  con- 
dition, Phoebidas,  pretending  to  continue  his 
march,  suddenly  turned  about,  seized  the 
Cadmea,  arrested  and  put  to  death  Ismenias, 
the  popular  leader,  and  compelled  three  hun- 
dred of  his  followers  to  fly  for  their  lives. 

The  sequel  of  this  audacious  villainy  was 
in  keeping  with  the  Spartan  character.  With 
profound  duplicity  the  Ephors,  who  had  author- 
ized the  act,  now,  in  answer  to  the  indignant 


voice  of  Greece,  disavowed  what  Phoebidas 
had  done  and  imposed  on  him  a  fine  for  his 
conduct.  Then  they  restored  him  to  his  com- 
mand, and  were  meanwhile  careful  to  keep 
possession  of  the  Cadmea! 

Thebes,  thus  overrun,  was  obliged  to  enter 
into  a  Spartan  alliance,  and  to  furnish  troops 
to  assist  in  the  prosecution  of  the  Olynthian 
war.  For  four  years  (B.  C.  383-379)  the 
conflict  was  continued.  Agesipolis  died  and 
was  succeeded  by  Polybiades.  The  Spartans 
gradually  gained  on  the  allies  until  the  latter 
were  broken  up.  Olynthus  was  besieged,  and 
after  a  long  investment,  was  taken  and  dis- 
mantled. All  the  Macedonian  towns  which 
had  been  in  rebellion  against  Amyntas  were 
restored  to  his  authority.  The  influence  of 
the  democratic  states  in  the  North,  so  neces- 
sary as  a  counterpoise  to  the  growing  power 
of  Macedon,  was  destroyed,  and  the  flood- 
gates left  open  for  the  coming  deluge. 

For  three  years  the  city  of  Thebes  re- 
mained in  the  hands  of  the  Spartan  confeder- 
ates. The  leaders  of  the  democracy  were  liv- 
ing in  exile  in  Athens.  Chief  among  these 
was  the  wealthy  young  Pelopidas,  who  had 
already,  by  his  virtues  and  abilities,  acquired 
an  ascendency  over  the  minds  of  his  country- 
men. The  leader  in  Thebes  Avas  the  great 
Epaminondas,  between  whom  and  Pelopidas 
the  warmest  ties  grew  up.  On  one  occasion, 
when  Pelopidas  was  scarcely  of  the  military 
age,  he  had  fought  rashly  in  battle  and  was 
beaten  down  by  the  enemy ;  but,  in  the  crit- 
ical moment,  Epaminondas  threw  his  broad 
shield  between  the  gallant  youth  and  de- 
struction. 

Ever  afterwards  Pelopidas  looked  to  Epam- 
inondas as  to  a  father.  Between  the  two  he- 
roes communication  was  now  opened,  and  a 
conspiracy  was  formed  for  the  liberation  of 
Thebes  from  thralldom.  A  banquet  was  given 
to  the  polemarchs,  Archias  and  Philippus,  and 
when  they  were  well  drunken  Pelopidas,  and 
six  others,  who  had  come  into  the  city  in  dis- 
guise, Avere  introduced  dressed  as  women. 
When  the  intoxicated  oflficers  undertook  to 
lift  their  veils  the  conspirators  drew  their 
daggers  and  stabbed  them.  Leontiades,  the 
military    governor,    was    surrounded    in    his 


GREECE.— SPARl.  N  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


595 


house  and  killed.  Epaminondas  issued  a  proc- 
lamation of  freedom,  and  the  Thebaus  from 
every  side  rushed  to  arms.  An  assembly  was 
called  and  the  conspirators  were  publicly 
crowned  with  wreaths  of  flowers.  The  old 
office  of  Bceotrarch  was  revived,  and  Pelopi- 
das,  Charon,  and  Mellon  were  chosen  to  ad- 
minister the  affairs  of  the  state.  The  city 
was  soon  filled  with  returning  exiles.  Athe- 
nian volunteers  poured  into  the  country,  and 


but  the  fact  of  the  invasion  remained,  and 
the  exasperation  of  Athens  could  not  be  ap- 
peased. 

Having  once  more  completely  broken  with 
the  Lacedaemonians,  the  Athenians  set  to  work 
with  great  energy  to  establish  a  new  league 
which  should  be  powerful  enough  to  uphold 
the  independence  of  the  democratic  states. 
The  plan  proposed  was  the  constitution  of  the 
old  confederacy  of  Delos.     A  congress  was  to 


EPAMINONDAS  SAVES  THE  LIFE  OF  PELOI'IDAS. 
Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


Epaminondas  soon  found  himself  at  the  head 
of  a  courageous  and  powerful  force. 

Sparta  was  thunderstruck  with  the  intelli- 
gence. Rallying  from  her  consternation  she 
dispatched  an  army  under  Cleombrotus  and 
Sphodrias  to  suppress  the  alarming  insurrec- 
tion. The  former  soon  retired  from  Bceotia 
without  accomplishing  any  thing,  and  the 
latter  was  bribed  by  the  Thebans  to  invade 
Attica — this  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the 
Athenians  to  enter  into  an  active  alliance 
with  themselves.  The  ruse  was  successful. 
The  Spartans  disavowed  the  act  of  Sphodrias, 


be  created  of  delegates  from  the  seventy  in- 
dependent cities  composing  the  league,  and 
this  body  was  to  have  the  power  to  advise 
and  direct  in  all  matters  of  common  interest, 
under  the  leadership  of  Athens.  It  was  at 
once  voted  to  raise  an  army  of  twenty  thou- 
sand hoplites  and  five  hundred  cavalry,  and 
to  equip  a  fleet  of  two  hundred  galleys.  A 
special  tax  was  assessed  in  Athens  to  push 
forward  the  preparations,  and  in  Thebes  the 
army  was  rapidly  brought  into  a  state  of  per- 
fect discipline. 

Now   it  was  that   the   military  genius  of 


596 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Epaminondas  began  to  shine  with  inextin- 
guishable luster.  He  had  every  quality  req- 
uisite in  a  popular  hero.  He  was  a  man  of 
the  people.  To  the  intellectual  acquirements 
most  prized  in  his  own  country — music,  danc- 
ing, and  gymnastic  skill — he  added  the  best 
accomplishments  of  Athenian  learning.  By 
the  study  of  Pythagoras  and  Socrates  he  had 
familiarized  himself  with  the  best  aspects  of 
Greek  thought.  To  the  gifts  of  persuasive 
eloquence  he  added  personal  virtue,  and  to 
courage  of  the  most  heroic  pattern  the  high- 
est military  genius  ever  produced  in  Greece. 

After  the  failure  of  Cleombrotus  and 
Sphodrias,  the  now  aged  Agesilaiis  himself 
took  the  field  to  restore  the  fortunes  of  Sparta. 
In  B.  C.  378  he  invaded  BcBotia  with  a  large 
army.  The  country  was  ravaged  to  the  gates 
of  Thebes,  but  no  decisive  battle  was  fought, 
nor  did  the  Spartans  manifest  any  extreme 
anxiety  to  incur  the  hazard  of  a  general  en- 
gagement. In  the  next  year  the  same  scenes 
were  witnessed  and  the  same  results  reached, 
except  that  Agesilaiis  was  injured  in  his  lame 
leg  and  for  several  seasons  disabled  from  com- 
mand. The  campaign  of  B.  C.  376  was  in- 
trusted to  Cleombrotus,  but  the  Thebans  met 
him  in  the  passes  of  the  Cithseron  and  he 
was  obliged  to  retire  without  crossing  the 
Boeotian  frontier. 

During  this  same  year  the  Athenian  fleets 
under  Chabrias  and  Phocion  gained  complete 
control  of  the  seas.  The  Spartan  squadron 
commanded  by  Pollio  was  defeated  off  Naxos, 
and  on  the  western  coast  the  islands  of  Ceph- 
ellenia  and  Corcyra  were  recovered  for  the 
league.  So  great  was  the  success  of  the  allied 
navy  that  by  the  close  of  the  year  there  was 
less  cause  to  apprehend  danger  from  the  fleet 
of  Sparta  than  from  the  privateers  of  JEgma,. 
But  for  a  growing  jealousy  between  Thebes 
and  Athens  every  thing  would  have  foreto- 
kened the  complete  triumph  of  the  allies. 

The  years  B.  C,  375  and  374  were  marked 
by  still  greater  successes  of  the  Theban  arms. 
In  the  former  summer  Pelopidas  gained  a  de- 
cisive victory  over  the  Spartans  at  the  town 
of  Tegyra.  The  harmost  of  Orchomenus  had 
begun  an  invasion  of  Locris,  and  at  the  same 
time  Pelopidas  undertook  the  capture  of  Or- 


chomenus ;  but  both  leaders  were  foiled  in  the 
objects  of  their  campaigns.  In  returning, 
however,  the  Thebans  fell  in  with  the  enemy 
near  Tegyra,  and  although  greatly  inferior  in 
numbers  Pelopidas  did  not  hesitate  to  join 
battle.  Depending  upon  the  splendid  Theban 
phalanx  known  as  the  Sacred  Band,  he  boldly 
made  the  onset,  and  when  a  messenger  big 
with  alarm  ran  to  him  and  cried  out,  "We 
are  fallen  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy,"  he 
coolly  replied,  "Why  then  the  enemy  are 
fallen  into  the  midst  of  us!"  The  result  of 
the  battle  was  ruinous  to  the  Lacedsemonians. 
Both  of  their  generals  were  killed,  and  the 
losses  in  the  ranks  were  very  severe.  All  of 
the  region  round  about,  with  the  exception  of 
Orchomenus  and  Chseronea,  was  detached 
from  Spartan  rule. 

By  this  stage  of  the  war  it  had  become 
with  Thebes  not  so  much  a  question  of  inde- 
pendence as  how  far  she  might  extend  her 
influence.  Phocis  was  the  first  state  against 
which  she  felt  called  to  take  up  arms.  The 
Phocians  had  refused  to  pay  the  tribute 
levied  by  the  congress  of  the  confederacy, 
and  felt  comparatively  safe  in  doing  so  be- 
cause of  the  support  of  her  ancient  allies,  the 
Athenians.  The  latter,  offended  at  the  atti- 
tude of  Thebes,  proposed  peace  to  the  Spar- 
tans, and  terms  were  at  once  agreed  upon. 
But  the  treaty  was  broken  almost  as  soon  as- 
made,  and  hostilities  continued. 

After  a  few  years  of  varying  successes,  the 
desire  for  a  settlement  became  general  through- 
out Greece.  Antalcidas  was  again  dispatched 
(B  C.  372)  to  the  court  of  Persia  to  represent 
that  Thebes,  by  the  restoration  of  tke  Boeotian 
confederacy,  had  violated  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  dictated  by  the  Great  King,  and  to  ask 
his  intervention.  This  proceeding  quickened 
the  desire  for  peace  on  the  part  of  the  demo- 
cratic states;  for  they  greatly  preferred  to 
settle  the  affairs  of  Greece  without  the  aid  or 
interference  of  Persia.  In  furtherance  of 
such  a  desire  a  conference  was  held  at  Sparta 
in  the  spring  of  B.  C.  371,  and  after  con- 
siderable discussion  the  conditions  of  peace — 
known  as  the  Peace  of  Callias  from  the 
name  of  the  Athenian  ambassador  —  were 
agreed  to  by  the  deputies. 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


597 


The  terms  of  the  compact  were — the  inde- 
pendence of  the  various  Greek  cities,  the  dis- 
banding of  the  hostile  fleets,  and  the  dismissal 
of  all  the  Spartan  garrisons  from  the  towns 
now  occupied  by  them.  When  it  came  to 
signing  the  treaty  there  was  a  strange  inci- 
dent, which  revealed  more  plainly  than  words 
the  hollowness  of  the  settlement,  or  perhaps 
it  might  be  said  of  any  settlement  between 
the  states  represented  in  the  congress.  Sparta 
ratified  the  terms  for  herself  aTid  her  allies. 
Athens  signed  for  herself  only,  and  each  of 
the  confederate  cities  gave  a  separate  ratifica- 
tion until  it  came  to  Thebes.  Epaminondas  in 
sisted  that  he  would  sign  for  himself  and  for 
the  Bceotian  confederacy^  When  this  j)roceed- 
ing  was  resisted  by  Agesilaiis,  the  Theban 
boldly  defended  his  right,  maintaining  that 
the  same  difl^ered  in  no  respect  from  the  right 
of  Sparta  to  sign  for  the  Lacedaemonian 
ieague.  He  declared  that  in  either  case  the 
right  depended  on  the  sword,  and  that  a  Boeo- 
tian sword  was  as  good  as  a  Spartan.  Agesi- 
laiis was  greatly  angered  at  this  "insolence," 
and  the  altercation  became  so  violent  that  the 
king  in  a  rage  ordered  the  name  of  Thebes 
to  be  struck  out  of  the  treaty.  So  Epamin- 
ondas was  left  to  himself  and  his  sword. 

Of  course  there  was  but  one  thing  to  be 
expected — the  immediate  invasion  of  Boeotia 
by  the  Lacedaemonians.  Nor  was  it  regarded 
as  within  the  range  of  things  possible  that 
Thebes,  even  with  the  support  of  her  great 
general,  could  long  withstand  the  assaults  of 
her  inveterate  and  powerful  foe.  Neverthe- 
less, when  Cleombrotus,  who  now  held  com- 
mand of  the  Spartan  army  in  Phocis,  was 
ordered  to  march  into  Boeotia  and  put  down 
all  opposition,  Epaminondas,  nothing  daunted, 
made  preparations  to  give  him  battle.  The 
combatants  met  on  the  plain  of  Leuctra.  The 
Thebans  were  greatly  discouraged  at  the  ap- 
proach of  the  enemy.  Bad  omens  were  re- 
ported by  the  seers.  Three  of  the  seven 
Boeotrarchs  voted  to  return  to  the  city  and  to 
send  their  wives  and  children  to  Athens. 
But  Epaminondas  could  not  be  appalled. 
Just  before  the  battle  began  an  exile  dis- 
covered that  the  field  contained  the  tombs  of 
two  Theban  virgins  who  had  killed  themselves 


after  having  been  violated  by  Spartan  sol- 
diers. The  general  had  their  graves  covered 
with  garlands,  and  demanded  that  the  out- 
raged honor  of  Theban  womanhood  should 
now  be  vindicated  on  the  dastardly  race  that 
had  committed  the  deed.  The  spirit  of  the 
soldiers  was  fired  with  the  appeal,  and  the 
conflict  began. 

The  tactics  adopted  by  Epaminondas  were 
a  novelty  in  Grecian  warfare.  Hitherto  there 
had  been  but  little  variation  from  the  estab- 
lished usage  of  the  field.  The  Greek  com- 
mander generally  arranged  his  forces  so  as  to 
"attack  in  line."  The  theory  of  battle  was 
that  the  whole  line — center,  left  wing,  right 
wing — must  be  maintained  unbroken.  It  is 
to  Epaminondas  that  the  method  of  attacking 
in  column,  that  is,  of  throwing  upon  some 
particular  part  of  the  enemy's  lines  a  heavy 
mass  of  men  moving  in  a  column  with  a  nar- 
row front,  but  of  great  depth,  must  be  re- 
ferred. He  adopted  this  policy  for  the  first 
in  the  battle  of  Leuctra.  Concentrating  his 
best  troops  in  the  left  wing,  where  they  were 
massed  to  the  depth  of  fifty  files,  he  threw 
them  with  irresistible  force  against  the  Spar- 
tan right.  The  Theban  center  and  right  were 
not  advanced  at  all,  but  held  in  reserve  to 
act  according  to  the  emergency.  With  the 
onset  the  Lacedaemonian  right  wing  was 
utterly  routed.  Cleombrotus  Avas  mortally 
wounded — the  first  Spartan  "king"  who  had 
fallen  in  battle  since  the  day  of  Thermopylse. 
The  rout  was  complete.  The  Spartans  were 
granted  the  privilege  of  burying  their  dead, 
but  these  were  first  stripped  of  their  armor, 
which  was  hung  as  a  trophy  in  Thebes. 

The  effect  of  this  victory  was  tremendous 
in  all  Greece.  It  had  been  believed  that  in  a 
general  field  battle  the  Spartan  hoplites  were 
invincible.  Here  at  Leuctra,  though  superior 
in  numbers,  advantageously  posted,  and  ably 
commanded,  they  had  been  beaten  down  by 
the  hitherto  comparatively  undistinguished 
soldiery  of  Thebes,  and  this,  too,  by  a  method 
of  attack  which  was  an  innovation  upon  the 
established  rules  of  battle.  Sparta  had  never 
before  suffered  so  great  a  disaster  in  the  field.  ^ 

^As  illustrative  of  Spartan  character  and  man- 
ners, the  reception  of  the  news  of   the  battie  of 


598 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Whether  viewed  in  itself  as  a  ruinous  defeat, 
or  considered  as  a  precedent  of  what  might 
be  expected  hereafter,  the  shock  might  well 
be  regarded  as  fatal  to  Spartan  military 
fame. 

At  this  epoch  in  Grecian  history  appeared 
on  the  stage  Jason  of  Pher^,  generalissimo 
of  Thessaly.  After  the  battle  of  Leuctra,  the 
Thebans  sent  to  him  for  assistance  in  the  fur- 
ther prosecution  of  their  war  with  Sparta. 
Already  ambitious  of  extending  his  own  in- 
fluence in  Northern  and  Central  Greece,  he 
gladly  joined  his  forces  with  those  of  Thebes 
to  complete  the  expulsion  of  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians from  the  country.  This  was  accom- 
plished, however,  rather  by  strategy  than  by 
force ;  for  Jason  assumed  the  ofiice  of  an  ar- 
biter, and  the  three  hundred  surviving  Spar- 
tans were  permitted  to  escape  from  Boeotia 
and  return  home. 

It  was  evident  from  this  transaction  that 
Jason  of  Pherae,  having  had  a  taste  of  Greek 
politics,  was  enamored  of  the  situation,  and 
that  he  saw  in  the  same  an  opportunity  for  the 
extension  of  his  own  influence  and  authority. 
After  scanning  the  horizon,  it  appeared  to 
him  that  Southern  Greece  offered  the  most 
favorable  field  for  his  operations.  Accord- 
ingly he  announced  his  intention  to  partici- 
pate in  the  ensuing  Pythian  Festival  of 
August,  B.  C.  370.  He  caused  it  to  be  pro- 
claimed that  he  would  himself  take  charge  of 
the  celebration,  and  that  his  sacrifice  to 
Apollo  should  consist  of  one  thousand  bulls 
and  ten  thousand  sheep,  goats,  and  swine. 
The  Delphian  priests  and  Amphictyons  were 
thrown  into  consternation  by  these  tidings, 
but  the  oracle  gave  assurance  that  Phoebus 
would  guard  his  shrine.  A  short  time  after- 
wards, and  before  the  date  of  the  festival, 
Jason  was  brought  to  a  pause  by  assassina- 
tion.    Seven   young   men   rushed   upon    him 

Leurtra  forms  a  striking  incident.  The  festival 
of  Gyinnopiedia,  which  was  celebrating  at  the 
time,  went  on  without  interruption.  Women 
were  forbidden  to  wail  for  their  dead.  The  rela- 
tives of  those  who  were  slain  went  about  the 
streets  laughing;  while  those  whose  friends  had 
survived  from  the  battle  wept  from  shame  and 
mortification.  As  for  the  rest,  Sparta  merely  pre- 
pared to  rescue  her  army. 


and  gave  him  his  quietus  while  he  sat  in  pub* 
lie  hearing  causes. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Mantineans,  whose 
city,  as  heretofore  related,  had  been  disman- 
tled by  the  Spartans,  had  availed  themselves 
of  the  decline  of  Lacedaemonian  influence  to 
rebuild  their  ramparts.  In  this  work  they 
were  supported  by  other  Arcadian  towns  and 
also  by  Thebes;  for  the  latter  saw  in  these 
movements  a  sign  of  the  cloud  that  was  to 
break  over  Sparta.  Agesilaiis  marched  into 
Arcadia,  but  was  unable  to  prevent  the  Man- 
tineans from  restoring  their  city.  He,  how- 
ever, did  much  damage  by  ravaging  the 
country    round    about,    and    then    withdrew. 

Epaminondas  was  already  on  the  march  to 
the  south,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Argives 
and  the  Eleans,  by  whom  his  already  large 
army  was  increased  to  seventy  thousand  men. 
His  plan  now  contemplated  the  restoration  to 
independence  of  Messenia,  whose  people  for 
generations  had  been  scattered  into  all  parts 
of  Greece.  So  great  was  the  enthusiasm 
created  by  the  presence  of  Epaminondas  in 
Peloponnesus  that  the  enemies  of  Sparta, 
availing  themselves  of  the  manifest  paralysis 
of  that  power,  exhorted  him  to  make  an  in- 
vasion of  Laconia.  To  this  he  assented,  and 
his  army  was  immediately  advanced  across 
the  border  and  was  soon  at  Amyclse,  on  the 
the  Eurotas,  only  a  few  miles  from  the 
capital. 

The  alarm  at  that  city  knew  no  bounds. 
The  women  of  Sparta,  who  had  never  seen  the 
face  of  an  enemy,  went  about  wailing. 
Nothing  but  the  energy  and  courage  of  Ages- 
ilaiis saved  the  city  from  capture  and  de- 
struction ;  but  through  his  exertions,  assisted 
by  the  Ephors,  the  walless  capital  of  Laconia 
was  soon  brought  into  a  state  of  defense. 
And  though  the  king  did  not  dare  to  go 
forth  and  give  his  antagonist  battle,  he  yet 
succeeded  in  protecting  the  city.  Epaminon- 
das, however,  wasted  the  country  at  will,  and 
withdrew  unmolested  to  the  west.  Here,  in 
Arcadia  and  Messenia,  he  prosecuted  success- 
fully his  purpose  of  establishing  an  Arcadian 
confederation  and  restoring  the  state  of  Mes- 
senia to  independence.  To  secure-  the  latter 
object,  the  ancient  cliffs   of  Ithome  were  se- 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  TREE  AN  ASCENDENCIES. 


599 


lected,  and  a  new  capital,  called  Messene,  was 
esta,blished  on  the  summit. 

Such  was  the  present  abasement  of  Sparta 
that  she  now  sent  humbly  to  Athens  to  solicit 
an  alliance  against  the  Thebans.  The  Athe- 
nians readily  assented,  but  Sparta,  in  order  to 


bats  .-oon  broke  through  the  passes,  and  in 
B.  C.  369  made  the  usual  invasion  of  South- 
ern Greece.  Still  the  campaign  was  not  at- 
tended with  much  success,  and  in  the  mean 
time  the  Lacedaemonian  cause  was  consider- 
ably  revived   by   the   arrival   of  a  squadron 


BANQUET  OF  DAMOCLES. 


secure  the  league,  was  obliged  to  renounce 
her  claims  of  leadership.  It  was  agreed  that 
the  command  both  by  land  and  sea  should 
alternate  in  periods  of  five  days  between  the 
generals  of  the  two  states.  The  first  move- 
ment of  the  new  allies  was  to  occupy  the 
isthmus  of  Corinth.  Thus  should  Epaminon- 
das  be  cut  ofl'  from  communication  with  his 
confederates  in  Peloponnesus.     But  the  The- 


from  Syracuse,  the  same  being  sent  out  by  the 
Sicilian  tyrant,  Dionysius.^  With  the  approach 

1  It  was  at  the  court  of  the  Tyrant  Dionysius 
that  the  celebrated  incident  occurred  in  which 
the  courtier  Damocles  figured  as  the  principal 
actor.  As  narrated  by  Cicero,  this  distinguished 
sycophant  had,  after  the  manner  of  his  kind, 
lauded  Dionysius,  and  ascribed  to  him  such  hap- 
piness as  belongs  only  to  the  immortals.  In  order 
to  rebuke  this  unseemly  flattery,  the  Tyrant  in- 


600 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


of  winter  Epaminondas  retired  to  Thebes  and 
the  allies  to  their  respective  states. 

The  year  B,  C.  368  was  mostly  occupied 
by  an  expedition  of  Pelopidas  into  Thessaly. 
After  the  death  of  Jason,  Alexander,  a  Thes- 
salian  prince,  had  succeeded,  by  murdering 
his  two  brothers,  in  becoming  generalissimo 
of  the  country.  Against  him— for  he  enter- 
tained the  same  ambitious  projects  of  his 
predecessor — the  Theban  campaign  was  di- 
rected. Pelopidas  was  entirely  successful. 
Alexander  was  obliged  to  solicit  a  settlement, 
and  the  cities  of  Thessaly  were  mostly  in- 
duced to  enter  into  a  league  against  the  ex- 
tension of  his  power.  As  soon  as  the  state 
was  reduced  to  quiet  Pelopidas  marched  into 
Macedonia,  whose  regent  Ptolemy  was  induced 
to  make  an  alliance  with  the  Thebans;  and 
to  bind  the  compact  the  young  Macedonian 
prince,  Philip,  son  of  Amyntas,  was  given  as 
a  hostage  and  taken  to  Thebes,  where  he  spent 
several  years,  keenly  alive  to  the  influences 
of  Greek  politics  and  the  culture  of  the 
South.  Thus  was  brought  about  the  first  con- 
tact between  the  Greek  states  and  the  great 
power  of  the  North  by  whose  sword  their  lib- 
erties were  so  soon  to  be  extinguished. 

Meanwhile,  the  league  of  the  Arcadian 
cities  had  grown  strong  as  well  as  over-con- 
fident under  the  leadership  of  Lycomedes. 
Like  all  the  other  Greeks  the  Arcadians,  as 
soon  as  freedom  dawned,  rushed  forward  to 
gain  first  independence  and  then  ascendency. 
This  haste  to  be  great  roused  the  jealousy  of 
Thebes,  and  she  now  looked  coldly  on  the 
Arcadian  confederation  or  even  sympathized 
with  its  enemies.  After  the  arrival  of  the 
Syracusan  reinforcements  the  Spartans,  feel- 
ing strong  enough  to  assume  the  offensive,  in- 
vaded Arcadia,  and  succeeded  in  bringing  on 
an  action  in  which  the  forces  of  the  towns  of 
the  league  were  completely  routed.  Not  a 
single  Spartan  fell  in  the  conflict,  and  the 
■fight  was  for  this  reason  given  the  name  of 
the  Tearless  Battle. 


vited  Damocles  to  a  banquet.  When  the  courtier 
arrived  and  was  seated,  he  glanced  upward  and 
beheld  above  his  head  a  sword  suspended  by  a 
single  hair!  Thus  would  his  master  teach  him 
the  peril  and  precarious  tenure  of  greatness. 


The  important  event  of  the  years  B.  C. 
367-366  was  the  embassy  sent  by  Thebes  to 
Persia.  Ever  since  the  Peace  of  Antalcidas 
the  Great  King  had  claimed  and  exercised 
the  rights  of  an  arbiter  in  the  internal  aflfairs 
of  Greece.  The  Thebans,  now  claiming  the 
position  of  leadership,  felt  that  it  was  neces- 
sary for  their  assumption  to  be  recognized  by 
the  Persian  court.  Pelopidas  and  Ismenias 
were  accordingly  sent  to  Susa  to  secure  the 
sanction  of  the  royal  power  to  the  claim  of 
Thebes,  and  also  to  obtain  the  decision  of 
the  king  respecting  several  disputes  now 
pending  between  the  Greek  states.  The 
Athenians,  in  order  if  possible,  to  counteract 
the  arguments  of  the  Theban  ambassadors, 
sent  Timagoras  and  Leon  to  represent  Athens 
and  the  Peloponnesiau  league.  But  the  king, 
who  had  now  learnt  that  the  easiest  way  to 
maintain  his  ascendency  in  Greece  was  to 
support  the  strongest  state,  readily  inclined 
to  the  side  of  Thebes.  Her  leadership  was 
formally  recognized,  and  the  pending  difficul- 
ties in  Peloponnesus  were  all  decided  accord- 
ing to  her  wish. 

The  settlement,  however,  was  unfavorably 
received  in  Greece.  In  vain  did  Thebes  in- 
sist that  the  rescript  of  the  Great  King  should 
be  accepted  by  the  assembly  convened  to  hear 
the  conditions  of  the  adjustment.  The  Arca- 
dians withdrew  from  the  council.  Other 
states  refused  to  ratify  the  terms.  Pelopidas 
and  Ismenias  went  in  person  to  Thessaly  to 
secure  a  ratification.  Alexander  had  them 
seized  and  imprisoned  at  Pherse.  When  the 
Thebans  undertook  to  recover  their  general 
and  sent  an  army  of  more  than  eight  thou- 
sand men  into  Thessaly  they  were  defeated 
and  driven  from  the  country.  For  in  a  fit 
of  folly  they  had  refused  that  year  to  reelect 
Epaminondas  Boeotrarch,  and  the  commanders 
who  went  against  Alexander  were  incompe- 
tent as  leaders. 

The  great  general,  however,  was  serv- 
ing in  the  ranks,  and  when  the  army,  pur- 
sued by  Alexander,  was  about  to  be  ruined, 
the  soldiers  called  on  Epaminondas  to  save 
them.  He  accordingly  took  command  and 
the  Theban  forces  were  delivered  from  their 
peril.     A  reaction  in  his  favor  was  the  imme- 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


601 


diate  result.  He  was  restored  to  his  office 
and  intrusted  with  a  new  expedition  to  se- 
cure the  release  of  Pelopidas.  He  at  once 
proceeded  into  Thessaly  and  induced  Alexan- 
der rather  by  diplomacy  than  by  force  to  set 
Pelopidas  at  liberty.  Epaminondas  then  re- 
frained from  any  severe  retaliation  against 
the  generalissimo  on  the  ground  of  ex- 
pediency. 

The  next  incident  of  the  struggle  to  main- 
tain the  Theban  ascendency  was  the  capture 
of  Oropus.  This  town,  situated  near  the  bor- 
der line  between  Athens  and  Thebes,  had  for 
a  long  time  been  in  possession  of  the  former 
city;  but  the  people  of  Oropus,  composed  for 
the  most  part  of  Theban  exiles,  sympathized 
with  the  mother  state,  and  watching  their  op- 
portunity seized  the  city  and  delivered  it  over 
to  Thebes.  About  the  same  time  the  Arca- 
dians, under  the  lead  of  Lycomedes,  having 
been  alienated  by  the  course  of  the  Theban 
authorities,  sought  and  obtained  an  alliance 
with  Athens,  though  in  the  course  of  the 
negotiations  Lycomedes  was  assassinated  by 
some    exiles    acting   in   the   Theban   interest. 

By  this  league  it  became  more  than  ever  de- 
sirable for  Athens  to  have  possession  of  the 
isthmus  of  Corinth  to  the  end  that  she  might 
keep  a  free  communication  between  herself 
and  her  Peloponnesian  allies.  She  accord- 
ingly with  singular  moral  obliquity  formed 
the  design  of  seizing  Corinth,  though  between 
herself  and  that  city  there  was  not  the  slight- 
est cause  of  quarrel.  The  Corinthians,  how- 
ever, gathered  an  intimation  of  the  scheme, 
and  were  able  by  judicious  measures  to  thwart 
the  purpose  of  her  friend.  They  then  turned 
to  Thebes  with  a  proposition  for  a  general 
peace.  To  this  the  Thebans  assented,  and  a 
conference  was  accordingly  convened  at  Sparta, 
but  only  the  minor  states  could  agree  on  the 
terms  of  settlement.  Thebes,  Athens,  Sparta, 
and  Arcadia  could  not  be  reconciled,  and  the 
struggle  continued  as  before. 

During  the  years  B.  C.  365-364  the  Athe- 
nians regained  in  some  measure  their  ascen- 
dency at  sea.  A  fleet  under  command  of 
Timotheus  conquered  Samos  and  restored  the 
authority  of  his  country  in  most  of  the  Cyc- 

iades.     The  eflfect  of  this  revival  of  maritime 
N.— Vol.  1—37 


power  was  to  arouse  and  exasperate  the  The- 
bans, who  had  never  hitherto  wielded  any 
influence  in  the  -^Egean.  Epaminondas  en- 
couraged his  countrymen  to  build  a  fleet  of 
one  hundred  triremes  and  was  himself  put  in 
command  of  the  squadron.  Sailing  to  the 
Hellespont  in  B.  C.  363  he  made  as  though 
he  would  begin  a  conquest  of  the  countries 
adjacent  thereto,  but  nothing  came  of  the  ex- 
pedition. The  sea-service  was  a  novelty  both 
to  himself  and  his  men. 

While  this  mai-itime  ambition  had  pos- 
session of  the  mind  of  Epaminondas,  Pelopi- 
das organized  a  land  force  and  again  invaded 
Thessaly.  The  recollection  of  his  imprison- 
ment rankled  within  him,  and  he  determined 
that  Alexander  should  feel  the  force  of  his 
vengeance.  The  latter  raised  a  large  army 
and  advanced  to  meet  the  Thebans.  The  two 
enemies  confronted  each  other  in  the  field  of 
Cynoscephal^,  where  the  Thessalians,  though 
greatly  superior  in  numbers,  were  completely 
routed.  Pelopidas,  however,  like  Cyrus  the 
Younger  at  Cunaxa,  inspired  by  a  sudden 
rage  on  beholding  Alexander  in  the  enemy's 
confused  ranks,  made  a  rash  and  furious 
charge  with  the  hope  of  reaching  him.  But 
Alexander  was  surrounded  by  his  friends,  and 
Pelopidas,  cutting  at  them  with  blind  fury, 
was  himself  struck  down  and  killed.  His  loss 
was  so  great  as  to  counterbalance  the  victory. 
Shortly  afterwards,  however,  a  second  Theban 
campaign  against  Thessaly  was  completely 
successful.  Alexander  was  stripped  of  all  his 
dependencies  and  confined  to  the  limits  of  his 
own  city  of  Pherse. 

In  the  mean  time  a  war  had  broken  out. 
between  Elis  and  Arcadia.  The  latter  state 
in  B.  C.  364  had  transferred  the  presidency 
of  the  Olympic  games  from  the  Eleans  to  the 
Pisatans,  and  the  former  endeavored  to  main- 
tain their  rights  by  force.  During  the  prog- 
ress of  the  festival  they  came  armed  into  the 
sacred  precincts,  and  were  resisted  by  the  Ar- 
cadians. The  temple  of  Zeus  was  seized  and 
used  as  a  fortress,  and  the  celebration  waa 
broken  up  in  a  shameful  conflict.  The  Eleans 
were  finally  compelled  to  retire,  but  they 
sought  revenge  by  striking  the  one  hundred 
and   fourth   Olympiad   from   the    list  of   the 


602 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


festivals  and   counting   it  ever  afterwards  a 
dies  noil. 

After  the  war  had  continued  for  two  years 
Epaminondas  again  undertook  the  pacification 
of  Peloponnesus  and  marched  a  large  army 
across  the  isthmus.  He  was  joined  by  reen- 
forcements  from  those  states  and  towns  favor- 
able to  the  Theban  cause,  while  those  who 
were  opposed  rallied  in  great  force  at  Man- 
tinea.  The  aged  Agesilaiis,  of  Sparta,  set  out 
for  this  place  at  the  head  of  the  Lacedaemo- 
nian forces,  and  Epaminondas  seeing  the  La- 
conian  capital  thus  exposed,  once  more  formed 
the  design  of  capturing  it.  By  a  swift  move- 
ment he  reached  the  city  before  Agesilaiis 
could  reenter;  but  the  houses  were  so  well 
defended  and  the  old  king  so  alert  that  the 
Theban  was  obliged  to  retire.  Sparta  again 
escaped  destruction  by  the  skin  of  her  teeth. 

Epaminondas,  however,  at  once  made  his 
way  to  Mantinea,  and  here  was  fought  the 
decisive  battle  of  the  war.  The  conflict  oc- 
curred in  the  plain  between  the  city  and  Te- 
gea.  On  coming  upon  the  field  Epaminondas 
ordered  his  soldiers  to  ground  arms.  From 
this  movement  the  Spartans  and  Mantinseans 
inferred  that  the  battle  would  not  occur 
until  the  following  day.  They  accordingly 
took  off  their  breastplates  and  disposed  them- 
selves at  ease.  But  Epaminondas  was  busy 
with  preparations,  and  had  no  thought  of 
procrastination.  He  adopted  the  same  plan 
of  battle  as  at  Leuctra.  He  massed  his  best 
troops  into  a  column  of  great  depth  and 
hurled  them  upon  the  enemy,  who,  hurrying 
into  rank,  were  unable  to  withstand  the 
shock.  The  field  was  swept  at  a  single  charge, 
and  the  soldiers  of  Sparta  were  again  seen  in 
flight.  But  the  victory  was  purchased  by 
Thebes  at  too  dear  a  price.  Epaminondas, 
fighting  in  the  foremost  ranks,  was  struck  in 
the  breast  with  a  spear  and  fell  mortally 
wounded.  He  was  carried  from  the  field  in 
a  dying  condition.  Having  satisfied  himself 
that  his  shield  tvas  safe,  and  that  the  victory 
was  certainly  won,  he  ordered  the  spear-head 
to  be  drawn  from  his  breast,  and  died. 

The  Theban  ascendency  perished  with  him. 
Both  of  those — lolaidas  and  Daiphantus — 
whom  he  had  indicated  as  his  successors  per- 


ished in  the  battle,  and  his  O'vn  dying  advice 
to  make  peace  was  as  necessary  as  it  was  judi- 
cious. His  great  rival,  Agesilaiis,  survived 
him  but  a  short  time,  and  then  ended  his 
career  in  a  most  dramatic  manner.  At  the 
age  of  eighty  years,  the  indomitable  old  man, 
hobbling  about  on  his  lame  leg,  organized  a 
force  of  one  thousand  hoplites  and  went  on 
an  expedition  into  Egypt.  That  country, 
under  the  leadership  of  Tachos,  was  now  en- 
gaged in  an  insurrection  against  the  Persians, 
and  the  Spartan  king  went  to  his  aid.  He 
cut  so  ridiculous  a  figure  on  his  arrival  that 
Egyptian    ridicule  could    not   be   restrained. 

But  the  party  of  Nectanebis,  who  presently 
rose  against  Tachos,  better  appreciated  the 
military  genius  of  the  short  old  octogenarian, 
who  went  stumping  about  the  ranks  with  the 
imperturbable  spirit  for  which  his  race  had 
always  been  noted.  Agesilaiis  actually  raised 
Nectanebis  to  power,  and  was  by  him  re- 
warded with  a  present  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty  talents.  But  on  his  way  homeward 
the  old  man  died.  His  body  was  embalmed 
in  wax  and  carried  to  Sparta,  where  it  was 
buried  with  great  honor.  The  ancient  proph- 
ecy which  had  confronted  him  at  the  be- 
ginning of  his  reign,  and  which  Lysander 
had  to  explain  away,  had  indeed  been  ful- 
filled. Sparta  had  good  reason  to  beware  of 
the  "lame  reign,"  for  her  prominence  in  the 
affairs  of  Greece  ceased  with  the  death  of 
Agesilaiis. 

Mention  has  been  recently  made  of  a 
squadron  ^ent  to  the  aid  of  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians by  Dionysius,  tyrant  of  Syracuse.  The 
incident  naturally  suggests  a  few  paragraphs 
on  the  progress  of  Grecian  civilization  in  Sic- 
ily and  Southern  Italy.  After  the  complete 
collapse  of  the  Athenian  expedition  of  B.  C. 
413,  at  which  time  the  government  of  Syra- 
cuse was  in  the  hands  of  the  oligarchic  or 
Spartan  party,  a  revolution  occurred  in  favor 
of  the  democracy.  One  Diodes,  a  learned 
and  patriotic  citizen,  was  appointed  to  draft 
a  popular  constitution.  Hermocrates,  the 
leader  of  the  oligarchy,  was  banished;  but 
a  counter  revolution  was  soon  organized  by 
which  he  was  enabled  to  return  and  Diodes 
was  himself  sent  into  exile.      While  the  oii- 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


603 


garchic  chief  was  endeavoring  to  regain  pos- 
session of  Syracuse  he  was  slain;  but  his 
cause  was  immediately  taken  up  by  the  young 
Dionysius,  a  man  of  great  abilities  and  au- 
dacity, who  soon  obtained  a  vote  of  the  assem- 
bly by  which  he  was  raised  first  to  authority 
and  then  to  despotism.  He  first  made  suc- 
cessful war  upon  several  of  the  Sicilian  cities, 
and  then  began  a  conflict  with  Carthage.  But 
this  undertaking  proved  beyond  his  capacity 
to  manage.  The  island  was  invaded  by  an  im- 
mense force  of  Carthaginians,  and  Syracuse 
was  only  saved  from  capture,  and  perhaps 
destruction,  by  the  ravages  of  a  pestilence 
which  broke  out  in  the  camp  of  the  besiegers. 
Imilcon,  the  Carthaginian  general,  then  pur- 
chased from  Dionysius  the  privilege  of  a  safe 
retreat  from  the  island. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  tyrant,  Syracuse 
soon  became  the  foremost  city  in  the  west. 
And,  indeed,  in  all  continental  Greece,  Sparta 
only  could  rival  the  power  and  grandeur  of 
the  Sicilian  capital.  Dionysius  himself  set 
the  example  in  artistic  and  literary  culture. 
He  courted  the  Muses.  He  had  his  poems 
publicly  recited,  not  only  in  his  own  city,  but 
also  in  Athens.  He  contended  for  prizes  at 
the  Lensean  festival  and  at  the  Olympic 
games.  Several  second  and  third  prizes  were 
awarded  to  him,  and  finally  the  first  prize  in 
tragedy,  given  for  his  play  entitled  the  Raii- 
som  of  Hector.  For  thirty-eight  years  he 
wielded  the  destinies  of  the  city,  and  died 
without  an  overthrow. 

After  him  his  son,  known  as  Dionysius  the 
Younger,  became  master  of  Syracuse,  and  for 
a  while,  under  the  influence  of  Plato,  who 
was  invited  to  his  court,  showed  some  signs 
of  mitigating  the  rigorous  rule  established  by 
his  father ;  but  the  influence  of  courtiers  pre- 
vailed against  these  tendencies,  and  Plato  him- 
self, falling  into  disrepute,  was  for  a  season  in 
danger  of  his  life.  At  length,  however,  the 
philosopher  escaped  and  returned   to  Greece. 

Soon  afterwards,  in  B.  C.  357,  Dion,  the 
leader  of  the  opposing  party  in  politics,  headed 
an  insurrection  against  the  tyrant,  and  the 
latter  was  overthrown,  to  the  great  joy  of  the 
people.  Dion  then  became  ruler  of  the  city, 
and  was  expected  to  make  an  effort  at  reform. 


He  had  been  the  friend  of  Plato,  and  had  im- 
bibed that  great  thinker's  profound  but  some- 
what impracticable  views  of  government,  and 
the  people  looked  for  a  millennium;  but  in 
this  they  were  so  grievously  disappointed  that 
Dion  was  soon  assassinated  by  one  Callippus, 
who  held  the  city  for  about  a  year,  when  he 
was  in  turn  driven  out  by  a  nephew  of  Dion. 
Several  revolutions  followed  in  quick  succes- 
sion, untU  finally  an  appeal  was  sent  to  Sparta 
for  the  restoration  of  order.  The  Lacedae- 
monian authorities  thereupon  dispatched  the 
celebrated  Timoleon  to  quiet  the  disturbances 
in  Sicily,  and  especially  to  restore  the  ascen- 
dency of  Spartan  influence  in  Syracuse.* 

The  squadron  given  to  Timoleon  numbered 
only  ten  vessels,  but  with  this  small  armament 
he  made  his  way  into  Sicily.  Having  arrived 
at  Adranum  he  encountered  Hicetas,  the  then 
leader  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  island, 
who  came  out  with  a  large  force  to  drive  back 
the  Spartans.  Timoleon,  however,  gained  a 
decisive  victory,  and  then  marched  into  Syra- 
cuse without  further  opposition.  Dionysius 
(the  third  of  that  name),  who  now  headed 
the  oligarchy,  surrendered  to  him,  and  he  thus 
became  master  of  the  city.  He  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  the  demolition  of  the  fortifications 
of  Orytigia  and  the  destruction  of  the  other 
relics  of  the  reign  of  the  Elder  Dionysius,  in- 
cluding his  splendid  mausoleum ;  and  when 
this  work  was  accomplished  the  new  governor 
erected  courts  of  justice  on  the  sites  of  the 
overthrow.  Those  who  had  been  banished 
were  invited  to  return,  and  of  these — together 
with  companies  of  citizens  who  joined  them — 
there  came  from  Corinth  ten  thousand  in  a 
single  colony.  The  constitution  was  revised, 
and  most  of  the  statutes  of  Diodes  again  made 
operative  in  the  government  of  the  city. 

^  The  story  of  Timoleon's  previous  life  is  a 
tragedy.  Once  in  battle  he  saved  the  life  of  his 
elder  brother  Timophenes,  but  afterwards,  when 
the  latter  was  overtaken  in  a  piece  of  treachery 
to  his  country,  he  consented  to  his  death.  Then 
remorse  seized  him,  and,  loaded  with  the  impre- 
cations of  his  mother,  he  slunk  out  of  sight  and 
tried  to  starve  himself  to  death.  After  a  long 
seclusion  he  was,  by  one  of  those  strange  caprices 
for  which  the  Greek  mind  was  so  peculiarly  noted, 
called  to  take  charge  of  the  expedition  just  organ- 
ized in  aid  of  the  Syracusans. 


604 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


After  the  defeat  of  Hicetas,  that  leader 
still  held  out  for  a  season,  defending  himself 
in  the  town  of  Leontini.  Here  he  was  pres- 
ently besieged  by  Timoleon  and  obliged  to 
capitulate ;  but  he  sought  revenge  by  inviting 
in  the  Carthaginians,  who  immediately  re- 
sponded by  sending  into  the  island  an  army 
of  seventy  thousand  men.  Against  these 
Tunoleon  could  muster  but  twelve  thousand; 
but  with  this  small  force  he  went  boldly  into 
battle  at  the  river  Crimesus,  and,  assisted  by 
a  terrible  storm  which  burst  suddenly  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy  with  hail  and  lightning 
and  wind,  gained  a  complete  and  decisive 
victory.     Ten  thousand  of  the  Carthaginians 


PLATO, 
^fuspum  of  DePauw  University. 


were  destroyed  in  the  battle  and  fifteen  thou- 
sand made  prisoners.  The  effect  of  the  vic- 
tory was  such  that  the  enemy  was  glad  to  ac- 
cept the  terms  of  peace  which,  in  B.  C.  338, 
Timoleon  saw  fit  to  offer. 

In  the  mean  time,  Hicetas  was  overthrown, 
taken  pri.soner,  and  condemned  to  death 
for  his  treachery.  The  various  despots  who 
under  the  influence  of  the  oligarchy  had  ob- 
tained possession  of  most  of  the  Sicilian 
towns  were  now  ejected,  and  the  whole 
island  speedily  brought  to  a  condition  of 
quiet  never  before  enjoyed.  As  soon  as  this 
happy  condition  of  affairs  had  been  reached, 
Timoleon  resigned  his  trust  and  retired  to 
private  life.  For  his  services  he  would  accept 
nothing  but  a  modest  house  given  him  by  the 
city.     He  soon  afterwards  brought  his  family 


from  Greece,  and  passed  the  rest  of  his  life 
in  honorable  seclusion.  It  was  impossible, 
how^ever,  that  his  influence  should  not  be 
sought  and  felt  in  the  public  business  of  the 
city  and  island.  He  w^as  frequently  consulted 
as  a  kind  of  patriotic  oracle  in  deciding  the 
gravest  questions  of  state.  After  his  blindness, 
which  ensued  not  long  after  his  retirement, 
he  continued  to  be  a  mark  of  the  distin- 
guished esteem  and  confidence  of  the  Syracu- 
sans,  who  took  delight  in  bringing  him  in  a 
car  into  the  public  assembly  or  theater,  and 
on  such  occasions  he  was  always  received 
with  a  burst  of  popular  enthusiasm.  At  his 
death,  in  B.  C.  336,  he  was  honored  with  a 
splendid  funeral  at  the  public  expense,  and  a 
concourse  of  weeping  people  gathered  at  his 
tomb  to  bear  witness  to  his  heroic  virtues  and 
unselfish  patriotism. 

Before  the  events  which  have  just  been 
narrated,  the  final  act  in  Hellenic  history  had 
begun  in  Greece.  It  will  have  been  noticed 
that,  with  the  decline  of  Sparta,  the  appre- 
hensions of  the  Athenians  and  Thebans  were 
directed  to  the  North  rather  than  to  Pelopon- 
nesus. The  imbroglio  with  Alexander  of 
Pherse  had  indicated  that  even  within  the 
limits  of  Northern  Greece  the  elements  of 
danger  to  the  independence  of  the  smaller 
states  lay  hidden  ready  for  development;  but 
more  particularly  was  there  cause  for  alarm 
from  the  growing  power  of  the  great  kingdom 
just  beyond  Olympus. 

The  giving  of  the  youth,  Philip  of  Mace- 
don,  as  a  hostage  to  the  Thebans,  and  his 
residence  of  several  years  among  the  Greeks, 
have  already  been  mentioned.  While  in 
Thebes  the  young  man  made  good  use  of  his 
opportunities.  He  studied  the  Greek  lan- 
guage and  literature.  He  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Plato.  He  studied  military  science 
under  Epaminondas,  and  familiarized  himself 
Avith  the  current  condition  of  the  aflfairs  of 
Greece.  His  great  natural  abilities  were  thus 
stimulated  in  a  school  well  calculated  to  bring 
out  the  best  energies  of  his  genius.  Before 
leaving  Thebes — which  he  did  in  B.  C.  359 — 
to  assume  the  duties  of  the  Macedonian  goy 
ernment  during  the  absence  of  his  brother 
Perdiccas  on  the  lUyrian  campaign,  he  had 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


605 


already  attracted  the  attention  of  the  most 
eminent  Greeks  of  his  time.  Nor  were  there 
wanting  those  who  could  discover  in  the 
young  prince  the  forecastings  of  a  remarkable 
career. 

When  Perdiccas  was  slain  by  the  Illyrians, 
the  crown  of  Macedonia  fell  to  his  sou,  with 
Philip  for  regent.  Two  claimants  to  the 
throne  now  arose — Pausanias,  who  was  sup- 
ported by  the  king  of  Thrace,  and  Argseus, 
with  whom  the  Athenians  were  leagued  on 
account  of  the  favor  which  he  had  shown 
them    in    gaining    possession   of  Amphipolis. 

But  Philip,  by  his  address,  soon  secured  the 
withdrawal  of  support  from  both  of  the  pre- 
tenders, and  thus  brought  their  cause  to 
naught.  Having  thus  provided  for  peace  at 
home,  he  at  once  entered  upon  his  campaign 
against  the  Pseonians  and  Illyrians.  Both  of 
these  peoples  were  quickly  and  easily  sub- 
dued. The  tactics  which  Philip  had  learned 
from  Epaminondas  were  put  to  use  in  the 
very  first  battle,  and  with  terrible  effect  upon 
the  Illyrians.  who  were  put  to  utter  rout  by 
the  ieavy  column  which  the  Macedonian 
massed  against  a  single  point  in  their  lines. 
The  effect  of  the  victory  so  strengthened 
Philip  at  home  that  by  common  consent  he 
assumed  the  crown;  but  the  son  of  Perdiccas 
was  treated  with  consideration  by  the  new 
king,  who  gave  him  his  daughter  in  marriage. 
The  first  contact  of  Philip  with  the  Athe- 
nians was  respecting  the  possession  of  Amphip- 
olis. It  will  be  remembered  that  this  city 
had  been  wrenched  from  Athens  by  Brasidas 
of  Sparta,  and  had  subsequently  had  a  nom- 
inal independence.  With  the  organization  of 
the  Olynthian  league  the  members  of  that 
confederacy  became  extremely  anxious  that 
Amphipolis  should  become  a  member  of  the 
alliance.  The  position  of  the  city  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Strymon  rendered  it  of  vast  im- 
portance to  Philip,  whose  ambition  reached 
towards  the  ocean  as  well  as  landward.  With 
extraordinary  skill,  not  unmixed  with  crafti- 
ness, he  secured  the  friendliness  and  support 
of  Athens  by  promising  to  give  her  Amphip- 
olis if  she  would  yield  Pydna  to  him ;  and 
at  the  same  time  he  procured  the  withdrawal 
of  the  claim  of  Olynthus  by  agreeing  to  cede 


to  that  city  the  town  of  Anthemus.  These 
measures  having  cleared  the  field  of  opposi- 
tion, he  suddenly  laid  siege  to  Amphipolis  and 
took  it  before  assistance  could  be  rendered  by 
any.  He  also  kept  Pydna  ;  and  the  Olyn- 
thians  and  Athenians  were  left  to  nurse  their 
complaints.  The  people  of  Olynthus  were 
soon  i^lacated  by  the  recovery  of  Potidsea, 
which  town  Philip  graciously  turned  over  to 
them  as  a  kind  of  compensation  for  the  loss 
of  Amphipolis. 

The  year  B.  C.  356  was  a  fortunate  epoch 
for  the  Macedonian  king.  In  that  year  his 
general,  Parmenio,  gained  a  great  victory 
over  the  Illyrians,  by  which  the  previous  con- 
quest of  Philip  was  strengthened  and  con 
firmed.  In  the  Olympic  games  the  king's 
chariot  won  a  prize  in  the  face  of  the  sharpest 
competition  ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  a  son 
was  born  and  named — Alexander. 

At  this  time  Central  Greece — especially 
Athens — was  distracted  by  the  Social  War. 
A  coalition  was  formed  against  that  state  by 
Byzantium,  Rhodes,  Chios,  and  Cos;  and  the 
eflTorts  of  the  mother  city  to  suppress  the  re- 
volt proved  unavailing.  The  conflict,  how- 
ever, was  continued  (B.  C.  357-355)  until 
Artaxerxes  interfered,  and  Athens  was  obliged 
to  assent  to  the  independence  of  her  insurgent 
dependencies.  Meanwhile  another  contest, 
known  as  the  Sacred  War,^  had  broken  out 
between  Thebes  and  Phocis.  The  people  of 
the  latter  state  had  long  been  held  in  dislike 
by  the  Thebans,  who  now,  using  their  great 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  Greece,  secured  a 
vote  at  the  Amphictyonic  council  by  which  a 
heavy  fine  was  imposed  on  the  Phocians,  who 
had — as  was  alleged — been  cultivating  a  por- 
tion   of   the    consecrated    plain    of    Cirrha. 

Phocis,  after  protesting  in  vain  and  being 
afflicted  with  a  second  fine,  flew  into  a  pas- 
sion, and,  under  the  lead  of  Philomelus,  seized 
Delphi,  temple,  oracle,  and  all.  With  the 
enormous  treasures  thus  secured,  the  Phocians 
bid  defiance  to  the  Thebans.  Teri  thousand 
mercenaries  were  hired,  and  with  this  force 
Philomelus,  making  his  way  into  Locris,  de- 
feated the  army  which  Thebes  had  put  into 

^  This  was  the  second  conflict  so-called.  See  sti' 
pra,  p.  518. 


606 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


the  field  against  him.  But  the  tide  soon 
turned,  and  in  a  second  battle  the  Phocians 
were  routed  and  their  leader  killed.  Ono- 
marchus  succeeded  to  the  command,  and  the 
war  continued  with  varying  success  and 
great  barbarity ;  for  the  sacrilegious  nature 
of  the  quarrel  embittered  the  contest  by 
as  much  as  superstition  is  more  cruel  than 
reason. 

Thus  by  the  Social  and  the  Sacred  War 
was  Greece  weakened.  Philip  saw  in  the  dis- 
tractions of  his  neighbors  on  the  south  an 
opportunity  to  interfere  for  the  aggrandize- 
ment of  his  own  influence.  First  he  invaded 
Thessaly,   where  the  exactions  of  Alexander 

of  Pherse  and  his 
successors  had  so 
embittered  the 
people  that  an 
easy  conquest  was 
open  to  any  lib- 
eral-minded and 
sagacious  general. 
The  town  of  Phe- 
rse, however,  more 
subjected  to  the 
influence  of  the 
recent  tyrants 
than  other  Thes- 
salian  cities,  re- 
sisted Philip  and 
was  besieged. 
Onomarchus,  the 
Phocian,  who  had 
received  some  assistance  from  the  Pherse- 
ans,  now  sent  a  force  of  seven  thousand  men 
to  their  aid,  and  Philip  was  obliged  to  retire 
for  a  time  from  the  country.  Returning, 
however,  with  an  army  of  twenty  thousand 
men  he  overran  all  Thessaly,  but  Onomarchus 
again  marched  into  the  country  and  gave  the 
Macedonian  battle  near  the  gulf  of  Pagasse. 
The  latter  was  this  time  completely  victorious. 
The  Phocian  general  was  slain.  Philip  pro- 
claimed himself  the  defender  of  the  Delphic 
shrine,  and  was  about  to  march  at  once  into 
Central  Greece,  but  was  turned  back  by  a 
strong  force  posted  at  Thermopylae. 

Now  it  was  that  the  great  Demosthenes 
appeared   in  the  arena  at  Athens.     The  peo- 


DEMOSTHENES.— Berlin. 


pie  of  the  city  divided  into  a  Macedonian  and 
an  anti-Macedonian  party.  The  latter  was 
led  by  the  orator;  the  former,  by  his 
rivals,  Phocion  and  -^schines.  The  story  of 
the  life  of  Demosthenes  is  full  of  interest  and 
instruction.  Defrauded  by  his  guardians  and 
turned  out  in  poverty  on  the  world,  weak  in 
body,  and  subject  to  great  dejection,  he  began 
a  struggle  for  preeminence  against  every  dis- 
advantage. His  first  public  appearance  on 
the  bema  was  a  failure;  but  he  applied  him- 
self with  indefatigable  industry  to  study  and 
practice,  and  soon  wrested  from  public  opin- 
ion the  palm  of  oratory  which  twenty-two 
centuries  have  not  plucked  away. 

The  subject  which  then  agitated  the  Athe- 
nians— the  encroachments  of  Philip  and  the 
consequent  peril  to  the  liberties  of  Greece — 
was  of  a  sort  to  evoke  the  highest  interest  and 
to  arouse  the  most  patriotic  passions.  In  a 
series  of  orations  known  as  the  Philippics  the 
orator  discussed  the  Avhole  question  involved 
in  the  present  state  of  his  country,  and  more 
particularly  sought  to  stimulate  the  Athenians 
to  a  vigorous  and  united  effort  to  stay  the 
approach  of  the  Macedonians.  His  efforts, 
however,  were  comparatively  unavailing.  In 
B.  C.  352  the  assembly  voted  to  organize  a 
fleet  to  operate  against  Philip,  but  the  move- 
ment was  marked  by  neither  energy  nor  suc- 
cess. Two  years  later  the  city  of  Olynthus, 
still  at  the  head  of  the  Northern  confederacy, 
sent  an  urgent  appeal  to  Athens  to  assist  in 
repelling  the  insidious,  but  now  scarcely  dis- 
guised, ambitions  of  Philip.  Demosthenes 
delivered  three  orations,  known  as  the  Olynthi- 
acs,  on  the  question  thus  presented  to  the  as- 
sembly. But  no  energetic  action  could  be 
evoked,  even  by  the  fiery  appeals  of  the 
matchless  orator.  Greece  sat  languidly  by 
and  saw  town  after  town  of  the  Olynthian 
league  won  over  or  conquered  by  Philip,  until 
finally  Olynthus  herself  was  taken,  her  forti- 
fications leveled,  her  people  sold  as  slaves,  and 
the  whole  Chalcidician  peninsula  reduced  to 
a  Macedonian  province. 

Meanwhile,  the  disgraceful  Sacred  War 
continued.  As  long  as  the  treasures  in  the 
Delphian  temple  held  out,  the  Phocians  were 
able  year  after  year  to  hire  new  armies  of  mer- 


GREECE.— SPARTAN  AND  THEBAN  ASCENDENCIES. 


607 


cenaries  and  continue  the  struggle.  Thebes 
was,  perhaps,  as  nearly  exhausted  as  her 
rival.  In  this  condition  of  affairs  the  ques- 
tion was  bruited  of  a  league  which,  beginning 
with  the  Thebans  and  the  Athenians,  should 
extend  to  most  of  the  states  of  Central 
Greece — to  the  end  that  civil  hostilities  might 
cease,  and  the  country  be  united  to  repel  for- 
eign aggression. 

The  news  of  this  promising  enterprise, 
however,  was  carried  to  Philip,  and  in  the 
summer  of  B.  C.  347  he  sent  indirect  pro- 
posals to  Athens  inviting  a  conference  in  the 
mutual  interests  of  the  two  powers.  In  re- 
sponse the  Athenians  sent  an  embassy  to  the 
court  of  Philip  headed  by  Demosthenes,  -^s- 
chines,  and  Philocrates.  They  were  enter- 
tained by  that  wily  monarch,  but  nothing 
came  of  the  negotiations.  The  Macedonian 
king  soon  afterwards  sent  an  embassy  to 
Athens,  and  the  terms  of  a  treaty  were 
agreed  upon.  In  order  to  secure  the  ratifica- 
tion of  this  compact  the  former  Athenian 
envoys  were  again  dispatched  to  Macedon, 
but  Philip  was  absent  on  a  campaign;  and 
even  when  he  was  found  he  insisted  that  the 
ambassadors  should  accompany  him  into  Thes- 
saly  to  mediate,  as  he  averred,  between  Phar- 
salia  and  Halus.  The  whole  object  was  to 
gain  time  to  prosecute  his  plans  in  Central 
Greece. 

The  treaty,  however,  was  ratified.  The 
envoys  of  Athens  returned  home.  Demos- 
thenes entered  a  protest  against  the  conditions 
of  the  settlement.  His  following  in  the  city 
declared  that  -(Eschines  had  deluded  the  peo- 
ple with  a  false  notion  of  security.  The 
usual  political  wrangle  occurred;  but  the 
Macedonian  party  was  in  the  ascendant,  and 
<i  vote  of  thanks  to  Philip  was  passed  by  the  as- 
sembly for  the  terms  which  he  had  dictated!  That 
monarch  was  already  on  his  march  into 
Greece.  The  supine  Athenians  sent  him 
word  that  unless  the  Phocians  would  redeliver 
to  the  Amphictyons  the  shrine  of  Apollo  they 
would  unite  with  him  against  the  defilers  of 
the  sacred  city.  The  curtain  was  up  for  the 
last  scene  in  the  independence  of  Greece. 

In  the  mean  time,  Phalaecus,  general  of 
the  Phocian  army,  entered   into   negotiations 


with  Philip  and  withdrew,  with  the  monarch's 
consent,  into  Peloponnesus.  The  Macedonian 
then  entered  Phocis  without  opposition.  The 
towns  made  a  virtue  of  necessity  by  surren- 
dering. Delphi  was  taken.  The  Amphicty- 
ons were  convened.  To  them  was  referred 
the  question  as  to  what  disposition  should  be 
made  of  those  who  had  profaned  the  temple 
of  Apollo  and  wasted  his  treasures.  The 
council  voted  that  every  Phocian  town,  with 


^scHiNEs.— Naples. 

the  exception  of  Abje,  should  be  leveled  to 
the  ground.  The  people  should  be  scattered 
into  hamlets  of  not  more  than  fifty  houses. 
The  Phocians  should  be  taxed  until  the  an 
nual  tribute  should  amount  to  ten  thousan(J 
talents — this  to  replace  the  squandered  treas- 
ures of  the  temple.  The  Spartan  members 
of  the  Amphictyony  should  be  deposed. 
Finally  and  specially :  the  two  votes  of  Phocisf 
in  the  council  should  be  taken  away  and  con- 
ferred on  Philip  of  Macedon!  Thus,  in  the 
year  B.  C.  346,  was  a  foreign  king,  with  full 
power  to  enforce  his  will,  given  a  seat  at  the 
head   of  that  venerable  body,   which   for   so 


608 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


many  centuries  had  been  reserved  with  sacred 
fidelity  for  members  of  the  Hellenic  race. 

It  was  now  no  more  than  a  question 
of  time  when  the  Macedonian  monarch  would 
assert  his  advantage  and  absorb  the  Greek 
states  in  his  dominions.  The  cry  of  patriot- 
ism might  now  be  lifted  in  the  streets,  but  to 
what    purpose?     The    rapid    decline    of   the 


and  versatile  people  who  contributed  to  an* 
tiquity  her  brightest  pages.  The  voice  of  the 
Greek,  so  shrill  in  battle  so  musical  in  peace ; 
his  gay  activities,  his  energy,  so  often  reviv- 
ing from  humiliation  and  ruin ;  his  brush,  his 
chisel — alas,  for  all  these!  where  are  they? 
The  beauty  of  Athens  has  sunk  into  the  dust. 
The  wolves  of  Mount  Taygetus  howl  in  the 


ANCIENT  CORINTH. 


Grecian  communities,  their  failure  in  public 
spirit,  the  decadence  of  Grecian  institutions, 
and  the  substitution  of  centralization  for  indi- 
viduality— all  this  will  come  properly  into  the 
field  of  view  in  the  course  of  the  following 
Book,  which  will  contain  the  history  of  the 
Macedonian  ascendency. 

For  the   present,  it    is  sufficient    to    take 
leave,   not  without  regret,   of  that  brilliant 


dark  among  the  broken  stones  of  Sparta. 
The  splendor  of  Corinth  is  no  more.  Only 
by  the  imperishable  Thought — the  verse  of 
Homer,  the  page  of  Herodotus,  the  infinite 
spirit  of  Plato,  the  clarion  of  Demosthenes — 
has  the  renown  of  Hellas  survived,  illumining 
the  world  that  now  is,  and  shedding  a  glory 
over  her  name,  even  to  the  far-ofi*  shores  of 
the  setting  sun. 


look  !|tnl^. 


MACEDONIA. 


Chapter  xivVlll.— Country,  Cities,  and  Tribes. 


HE  most  ancient  name  of 
the  country  known  in  the 
times  of  Philip  and  Alex- 
ander, as  Macedon,  or 
Macedonia  was  Emathia. 
By  this  appellation  it  is 
referred  to  in  the  Iliad. 
Doubtless  the  more  recent  name  was  derived 
from  the  mythical  founder  of  the  nation,  a 
certain  Macedo,  who  was,  of  course,  one  of 
the  sons  of  Zeus,  Another  ancient  appella- 
tive of  this  country  was  Macetia,  or  the  land 
of  the  Macetse,  which  name,  in  its  turn,  has 
been  associated  by  the  curious  with  the  word 
Kittim,  used  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis. 
Already  in  the  times  of  Herodotus  the  more 
ancient  names  had  been  rejected  in  favor  of 
Macedon ;  but  the  region  so  called  was,  in  the 
times  of  that  ancient  story-teller,  only  a  small 
district  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Pindus.  A 
better  acquaintance  with  the  primitive  lan- 
guage 'of  the  Macedonians  would,  no  doubt, 
throw  much  light,  not  only  on  the  origin  of 
the  tribes  by  which  Macedon  was  peopled,  but 
also  on  the  geographical  districts  in  which 
they  settled 

Of  the  general  character  of  the  countries 


which  constituted  the  empire  of  Alexander, 
much  has  already  been  said.  Nearly  all  of 
the  provinces  within  the  limits  of  that  vast 
dominion,  except  Macedonia  Proper,  had  been 
previously  included  in  one  or  more  than  one 
of  the  kingdoms  which  preceded  the  advent 
of  the  conqueror.  What  had  been  Egypt, 
Chaldsea,  Assyria,  Media,  Babylonia,  became 
Persia ;  and  the  various  countries  dominated 
by  Cyrus  and  Cambyses  were  in  turn  subdued 
by  the  son  of  Philip.  These  countries,  having 
been  described  in  the  preceding  Books,  from 
the  First  to  the  Seventh  inclusive,  will  here 
require  no  further  consideration  as  it  respects 
their  geography  or  productions.  It  is  only  of 
the  character  of  the  original  kingdom  of  Philip 
that  something  should  now  be  added. 

Macedonia,  then,  is  bounded  on  the  south 
by  the  Gambunian  mountains,  which  divide 
it  from  Thessaly.  On  the  west  rises  the  chain 
known  in  different  parts  of  its  course  as  Scar- 
dus,  Bernus,  Pindus.  Beyond  this  range  lies 
Illyria.  From  Msesia  on  the  north,  Macedo- 
nia is  divided  by  the  Orbelian  mountains, 
while  on  the  east  it  is  separated  from  Thrace 
by  the  river  Strymou  The  country  was  thus 
included  on  three  sides  by  mountainous  eleva- 

(611) 


612 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


tions,  and  on  the  fourth  by  a  stream  of  con- 
siderable volume.  In  the  time  of  Herodotus, 
Macedon  had  boundaries  not  nearly  so  great 
as  those  here  given  ;  but  in  the  age  of  the 
geographer  Strabo,  the  limits  were  made  to  in- 
clude a  large  part  of  Illyria  and  Thrace. 

The  rivers  of  Macedonia  are  three  in  num- 
ber; the  Axius,  the  Lydias,  and  the  Haliac- 
mon.  All  of  them  find  their  way  into  the 
Thermaic  gulf.  The  most  easterly  and  largest 
is  the  Axius,  now  called  the  Vardar.  It 
gathers  its  waters  from  the  hill-country,  be- 
tween the  ranges  of  Scardus  and  Orbelus,  and 
flows  in  a  course  somewhat  south-easterly,  re- 
ceiving several  tributaries,  the  most  important 
being  the  Ericon.  The  second  of  the  princi- 
pal streams  is  the  Lydias,  now  called  the 
Kara  Azmac.  This  is  the  river  which  passes 
through  the  lake  on  which  Pella,  the  capital 
of  Macedonia  was  situated.  It  drains  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  country,  and  becomes  conflu- 
ent with  the  Axius  about  a  league  above  the 
entrance  of  that  stream  into  the  sea.  Still 
further  to  the  south-east  is  the  Haliacmon 
which  gathers  its  streams  from  the  Cambu- 
nians,  and  flows  through  the  marshy  districts 
of  Macedonia  into  the  sea.  In  the  time  of 
Herodotus,  however,  it  was  in  its  lower  course 
deflected  to  the  north  and  joined  its  waters 
with  those  of  the  Lydias  before  falling  into 
the  gulf. 

The  valleys  of  these  three  rivers  are  sepa- 
rated from  one  another  by  tranverse  chains  of 
mountains,  branching  from  the  Scardus.  The 
range  dividing  the  Haliacmon  from  the  Lydias 
is  called  Bermius,  and  that  between  the  Ly- 
dias and  the  Axius,  Dysorum.  Macedonia  was 
thus  geographically  constituted  of  three  prin- 
cipal valleys,  all  opening  out  upon  the  Ther- 
maic gulf. 

It  is,  however,  with  the  political  divisions 
of  the  country  rather  than  its  physical  con- 
stitution that  the  historian  is  mostly  concerned. 
Within  the  limits  of  Macedonia,  then,  as  it 
was  inherited  by  Philip,  son  of  Amyntas, 
were  to  be  found  the  following  provinces: 
Lyncestis,  Stymphalia,  Orestis,  Elimea,  Eor- 
dsea,  Pieria,  Bottisea,  Emathia,  Mygdonia, 
Chalcidice,  Bisaltia,  and  Pseonia  with  its  sub- 
divisions.    Lyncestis,  the  first  of  these  dis- 


tricts lay  to  the  west,  next  to  Illyria,  from 
which  it  was  divided  by  the  Bernus  range. 
It  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Pseonia. 
The  principal  stream  was  the  Erigonus,  and 
the  principal  thoroughfare  the  Egnatian  Way. 
The  district  was  originally  inhabited  by  an  in- 
dependent tribe  governed  by  their  own  king. 

To  the  south-east  of  Lyncestis  lay  the  ter- 
ritory of  Orestis.  The  barbarians  of  this  dis- 
trict also  were  originally  independent  of  the 
Macedonian  kings.  The  country  was  of  small 
extent  and  contained  but  few  towns,  the  prin- 
cipal being  Celetrum  and  Orestia,  the  latter 
the  birthplace  of  Ptolemy  Lagus.  Immedi- 
ately south  of  this  district  was  the  small  coun- 
try of  Stymphalia,  the  principal  town  of 
which  was  Gyrtona.  Like  the  two  preceding, 
the  original  Stymphsei  were  barbarians,  and 
retained  their  independence  until  conquered 
by  the  Macedonian  kings.  Immediately  east 
was  the  province  of  Elimea,  a  mountainous 
and  barren  country,  but  of  great  importance 
to  the  Macedonians ;  for  through  this  district 
lay  the  passes  into  Epirus  and  Thessaly.  The 
principal  river  of  Elimea  was  the  Haliacmon ; 
the  principal  towns  were  a  city  of  the  same 
name  as  the  province  and  -iEane,  said  to  have 
been  founded  by  colonists  from  Tyre. 

Adjacent  to  Elimea  on  the  east  was  the 
little  barbarian  state  of  Eord^A,  which,  like 
its  neighbors,  maintained  its  independence 
until  subjugated  by  Macedon.  Through  this 
district  passed  the  great  Egnatian  Way,  which 
reached  from  Edessa  and  Pella  into  Greece. 
The  two  principal  towns  of  the  state  were 
Cellse  and  Arnissa.  Further  to  the  south-east 
was  the  celebrated  district  of  Pieria,  said  to 
have  been  the  birthplace  of  Orpheus  and  the 
native  seat  of  the  Muses.  Pieria  was  contig- 
uous to  Thessaly,  and  was  nestled  at  the  base 
of  Olympus.  It  contained  the  towns  of  Phila — 
situated  near  the  famous  Thessalian  vale  of 
Tempe — Heraclia,  and  Dium,  one  of  the  chief 
cities  of  Macedonia;  also  the  small  town  of 
Pimplea,  in  which  Orpheus  was  born,  and 
near  which  is  the  conical  tumulus,  said  to  be 
the  tomb  of  that  mythical  maker  of  song.  In 
this  same  district  was  the  city  of  Pydna,  cele- 
brated for  the  great  victory  gained  there  bj 
Publius  jEmilius  over  the  Macedonians  under 


MACEDONIA.— COUNTRY,  CITIES,  AND  TRIBES. 


613 


Perseus — by  which  event  the  Empire  founded 
by  Philip  was  at  last  extinguished.  Some 
miles  to  the  north  of  this  city  was  the  town 
of  Methone,  before  the  walls  of  which,  as  will 
be  remembered,  the  right  eye  of  Philip  was 
shot  out  by  an  archer.'  Another  Pierian  town 
of  some  importance  was  Phylace ;  and  a  short 
distance  to  the  north  of  this  was  Agassse,  which 
was  occupied  by  -lEmilius  after  the  battle  of 
Pydna. 

The  next  subdivision  of  ancient  Macedonia 
was  the  province  of  Botti^a,  situated  between 
the  Haliacmon  and  the  Lydias.  One  of  the 
principal  towns  of  this  district  was  Alorus,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Haliacmon.  At  the 
mouth  of  the  Lydias  was  the  city  of  Jehnse, 
and  a  hundred  and  twenty  stadia  up  that 
river  was  Pella,  the  Macedonian  capital. 

Ejiathea  was,  as  already  said,  the  most 
ancient  of  the  Macedonian  districts.  It  was 
the  small  but  fertile  region  in  which  was 
planted  the  central  root  of  that  great  tree 
which  was  destined  to  overshadow  the  nation. 
According  to  tradition  this  province  was  first 
colonized  by  a  company  of  Argives,  called 
the  Temenidse.  The  chief  city  was  ^gse,  or 
Edessa,  which  up  to  the  time  of  Philip  was 
regarded  as  the  capital  of  Macedonia.  The 
other  important  cities  were  Cydrse,  Brysi, 
Mieza,  and  Cyrrhus,  in  the  latter  of  which 
was  the  temple  of  Athene,  built  by  Alexander. 
Nor  should  failure  be  made  to  mention  the 
two  cities  of  Citium  and  Idomene,  the  former 
of  which  was  the  head-quarters  of  Perseus,  and 
the  latter  of  some  note  on  account  of  its  cap- 
ture by  Sitalces,  king  of  the  Odrysse. 

The  province  of  Mygdonia  extended  from 
the  Axius  to  the  Strymon.  It  remained  under 
the  dominion  of  the  primitive  barbarians  until 
they  were  expelled  by  the  Temenidse.  The 
principal  river  of  the  district  was  the  Axius, 
and  the  chief  town  Amj'don,  which  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Iliad  as  a  place  of  note.  At  the 
mouth  of  the  Axius  was  the  city  of  Chalastra, 
which  was  one  of  the  first  places  taken  by 
Xerxes  in  his  invasion  of  Greece.  On  the 
river  Echedorus,  which  loses  itself  in  a  vast 
marsh  close  to  the  Axius,  was  situated  the 
ancient  city  of  Thernse,  the   modern  Thessa- 

*See  sequitur,  p.  621. 


lonica,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Mace- 
donian cities. 

To  the  south  and  east  of  Mygdonia  lay  the 
peculiar  province  of  Chalcldice,  consisting  of 
several  peninsulas,  jutting  into  the  ^gean. 
This  region  was  originally  colonized  by  people 
from  the  island  of  Euboea.  The  Chalcidicians 
for  a  long  time  maintained  their  independence, 
but  were  at  length  subjugated  and  added  to 
the  conquests  of  the  Macedonian  kings.  The 
peninsula  of  Pallene  was  of  special  importance. 
Here  was  said  to  have  occurred  the  combat 
between  the  gods  and  the  Titans.  A  more 
authentic  distinction  was  the  possession  of  the 
rich  city  of  Potidsea,  which  occupied  the  neck 
of  the  isthmus  by  which  Pallene  was  joined 
to  the  main-land.  This  place  was  founded  at 
a  very  early  date  by  a  colony  of  Corinthians, 
but  in  after  times  it  became  a  dependency  of 
Athens.  Afterwards,  near  the  same  site,  was 
founded  by  Cassander  the  city  of  Cassandrea, 
which  at  one  time  was  the  most  opulent  munic- 
ipality in  all  Macedonia.  Other  important 
towns  in  the  peninsula  were  Clitse,  Aphytis, 
Neapolis,  Thrambus,  Mende,  and  Seione,  all 
of  which  are  mentioned  by  Herodotus. 

Between  Pallene  and  the  next  of  the  three 
peninsulas,  named  Sithonia,  at  the  head  of 
the  gulf,  was  the  celebrated  city  of  Olynthus, 
founded  by  Eretrians  from  Euboea.  This  cor- 
poration at  a  very  early  date  adopted  a  demo- 
cratic form  of  government,  and  taking  up  the 
federative  system,  which  had  been  so  success- 
fully employed  by  the  Athenians,  became  the 
center  of  that  Olynthian  league  which  will 
occupy  our  attention  in  the  times  of  King 
Philip.  The  people  of  the  Sithonian  penin- 
sula were  of  Thracian  origin,  though  several 
of  the  towns — such  as  Galepsus  and  Torone — 
were  founded  by  Greek  colonies. 

The  third  of  the  Chalcidician  peninsulas  is 
called  Acte.  It  is  that  tongue  of  land  which 
terminates  in  Mount  Athos,  and  which  was  cut 
ofi"  from  the  shore  by  the  canal  of  Xerxes. 
Acte  abounded  in  towns,  of  which  the  princi- 
pal were  Sane — on  the  Singitic  gulf — Uranop- 
olis,  Dium,  ApoUonia,  Thyssus,  Cleonse,  and 
Acanthus,  which  stood  at  the  other  extremity 
of  the  canal  from  Sane.  This  was  perhaps  the 
most  important  city  in  this  part  of  Chalcidice, 


614 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


and  will  be  frequently  mentioned  as  the  scene 
of  historical  events.  Nor  should  Arethusa, 
the  burial-place  of  Euripides,  be  omitted  from 
a  list  of  Chalcidician  towns. 

The  next  of  the  Macedonian  provinces  was 
BisALTiA,  situated  between  the  river  Strymon 
and  the  lake  Bolbe.  This  district  was  orig- 
inally settled  by  colonists  from  Thrace.  It  was 
governed  by  native  kings  until  the  time  of 
Xerxes,  and  soon  afterwards  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Macedonians.  The  chief  town  of  the 
province  was  Argilus,  said  to  have  been  founded 
by  a  colony  from  the  island  of  Andros.  In 
the  interior  were  several  other  towns — Ossa, 
Bisaltes,  Berta,  Arolus,  and  Callithera — of  no 
great  importance  in  Macedonian  history. 

The  country  of  P^onia,  though  after  the 
times  of  Philip  included  in  Macedon,  was  pre- 
viously an  independent  state.  It  was  by  far 
the  largest  of  those  original  territories  on  which 
the  son  of  Amyntas  laid  the  foundations  of 
his  dominion.  As  early  as  the  time  of  the 
Trojan  war  the  Pseonians  were  powerful  enough 
to  be  conspicuous  in  the  host  of  Agamemnon. 
They  embraced  originally  several  barbarian 
tribes ;  but  these  were  ultimately  gathered  into 
one  nation,  governed  by  a  single  chief.  The 
subordinate  provinces  into  which  Pseonia  was 
divided  were  Pelagonia,  with  its  cities  of  Stu- 
bera  and  Bryanium ;  Deuriopis ;  and  the 
countries  of  the  Almopes,  lori,  Agrianes,  and 
Doberes.  The  various  tribes  inhabiting  these 
districts  gradually  lost  their  individuality,  and 
were  absorbed  into  a  single  people. 

The  geography  of  Macedonia  should  not  be 
dismissed  without  a  reference  to  the  great 
thoroughfare  by  which  the  different  provinces 
and  towns  were  connected.  This  was  known 
by  its  Roman  name  of  Via  Egnatia,  or  the 
Egnatian  Way.  It  was  a  great  military  road 
leading  from  Lyncestis,  on  the  confines  of  II- 
lyria  to  Edessa,  Pella,  Methone,  and  the  other 
principal  Macedonian  cities.  From  the  main 
way  several  roads  branched  north  and  south, 
the  former  leading  into  Pteouia,  Dardania, 
Moesia,  and  the  Danubian  districts,  and  the 
latter  into  the  southern  provinces  of  the  king- 
dom, Thessaly  and  Central  Greece. 

In  the  course  of  these  geographical  notes 
on  Macedonia  references  not  a  few  have  been 


made  to  the  primitive  peoples  by  whom  the 
country  was  settled.  It  will  now  be  appro- 
priate to  notice  somewhat  more  fully  those 
early  populations  and  their  movements  down 
to  the  time  when  the  kingdom  was  firmly  es- 
tablished by  the  House  of  Amyntas.  The 
origin  of  the  Macedonian  dynasty  has  been 
involved  in  much  dispute.  Only  one  thing 
may  be  regarded  as  certainly  established,  and 
that  is  that  the  royal  family  was  sprung  from  the 
race  of  the  Temenidae  of  Argos,  and  that  these 
were, according  to  tradition,  the  descendants  of 
Hercules.  The  myth  is  to  the  effect  that  the 
Argive  Cavanus,  who  was  the  son  of  Temenus, 
who  was  the  son  of  Hercules,  led  out  a  colony 
from  his  native  city,  and,  arriving  in  Emathia, 
overcame  the  reigning  king,  Midas,  and  took 
possession  of  Edessa,  the  capital.  It  would 
thus  appear  that  the  dynasty  was  Dorian  in 
its  origin,  being  thus  allied  with  the  Lace- 
daemonians, more  than  with  the  -lEolian  and 
Ionian  races.  Herodotus,  however,  recites  the 
tradition  somewhat  differently.  By  him  we 
are  told  that  three  brothers — Gavanes,  -^ro- 
pus,  and  Perdiccas — descendants  of  Temenus, 
left  Argos,  and  making  their  way  into  Upper 
Macedonia,  succeeded  in  establishing  a  king- 
dom which  fell  to  Perdiccas,  the  youngest  of 
the  three ;  and  with  this  statement  of  the  Fa- 
ther of  History  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
Thucydides  may  also  be  adduced.  By  some 
authors  it  is  held  that  there  was  a  double  mi- 
gration, and  that  the  three  brothers  were  the 
grandsons  of  Cavanus. 

Of  the  reigns  of  the  first  four  kings  who 
succeeded  the  mythical  Perdiccas  nothing  is 
known;  but  in  the  reign  of  Amyntas  (B.  C. 
537-498),  who  was  the  fifth  in  descent  from 
the  founder,  the  affairs  of  Macedonia  begin  to 
come  into  the  light.  It  was  already  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Persian  aggressions  in  the  West. 
Megabazus,  the  general  of  Darius,  having  al- 
ready made  considerable  conquests  in  Thrace 
and  Pseonia,  advanced  to  the  northern  bor- 
ders of  Macedonia ;  and  Amyntas  was  glad  to 
make  his  submission  as  a  condition  of  peace. 
Soon  afterwards  some  of  the  Persian  officers 
offered  grave  insults  to  the  Macedonian  women, 
whereupon  Alexander,  son  of  Amyntas,  took 
summary  vengeance  on  the  ofl!enders.     A  diffi- 


MACEDONIA.— COUNTRY,  CITIES,  AND  TRIBES. 


615 


culty  thus  arose  which  was  about  to  bring  on 
war,  but  hostilities  were  avoided  by  the  timely 
marriage  of  Gygea,  daughter  of  Amyntas,  to 
Bubares,  the  Persian  deputy,  who  had  been 
sent  out  to  obtain  satisfaction  for  the  murder 
of  the  Great  King's  officers. 

On  his  accession  to  the  throne  this  prince 
Alexander  presented  himself  for  admission  to 
participation  in  the  Olympic  games.  He  was 
at  first  refused,  but  on  an  examination  of  his 
claims  to  be  an  Argive  by  descent,  the  man- 
agers decided  that  the  Macedonian  dynasty 
was  indeed  Greek,  and  the  prince  was  accord- 
ingly admitted. 

The  reign  of  Alexander  covered  the  period 
of  the  great  Persian  invasion  of  Greece.  Mace- 
donia was  occupied  by  the  invaders,  and  the 
king  had  a  difficult  part  to  perform  between 
the  Greeks  with  whom  he  sympathized,  and 
the  Persians  whom  he  dreaded.  He  sent  much 
secret  information  to  the  allied  commanders, 
but  at  the  same  time  succeeded  in  retaining 
the  confidence  of  the  barbarians.  At  last 
Mardonius  sent  him  to  Athens  in  a  final  effi)rt 
which  he  made  to  detach  that  commonwealth 
from  the  Greek  league. 

During  the  reign  of  Perdiccas,  who  suc- 
ceeded his  father,  Alexander  (B.  C.  476),  on 
the  throne,  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  became 
more  complicated.  The  prince  was  of  a  crafty 
disposition,  and  took  part  according  to  his  in- 
terest in  the  politics  of  Greece.  He  sided  first 
with  the  Lacedaemonian  and  then  with  the 
Athenian  party,  as  success  inclined  from  one 
to  the  other.  While  in  league  with  the  Spar- 
tans, he  induced  the  revolt  of  several  Athenian 
dependencies  in  the  north  ;  but  for  this  course 
he  was  presently  punished  with  an  invasion  of 
his  own  kingdom  by  Sitalces,  king  of  Thrace, 
by  whom  Macedonia  was  well-nigh  overrun. 

From  a  description  given  by  Thucydides 
of  the  extent  of  the  Macedonian  dominions  in 
the  time  of  Perdiccas,  it  may  be  seen  that  the 
country  then  embraced  nearly  all  the  provinces 
and  tribes  which  were  included  under  the  au- 
thority of  Philip,  the  father  of  Alexander. 
Pseonia  had  not  yet  been  subjugated,  but  the 
remaining  districts  were  nearly  all  ruled  by 
the  house  of  Temenus.  It  was  a  proper  retri- 
bution to  the  Macedonian  king  that  the  war 


which  he  fomented  in  the  north  between  Ath- 
ens and  Sparta,  and  which  led  to  the  expedi- 
tion of  Brasidas,  brought  to  him  no  augmenta- 
tion of  power,  but  only  disappointment. 

Quite  unlike  Perdiccas  was  his  son  and 
successor,  Archelaijs.  He  soon  proved  him- 
self to  be  the  most  prudent  and  liberal  of  the 
earlier  kings.  To  his  single  reign  Thucydides 
ascribes  a  greater  improvement  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  kingdom  than  to  all  the  eight  that 
had  preceded.  The  internal  aflfairs  of  the  state 
now  began  to  receive  the  attention  and  sup- 
port of  the  government.  Roads  were  built, 
fortresses  erected,  the  array  equipped  and  or- 
ganized. It  was  the  dawn  of  art  and  litera- 
ture at  the  Macedonian  court.  Distinguished 
men  were  invited  thither  by  the  king,  who 
sought  to  substitute  the  reign  of  intelligence 
for  the  reign  of  force.  At  his  capital  Eu- 
ripides resided  for  many  years,  supported  by 
royal  favor.  Zeuxis,  the  celebrated  painter, 
lent  his  genius  to  the  work  of  decorating  the 
residence  of  the  king.  Socrates  also  was  in- 
vited to  reside  in  Edessa,  but,  as  usual,  that 
resolute  and  saturnine  genius  refused  to  be 
beholden  to  any.  A  great  light  began  thus 
to  be  diffused  through  the  North,  which,  if 
less  resplendent  than  the  glow  which  kindled 
over  Athens,  was  nevertheless  such  as  to  dis- 
pel the  shadows  beyond  Olympus. 

Archelaiis  fell  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin, 
though  the  occasion  and  circumstances  of  his 
death  are  not  fully  known.  After  his  reign 
Macedonia  suflfered  a  decline.  Of  the  careers 
of  the  four  following  kings  very  little  has  been 
preserved  either  in  history  or  tradition.  The 
fifth  sovereign  from  Archelaiis  was  Amyntas, 
who  inherited  the  kingdom  in  a  distracted  con- 
dition, and  sufl^ered  most  of  the  ills  of  kingly 
misfortune.  Domestic  troubles  kept  him  em- 
broiled, and  foreign  foes  were  busy  on  his 
borders.  Of  these  the  most  active  were  the 
Illyrians  on  the  west,  and  the  Olynthians  on 
the  north-east.  From  the  former  he  purchased 
a  respite  by  means  of  bribes  and  presents,  and 
from  the  latter  he  was  saved  by  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  Spartans.  For  twenty-four  years 
(B.  C.  393-369)  he  supported  the  arduous 
duties  of  government  and  died,  leaving  three 
sons  to  the  care  of  their  mother,  Eurydice. 


616 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Of  these  sons  the  eldest  was  Alexander; 
the  second,  Perdiccas ;  and  the  youngest, 
Philip — that  Philip  who  was  destined  to  make 
his  power  felt  in  all  the  West,  and  to  pave  the 
way  for  the  still  greater  achievements  of  his 
son.  Thus  through  the  region  of  myth  and 
tradition  have  been  traced  the  brief  annals  of 


Macedonia  from  the  days  of  the  earlier  Te- 
menidse  to  the  time  when  the  great  state  of 
the  North,  under  the  direction  of  the  son  of 
Amyntas,  began  first  to  be  distinctly  felt  as  a 
political  power,  and  then  to  rise  rapidly  to  an 
unequivocal  ascendency  over  all  the  surround- 
ing kingdoms. 


CHAPTER  XIvIX.— REIQN  OR  F*HILIP. 


F  the  career  of  Philip  of 
Macedon  a  sketch  has  al- 
ready been  given  in  the 
History  of  Greece.  To 
him  the  Macedonian  Em- 
pire owed  its  foundation 
and  strength.  Without 
the  masterful  abilities  of  his  more  distinguished 
son,  Avithout  the  far-reaching  ambition  of  Cae- 
sar, he  nevertheless  possessed  the  genius  to 
grasp  the  condition  of  his  times,  and  to  plant 
on  the  ruins  of  surrounding  states  the  foot  of 
power  and  dominion. 

Philip  was  the  third  and  youngest  son  of 
Amyntas.  The  eldest  brother,  Alexander,  lost 
his  life  in  a  civil  turmoil.  Perdiccas,  the  next 
eldest,  was  hard  pressed  by  opposition,  and  was 
on  the  eve  of  losing  the  kingdom,  when  Pelop- 
idas,  the  Theban,  interfered  in  his  behalf,  and 
secured  under  his  powerful  influence  the  peace- 
ful possession  of  the  crown.  It  Avas  in  grati- 
tude for  this  support  that  Perdiccas,  as  an 
earnest  of  good  faith  and  a  pledge  for  the 
fidelity  of  Macedonia  to  the  interests  of  Thebes, 
gave  into  the  friendly  custody  of  Pelopidas 
the  youth  Philip  and  thirty  others  from  the  best 
families  in  the  kingdom. 

Thus  it  was  that  destiny  prepared  the  way 
for  greatness.  For  Philip  could  hardly  have 
become  the  distinguished  monarch  that  he  was 
but  for  the  incident  which,  bringing  him  to 
Thebes,  threw  him  into  contact  with  the  civil- 
ization of  the  Greeks.  His  education  was  of 
precisely  the  sort  to  fashion  a  hero.  He  was 
established  in  the  family  of  Polyranus,  father 
of  Epaminondas;  and  here  he  absorbed  his 
first   ideas  of   politics   and   generalship.      He 


became  at  an  early  age  familiar  with  the  lit- 
erature and  customs  of  the  Greeks,  learned 
their  language,  became  a  Greek  himself.  The 
example  and  influence  of  Epaminondas,  whose 
conversation  and  friendship  he  enjoyed  with- 
out restriction,  molded  his  views  and  senti- 
ments. The  Theban  became  his  model.  He 
grew  like  that  which  he  admired ;  and  although 
his  native  talents  and  ambitions  were  by  no 
means  subordinated  to  the  Theban  environ- 
ment, yet  so  far  as  education  could  go  toward* 
the  shaping  of  character  and  the  determination 
of  future  activities,  to  that  extent  undoubt- 
edly was  Philip  the  result  of  the  forces  which 
played  upon  him  while  domiciled  in  Thebes. 
It  must  be  confessed,  moreover,  that  the  Mac- 
edonian prince  shoAved  himself  to  be  an  apter 
pupil  of  Epaminondas  in  the  matter  of  acquir- 
ing military  skill  than  in  imitating  the  sterling- 
integrity  and  moral  virtues  of  his  model.  For 
in  essential  soundness  of  character  Philip  wa& 
by  no  means  comparable  with  the  Theban 
general. 

During  his  residence  at  the  Boeotian  capital 
the  prince,  accompanied  by  his  masters,  trav- 
eled into  other  parts  of  Greece.  He  visited 
Athens  and  was  profoundly  impressed  with 
the  institutions  and  peculiarities  of  that  city. 
There  he  became  acquainted  with  the  greatest 
geniuses  of  the  age.  Among  his  acquaintances 
and  friends  were  Plato,  Isocrates,  and  Theo- 
phrastus.  He  studied  the  Athenian  character 
and  apprehended  its  weakness  and  its  strength. 
He  Avas  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  Deme- 
ter,  and  Avhile  attending  one  of  the  celebra- 
tions held  in  honor  of  this  divinity,  had  the 
good  fortune  to  meet  Olympias,  daughter  of 


MACEDONIA.— REIGN  OF  PHILIP. 


617 


the  king  of  Epirus,  and  mother  that  was  to  be 
of  Alexander. 

Soon  afterwards  the  prince  was  called  home 
to  enter,  under  trying  circumstances,  upon  the 
duties  of  the  kingdom.  For  a  long  time  Illyria 
had  claimed  tribute  of  Macedonia.  During 
the  period  when  Amyntas,  and  after  him  Per- 
diccas,  was  supported  by  the  powerful  influence 
of  Thebes,  the  claim  had  been  refused.  But 
I  when  Pelopidas  fell  in  the  struggle  with  Alex- 
ander of  Pherse  and  Epaminondas  was  pres- 
ently killed  at  the  battle  of  Mantinea,  Mace- 
donia was  left  to  her  own  resources,  and  the 
claims  of  the  Illyrians  were  renewed.  This  pre- 
tense, however,  was  resisted  by  Perdiccas,  who 
raised  an  army  and  took  the  field  to  maintain 
the  independence  of  his  kingdom.  A  hard 
battle  was  fought  with  the  king  of  Illyria,  in 
which  the  latter  was  completely  victorious. 
Perdiccas  was  killed  and  four  thousand  of  his 
troops  cut  to  pieces.  Macedonia  was  thus  to 
all  seeming  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  foe. 

Now  it  was,  in  B.  C.  383,  that  the  youth- 
ful Philip  Avas  hurriedly  recalled  from  his 
sojourn  in  Greece  to  assume  the  duties  of  the 
tottering  government.  It  was,  however,  as 
regent  for  the  infant  son  of  Perdiccas,  and  not 
in  his  own  right,  that  he  began  his  public 
career.  The  circumstances  were  disheartening 
to  the  last  degree.  The  Illyrians  were  ravag- 
ing the  country  as  the  sequel  of  the  victory 
over  Perdiccas.  The  Pseonians,  encouraged 
by  supposed  immunity  from  punishment,  de- 
scended from  the  mountains  and  plundered  as 
they  would.  Two  claimants  to  the  throne, 
Pausanias  and  Argseus,  came  forward  in  open 
opposition  to  Philip.  The  Athenians  were 
hostile  on  account  of  the  alliance  of  Macedo- 
nia with  Thebes,  and  sent  an  army  to  the 
North  to  prevent  the  rise  of  Philip  to  power. 
The  Thracians  also  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  to  make  an  invasion  of  the  country. 

The  prince  of  Macedon,  nothing  daunted, 
soon  showed  himself  equal  to  the  emergency 
of  his  country.  His  confidence  inspired  the 
people.  An  ancient  oracle  had  said  that  Mac- 
edonia, under  a  son  of  Amyntas,  should  rise  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  power.  Philip  was  now 
the  only  son  of  Amyntas  ;  and  should  the  pro- 
phetic voice  of  the  gods  prove  false  ?     Soldiers 


rallied  to  the  standard  of  the  prince  destined 
to  victory.  The  Macedonian  phalanx,  mod- 
eled after  that  of  Thebes  as  constituted  by 
Epaminondas,  was  created.  From  every  side 
of  the  huge  living  mass  projected  an  impene- 
trable thicket  of  spears.  With  this  invincible 
body  of  destruction,  Philip  bore  down  upon 
the  Illyrians  and  Pseonians,  and  in  a  short 
time  routed  them  from  the  country. 

This  work  was  less  serious  than  that  of  dis- 
posing of  the  rival  claimants.  In  the  princi- 
pal Macedonian  towns  there  was  a  strong  party 
in  favor  of  Argseus.  A  fleet  was  sent  out  by 
Athens  to  uphold  his  pretensions.  The  squad- 
ron anchored  before  Methone,  a  city  on  the 
Thermaic  gulf,  and  here  a  junction  was  effected 
between  the  Macedonian  malcontents  and  the 
Athenians.  The  combined  forces  then  pro- 
ceeded to  lay  siege  to  Edessa,  the  capital  of 
the  province  of  Pieria ;  for  it  was  believed 
that  the  capture  of  this  place  would  decide 
the  fate  of  the  kingdom.  But  Philip  was  on 
the  alert,  and  before  the  arrival  of  Argseus  be- 
fore the  town,  the  defenses  were  so  strengthened 
that  it  could  not  be  taken.  The  pretender 
then  became  alarmed  for  his  safety  and  sought 
to  retreat  to  Methone ;  but  on  the  way  thither 
he  Avas  attacked  by  Philip  and  killed.  The 
Macedonians  in  the  army  of  the  malcontents 
were  kindly  treated  by  the  king  and  incorpo- 
rated with  his  own  forces;  and  with  singular 
liberality  the  Athenians  under  the  command  of 
Argseus,  were  loaded  with  favors  and  sent  home 
without  any  mark  of  contempt  or  cruelty.  It 
was  upon  such  acts  as  these  that  the  future 
popularity  of  Philip  in  Central  Greece  was 
laid  upon  secure  foundations.  Generosity  in 
the  conduct  of  war  was  a  new  thing  under 
Grecian  skies — a  fact  which  at  the  first  it  was 
difficult  to  understand  or  appreciate. 

By  this  time  the  Illyrians  had  rallied  from 
their  first  chastisement  and  gathered  in  great 
force  on  the  western  frontier.  They  were  led 
by  their  king  Bardyllus,  now  more  than  ninety 
years  of  age.  A  decisive  battle  was  fought  in 
which  the  new  tactics  and  spirit  of  the  Mace- 
donians bore  down  all  oppositon.  A  signal 
victory  was  gained  by  Philip.  Bardyllus  was 
slain  and  the  shattered  powers  of  his  govern- 
ment were  unable  to  offer  further  resistance. 


618 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Ulyria  was  converted  into  a  Macedonian  prov- 
ince. This  was  the  last  of  the  premonitory 
struggles  by  which  the  authority  of  Philip  was 
established  on  a  basis  that  could  not  be  shaken. 
The  ambition  of  the  king,  however,  was  by 
no  means  appeased  by  these  initial  successes. 
The  condition  of  Greece,  moreover,  at  this 
time  was  such  as  to  furnish  abundant  food  for 
the  aspiring  spirit  of  the  Macedonian  ruler. 
In  the  long  struggle  between  Thebes  and 
Sparta,  by  which  the  resources  of  each  had 
been,  in  a  measure,  exhausted,  Athens  had,  in 
some  degree,  regained  her  pristine  influence 
among  the  Grecian  states.  Epaminondas  was 
dead,  and  the  brief  but  glorious  ascendency 
of  Thebes  had  perished  with  him.  Sparta  was 
so  broken  by  the  long  struggle  of  the  war,  that 

she  exhibited  no 
present  symptoms 
of  a  revival. 

The  Athenians 
were  thus  left  in 
a  temporary  pre- 
dominance in  the 
affairs  of  Greece. 
But  a  foe  more 
dangerous  than 
the  hosts  of  Per- 
sia, more  to  be 
dreaded  than  the 
Spartan  Phalanx, 
was  rapidly  sap- 
ping the  founda- 
tion of  Attic  strength.  The  spirit  of  the  peo- 
ple had  given  way  to  fickleness  and  frivolity. 
Patriotism  was  well-nigh  dead.  The  old  heroic 
virtues  were  extinct.  The  new  vices  of  licen- 
tiousness ran  riot  in  the  streets ;  and  even  the 
shrill  clarion  of  Demosthenes  was  unable  to 
evoke  from  the  lethargy  of  his  country,  the  in- 
dignant flash  of  ancient  heroism. 

Nor  were  the  Phocians  and  Thessalians  in 
a  better  condition  to  resist  the  possible  growth 
of  Macedonia.  The  former  people,  brave  and 
daring  as  they  were,  had  exhausted  their  en- 
ergies in  the  conflict?  of  the  Sacred  War,  and 
the  latter  had  been  so  mischievously  governed 
by  Alexander  of  Pherse,  and  were  by  disposi- 
tion so  reckless  and  eager  for  change  as  to 
form  no  bulwark  against  the  designs  of  such  a 


ARISTOTLE.— Museo  ViscoDti, 
Iconographica  Greca. 


prince  as  Philip.  That  discerning  monarch 
readily  perceived  in  the  condition  of  the  Gre- 
cian states  that  Athens,  being  the  most  influ- 
ential, should  be  first  won  to  his  interests. 

Being  by  nature  crafty  and  diplomatic, 
Philip  adopted  the  policy  of  creating  and  fos- 
tering in  Athens  a  Macedonian  party,  upon 
which  he  could  rely  in  the  work  of  extending 
his  influence  over  Greece.  He  accordingly 
espoused  the  Athenian  cause  in  the  Olynthian 
war,  and  aided  the  Greeks  in  regaining  pos- 
session of  Amphipolis.  The  latter,  with  their 
usual  duplicity,  soon  repaid  him  by  inducing 
the  seaport  town  of  Pydna  to  revolt,  and  it 
was  in  vain  that  Philip  remonstrated  against 
the  bad  faith  of  his  allies.  Thus  early  in  the 
relation  of  the  two  powers  was  a  breach  effected 
and  the  seed  sown  of  unending  distrust.  The 
immediate  effect  was  as  unfortunate  for  Athens 
as  it  was  displeasing  to  Philip  ;  for  the  Greeks 
were  obliged,  for  the  time,  to  abandon  the 
siege  of  Amphipolis,  and  to  try  to  save  the 
honor  of  the  state  by  the  capture  of  a  few  un- 
important towns  in  Thrace.  But  what  they 
thus  failed  to  accomplish  by  force  of  arms  was 
soon  effected  by  one  of  their  commanders.  A 
certain  Charidemus,  having  gone  over  to  the 
Olynthians,  succeeded  in  persuading  the  Am- 
fihipolitans  that  their  interests  required  them 
to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  Athens. 

In  the  mean  time  Philip  added  to  the  dig- 
nity and  promise  of  his  court  by  marrying 
Olympias,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Epirus,  a 
princess  of  great  vivacity  and  beauty.  Within 
a  year,  and  on  the  very  day  of  the  announce- 
ment of  a  great  victory  by  his  general,  Par- 
menio,  Philip  received  the  news  that  an  heir 
was  born  to  the  throne  of  Macedon.  It  was 
to  the  king  an  event  of  great  joy.  He  imme- 
diately expressed  his  delight  in  the  following 
letter  the  philosopher  Aristotle,  whom  he  at 
once  selected  as  the  future  teacher  of  his  son : 

" King  Philip  to  Aristotle.  Health!  You 
are  to  know  that  a  son  hath  been  born  to  us. 
We  thank  the  gods  not  so  much  for  having 
bestowed  him  on  us  as  for  bestowing  him  at  a 
time  when  Aristotle  lives.  We  assure  our- 
selves that  you  will  form  him  a  prince  worthy 
to  be  our  successor,  and  a  king  worthy  of 
Macedon.     Farewell." 


MACEDONIA.— REIGN  OF  PHILIP. 


619 


Returning  to  the  relation  of  Philip  to  the 
Greeks,  the  next  important  complications  to 
be  noted  were  those  arising  from  the  Social 
War.  Rhodes,  Chios,  Byzantium,  and  Cos, 
supported  by  king  Mausolus,  rose  against  the 
Athenians  and  entered  into  a  league  for  mu- 
tual defense.  A  declaration  was  published  that 
the  members  of  the  alliance  were  "resolved 
henceforward  to  protect  their  own  commerce 
with  their  own  fleets;  and  wanting  thus  noth- 
ing from  the  Athenian  navy  they  would,  of 
course,  pay  nothing  for  its  support."  At  the 
same  time  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  the 
island  of  Euboea;  and  the  Thebans,  being 
solicited  to  aid  those  in  rebellion,  passed  over 
thither  with  an  army.  But  the  Athenian 
general,  Timotheus,  succeeded  without  great 
difficulty  in  bringing  the  insurgents  to  submis- 
sion, and  as  for  the  Thebans,  who  had  rashly 
rushed  into  the  conflict,  they  wei'e  glad  to 
capitulate  with  the  privilege  of  retiring  from 
the  island. 

At  this  juncture,  however,  and  before  Ti- 
motheus could  proceed  against  the  other  states 
in  insurrection,  the  alarming  news  was  borne 
from  the  North  that  Philip,  justly  angered  at 
the  Athenians  for  having  induced  the  inhab- 
itants of  Pydna  to  revolt  against  him,  had 
made  an  alliance  with  Olynthus,  thus  threat- 
ening the  overthrow  of  Potidsea,  Methone,  and 
all  the  other  dependencies  of  Athens  in  that 
region.  Owing,  however,  to  the  distracted 
condition  of  Attic  public  opinion,  it  was 
thought  better  to  enter  into  negotiations  with 
Philip  and  the  Olynthians  rather  than  to  take 
up  the  sword.  Thus  would  the  Athenians  be 
left  free  to  bring  the  Social  War  to  successful 
conclusion.  Ambassadors  were  accordingly 
dispatched  from  Athens  to  Macedon,  and  a 
counter  embassy  was  presently  sent  by  Philip. 

Not  much  headway  was  made,  however,  to- 
ward the  establishment  of  peace.  The  politic 
Macedonian  king  made  some  concessions  to  the 
Athenians,  especially  by  the  surrender  of  the 
town  Anthemus,  but  he  reserved  his  settled 
purpose  to  wrench  from  the  Greeks,  at  the 
earliest  opportunity,  the  possession  of  Amphi- 
polis.  Nor  was  the  occasion  long  deferred. 
Having  fomented  the  discord  which  already 

existed  in  the  city,  and  strengthened  as  far  as 

N.— Vol.  1—38 


practicable  the  Macedonian  party  among  the 
Amphipolitans,  he  suddenly  besieged  the  place 
and  compelled  a  surrender.  The  Athenian 
party  within  the  walls  was  subjected  to  no 
persecutions.  The  prisoners  were  set  at  lib- 
erty, only  a  few  of  the  more  rampant  leaders 
of  the  Athenian  faction  being  reserved  for 
banishment. 

Having  secured  this  important  conquest, 
Philip  immediately  turned  his  attention  to  the 
two  towns  of  Pydna  and  Potidsea.  In  both 
of  these  cities,  as  well  as  in  all  the  other  Chal- 
cidician  towns,  a  strong  party  remained  at- 
tached to  the  interests  of  the  king,  and  by  a 
prudent  use  of  this  friendly  faction  the  work 
of  subjugation  was  abridged  and  facilitated. 
Such  was  the  influence  of  the  king  with  the 
inhabitants  of  both  Pydna  and  Potidsea  that 
both  places  were  taken  without  any  prolonged 
investment  or  serious  opposition  from  within. 

In  both  captures  Philip  again  displayed  his 
magnanimity.  Indeed,  Potidsea  was  volun- 
tarily restored  to  the  Olynthians,  the  king 
being  careful,  however,  to  protect  the  Athenian 
faction  from  the  rage  of  the  natives.  Hisi 
liberality  extended  even  to  supplying  with  a 
free  hand  the  needs  of  those  who  had  been  sud- 
denly reduced  by  the  capitulation  to  poverty. 
The  effect  of  this  unusual  procedure  was  still 
further  to  strengthen  the  ever-widening  influ- 
ence of  the  Macedonian.  All  the  towns  from 
the  borders  of  Thessaly  to  the  Thracian  Cher- 
sonesus,  acting  of  their  own  accord,  renounced 
their  relations  with  the  Greeks  and  added 
themselves  to  the  dominions  of  the  king.  Even 
in  the  streets  of  Athens  the  praises  of  Philip 
were  freely  spoken  by  his  friends  and  admirers. 

So  great  was  the  embarrassment  of  the 
Greeks,  occasioned  by  the  liberality  of  the 
popular  monarch  of  the  North,  that  the  latter 
was  left  comparatively  free  to  prosecute  what 
plan  soever  he  might  adopt  for  the  further  ex- 
tension of  his  power.  His  next  enterprise 
was  the  conquest  of  Thrace.  The  king  of  this 
country  was  Sitalces — a  kind  of  "genius," 
being  a  mixture  of  ruler  and  rhapsodist.  He 
affected  in  his  government  the  manners  of  the 
East.  He  chose  not  war  as  a  pursuit,  or  to 
devote  himself  to  those  works  which  the  an- 
cients regarded  as  heroic.     To  Iphicrates,  the 


620 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


favorite  Athenian  general,  he  gave  his  daugh- 
ter in  marriage,  trusting  by  this  soft  method 
of  substitution  to  station  a  warrior  between 
himself  and  harm.  Thus  might  he  find  oppor- 
tunity to  retire  with  his  court  to  some  Arca- 
dian river-bank,  and  there  sit  musing  among 
the  flowers  while  the  brutal  race  of  his  fellow- 
men  surrendered  itself  to  the  bloody  intoxica- 
tions of  war.  Albeit  the  king  of  Macedon 
made  short  work  with  this  poetic  sovereign, 
who,  unable  to  meet  the  pupil  of  Epaminondas 
in  the  field,  sent  to  him  a  literary  effusion, 
■with  which  he  thought  to  soften  the  stony 
heart  of  Mars.  But  Mars  and  his  officers 
were  infinitely  amused.  They  laughed  im- 
moderately at  this  new  species  of  tactics,  and 
then  proceeded  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the 
country.^  In  the  course  of  the  expedition  the 
gold  mines  of  Thrace  were  captured  by  the 
Macedonians,  who  immediately  began  to  work 
them  with  such  success  that  Philip's  revenues 
are  said  therefrom  to  have  been  augmented  by 
more  than  a  million  of  dollars  annually. 

The  king  of  Macedon,  caring  nothing  for 
his  friend  Sitalces,  whom  he  had  just  subdued, 
permitted  that  ruler  to  remain  in  nominal  au- 
thority. Scarcely,  however,  had  Philip  with- 
drawn from  Thrace  when  an  insurrection  broke 
out  under  the  leadership  of  Miltocythes.  The 
latter  was  supported  by  the  Athenian  party. 
Nevertheless  Philip,  though  seeing  clearly  that 
the  movement  was  instigated  by  his  enemies, 
permitted  the  revolt  to  take  its  course  until 
Sitalces  was  assassinated  by  a  certain  Python, 
who  thereupon  repaired  to  Athens  and  was 
rewarded  for  the  murder.  Not  even  this  cir- 
cumstance, nor  the  subsequent  persecution  of 
the  infant  son  of  Sitalces  by  the  Athenian 
party,  induced  Philip  to  interfere.  Keeping 
steadily  in  view  the  one  great  purpose  of  ex- 
tending his  authority  over  the  whole  of  the 
Grecian  peninsula,  he  was  willing — even  de- 
sired—  that  the  Athenians  and  Thracians 
should  exhaust  themselves  in  the  struggle,  to 

^  It  was  during  this  campaign  of  Philip  in 
Thrace  that  he  came  upon  the  Thsesian  colony  of 
Crenidae.  Liking  the  situation  of  the  settlement, 
he  dislodged  the  occupants,  and  substituted  in 
their  place  a  company  of  Macedonians.  The  new 
colony  was  named  Philippi — afterward  rendered 
famous  by  the  overthrow  of  Brutus  and  Cassius. 


the  end  that  he  might  be  the  gainer  from 
their  weakness. 

The  events  which  led  to  the  outbreak  of 
the  Sacred  War,  beginning  as  it  did  in  the 
animosity  of  Thebes  and  Phocis,  and  involving 
in  its  course  nearly  all  of  Central  and  most 
of  Southern  Greece,  have  already  been  nar- 
rated in  the  preceding  Book.^  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  the  Phocians,  under  the  lead 
of  the  able  Philomelus,  and  supported,  though 
somewhat  feebly,  by  Archidamus  of  Sparta, 
availed  themselves  of  the  resources  of  the 
Delphic  temple,  organized  an  army  of  merce- 
naries and  defended  themselves  year  after  year 
against  the  assaults  of  the  Thebans  and  their 
allies.  They  even  defied  the  wrath  of  heaven, 
for  the  decree  pronounced  against  them  by  the 
venerable  Amphictyons  was  set  at  naught. 

In  the  struggle  that  ensued  the  Athenians, 
though  nominally  arraying  themselves  with  the 
enemies  of  Phocis,  in  reality  stood  aloof.  For 
their  own  complications  in  the  North,  and 
especially  the  dread  and  suspicion  of  Philip, 
kept  their  attention  directed  to  himward  rather 
than  to  the  vortex  which  was  whirling  around 
Delphi.  There  is  good  ground  for  believing 
that  Athens,  even  at  this  time,  contemplated 
sending  an  invitation  to  Philip  to  interfere  ac- 
tively against  the  defilers  of  the  Delphic  tem- 
ple, and  thus  to  become  a  member  of  the 
Hellenic  body.  Perhaps  the  suggestion  of 
such  a  course  was  inspired  by  the  king  him- 
self, who  greatly  desired  in  this  half-peaceable 
way  to  become  a  participant  in  the  affairs  of 
Greece. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  Philip's  in- 
terest was  more  immediately  excited  by  the 
project  of  adding  Methone  to  his  possessions. 
This  city  was  accordingly  invested,  and  was 
brought  to  the  brink  of  capitulation  before 
the  Athenians  could  interfere.  Nor  did  their 
troops  arrive,  even  at  the  last,  in  time  to  save 
the  Me th on  cans  from  the  clutches  of  their 
adversary.  The  town  was  taken  in  B.  C.  353, 
and  although  the  fortifications  were  razed  to 
the  ground  and  the  lands  divided  among  the 
soldiers,  the  prisoners  were  treated  with  the 
greatest  moderation  and  humanity.  Each  was 
allowed  without  molestation  to  go  quietly  forth 

'  See  Book  Eighth,  p.  605. 


MACEDONIA.— REIGN  OF  PHILIP. 


621 


in  search  of  a  new  home.  Whether  acting 
from  humane  and  philanthropic  motives  or 
merely  from  the  suggestions  of  policy,  the 
conduct  of  the  great  Macedonian  was  in  most 
grateful  contrast  with  that  of  the  other  heroes 
of  his  age. 

It  was  during  the  siege  of  Methone  that 
Philip  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  one  of  his 
eyes.  A  random  arrow  discharged  from  the 
rampart  fell  square  in  the  king's  face  and  de- 
stroyed one-half  of  his  sight.     When  the  ar- 


was  succeeded  by  Onomarchus,  who  in  a  short 
time  effected  an  alliance  with  Lycophron,  gen- 
eralissimo of  Thessaly,  whom  Philip  had  re- 
cently deposed  from  office.  The  issue  was 
thus  made  of  sustaining  Lycophron  by  Pho- 
cian  and  overthrowing  him  by  Macedonian 
influence.  Philip  marched  into  Thessaly,  as 
did  also  Phayllus,  brother  of  Onomarchus.  A 
severe  battle  was  fought  and  the  Phocians 
were  defeated;  but  Onomarchus  immediately 
came  to  the  scene  with  another  army,  and  the 


"ASTOR  TO  PHILIP'S  RIGHT  EYE." 


row-head  was  drawn  away,  it  was  found  to 
contain  the  following  label :  "  Astor  to  Philip's 
right  eye."  It  appeared  on  inquiry  that  the 
unerring  missile  had  been  discharged  by  an 
offended  archer  who  had  recently  offered  his 
services  to  the  king  and  been  rejected.  He 
had  represented  to  Philip  that  his  skill  with 
the  bow  was  so  great  that  he  could  kill  a  small 
bird  on  the  wing.  The  king  not  believing  the 
story  had  put  off  the  applicant  with  the  re- 
mark, "Well,  well,  I  shall  make  use  of  thee 
when  I  go  to  war  with  the  starlings."  Astor 
had  then  joined  the  Methoneans  and  now  vin- 
dicated his  skill  in  a  way  never  to  be  forgotten. 
Meanwhile  the  Phocian  general,  Philomelus, 


victory  was  reversed  by  the  overthrow  of  the 
Macedonians. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  Philip  to  rally  and 
fight  for  his  kingdom ;  for  had  Onomarchus 
successfully  followed  up  the  advantage  gained 
by  the  defeat  of  his  adversary,  the  king  might 
have  been  hard  pressed  to  save  his  crown ;  but 
to  him  the  defeat  which  he  had  sustained  was 
but  a  temporary  reverse.  He  at  once  reorgan- 
ized his  forces  and  augmented  them  to  twenty 
thousand  men.  Onomarchus  again  came  to 
the  contest  with  an  equal  number  of  troops. 
Philip  openly  avowed  his  cause  to  be  that  of 
the  Greeks — the  cause  of  Apollo  and  liberty 
against  irreligion  and  the  despotism  of  a  tyrant. 


629 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Taking  advantage  of  the  superstition  of  tlie 
people,  he  decked  the  heads  of  his  soldiers 
■with  laurel,  the  emblem  sacred  to  Phoebus.  A 
spirit  of  enthusiasm  was  thus  diffused  through 
the  army ;  nor  did  the  Phocians  come  to  the  con- 
flict without  the  highest  incentives  of  battle. 

The  struggle  that  ensued  was  long  and 
bloody.  As  between  the  Macedonian  and 
Phocian  phalanxes,  it  seemed  doubtful  which 
•would  bear  the  other  down.  At  length,  how- 
ever, the  fate  of  the  day  was  decided  by  a 
charge  of  the  Thessalian  cavalry  which  broke 
the  lines  of  Onomarchus,  and  was  the  begin- 
ning of  his  overthrow.  The  Phocians  wavered 
and  then  fled.  They  were  pressed  into  the  sea 
by  the  triumphant  Macedonians.  Nor  did  the 
Athenian  squadron,  which  just  then  hove  in 
sight,  arrive  in  time  to  bring  succor  to  the  fu- 
gitives. Six  thousand  of  the  Phocians  fell  in 
the  battle  and  the  flight.  Onomarchus  him- 
self was  killed  and  his  body  hung  on  a  gibbet, 
Departing  from  his  usual  method  in  victory, 
and  yielding  to  that  despicable  spirit  of  relig- 
ious bigotry,  which  caught  from  the  supposed 
vindictiveness  of  the  gods,  has  in  every  age  con- 
verted men  into  demons,  Philip  gave  his  assent 
to  the  murder  of  the  three  thousand  prisoners 
who  fell  into  his  hands.  The  effect  of  this 
decisive  victory  was  to  reverse  completely  the 
relative  prospects  of  the  two  parties  in  the 
North,  and  still  further  to  open  the  w^ay  for 
the  ambitious  projects  of  the  king.  His  posi- 
tion was  already  such  as  to  enable  him  to  in- 
fluence the  destinies — at  least  indirectly — of 
most  of  the  states  of  Greece.  His  army  was 
the  most  effective  in  all  Europe.  His  soldiers 
believed  in  his  talents  and  courage.  He  had 
shown  himself  capable  of  magnanimity.  Even 
superstition  looked  out  from  under  her  cowl, 
and  gave  him  a  sardonic  smile  as  the  avenger 
of  sacrilege. 

After  the  defeat  and  death  of  Onomarchus, 
the  command  of  the  Phocian  army  was  de- 
volved on  Phayllus.  The  treasures  of  Delphi 
still  sufficed  to  hire  and  equip  armies.  When 
it  was  seen  that  Apollo  did  not  come  down  in 
sublime  anger  to  destroy  the  profaners  of  his 
shrine,  several  of  the  other  states  seemed  to 
have  caught  an  itching  palm  for  a  share  in  the 
divine  resources.     The  pliable  Athens  was  not 


j^roof  against  the  seductions  of  the  sacred  gold, 
and  a  force  of  five  thousand  of  her  citizens 
were  enrolled  under  the  mercenary  banner  of 
Phocis.  The  Achseans,  too,  were  ready  to 
share  the  spoils,  and  sent  a  contingent  to  be 
paid  from  the  Delphic  treasury. 

Notwithstanding  these  preparations,  how- 
ever, the  Thebans  showed  themselves  more 
than  a  match  for  the  heterogeneous  soldiery 
commanded  by  Phayllus.  The  war  continued 
with  varying  successes  until  finally  at  Ch^ro- 
NEA  a  decisive  battle  Was  fought  in  which  the 
Phocians  were  disastrously  routed.  After  this 
the  scene  of  hostilities  was  transferred  to  Pe- 
loponnesus. Sparta  took  up  the  cause  of  Pho- 
cis. Megalopolis  was  besieged,  and  the  adhe- 
rents of  the  sacred  cause  were  hard  pressed, 
until  the  Thebans  came  to  the  rescue. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Athenians  were  busy 
in  planning  trouble  for  Philip  in  Thrace  and 
Thessaly.  Their  most  successful  piece  of  di- 
plomacy was  in  the  instigation  of  the  revolt 
of  Olynthus.  The  king  himself  was  absent  on 
a  campaign  in  Thrace  when  the  news  was 
borne  to  him  of  the  Olynthian  secession.  It 
was  not  easy  to  perceive  for  what  reason  that 
people  had  rebelled  against  his  authority ;  but 
it  is  certain  that  the  Athenians  were  privy  to 
what  Avas  done,  for  they  immediately  de- 
spatched a  fleet  under  the  command  of  Chares 
to  uphold  the  insurgents.  It  was  late  in  the 
year  before  Philip  could  return  from  his  Thra- 
cian  campaign  and  direct  his  attention  to  the 
rebellious  city.  When  he  approached  with  a 
large  army  the  fears  of  the  inhabitants  got  the 
better  of  their  rash  patriotism,  and  they  sent 
out  envoys  to  the  king  to  discuss  the  question 
of  a  settlement.  But  Philip  was  now  thor- 
oughly angered,  and  resolved  to  punish  the 
Olynthians  according  to  their  deserts.  The 
city  was  rigorously  besieged,  and  was  soon 
obliged  to  surrender  at  discretion.  In  this 
case  the  discretion  was  used  with  great  sever- 
ity. Olynthus  was  leveled  to  the  ground.  The 
people  were  made  prisoners  and  sold  by  public 
auction  into  slavery.  No  age  or  sex  was 
spared  by  the  enraged  king,  whose  wrath,  as  is 
alleged,  was  fanned  by  the  philosopher,  Aris- 
totle, who  was  present  at  the  sale,  pointing 
out  to  Philip  the  richest  citizens,  and  suggest- 


MACEDONIA.— REIGN  OF  PHILIP. 


623 


ing  in  what  manner  the  heaviest  ransoms  might 
be  obtained. 

By  this  time  the  power  of  the  king  of  Mace- 
don  was  so  well  established,  and  his  warlike 
fame  had  sounded  so  far,  as  to  make  even  the 
factious  Greeks  wary  of  further  hostilities. 
They  accordingly  made  overtures  for  peace, 
and  sending  a  deputation  of  their  most  distin- 
guished citizens  to  represent  the  state,  opened 
negotiations  with  the  king.  The  two  orators, 
Demosthenes  and  ^schines,  were  the  spokes- 
men on  behalf  of  the  Greeks.  After  some 
length  of  discussion,  in  which  it  is  said  that 
the  former,  owing  to  the  strangeness  of  the 
situation  and  the  importance  of  the  business 
in  hand,  appeared  to  a  great  disadvantage  as 
compared  with  his  rival,  the  conference  was 
adjourned,  and  a  counter  embassy  was  pres- 
ently thereafter  sent  to  Athens  to  make  known 
the  views  of  the  king  respecting  the  terms  of 
peace. 

Then  followed  the  usual  hot  discussions  in 
the  Athenian  assembly,  and  then  in  B.  C.  346, 
five  plenipotentiaries  were  appointed  to  go  to 
Bella,  the  Macedonian  capital,  and  conclude  a 
settlement.  Here  the  terms  of  the  treaty  Avere 
finally  decided.  All  the  states  were  brought 
to  peace  except  Halus,  which  was  excluded  at 
the  dictation  of  Athens,  and  Phocis,  which  Avas 
made  an  exception  by  the  demand  of  Philip. 
Thus  was  a  pacification  effected  between  Ath- 
ens and  Macedonia,  and  Philip  was  freed  to 
bring  the  Phocian  war  to  a  conclusion. 

Accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  treaty  was  made, 
a  decree  Avas  passed  by  the  Athenian  assembly 
declaring  that  unless  the  Phocians  should  at 
once  surrender  the  temple  of  Delphi  to  the 
Amphictyons,  Athens  would  enter  the  league 
against  them.  Philip  himself  addressed  a  let- 
ter of  the  same  tenor  to  his  allies  in  Central 
Greece,  inviting  all  to  join  him  in  bringing  to 
a  sudden  end  the  resistance  of  the  contuma- 
cious Phocians.  This  proposition  Avas  rejected, 
hoAA^ever,  by  the  Athenians,  Avho  greatly  de- 
sired the  friendly  interest  of  Philip  AA'hen  it 
was  manifested  at  a  proper  distance.  Their 
duplicity,  moreover,  soon  led  them  to  open 
negotiations  with  Phocis;  but  the  latter  dis- 
trusted the  overtures  of  her  would-be  ally,  and 
continued  the  Avar. 


It  Avas  at  this  juncture  of  afl^airs  that  the 
scholarly  and  eloquent  Isocrates  gave  to  the 
Greeks  his  elaborate  oration  on  the  condition 
and  true  policy  of  the  country.  On  the  Avhole 
the  theory  of  the  address  Avas  that  the  Greek 
race  should  accept  the  leadership  of  Philip  in 
a  crusade  _  against  barbarism.  A  pacific  tone 
Avas  assumed  throughout,  and  the  idea  of  a 
common  cause  in  Avhich  the  Greeks  and  Mace- 
donians should  embark  against  a  common 
enemy  was  made  predominant.  The  oration 
Avas  after  the  manner  of  the  times  addressed 
to  Philip,  and  concluded  in  the  following 
Avords:  "The  sum  of  Avhat  I  advise  is  this — 
that  you  act  beneficially  toAvard  the  Greeks; 
that  you  reign  constitutionally  over  the  Mace- 
donians; that  you  extend  your  sway  as  Avide 
as  may  be  over 
the  barbarians. 
And  thus  Avill 
you  earn  the 
gratitude  of  all ; 
of  the  Greeks, 
for  the  good  you 
will  do  them ; 
of  the  Macedo- 
nians, if  you 
Avill  preside  over 
them  constitu- 
tionally and  not 
tyrannically; 
and  of  all  oth- 
ers, as  far  as  you  relie\'e  them  from  bar- 
baric despotism,  and  place  them  under  the 
mildness  of  a  Grecian  administration.  Others 
must  haA^e  their  opinions  of  AA'hat  the  times 
require,  and  Avill  judge  for  themselves  how  far 
AA^hat  is  here  Avritten  may  be  adapted  to  them ; 
but  I  am  fully  confident  that  no  one  Avill  give 
you  better  ad\uce  or  any  more  fitly  accommo- 
dated to  the  existing  state  of  things." 

The  eflfect  of  this  able  and  dispassionate 
oration  was  favorable  to  a  general  pacification, 
but  not  on  the  basis  of  the  local  independence 
of  the  Greek  states.  The  positions  assumed 
by  Isocrates  Avere  ably  and  passionately  con- 
troverted by  Demosthenes  and  other  demo- 
cratic orators.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  Philip 
himself  was  at  this  time  especially  anxious  to 
assume   the   office   of  arbiter   in   settling  the 


IbUCKATES. 

Miiseo  Visconti. 


624 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


quarrels  of  his  southern  neighbors.  For  the 
present  he  was  detained  with  his  campaign 
against  Halus.  That  brought  to  a  successful 
conclusion,  he  once  more  turned  his  attention 
to  the  affairs  of  Phocis  and  resolved  to  bring 
the  Sacred  War  to  a  sudden  end. 

Collecting  a  large  army,  Philip  advanced 
by  way  of  Thermopylse  into  Central  Greece. 
Here  he  was  joined  by  the  Thebans.  The 
Phocians  quickly  j)erceived  that  their  day  had 
come.  Athens  was  not  to  be  trusted.  Sparta 
had  designs  of  her  own.  All  Peloponnesus 
was  wavering  toward  the  Macedonian  interest. 
The  Phocian  army  was  now  under  command 
of  Phalsecus,  who,  perceiving  the  hopelessness 
of  the  cause,  offered  to  capitulate.  Philip 
agreed  that  he  should  retii-e  immolested  into 
Southern  Greece.  The  principal  towns  of 
Phocis  were  then  surrendered  to  the  king. 

The  passions  of  the  Thebans  against  those 
who  had  so  long  resisted  them  could  hardly  be 
restrained ;  but  Philip  insisted  that  the  terms 
should  be  observed.  The  general  question  of 
what  should  be  done  Avith  Phocis  and  her  in- 
habitants remained  to  be  settled  by  a  congress 
of  the  states,  which  was  now  convened  by 
Philip  at  Thermopylae.  Before  this  body  the 
most  cruel  demands  were  made  by  the  extreme 
party  of  the  Amphictyons.  The  deputies  from 
CEta  demanded  that  all  the  Phocians  should 
be  hurled  down  from  the  cliffs  about  Delphi ; 
but  Philip  was  less  vindictive  than  Phcebus, 
and  the  penalty  finally  voted  by  the  council, 
though  excessive  in  its  severity,  was  less 
bloody  than  might  have  been  expected. 

The  terms  granted  were  these :  The  Phocians 
should  lose  forever  their  place  in  the  Amphic- 
tyonic  council;  the  three  principal  cities  of 
Phocis  should  be  dismantled,  and  the  remain- 
ing towns  destroyed ;  no  hamlet  should  be 
permitted  of  more  than  fifty  houses,  nor  any 
nearer  to  the  next  than  a  furlong ;  the  heavy 
arms  and  horses  belonging  to  the  people  should 
be  given  up;  finally,  a  tax  of  sixty  talents 
annually  should  be  assessed  upon  the  lands  of 
Phocis  until  all  the  squandered  treasures  of 
the  Delphic  shrine  should  be  replaced.  To 
Philip  was  assigned  the  duty  of  enforcing  the 
conditions;  and  in  order  that  he  might  the 
more  consistently   undertake    the  settlement, 


the  two  votes  hitherto  belonging  to  Phocis  in 
the  council  of  the  Amphictyons  were  trans- 
ferred to  him,  with  full  membership  in  the 
body. 

It  appears  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
anti-Macedonian  party  in  Athens,  nearly  aU 
the  Greeks  were  satisfied  with  the  conditions 
of  peace.  The  moderation  of  Philip  and  the 
general  wisdom  of  the  measures  which  he 
promoted  were  such  as  to  elicit  hearty  praises. 
Even  Demosthenes,  in  his  oration,  On  the 
Crown,  concedes  the  great  popularity  of  the 
king  in  the  time  just  succeeding  the  treaty. 
Diodorus,  who,  however,  was  more  favorable 
to  the  Macedonian  interest,  says:  "Philip, 
after  concurring  with  the  Amphictyons  in 
their  choice  for  the  common  welfare  of  Greece, 
providing  means  for  carrying  them  into  exe- 
cution, and  conciliating  good  will  on  all  sides 
by  his  humanity  and  affability,  returned  into 
his  kingdom,  bearing  with  him  the  glory  of 
l^iety,  added  to  the  fame  of  military  talents 
and  bravery;  in  possession  of  a  popularity 
which  gave  him  great  advantage  for  the  future 
extension  of  his  power." 

The  peace  thus  established  was  generally 
accepted  as  a  finality.  The  smaller  states, 
which  had  long  been  subject  to  the  domination 
of  the  stronger,  found  the  authority  of  Philip 
more  tolerable  than  that  of  their  former  mas- 
ters. All  of  the  Peloponnesian  states  without 
exception  favored  the  new  regime,  and  in 
Central  Greece,  only  Athens  looked  askance 
at  the  preeminent  influence  thus  conceded  to 
the  king. 

The  promising  heir  to  the  throne  of  Mace- 
donia was  now  fourteen  years  of  age.  Aris- 
totle, his  instructor,  resided  at  the  court. 
Upon  him  and  his  influence  over  the  j^rince, 
the  king  bestowed  the  most  anxious  attention. 
The  philosopher  received  royal  honors  at  the 
hands  of  his  liberal  master.  He  was  loaded 
Avith  favors.  His  birthj)lace,  the  town  of  Sta- 
gira,  was  rebuilt  and  beautified  by  the  orders 
of  Philip.  The  monarch,  as  a  farther  mark 
of  consideration,  laid  out  near  Pella  a  spacious 
and  beautiful  park,  in  which  were  shady  walks, 
rustic  seats,  marble  statues,  and  cool  retreats 
iu  which  the  Peripatetics  gathered  to  discuss 
the  origin  of  things  and  the  destiny  of  man. 


MACEDONIA.— REIGN  OF  PHILIP. 


625 


At  this  time  the  most  disturbed  region  ad- 
jacent to  King  Philip's  dominions  was  Thrace. 
In  the  eastern  part  of  this  country  a  leader 
named  Cersobleptes  arose,  and  acting  under 
an  inspiration  from  Athens,  gathered  a  large 
force  of  insurgents.  It  was  found  necessary 
to  bring  a  Macedonian  army  into  the  country 
before  the  rebellion  could  be  suppressed.  The 
work,  however,  was  easily  accomplished,  and 


sickness  and  death  had  been  scattered  through- 
out Greece ;  nor  did  such  reports  fail  to  produce 
the  usual  results.  The  Athenians  seized  the 
opportunity  to  organize  a  fleet  and  send  it 
against  the  maritime  dependencies  of  Macedon. 
Marauding  expeditions  were  made  along  the 
coast,  and  in  defiance  of  the  terms  of  the  recent 
treaty,  the  influence  of  the  Greeks  was  used 
to   induce  revolt  and   dissensions   in   Philip'a 


ARISTOTLE  AND  HIS  PUPIL,  ALEXANDER. 


the  coast  districts  of  Thrace  were  incorporated 
with  Macedonia. 

Soon  afterwards  the  king  undertook  an  ex- 
pedition into  barbarous  Scythia ;  but  the  north- 
ern wilds  proved  to  him  as  they  had  done  to 
Darius,  a  more  formidable  foe  than  a  phalanx 
of  spears  in  an  open  field.  Philip  was  snow- 
bound in  a  desolate  country  where  he  could 
find  no  enemies.  After  his  army  had  been 
brought  to  the  borders  of  starvation  he  was 
glad  with  the  opening  of  spring  to  make  his 
way  back  to  his  own  capital. 

Before  his  return,  however,  rumors  of  his 


kingdom.  The  Athenian  admiral,  Diopithes, 
instigated  by  the  clamors  of  the  assembly,  now 
under  the  lead  of  Demosthenes,  proceeded  to 
positive  hostility,  and  took  by  storm  two  towns 
belonging  to  Philip.  Those  who  escaped  from 
the  assault  were  dispersed  into  the  Cherso- 
nesus,  and  the  Macedonian  envoys  who  were 
sent  to  remonstrate  against  the  outrage,  were 
thrown  into  prison.  In  the  next  place  an 
embargo  was  laid  upon  all  ships  sailing  into 
Macedonian  ports,  by  which  means  the  grow- 
ing commerce  of  the  kingdom  was  suddenly 
cut  off  and  destroyed. 


626 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


While  this  business  was  progressing  in  the 
North,  Demosthenes  entered  into  correspond- 
ence with  Persia,  with  a  view  to  securing  the 
cooperation  of  that  country  against  the  grow- 
ing power  of  Philip.  The  project  was  suc- 
cessful to  the  extent  of  obtaining  from  the 
court  at  Susa  a  large  remittance  of  money  to 
be  used  by  the  Athenians  according  to  their 
discretion.  By  this  means  the  fleets  were 
still  further  strengthened,  and  the  island  of 
Eubsea,  long  alienated  from  Athens,  was  won 
back  to  her  old  relations. 

Meanwhile  Philip  returned  from  his  Scyth- 
ian campaign.  It  is  related  that  as  he  was 
making  his  way  back  to  his  capital  he  was 
attacked  by  a  wild  people  called  the  Triballi, 
in  the  passes  of  the  Msesian  mountains.  So 
sudden  and  fierce  was  the  onset  that  for  a 
while  the  Macedonians  were  well-nigh  over- 
whelmed. Nothing  but  the  desperate  exer- 
tions of  the  king  and  the  valor  of  his  soldiery 
saved  him  from  utter  rout.  Philip  himself 
was  dangerously  wounded  in  the  thigh,  and 
was  about  to  be  taken  when  the  prince  Alex- 
ander, rushed  to  his  side  and  covered  him 
with  his  shield.  Victory  finally  declared  for 
the  Macedonians.  The  barbarians  were  driven 
back  with  great  losses,  but  the  king's  army 
also  suffered  not  a  little,  and  himself  was 
lamed  for  life.^ 

As  soon  as  Philip  was  himself  again  he 
undertook  the  recouquest  of  those  cities  Avhich 
had  revolted  against  him.  His  first  movements 
were  directed  against  Perinthus  and  other 
towns  on  the  Hellespont.  In  this  enterprise, 
however,  he  was,  on  account  of  the  weakness 
of  the  Macedonian  navy,  unable  to  make 
any  headway,  and  the  campaign  had  to  be 
abandoned.  This  want  of  success  greatly  ex- 
hilarated the  Athenians,  and  Demosthenes 
redoubled  his  exertions  to  secure  favorable 
alliances  for  Athens,  and  to  induce  further  de- 
fection among  the  dependencies  of  Macedonia. 


'  Philip  was  greatly  embarrassed  by  his  wounded 
limb.  He  is  reported  to  have  been  sensitive  on  the 
score  of  his  lameness.  It  was  on  this  account  that 
Alexander  indulged  in  his  famous  piece  of  pleas- 
antry at  his  father's  expense :  "  How  can  you,  sir," 
said  the  prince,  "  be  displeased  at  an  accident 
which  at  every  step  serves  to  remind  you  of  your 
valor?" 


At  this  juncture  of  affairs  the  Greek  states 
were  again  thrown  into  commotion  by  the 
prospect  of  Avar  among  themselves.  The  peo- 
ple of  Amphissa,  seeing  in  some  of  the  grounds 
sacred  to  Apollo  a  fine  opportunity  of  garden- 
ing, set  at  defiance  the  old  Amphictyonic 
decree  and  began  to  honor  nature  with  culti- 
vation. This  act  raised  the  cry  of  sacrilege, 
and  another  sacred  war  was  imminent;  but 
the  influence  of  Philip  was  so  great  that  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  Amphictyons  and 
was  thus  brought  into  a  position  to  mitigate, 
if  not  prevent,  the  expected  conflict. 

Athens,  meanwhile,  was  busy  in  creating 
a  coalition  against  Philip.  Thebes  was  induced 
to  join  her.  Corinth,  though  for  many  years 
standing  aloof  from  the  hostile  broils  in  which 
most  of  the  states  had  been  immersed,  gave 
her  adherence  to  the  anti-Macedonians  and 
exhibited  an  unwonted  energy  of  preparation.* 
Philip,  though  cognizant  of  this  unfriendly 
business,  proceeded  in  his  own  way.  He  con- 
vened the  Amphictyons  at  Thermopylae  and 
laid  before  them  the  complaints  against  the 
people  of  Amphissa.  In  obedience  to  the 
order  of  the  council  he  issued  an  edict  requir- 
ing all  the  states  to  furnish  a  contingent  of 
troops  for  the  punishment  of  the  sacrilege  of 
tilling  Apollo's  ground.  The  Athenians  and 
their  allies  were  thus  thrown  into  a  most  un- 
pleasant dilemma.  Either  they  must  answer 
Philip's  call  and  join  him  in  a  crusade  against 
the  Amphissians,  or  else  they  must  array  them- 
selves by  the  side  of  those  who  had  profaned 
the  national  religion.  They  chose  the  latter 
course,  and  actually  sent  ten  thousand  merce- 
naries to  the  aid  of  the  sacrilegious  city !  It~ 
was  done,  not  that  they  loved  the  defilers  of 
Apollo's  lands,  but  dreaded  Philip  of  Macedon. 

The  alliance,  however,  was  of  no  great 
value  to  the  Amphissians.  Against  them  the 
king  at  once  proceeded  and  they  were  soon 


'  A  happy  incident  is  related  of  this  movement 
on  the  part  of  the  Corinthians.  While  they  were 
busily  engaged  in  preparing  for  war,  Diogenes, 
who  now  resided  in  Corinth,  was  seen  anxiously 
and  energetically  rolling  his  tub  from  one  place  to 
another.  When  inquiry  was  made  of  him  why  he 
did  so,  he  replied  that  he  did  not  desire  to  appear 
singular  by  being  the  only  man  in  Corinth  who 
was  not  absurdly  employed ! 


MACEDONIA.— REIGN  OF  PHILIP. 


627 


subdued  and  punished,  but  with  far  less  sever- 
ity than  had  been  visited  upon  the  obstinate 
Phociaus. 

As  soon  as  Philip's  success  had  been  such 
as  to  alarm  the  assembly  at  Athens  that  body 
dispatched  au  embassy  to  the  king  to  complain 
of  his  violation  of  the  treaty!  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  they  themselves  had  violated  it  from  the 
beginning,  and  he  had  observed  the  terms 
with  scrupulous  fidelity.  Still  he  replied  to 
the  envoys,  and  through  them  to  the  Athenian 
people,  with  such  severe  courtesy  as  the  cir- 
cumstances seemed  to  warrant.  His  letter 
was  as  follows: 

"Philip,  King  of  the  Macedonians,  to  the 
Athenian  council  and  people,  greeting.  AVhat 
your  disposition  towards  me  has  been  from  the 
beginning,  I  am  not  ignorant,  nor  with  what 
earnestness  you  have  endeavored  to  gain  the 
Thessalians,  the  Thebans,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Boeotians  to  your  party.  But  now  you  find 
them  too  wise  to  submit  their  interests  to  your 
direction,  you  change  your  course  and  send 
ministers  with  a  herald  to  me  to  admonish  me 
of  the  treaty,  and  demand  a  truce,  having  in 
truth  been  injured  by  me  in  nothing.  Nev- 
ertheless, I  have  heard  your  ambassadors,  and 
consent  to  all  your  desires;  nor  shall  I  take 
any  step  against  you,  if,  dismissing  those  who 
advise  you  ill,  you  consign  them  to  their  de- 
served ignominy.     So  may  you  prosper." 

The  last  clause  of  the  king's  paper,  relating 
to  the  dismissal  of  the  democratic  leaders,  was 
directed  against  Demosthenes  and  his  associates. 
These  were  themselves  now  the  ruling  influ- 
ence in  the  assembly,  and  Philip's  address  was 
not  therefore  likely  to  be  received  with  favor. 
The  passions  of  the  "sovereign  multitude" 
were  swayed  by  the  very  powers  which  were 
to  be  renounced  and  consigned  to  ignominy. 

Meanwhile  the  Thebans,  after  much  waver- 
ing between  interest  and  inclination,  decided  in 
favor  of  an  Athenian  alliance,  and  as  soon  as 
the  league  was  effected  the  assembly  of  Athens 
dispatched  into  Boeotia  a  large  force,  to  oc- 
cupy the  frontier  towns  which  wriuld  lie  first 
in  the  way  of  a  Macedonian  invasion.  Philip 
at  the  head  of  his  forces  took  possession  of  the 
town  of  Elateia,  which  commanded  the  pass 
of  Thermopylse.      While  occupying  this  posi- 


tion he  made  one  further  effort  to  secure  a 
settlement  of  their  diflSculties  without  the 
shedding  of  blood ;  but  his  overtures  were  re- 
garded by  the  allies  as  so  many  symptoms  of 
fear.  The  Macedonian  party,  on  the  other 
hand,  urged  the  king's  sincerity,  as  evidenced 
in  his  previous  course;  and  but  for  the  hot 
appeals  which  were  poured  from  the  popular 
tribunals  peace  might  still  have  been  preserved. 
It  was,  however,  in  Thebes,  rather  than  in 
Athens,  that  symptoms  of  wavering  were  most 
discoverable.  Demosthenes  accordingly  re- 
paired to  the  former  city,  and  poured  out  the 
fiery  torrent  of  his  eloquence  to  persuade  those 
who  faltered  to  stand  fast  in  their  resistance 
to  the  common  foe.^ 

The  allied  army  of  mercenaries  now  thrown 
into  the  field  consisted  of  fifteen  thousand  foot 
and  two  thousand  horse.  The  Boeotian  hop- 
lites  consisted  of  fourteen  thousand,  while  the 
Athenian  division  comprised  nearly  twenty 
thousand  men.  The  army  of  Philip  exceeded 
thirty  thousand,  and  though  inferior  in  num- 
bers to  the  combined  forces  of  the  allies  was 
greatly  superior  to  them  in  discipline  and  or- 
ganization. 

The  battle-field  on  which  the  destinies  of 
Greece  were  now  to  be  decided  was  at  Ch^- 
RONEA.  Here  in  the  summer  of  B.  C.  338 
it  was  to  be  determined  whether  the  old  organ- 
ization, involving  a  multitude  of  petty  and 
independent  states,  should  be  longer  main- 
tained, or  whether  the  expanding  kingdom  of 
the  North  should  dominate  the  whole  penin- 
sula of  Hellas.  The  issue  was  really  decided 
by  the  military  genius  of  Philip,  against  whom 
the  allied  Greeks  could  bring  no  commander 
of  equal  abilities.  The  youthful  Alexander, 
too,  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  contest. 
The  battle  was  long  and  sanguinary.  The 
victory  inclined  to  the  Macedonians.  The  de- 
feat of  the  allied  forces  was  complete  and 
overwhelming.  Philip,  with  his  usual  moder- 
ation, dismissed  the  prisoners  without  punish> 
ment.     The  bodies  of  the  dead  were  sent  to 


^  It  was  in  the  course  of  the  oration  delivered 
on  this  occasion  that  Demosthenes  swore  by  Pallas 
Athene  that  if  any  one  should  dare  to  say  that 
peace  ought  to  be  made  with  Philip  he  would  him- 
self seize  him  by  the  hair  and  drag  him  to  prison. 


628 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Athens  for  burial,  and  the  king  sent  thither 
his  general  Antipater  and  his  son  Alexander 
to  treat  with  the  Athenians  on  the  subject  of 
peace.  He  invited  them  to  renew  the  compact 
which  had  recently  existed  between  Greece 
and  Macedon.  A  counter  embassy  was  re- 
turned to  the  king,  and  the  Greeks  were  only 
too  ready  to  accept  the  favorable  conditions 
which  were  offered. 

As  soon  as  peace  was  reestablished  the  at- 
tention of  Philip  was  directed  to  the  king  of 
Persia.  For  some  time  it  had  been  his  policy 
to  establish  himself  at  the  head  of  a  Hellenic 
confederacy,  and  then  hurl  the  united  forces 
of  Greece  and  Macedonia  upon  the  dominions 
of  the  Great  King,  against  whom  all  the  people 
of  the  West  cherished  so  profound  an  antipa- 
thy. Diodorus,  in  his  account  of  the  course 
pursued  by  Philip  at  this  juncture,  says:  "The 
king,  encouraged  by  his  victory  at  Chseronea, 
by  which  the  most  renowned  states  had  been 
checked  and  confounded,  was  ambitious  of 
becoming  the  military  commander  and  head 
of  the  Greek  nation.  He  declared,  therefore, 
his  intention  of  carrying  war,  in  the  common 
cause  of  the  Greeks,  against  the  Persians.  A 
disposition  to  concur  in  this  purpose  and  to 
attach  themselves  to  him  as  their  chief  per- 
vaded the  Grecian  people.  Communicating 
then  with  all,  individuals  as  well  as  states,  in 
a  manner  to  conciliate  favor,  he  expressed  his 
desire  of  meeting  the  nation  in  congress  to 
concert  measures  for  the  great  object  in  view, 
and  such  a  body  was  accordingly  convened  at 
Corinth.  This  explanation  of  his  intentions 
excited  great  hopes,  and  so  produced  the  de- 
sired concurrence  that  at  length  the  Greeks 
elected  him  generalissimo  of  their  confederate 
powers.  Great  preparations  for  the  Persian 
war  were  put  forward,  and  the  proportion  of 
troops  to  be  furnished  by  every  state  was  cal- 
culated and  determined." 

The  final  scene  in  Philip's  eventful  and  am- 
bitious career  was  now  at  hand.  The  army 
of  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  men, 
raised  by  the  allied  states  to  war  against  the 
Persians,  was  destined  to  be  led  into  Asia  by 
another.  After  his  victory  at  Chseronea  the 
monarch  returned  to  his  capital,  and  in  B.  C. 
336,  occupied   a  brief  interval  with  the  mar- 


riage of  his  daughter  to  Alexander,  king  of 
Epirus.  A  feast  was  made  in  honor  of  the 
occasion.  When  the  banquet  was  at  its  height 
and  Philip,  after  the  manner  of  the  times,  had 
given  himself  freely  to  indulgence,  a  certain 
Pausanias,  who  harbored  a  grudge  against 
the  king  on  account  of  a  supposed  injury, 
plunged  a  dagger  into  his  breast  and  laid  him 
lifeless.  The  assassin  immediately  fled,  but 
before  he  could  make  his  escape  through  the 
city  gates  he  was  overtaken  and  instantly  cut 
down. 

The  causes  of  this  tragic  event,  beyond  the 
petty  resentment  which  the  murderer  was 
known  to  have  felt,  have  never  been  deter- 
mined. The  most  plausible  theory  of  the  as- 
sassination is  that  w'hich  attributes  it  to  the 
revenge  of  Olympias,  who,  in  the  preceding 
year  had  been  discarded  by  the  king.  Philip 
had  chosen  in  her  place  a  maiden  named  Cle- 
opatra, daughter  of  Attains,  one  of  his  gen- 
erals. It  is  said  that  the  conduct  of  Olympias, 
on  hearing  of  the  murder  of  the  king,  was 
such  as  to  warrant  the  susj^icion  that  she  had 
been  privy  to  his  taking  off.  The  sudden  de- 
struction of  the  assassin  prevented  his  divulg- 
ing his  motives,  and  it  is  therefore  not  known 
whether  political  influences  originating  in 
Greece  or  Persia  had  any  thing  to  do  with 
procuring  the  crime. 

Philip  of  Macedon  may  be  fairly  ranked  as 
the  greatest  ruler  of  his  time.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  his  career  he  had  to  battle  with  lim- 
ited resources  to  create  and  consolidate  his 
kingdom.  Such  was  his  success  that  at  the 
close  of  his  reign — though  the  end  was  pre- 
cipitated by  sudden  violence — the  Macedonian 
supremacy  was  established  on  a  basis  not  to  be 
shaken.  Nor  was  it  more  by  force  and  mili- 
tary genius  than  by  the  possession  of  great 
civil  abilities  that  he  gained  his  preeminence. 
He  was  a  diplomatist,  a  thinker,  a  discerner 
of  motives.  His  disposition  was  more  humane 
than  the  age  he  lived  in.  His  self-possession 
was  remarked  by  all  who  came  into  his  pres- 
ence. His  power  of  conversing  and  his  affa- 
ble manners  made  his  company  to  be  sought 
by  the  learned  and  polite.  The  summary 
given  by  Diodorus  respecting  Philip's  charac- 
ter may  be  quoted  with   approval :   ' '  He  es- 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


629 


teemed  mere  physical  courage  and  physical 
strength  in  the  field  as  among  the  lowest  qual- 
ities of  a  superior  officer.  He  set  an  almost 
exclusive  value  on  military  science  as  distin- 
guished from  personal  prowess,  and  not  less  on 
the  talent  of  conversing,  persuading,  and  con- 
ciliating those  over  whom  a  general  might  be 


appointed  to  preside.  Upon  these  qualities  he 
founded  the  only  favorable  opinion  which  he 
entertained  of  himself;  for  he  was  wont  to 
remark  that  the  merit  of  success  in  battle  he 
could  only  share  with  those  under  him,  whereas 
the  victories  he  gained  by  argument,  affability, 
and  kindness  were  all  his  own." 


CHAPTER  L.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


iHEN  Philip  was  assassi- 
nated the  prince  Alex- 
ander was  in  his  twen- 
tieth year.  Doubtless  the 
vague  suspicion  which  as- 
sociated him  with  his  fa- 
ther's murder  wasgi'ound- 
less  and  unjust.  Even  if  Olympias  was  properly 
charged  with  complicity  in  the  crime,  it  is 
not  likely  that  Alexander,  who  was  almost 
constantly  with  his  father,  and  appears  to 
have  been  greatly  attached  to  him,  would  con- 
nive at  his  destruction.  It  is  more  probable 
that  in  so  far  as  the  assassination  had  any  po- 
litical significance,  it  was  based  on  a  scheme 
to  transfer  the  crown  to  Amyntas,  the  son  of 
Antiochus,  and  was  therefore  in  the  highest 
degree  against  the  interest  of  Alexander.  Nor 
was  it  in  accord  with  the  character  of  the 
prince  to  begin  his  career  with  parricide. 

In  accordance  with  custom,  the  new  king 
was  conducted  to  the  throne  with  military 
pomp.  He  addressed  the  Macedonian  nobles 
who  were  assembled  to  witness  the  ceremony 
in  words  well  calculated  to  inspire  confidence. 
He  declared  his  purpose  to  rule  in  accordance 
with  the  policy  adopted  by  his  father,  and 
added  with  great  gravity  :  ' '  The  king's  name 
is  changed,  but  the  king  you  shall  find  re- 
mains the  same."  As  an  earnest  of  his  pur- 
pose, he  retained  his  father's  officers,  both  in 
the  government  and  in  the  army ;  nor  might 
any  one  find  cause  to  complain  on  account  of 
his  own  disparagement  in  the  esteem  and 
honor  of  the  court. 

It  was  not  to  be  apprehended,  however, 
that  a  prince  of  twenty  could  succeed  such  a 


ruler  as  Philip,  whose  powerful  arm  had  made 
his  name  a  terror  to  conspirators,  without  many 
and  serious  trials.  It  was  to  be  expected  that 
not  a  few  of  the  turbulent  peoples  over  whom 
the  father  had  held  sway  would  try  the  cour- 
age and  tempt  the  patience  of  the  son.  At 
this  time,  moreover,  the  influence  of  Persia 
was  constantly  felt  in  the  AVest,  particularly 
in  the  states  of  Greece.  The  agents  of  Darius 
went  everywhere  to  promote  the  interests  of 
their  master  by  creating  confusion  in  the  coun- 
sels of  his  enemies.  The  purpose  of  Philip  to 
invade  Asia  was  well  known  at  the  court  of 
Susa,  and  the  news  of  that  monarch's  death 
was  received  with  delight  by  the  Persian  king, 
who  fondly  imagined  that  the  youthful  succes- 
sor of  the  great  Macedonian  would  be  unable 
to  prosecute  his  father's  ambitious  plans.  The 
emissaries  of  Da:  ins  undjrstood  thoroughly  the 
factious  and  turbulent  spirit  of  the  Greeks,  and 
the  policy  pursued  was  that  of  fanning  the 
slumbering  jealousy  of  the  states  until  it  should 
burst  into  a  flame  of  insurrection. 

The  first  attention  of  the  new  king  was  di- 
rected to  Thessaly.  Of  those  states  included 
within  the  limits  of  Northern  Greece,  this  was 
the  most  powerful  ally  of  the  Macedonians. 
The  agents  sent  out  by  Alexander  found  the 
Thessalians  in  a  loyal  disposition,  and  the 
friendly  relations  existing  between  them  and 
Philip  were  easily  confirmed.  The  civil  and 
military  authority  of  the  state  remained  in  the 
same  hands  as  before.  The  influence  of  Thes- 
saly thus  became  of  great  importance  to  Alex- 
ander, who  was  able  to  use  his  ally  to  good 
advantage  in  securing  the  allegiance  of  the 
other  states. 


630 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


The  next  important  matter  occupying  the 
attention  of  the  young  king  was  the  meeting 
of  the  Amphictyonic  council  at  Thermopylse. 
It  was  necessary  for  Alexander  to  have  con- 
ferred on  him  his  father's  seat  as  ]iresident 
of  that  venerable  body.  This  dignity,  however, 
was  easily  attained  at  the  hands  of  the  Am- 
phictyons,  and  Alexander  immediately  sought 
the  still  higher  honor  of  being  elected  general- 
issimo of  all  the  Greeks.     For  this  purpose  a 


congress  of  the  states  was  called  to  meet  at 
Corinth.  When  the  body  was  assembled,  the 
king  proposed  to  the  delegates  that  the  great 
expedition  against  Persia,  which  had  been  cut 
short  by  the  death  of  his  father,  should  now 
be  resumed,  and  that  himself  should  be  elected 
to  command  the  combined  forces  of  the 
West.  The  proposition  was  readily  assented 
to  by  a  majority  of  the  delegates,  though  not 
without  the  opposition  of  the  Lacedsemonians, 
who  held  that  they  were  restrained  by  an  an- 


cient custom  from  committing   the   command 
of  their  armies  to  another. 

It  appears,  withal,  from  this  circumstance, 
that  the  deliberations  of  the  congress  were  uu- 
trammeled  by  any  fear  of  the  king,  each  state 
being  allowed  to  exercise  the  suffrage  in  its 
own  way.  Thus  was  brought  to  a  successful 
conclusion  the  preliminary  arrangements  by 
which  the  largest  and  most  important  expedi- 
tion ever  undertaken  in  Greece  was  intrusted 
to  a  youth  of  twenty 
years. 

Now  it  was  that  the 
ambitions  of  Alexander 
found  free  scope  for 
exercise.  Preparations 
were  immediately  re- 
sumed for  the  equipment 
of  the  army  for  the 
grand  campaign  into 
Asia.  It  was  perhaps 
fortunate  for  Alexander 
that  at  this  juncture 
difficulties  arose  which 
furnished  an  opportu- 
nity to  test  his  capacities 
and  try  the  mettle  of 
his  soldiery  in  a  field 
near  home.  Before  the 
expedition  could  set  out 
for  Asia  Minor,  ominous 
clouds  gathered  around 
his  kingdom,  and  threat- 
ening invasions  gathered 
on  three  sides  of  the 
realm.  On  the  west  the 
Illyrians  revolted  and 
resumed  their  independ- 
ence. On  the  north  the 
Thracians,  headed  by  the  warlike  tribe  of  Tri- 
balli,  rose  in  arms;  and  on  the  east  the  mis- 
cellaneous nationalities  inhabiting  the  coasts 
and  islands  of  the  Mgean  threw  off  the  re- 
straints of  authority  and  •  again  betook  them- 
selves to  marauding  and  piracy. 

It  was  this  alarming  condition  of  affairs 
which  first  struck  fire  from  the  daring  spuit 
and  military  genius  of  the  young  king.  Has- 
tily dividing  his  forces  he  despatched  Parmenio 
with  one  division  against  the  Illyrians,  while 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


cm 


ixe  himself  at  the  head  of  the  other  proceeded 
against  the  freebooters  of  the  coast.  With 
extraordinary  rapidity  he  fell  upon  those  who 
had  defied  his  authority  and  scattered  them 
in  terror  before  him.  He  pursued  the  fugi- 
tives into  the  mountains  of  Hsemus,  and  gave 
them  no  rest  even  in  the  rocky  defiles  where 
they  had  sought  refuge.  No  campaign  con- 
ducted by  Philip  had  exhibited  such  audacity 
or  been  crowned  with"  such  speedy  success. 

Turning  from  his  expedition  to  the  coast, 
Alexander  next  made  his  way  into  Thrace. 
Here  the  enemy  had  seized  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  and  having  fixed  their  war-chariots 
in  front  of  their  lines  so  as  to  form  a  rampart 
against  the  phalanx,  they  regarded  their  po- 
sition as  impregnable.  It  was  proposed,  more- 
over, should  the  Macedonians  attempt  to 
scale  the  heights,  to  hurl  down  the  chariots  in 
their  faces.  But  Alexander,  nothing  daunted, 
ordered  his  men  to  ascend  the  acclivity,  and 
to  open  their  ranks  for  the  passage  of  any  en- 
gines that  might  be  sent  down  against  them. 
It  is  said  by  Arrian  that  not  a  single  Mace- 
donian was  killed  in  the  charge.  The  heights 
were  carried  and  the  barbarians  scattered  to 
the  winds.  Fifteen  hundred  of  their  dead, 
together  with  all  the  women  and  spoils  of  the 
battle,  were  left  on  the  field. 

The  king  next  turned  his  attention  to  the 
Triballi  whom  he  followed  northward  of 
Hfemus  into  the  great  forests  which  stretch 
out  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Danube.  After 
hunting  the  barbarians  out  of  the  woods,  he 
assaulted  them  and  their  king,  Syrmus,  on 
the  island  of  Pence,  in  the  river  Ister;  but 
for  once  his  audacity  was  overdone.  The 
place  proved  impregnable,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  desist  from  the  attack.  The  Triballi,  how- 
ever, were  glad  to  escape  with  their  lives,  and 
made  no  further  attempt  to  disturb  the  peace 
of  the  kingdom. 

Alexander  next  crossed  the  Danube,  and 
made  a  successful  campaign  against  the  Getse. 
These  people  were  less  warlike  than  the  Tri- 
balli, and  could  offer  no  successful  resistance 
to  the  progress  of  the  Macedonians.  The 
whole  country  was  speedily  overrun ;  the 
capital  was  destroyed  and  the  tribes  subdued. 
Returning  to  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  the 


king  was  met  by  a  humble  embassy  from 
Syrmus,  who  begged  that  he  and  his  people 
might  have  peace.  Likewise  came  envoys 
from  the  Celts  dwelling  on  the  Ionian  bay. 
They  too,  though  representing  a  haughty  and 
warlike  race,  sought  the  favor  of  Alexander, 
and  were  received  as  friends  and  allies.^ 

Alexander  next  directed  his  course  against 
the  revolted  Illyrians.  Marching  with  great 
rapidity  into  their  country,  he  penetrated  to 
the  capital,  Pellion,  which  he  seized  before 
the  insurgents  were  well  aroused  to  a  sense  of 
their  danger.  The  Illyrians,  however,  and 
the  Taulantians,  who  had  joined  them,  trusted 
rather  to  the  defensible  position  which  they 
had  chosen  among  the  hills  than  to  the  risks 
of  a  battle.  They  therefore  waited  to  be  at- 
tacked, and  it  was  some  time  before  Alexan- 
der could  bring  them  to  an  engagement.  At 
last,  however,  he  assaulted  them  in  their  po- 
sition, and  they  were  quickly  dispersed.  The 
leaders  of  the  revolt  thereuj^on  made  over- 
tures for  peace,  which  were  readily  accepted 
by  the  king.  News  had  already  been  carried 
to  him  of  a  troublous  state  of  aflTairs  in 
Greece,  whereat  Alexander  was  so  greatly 
disturbed  that  he  speedily  withdrew  from 
Illyria  and  returned  to  Macedon. 

After  the  death  of  Philip,  the  anti-Mace- 
donian party  in  the  Greek  states  became  more 
active  than  ever.  Especially  were  the  radical 
energies  of  Demosthenes  vehemently  directed 
against  the  young  king  of  the  North.  Every 
motive  which  envy  and  revenge  could  suggest 
was  busily  and  persistently  paraded  to  incite 
insurrection  among  the  southern  dependencies 
of  Macedonia.  Thebes  took  fire.  This  state, 
after  the  battle  of  Chseronea,  had  been  reduced 
to  a  condition  of  vassalage.  The  people, 
naturally  proud  and  headstrong,  chafed  under 
the  domination  of  Macedonia,  and.  Greek- 
like, were  ready  at  the  first  opportunity  to 
break  into  revolt.  It  was  in  anticipation  of 
such  an  emergency  that  in  the  very  year  of 

^  It  is  related  that,  in  the  interview  of  Alexan- 
der with  the  Celtic  ambassadors,  he  inquired 
what  might  be  the  cause  of  their  alarm,  expecting 
the  flattering  answer  that  they  dreaded  his  name. 
What,  therefore,  was  his  chagrin  on  being  told 
that  the  thing  which  the  Celts  most  feared  was 
that  the  sky  might  Jail  on  their  heads  and  bury  them! 


632 


UNIVERSAL  HISTOEY.—THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GEE  AT. 


633 


Alexander's  accession  a  garrison  had  been,  by 
the  order  of  the  Amphictyons,  established  in 
the  Theban  citadel.  The  two  commanders  of 
this  body  of  guards  were  Amyntas  and  Timo- 
laiis.  The  first  was  a  Theban  and  the  second 
a  Macedonian.  Both,  believing  in  the  peace- 
able disposition  of  the  citizens,  took  up  their 
quarters  in  the  town  instead  of  the  citadel. 
Meanwhile  a  sedition  was  fomented  in  Athens, 
and  certain  Theban  exiles  residing  there  were 
instigated  to  return  to  their  own  city  and 
head  an  insurrection.  Accordingly,  in  the 
dead  of  night,  Amyntas  and  Timolaiis  were 
beset  in  their  quarters  and  killed.  Heralds 
then  ran  through  the  town,  proclaiming  that 
Alexander  was  dead,  and  urging  the  citizens 
to  attack  and  destroy  the  Macedonian  garrison. 

Hearing  of  this  condition  of  affairs,  Alex- 
ander came  down  with  all  haste  from  the 
North,  and  marched  into  Bceotia.  Before  the 
Thebans  could  prepare  resistance,  the  king 
was  upon  them.  They  were  incredulous,  and 
refused  to  believe  that  he  who  but  a  few  days 
before  had  been  proclaimed  dead  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Illyria  was  actually  at  their  doors 
with  a  Macedonian  phalanx.  Thinking  that 
the  advance  was  some  company  of  marauders, 
they  sent  out  a  body  of  cavalry  and  peltasts 
to  confront  them.  Alexander,  acting  with 
great  moderation,  made  proclamation  that  the 
infatuated  multitude  should  cease  from  their 
rash  hostility  and  return  to  their  allegiance. 
When  the  demagogues  who  had  control  of  the 
city  would  not  hear  to  the  proposed  settle- 
ment, the  king  advanced  his  army  to  the  city 
gates,  and  stood  ready  for  action.  For  it  was 
believed  that  the  Macedonian  party  in  Thebes 
would  presently  assert  itself,  and  that  the 
storming  of  the  town  would  thus  be  avoided. 

But  while  matters  stood  in  this  attitude  a 
party  of  the  besiegers,  under  command  of 
Perdiccas,  being  close  to  the  city  wall,  discov- 
ered the  means  of  scaling  the  rampart,  and, 
without  waiting  for  orders,  began  an  assault. 
They  fought  their  way  into  the  heart  of  the 
city,  but  the  Thebans  rallied  in  great  num- 
bers and  the  assailants  were  driven  back. 
Retreating  through  the  gates,  the  Macedonians 
were  pursued  by  the  rash  throng  of  citizen 
soldiers,  who  recklessly  pressed  on  until  they 


struck  the  phalanx,  which  Alexander  had 
drawn  up  to  resist  them.  Against  this  im- 
movable wall  the  Thebans  dashed  themselves, 
and  were  hurled  back  in  confusion.  A  battle 
was  now  fairly  on.  The  Macedonians  followed 
the  insurgents  into  the  city. 

The  besieged  garrison  now  poured  out  of 
the  citadel,  and  the  discomfiture  of  the  The- 
bans was  soon  complete.  Great  numbers  were 
slaughtered  in  the  streets.  The  auxiliaries  in 
Alexander's  army,  burning  with  the  recollec- 
tion of  wrongs  which  they  had  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  the  Thebans  in  the  times  of  Pelopi- 
das,  gave  free  rein  to  their  passions,  and  made 
an  indiscriminate  butchery  of  the  inhabitants. 
Nor  did  the  violence  of  the  victors  cease  with 
the  bloody  tragedy  by  which  the  town  was 
taken.  A  congress  of  the  confederate  states 
was  presently  convened,  and  decrees  of  relent- 
less barbarity  were  passed  against  Thebes  and 
her  people.  It  was  solemnly  resolved  that  the 
Theban  name  should  be  blotted  out ;  that  the 
city  should  be  destroyed ;  that  the  women  and 
children  should  be  sold  into  slavery  ;  that  the 
territory  should  be  parceled  out  to  the  allies 
and  to  those  of  the  natives  who  had  main- 
tained their  allegiance  to  Macedonia ;  and 
that  the  citadel  should  be  held  by  a  garrison 
in  the  Macedonian  interest. 

The  character  of  Alexander  was  illustrated 
in  the  enforcement  of  the  act  of  the  congress. 
Much  of  the  severity  of  the  edict  was  abated. 
Especially  where  the  interests  of  literature 
and  art  were  concerned  did  the  king  act  the 
magnanimous  part.  The  house  of  the  poet 
Pindar  was  not  demolished,  and  even  his  rela- 
tives were  spared  from  persecution.  In  other 
respects  the  decree  was  enforced,  and  Thebes 
was  extinguished.  Six  thousand  of  her  peo- 
ple had  perished  in  battle,  and  thirty  thou- 
sand were  sold  into  slavery.  It  is  said  that 
the  mind  of  Alexander  was  haunted  not  a 
little  with  the  recollection  of  these  atrocities 
perpetrated  against  the  Thebans,  and  that  he 
attempted,  as  far  as  lay  in  his  power,  to  make 
amends  by  the  bestowal  of  favors  upon  those 
who  survived  the  destruction  of  the  state. 

Great  was  the  alarm  at  Athens  when  it 
was  known  that  Thebes  had  been  taken  and 
destroyed.     It  was  confidently  expected  that 


634 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Alexander,  well  knowing  that  the  Theban  re- 
volt had  been  instigated  by  the  Athenians, 
would  at  once  proceed  to  inflict  on  them  the 
punishment  which  they  had  provoked.  An 
assembly  was  immediately  called  in  the  terri- 
fied city,  and  an  embassy  was  dispatched  to 
the  king  congratulating  him  on  his  safe  return 
from  Illyria  and  his  success  in  exterminating  the 
Thebans !  So  great  was  the  difference  in  their 
feelings  towards  Alexander  dead  and  Alex- 
ander living!  The  king  made  answer  to  the 
embassy,  accepting  their  compliment ;  but  at 


tors,  and  promising  themselves  to  try  and 
punish  their  leaders  for  the  seditious  counsel 
which  they  had  been  in  the  habit  of  giving. 
To  this  Alexander  acceded,  but  made  it  a  con- 
dition that  Charidemus,  who  had  acted  as  a 
Greek  spy  at  the  court  of  Philip,  should  be 
banished  from  the  country.  The  king  indeed 
was  anxious  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible  to 
bring  all  Greece  to  a  state  of  quiet  to  the  end 
that  he  might  enter  upon  the  prosecution  of 
those  larger  plans  which  he  had  inherited  from 
his  father. 


THEBANS  AND  MACEDONIANS  IN  BATTLE. 


the  same  time  he  sent  a  letter  to  the  Athe- 
nians telling  them  that  their  friendly  feelings 
would  be  reciprocated  on  condition  of  the  sur- 
render by  them  to  him  of  ten  of  their  leaders, 
whom  he  named.  The  list  included  Demos- 
thenes, Lycurgus,  Hyperides,  Polyeuctus, 
Charites,  Charidemus,  Ephialtes,  Diotemus, 
and  Merocles.  The  city  was  thrown  into  great 
confusion  by  the  demand.  It  is  said  that  De- 
mosthenes, being  in  terror,  gave  Deraades  five 
talents  to  intercede  for  him  with  Alexander. 
The  Athenians  sent  back  another  embassy, 
begging  the  king's  indulgence  for  their  ora- 


Returning  to  his  own  capital  Alexander 
diligently  renewed  his  preparations  for  the 
invasion  of  Asia.  In  this  work  he  spent  the 
winter  of  B.  C.  335-334,  and  Avith  the  open- 
ing of  spring  found  himself  in  readiness  to 
proceed  with  his  campaign.  His  army  con- 
sisted of  but  thirty -five  thousand  men,  but 
these  were  thoroughly  drilled  and  hardened 
by  the  severe  discipline  of  exposure  and  war. 
They  Avere  mostly  veterans  who,  under  Philip, 
had  learned  to  overcome  all  obstacles,  and 
who  now,  under  Philip's  son,  had  come  to 
share  his  courage  and  ambitions. 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


635 


The  Macedonian  advance  began  from  Pella 
to  Sestos  on  the  Hellespont.  Here,  at  the 
tomb  of  Protesilaiis  Alexander  offered  sacrifices. 
Then  flinging  himself  into  a  galley  he  bade 
adieu  to  the  shores  of  Europe,  and  was  rowed  to 
the  opposite  coast.  Arriving  in  Asia,  he  first 
visited  the  site  of  ancient  Troy.  Thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Iliad,  he  paused 
to  make  offerings  in  the  temple  of  Minerva, 
and  from  this  shrine  he  obtained  a  suit  of 
armor  which  tradition  said  had  been  preserved 
from  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war.  In  the 
place  of  this  he  dedicated  to  the  goddess  one 
of  his  own  coats-of-mail,  which  was  hung  up 
in  the  temple. 

Meanwhile,  the  Persian  king  appeared  to 
take  no  alarm  on  account  of  the  Macedonian 
lion  who  had  entered  his  dominions  at  a 
bound.  The  crossing  of  the  Hellespont  had 
been  made  without  opposition,  though  the 
Persian  fleet  far  outnumbered  any  armament 
that  Alexander  could  have  brought  against  it. 
No  general  preparations  had  been  made  by  the 
court  of  Susa  to  resist  the  impending  inva- 
sion. The  defense  of  the  western  provinces 
had  been  left  to  their  respective  satraps,  while 
the  Greek  cities  on  the  coast  had  been  in- 
trusted to  the  guardianship  of  the  Rhodian 
general,  Memnon.  The  carelessness  of  Da- 
rius and  his  ofiicers  in  permitting  the  actual 
invasion  to  begin  without  taking  measures 
necessary  to  repel  it  Avas  little  less  than  a 
blind  infatuation  of  security  for  which  the 
Persian  Empire  was  presently  to  pay  a  ruin- 
ous price. 

Alexander  greatly  desired  to  try  the  mettle 
of  the  Persians,  rather  than  of  the  Greeks 
inhabiting  the  Ionian  cities.  He  also  had  a 
respect  for  the  military  abilities  of  Memnon, 
but  none  at  all  for  the  prowess  of  the  average 
satrap.  He,  therefore,  made  his  way  first 
along  the  shores  of  the  Propontis  in  a  north- 
easterly direction,  and  thus  came  into  the 
province  of  Lower  Phrygia,  of  which  Arsites 
was  the  governor.  To  him  Memnon  sent  a 
most  excellent  piece  of  advice  to  the  effect 
that  the  satrap  should  lay  waste  the  coun- 
try in  advance  of  Alexander,  and  avoid  a 
battle.     But   Arsites  had   an  army   of   more 

than  forty  thousand  men,   and   was   himself 

N. — V^ol.  I — 39 


not  devoid  of  courage.  He  therefore  an- 
swered that  not  a  house  should  be  burned, 
nor  an  article  of  property  be  destroyed  within 
the  limits  of  his  satrapy.  This,  of  course, 
meant  battle,  and  the  day  was  at  hand. 

For  delay  was  not  in  Alexander's  nature. 
He  pressed  forward  rapidly  to  the  river  Gran- 
icus,  and  came  upon  the  stream  near  the  town 
of  Zelia.  On  the  opposite  bank  the  Persian 
army  was  already  encamped;  for  Arsites, 
knowing  the  route  of  Alexander,  had  taken 
advantage  of  the  stream  to  oppose  his  passage. 
When  Alexander  reached  the  bank  he  was 
for  giving  immediate  battle  ;  but  at  this  junc- 
ture the  veteran  Parmenio,  who  knew  better 
than  the  impetuous  young  king  the  hazards 
of  war,  advised  his  master  not  to  attempt  the 
crossing  of  the  stream  in  the  face  of  such  an 
enemy.  But  the  king  was  not  to  be  foiled  in 
his  purjDOse.  With  a  vision  more  far-reaching 
than  that  of  Parmenio,  he  saw  that  immedi- 
ate and  victorious  battle  was  the  thing  now 
needed  to  fire  the  spirits  of  the  Macedonians 
and  to  strike  terror  into  the  foe.  To  his  vet- 
eran general's  admonition  he  therefore  re- 
plied:  "Your  reflections  are  just  and  forci- 
ble ;  but  would  it  not  be  a  mighty  disgrace  to 
us,  who  so  easily  passed  the  Hellespont,  to  be 
stopped  here  by  a  contemptible  brook?  It 
would,  indeed,  be  a  lasting  reflection  on  the 
glory  of  the  Macedonians  as  well  as  on  the 
personal  bravery  of  their  commander ;  and 
besides,  the  Persians  would  forthwith  consider 
themselves  our  equals  in  war,  did  we  not  in 
this  first  contest  with  them  achieve  something 
to  justify  the  terror  which  attaches  to  our 
name." 

So  it  was  determined  to  give  battle  with- 
out delay.  Parmenio  was  appointed  to  the 
left  wing;  Philotas,  to  the  right.  Here  also 
Alexander  himself  took  his  station.  The 
preparations  made  by  the  Macedonians  were  all 
in  plain  view  of  the  Persians  on  the  opposite 
bank.  Discovering,  from  the  armor  and  dec- 
orations of  Alexander's  principal  officers,  in 
what  part  of  the  lines  the  king  was  to  com- 
mand, the  Persians  drew  up  their  best  cohorts 
opposite  where  the  great  Macedonian  must 
cross  the  river.  This  movement  on  the  part 
of   the    enemy  was    altogether    agreeable   to 


636 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Alexander,  who  was  complimented  by  this  dis- 
position of  the  Persian  forces.  He  saw  more- 
over that  if  he  should  be  able  to  break  that 
part  of  the  enemy's  line  which  had  been 
strengthened  to  resist  him  personally,  the  rest 
would,  in  all  probability,  after  the  manner  of 
Asiatics,  fall  into  confusion  and  fly  from  the 
field.  He  accordingly  determined  to  charge 
through  the  river  and  into  the  face  of  the 
foe.  The  first  body  consisting  of  the  peltasts 
and  cavalry  rushed  through  the  stream  and 
up  the  opposite  banks.  Here  they  were  met 
by  the  Persians  in  superior  numbers  and  after 
a  brief  struggle  were  driven  back.  The  time 
thus  gained,  however,  enabled  Alexander  to 
cross  with  the  main  division  of  heavy-armed 
soldiers. 

The  fight  now  began  in  earnest.  For  some 
time  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  the  Macedo- 
nians could  force  the  enemy  from  their  posi- 
tion. Alexander  exhibited  the  greatest  per- 
sonal bravery.  He  was  in  the  thickest  of  the 
fight  and  when  his  lance  was  broken  quickly 
supplied  its  place  with  another.  He  charged 
with  the  greatest  impetuosity  and  with  his 
own  hand  killed  the  commander  of  the  Per- 
sian cavalry.  At  one  time  he  was  surrounded 
by  the  enemy  and  beaten  down,  and  was 
barely  rescued  by  some  courageous  friends. 
At  length  the  Persian  cavalry  broke  and  fled 
ignominiously. 

In  the  mean  time  Parmenio  crossed  with 
the  left  wing,  and  had  with  greater  ease  gained 
a  footing  on  the  opposite  bank.  The  opposing 
Persian  lines  had  here  been  weakened  to 
strengthen  their  left,  opposed  to  Alexander. 
It  thus  happened  that  Parmenio  had  a  less 
desperate  struggle  for  victory  than  did  Alex- 
ander. The  Persians  were  scattered  from  all 
parts  of  the  field,  and  the  Greek  mercenaries 
under  Omares  were  soon  borne  down  by  the 
phalanx,  and  either  killed  or  captured.  Of 
the  Persians  fully  ten  thousand  were  slain  in 
battle.  Spithridates  and  Mithrobazanes,  gov- 
ernors of  Lydia  and  Cappadocia,  Mithrides,  a 
son-in-law  of  Darius,  Pharnaces,  the  queen's 
brother,  Omares,  general  of  the  mercenary 
Greeks,  and  many  other  nobles  and  distin- 
guished men,  were  among  the  slain.  It  is 
stated  the  loss  on    the   side  of  the   Macedo- 


nians amounted  to  no  more  than  one  hundred 
and  twenty.^ 

Alexander  at  once  gathered  the  spoils  of 
the  battle-field  and  sent  a  portion  to  each  of 
the  states  represented  in  the  expedition.  The 
present  in  each  case  was  sent  with  the  request 
that  the  spoils  should  be  devoted  as  a  memo- 
rial of  the  joint  success  of  the  Macedonians 
and  Greeks  against  the  enemy  of  both.  The 
factious  Athenians,  who  had  as  a  matter  of 
fact  so  many  times  broken  faith  both  Avith  the 
king  and  his  father,  were  specially  remem- 
bered in  the  distribution  of  trophies.  Three 
hundred  suits  of  complete  armor,  stripped 
from  the  bodies  of  the  Persian  dead,  were 
sent  to  Athens  to  be  hung  up  in  the  temple 
of  Pallas  Athene ;  and  to  accompany  this  gift 
the  avenger  of  Europe  on  Asia  dictated  the 
following  inscription:  "Alexander,  son  of 
Philip,  and  the  Greeks,  excepting  the 
Lacedemonians,  offer  these,  taken  from 

the  barbarians    of  ASIA." 

The  battle  of  the  Granicus  made  more 
easy  the  future  progress  of  the  conqueror. 
The  terror  of  his  name  preceded  him,  and 
town  after  town  fell  into  his  power.  Resis- 
tance almost  ceased,  insomuch  that  where  the 
king  had  expected  hard  conflicts  he  met  no 
opposition.  Dascylium,  the  Bithynian  capital, 
threw  cpen  her  gates  to  Parmenio.  Sardis, 
the  rich  metropolis  of  Lydia,  strong  both  by 
nature  and  military  preparation,  was  surren- 
dered with  obsequious  readiness.  The  satrap, 
Mithranes,  accompanied  by  the  dignitaries 
of  the  city,  went  out  and  met  Alexander 
seven  miles  beyond  the  gates,  and  humbly 
implored  his  considerate  mercy  for  themselves 
and  their  subjects. 

From  Sardis  Alexander  moved  forward 
to  Ephesus  and  Miletus.  In  both  of  these 
cities  the  strife  of  the  Persian  and  Macedo- 


^  It  is  said  that  Alexander  was  deeply  affected 
by  the  loss  of  those  slain  in  his  first  battle. 
Twenty-five  of  the  royal  guards,  mostly  young  men 
of  fiery  spirit  like  himself,  fell  in  the  conflict  near 
the  person  of  their  king.  He  ordered  statues  of 
the  valiant  soldiers  to  be  cast  by  Lycippus  and 
placed  in  the  city  of  Dium,  Macedonia.  He  also 
gave  to  the  parents  and  other  relatives  of  those 
who  fell  at  the  Granicus  the  freedom  of  their 
respective  cities;  and  the  children  of  his  dead 
soldiers  were  forever  exempted  from  taxation. 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


637 


oian  factions  had  risen  to  such  a  height  as  to 
portend  massacre  and  destruction.  Never  was 
the  prudence  of  Alexander  displayed  to  a 
better  advantage  than  in  the  settlement  of 
these  internal  broils.  Assuming  the  office  of 
mediator,  he  behaved  with  such  moderation 
and  liberality  as  to  secure  the  confidence  even 
of  the  democracy.  He  established  and  con- 
firmed the  government  of  the  cities  in  a  man- 
ner so  little  selfish  as  to  substitute  good  order 


selfish — or  remitting  the  tax  altogether — which 
would  have  been  unwise — required  a  continu- 
ation of  payment,  and  directed  that  the  whole 
revenue  should  be  used  in  restoring  the  tem- 
ple of  Diana — a  measure  well  calculated  to 
stimulate  the  patriotism  and  flatter  the  pride 
of  the  Ephesians. 

Of  still  greater  importance,  alike  to  Alex- 
ander and  the  Persian  king,  was  the  city  of 
Miletus.     Of   all    the    seaports    belonging    to 


ALEXANDER  IN  PERIL  OF  HIS  LIFE. 
Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


for  anarchy  and  prosperity  for  destructive 
turmoil.  At  Ephesus  he  greatly  heightened 
his  popularity  by  a  politic  measure  respecting 
the  tribute.  Hitherto  the  city  had  been  bur- 
dened with  a  heavy  annual  tax,  which  went 
to  the  satrap  of  the  province.  At  the  times 
when  Ephesus  was  subject  to  Athens  and 
Sparta,  the  tribute  had  been  paid  to  them. 
So  that  to  the  Ephesians  the  temporary  lib- 
erty which  they  gained  by  the  Ionian  revolt 
amounted  merely  to  a  change  of  masters. 
Alexander,  however,  instead  of  exacting  the 
tribute  for  his  own — which  would  have  been 


Persia  on  the  -^gean,  this  was  the  most  valu- 
able and  necessary.  For  Darius  already  had 
a  large  armament  in  the  western  seas,  and  the 
free  communication  of  the  conqueror  with  his 
own  country  was  thus  endangered.  To  gain 
possession  of  Miletus  was,  therefore,  a  matter 
of  prime  importance  to  Alexander,  and  to 
lose  it  a  serious  disaster  to  the  king  of  Persia. 
As  soon  as  the  Macedonian  could  settle  affairs 
in  Ephesus,  he  accordingly  set  out  for  Miletus. 
On  his  arrival  he  at  once  began  a  siege ;  for 
the  Milesians  were  not  so  ready  to  surrender 
their  citv  as  had  been  the  citizens  of  Rardis. 


638 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


It  required,  however,  but  a  short  time  for  the 
walls  to  be  knocked  down  by  the  battering- 
rams  and  the  garrison  dispersed.  Such  was 
the  fame  of  invincibility  which  already  at- 
tached to  the  name  of  Alexander  that  the 
Persian  fleet,  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Miletus, 
made  no  effort  to  save  the  city  from  falling. 
Thus  was  Miletus  added  to  the  trophies  of 
Macedonia. 

In  the  mean  time,  Memnon  had  given 
special  attention  to  the  defenses  of  Halicar- 
nassus,  and  the  garrison  was  thoroughly 
drilled  in  anticipation  of  an  attack.  On  ar- 
riving before  the  city,  Alexander  found  that 
the  walls  were  surrounded  with  a  ditch  thirty 
cubits  in  width  and  fifteen  cubits  deep.  It 
was  necessary  that  this  should  be  filled  up  be- 
fore the  rams  could  be  brought  to  bear  on  the 
ramparts.  The  garrison  was  vigilant,  .and 
from  the  walls  discharged  every  species  of 
missile  upon  the  assailants.  But  the  siege  was 
pressed  with  vigor,  and  Memnon  was  soon 
brought  to  such  straits  that  he  found  it  neces- 
sary to  withdraw  by  night.  In  doing  so  he 
set  fire  to  his  enginery  to  prevent  it  from 
falling  into  the  hands  of  Alexander.  By  this 
means  a  portion  of  the  city  was  burned.  The 
king  took  possession  without  further  resistance, 
and  with  his  usual  moderation  quieted  the 
alarm  of  the  people.  The  citadel  was  still 
held  by  a  portion  of  the  forces  of  Memnon. 
but  Alexander,  not  deeming  it  prudent  to 
consume  time  in  the  reduction  of  the  place, 
left  Ptolemy  with  a  body  of  three  thousand 
men  to  keep  the  province  in  subjection,  and 
appointed  the  princess  Ada,  who  had  put  her- 
self under  his  protection,  to  be  regent  of 
Caria  while  he  should  prosecute  his  campaign. 

The  next  point  to  which  the  conqueror 
directed  his  march  was  the  city  of  Tralles. 
This  place  was  speedily  reduced,  and  the  ex- 
pedition was  then  directed  into  Phrygia.  The 
winter  was  now  at  hand,  and  according  to  all 
precedent  military  operations  must  cease. 
Not  so,  however,  with  Alexander,  who  in- 
formed his  army  of  his  intention  to  continue 
the  campaign  eastward,  so  that  if  Darius 
should  accept  the  challenge  he  might  meet 
him  in  the  following  spring  on  the  confines  of 
Syria.     To  quiet  all  discontent,  however,  he 


gave  free  permission  to  all  who  had  been  re- 
cently married  to  return  to  their  wives  and 
spend  the  winter  months  in  Macedonia.  Three 
of  his  generals — Ptolemy,  Coenus,  and  Me- 
leager — were  of  this  number,  and  to  them  he 
gave  the  command  of  the  division  which  was 
to  return  home.  He  then  ordered  Parmenio 
to  take  his  station  at  Sardis,  so  as  to  preserve 
an  uninterrupted  line  of  coinmunication  be- 
tween Macedonia  and  the  army. 

With  the  remainder  of  his  forces  Alexander 
now  set  out  through  Lycia  and  Pamphylia. 
His  object  was  by  the  reduction  of  all  the 
seaport  towns  to  make  the  Persian  fleet  use-" 
less;  for  without  friendly  harbors  a  squadron 
in  these  waters  could  do  no  harm.  In  his 
progress  through  the  coast  provinces  the  four 
principal  cities — Telmissus,  Pinara,  Xanthus, 
and  Patara — made  voluntary  submission,  and 
more  than  thirty  of  the  smaller  towns  sent 
embassies  and  made  their  peace  with  the  con- 
queror. Phaselis,  the  capital  of  Lower  Lycia, 
tendered  him  by  the  hands  of  her  ambassadors 
a  golden  crown,  and  solicited  his  friendship 
and  protection.  All  the  province  was  brought 
into  submission,  and  particularly  was  a  certain 
fortress,  held  by  the  barbarous  Pisidians,  re- 
duced by  assault  and  the  garrison  expelled 
from  the  country. 

Meanwhile  the  enemies  of  the  king,  unable 
to  oppose  him  in  the  field,  undertook  to  secure 
his  destruction  by  treachery.  The  scheme 
was  worthy  of  its  authors.  A  certain  son  of 
the  Macedonian  prince,  Aeropus,  also  named 
Alexander,  whom  the  great  Alexander  on  hi? 
accession  to  the  throne  had  admitted  to  his 
friendship,  was  now  made  the  tool  of  a  con- 
spiracy by  which  the  king  was  to  be  put  out 
of  the  way.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Amyntas,  who  was  himself  a  claimant  to  the 
throne,  had  fled  to  the  Persian  court,  from 
which  great  hot-bed  of  treachery  he  became 
an  active  member  of  the  plot.  He  sent  a  cer- 
tain Asisines  into  Phrygia  as  a  pretended 
messenger  to  the  satrap  of  that  province,  but 
really  as  a  bearer  of  dispatches  to  the  spuri- 
ous Alexander.  The  latter  was  advised  that 
if  he  would  procure  the  murder  of  the  king 
he  should  himself  have  the  throne  of  Mace- 
donia under  the  protection  and  favor  of  Persia. 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


639 


But  the  vigilant  Parmenio  caught  the  mes- 
senger and  sent  him  to  Alexander,  to  whom 
he  confessed  the  whole  treasonable  business. 
The  other  Alexander  was  at  that  time  serving 
as  an  officer  in  Parmenio's  army.  He  was  at 
once  seized  and  imprisoned,  and  the  whole 
scheme  ended  in  a  miserable  abortion. 

Alexander  then  resumed  his  march  east- 
ward along  the  sea-coast.  It  was  in  this  part 
of  his  course  that  the  first  of  many  omens 
was  noticed  by  the  army,  and  ascribed  to  the 
will  and  favor  of  the  gods.  At  a  certain  part 
of  the  Pamphylian  coast  one  of  the  spurs  of 
the  Taurus  juts  into  the  sea  so  as  to  prevent 
a  passage  along  the  beach.  The  king's  pro- 
gress was  thus  suddenly  hindered ;  but  as  he 
approached  the  obstacle  the  wind,  which  had 
for  many  days  blown  from  the  south  and 
driven  the  surf  high  against  the  rocks,  turned 
about  as  if  by  magic,  and,  blowing  from  the 
north,  carried  the  tide  far  down  the  beach, 
leaving  a  broad  space  of  sand  exposed,  over 
which  the  army  passed  in  safety.  Thus  for 
the  son  of  Philip  was  established  the  prece- 
dent of  the  favor  of  the  ruling  deities — a 
circumstance  of  which  the  king  was  by  no 
means  too  modest  to  avail  himself.  It  became 
a  part  of  his  policy  to  encourage  the  belief 
that  he  was  under  the  guidance  and  protec- 
tion of  heaven. 

In  the  hilly  country,  on  the  eastern  con- 
fines of  Lycia,  dwelt  the  barbarous  tribe  of 
Marmarians.  They  were  a  race  of  robbers. 
Not  daring  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the 
Macedonians,  they  waited  until  the  army  had 
passed  by,  and  then  falling  upon  the  baggage 
and  cattle-train,  succeeded  in  securing  a  large 
amount  of  booty.  With  this  they  fled  to 
Marmara,  their  principal  town,  a  place  almost 
impregnable  from  the  nature  of  the  surround- 
ings. But  Alexander  quickly  turned  about, 
pursued  the  robbers  to  their  den,  brought  up 
his  engines,  and  began  to  batter  the  walls. 
The  barbarians,  seeing  that  they  were  ginned- 
in  their  own  trap,  held  a  council,  and  adopted 
the  horrible  expedient  of  murdering  their 
Tivomen  and  children,  burning  the  town,  and 
escaping  who  could  through  the  Macedonian 
lines.  A  great  feast  was  accordingly  made, 
and  after  all  had  well  eaten  the  work  of  c^e- 


struction  began.  Human  nature  revolted, 
however,  in  the  midst  of  the  massacre,  and 
six  hundred  of  the  young  men  of  the  tribe 
refused  to  be  the  butchers  of  their  mothers 
and  sisters.  But  the  town  was  fired,  and  the 
rest  of  the  program  was  carried  out  to  the 
extent  that  most  of  the  robbers  broke  through 
and  escaped  to  the  hills.  Their  experience 
had  been  sufficient  to  take  away  all  desire  of 
further  depredations. 

The  next  point  toward  which  the  expedi- 
tion was  directed  was  the  town  of  Perga,  in 
Pamphylia.  Here  there  was  no  disposition 
on  the  part  of  the  authorities  to  resist  or 
even  resent  the  coming  of  Alexander.  While 
marching  thither  the  king  was  met  by  ambas- 
sadors from  the  city  of  Aspendus,  who  came 
to  tender  their  submission  and  to  obtain  fa- 
vorable terms  of  peace.  The  Macedonian  met 
them  in  his  usual  temper  of  moderation.  He 
conceded  to  them  the  conduct  of  their  own 
affairs.  No  garrison  should  be  established  in 
their  city.  The  annual  tribute — payable  in 
horses — hitherto  assessed  by  the  king  of  Per- 
sia, should  now  be  sent  to  Alexander.  In 
addition  to  this,  a  contribution  of  fifty  talents 
should  be  made  by  the  city.  On  these  condi- 
tions the  people  of  Aspendus  should  in  no 
wise  be  disturbed.  The  terms  were  readily 
agreed  to  by  the  commissioners ;  but  on  their 
return  home  there  had  been  a  revulsion 
among  the  citizens,  and  the  whole  settlement 
was  rejected.  The  king  was  thus  obliged,  as 
soon  as  Perga  and  Sida  had  made  their  sub- 
mission, to  set  out  against  Aspendus.  The 
city  was  at  once  invested,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants soon  came  to  their  senses.  They  now 
desired  to  capitulate  on  the  conditions  previ- 
ously offered,  but  the  Macedonian  was  not 
so  easy  a  master.  He  exacted  double  the 
amount  of  the  contribution  which  he  had 
first  named,  assessed  a  yearly  tribute,  and 
compelled  the  Aspendians  to  accept  a  gov- 
ernor to  be  named  by  himself. 

No  people  of  the  West  received  the  news 
of  Alexander's  successes  with  so  much  dis- 
pleasure as  did  the  Lacedaemonians.  They 
alone  had  stood  aloof  from  the  confederacy 
of  which  Alexander  was  generalissimo.  They 
alone   had    not  been   remembered,  or  remem- 


640 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


bered  in  a  disparaging  way,  in  the  sending 
home  by  the  conqueror  of  trophies  from  his 
battles.  In  his  presents  and  messages  to  the 
Greeks  it  was  his  habit  to  add  the  clause,  "  ex- 
cepting the  Lacedczmomans."  Agis,  the  Spartan 
king,  now  sought  to  neutralize  these  indigni- 
ties by  fomenting  discord  among  the  Grecian 
states  to  the  end  that  Alexander  might  be 
obliged  to  abandon  his  far-reaching  plans  for 
the  settlement  of  petty  rebellions  at  home. 
In  this  work  Memnon,  the  Rhodian,  was  an 
able  coadjutor,  while  in  the  distance  stood  the 
Persian  monarch  ready  and  eager  always  to 
furnish  both  the  means  and  the  motives  of 
distraction  to  the  fearless  prince  who  had  in- 
vaded his  dominions. 

In  furtherance  of  his  plans  the  Lace- 
daemonian king  canvassed  the  republican 
states  of  Peloponnesus,  and  induced  several 
of  them  to  join  him  in  inviting  Darius  to 
send  a  portion  of  his  army  to  occupy  South- 
ern Greece.  At  the  same  time  Memnon,  who 
now  had  command  of  the  Persian  fleet,  was 
urged  to  assume  the  aggressive  in  the  -^gean. 
Thus  was  it  planned  to  compel  the  withdrawal 
of  Alexander  from  the  East.  The  king  of 
Persia,  however,  not  fully  confident  that  the 
Macedonian  could  be  frightened  from  his 
purpose  by  a  noise  behind  him,  began  to 
gather  armies  and  prepare  all  needed  means 
<jf  defense. 

The  approach  of  spring,  B.  C.  333,  found 
Alexander  in  Pamphylia.  Gathering  infor- 
mation of  the  measures  adopted  by  his  ene- 
mies to  compass  his  destruction,  he  determined 
to  retire  to  Gordium,  the  capital  of  Lower 
Phrygia,  and  make  that  place  a  rendezvous 
for  the  various  divisions  of  his  army.  The 
time  had  come  for  the  return  of  those  who, 
under  Ptolemy  and  Meleager,  had  spent  the 
winter  in  Macedonia.  With  them  large  reen- 
forcements  were  expected  to  arrive.  After 
the  consolidation  of  his  forces  the  king  would 
determine  the  plan  of  the  year's  campaign. 

In  his  way  from  the  Lycian  coasts  to 
Phrygia,  Alexander  had  to  cross  the  ridges  of 
Taurus.  In  doing  so  he  encountered  several 
warlike  tribes,  who  attacked  him  with  fury, 
only  to  be  dispersed.  The  proper  pursuit  and 
punishment  of  these  half-savage  bands   was, 


however,  quite  impossible  in  such  a  region  ;  for 
the  mountain  fastnesses  gave  them  immunity. 
The  city  of  Celsense,  the  metropolis  of  Phrygia, 
opened  her  gates  to  receive  the  new  mas- 
te;-  instead  of  the  old.  What  was  it  to  the 
inhabitants  of  these  towns  of  Asia  Minor 
whether  they  should  pay  tribute  to  Darius  or 
to  the  son  of  Philip?  Only  this — that  the 
son  of  Philip  was  the  more  generous  ruler. 
All  Phrygia,  after  the  surrender  of  the  city, 
submitted  to  the  conqueror,  and  readily  ac- 
cepted the  provisions  which  he  made  for  the 
future  management  of  the  province. 

Before  reaching  Gordium,  the  king  re- 
ceived intelligence  of  the  successes  of  Memnon 
in  the  -^gean.  The  island  of  Chios  had 
been  taken  by  the  Persian  fleet.  All  of  Les- 
bos except  Mitylene  had  been  reduced,  and 
that  city  was  closely  invested.  It  was  the 
purpose  of  Memnon,  as  soon  as  the  siege 
could  be  brought  to  a  successful  conclusion, 
to  make  his  way  to  the  Hellespont,  fall  upon 
the  coast  of  Macedonia,  and  compel  the  re- 
turn of  Alexander  for  the  defense  of  his  own 
dominions.  Nor  was  it  likely  that  Antipater, 
who  had  been  left  by  the  king  at  Pella  to 
serve  as  regent  during  his  absence,  could  be 
able  to  raise  a  sufiicient  armament  to  beat 
back  the  invaders  from  his  coasts.  The  situ- 
ation was  not  without  its  dangers ;  but  before 
the  crisis  could  be  reached  in  which  Alexan- 
der would  be  obliged  to  decide  between  aban- 
doning his  own  territories  to  invasion  or 
giving  up  his  cherished  and  inherited  ambi- 
tion of  conquering  Persia,  he  was  relieved  of 
all  anxiety  by  the  death  of  Memnon.  The 
loss  of  that  able  commander  was  a  severe 
blow  to  Persian  hopes  in  the  West.  The  fleet 
could  make  no  further  progress,  and  was 
presently  disbanded.  The  -^gean  was  re- 
lieved of  Persian  domination,  and  the  schemes 
of  the  anti-Macedonian  party  in  Southern 
Greece  were  brought  to  naught.  A  reaction 
set  in  in  Alexander's  favor,  and  from  nearly 
all  the  states  of  continental  Greece  reenforce- 
ments  went  forward  to  join  him  in  Asia.  It 
was  seen,  moreover,  that  contingents  of  troops 
began  to  move  from  the  Perso-Grecian  towns 
in  Ionia  and  elsewhere  to  swell  the  forces  of 
Darius  in  the  East;    from  which  it  was  dis* 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


641 


cerned  that  the  Great  King  had  abandoned 
the  idea  of  distracting  Alexander  from  his 
purpose,  and  had  resolved  to  meet  him  in 
battle.  Than  this  nothing  could  have  been 
more  grateful  to  the  feelings  of  the  conqueror. 

So,  after  a  brief  stay  at  Celsense,  the  king 
continued  his  course  to  Gordium.  Here  oc- 
curred that  famous  incident  to  omit  which 
were  a  grave  crime  against  the  cherished 
traditions  of  the  human  race.  It  is  the 
story  of  the  undoing  of  the  Gordian  Knot. 
One  of  the  legendary  kings  of  Phrygia  was 
Gordius,  who,  when  as  a  peasant  plowing  in 
the  field,  was  favored  with  the  descent  of 
the  bird  of  Jove,  alighting  on  the  yoke  of 
his  oxen.  There  the  eagle  sat  until  the  even- 
tide. Clearly  this  presaged  his  own  and  the 
greatness  of  his  house.  The  soothsayers  of 
Telmessus  interpreted  the  omen,  and  a  pro- 
phetess became  his  wife.  Of  this  union  was 
born  the  child  Midas,  who,  when  grown  to 
manhood  and  the  state  was  greatly  disturbed 
with  civil  commotions,  rode  with  his  father 
and  mother  in   a   car   into   the   city. 

Meanwhile  an  oracle  had  said  that  the  king 
whom  the  people  sought  should  be  brought  to 
them  in  a  car.  Accordingly  Midas  was  hailed 
as  king  by  the  shouting  populace.  He  there- 
upon took  off  the  yoke  of  his  oxen,  and 
dedicating  it  and  his  chariot  to  Zeus,  fastened 
them  with  cords  made  of  the  cornel  tree  to 
the  shrine  in  the  acropolis  of  Gordium.  The 
cord  was  twisted  and  fastened  in  so  artful  a 
way  that  the  ends  were  undiscoverable ;  and 
the  oracle  declared  that  the  fates  had  decreed 
the  empire  of  the  world  to  him  who  should 
untie  the  knot.  Albeit,  here  was  an  oppor- 
tunity which  Alexander  must  not  let  pass 
unimproved.  On  arriving  at  the  city  he  was 
shown  into  the  temple,  and  there  beheld  the 
fateful  relics,  secured,  as  of  old,  by  their  fas- 
tenings. As  to  how  he  succeeded  in  loosing 
the  knot,  there  are  two  trad'tions — the  one 
reciting  that  he  drew  out  the  pin  which  fas- 
tened the  yoke  to  the  beam  and  thus  detached 
the  yoke  itself,  while  the  other  says  that  he 
severed  the  knot  with  his  sword. 

A  matter  of  much  more  historical  impor- 
tance was  the  arrival  at  Gordium  of  an  Athe- 
nian  embassy.     The   commissioners    came   to 


request  that  Alexander  would  liberate  those 
citizens  of  Athens  whom  he  had  taken  as 
prisoners  on  the  banks  of  the  Granicus,  fight- 
ing for  the  Persian  king.  These,  with  two 
thousand  others,  were  still  detained  in  Mace- 
donia, and  their  countrymen  had  undertaken 
to  procure  their  release.  The  king  listened 
attentively  to  what  the  envoys  had  to  say, 
but  declined  to  grant  their  request.  He  told 
the  embassy,  however,  to  inform  their  coun- 
trymen of  his  kindly  feelings  towards  the 
Athenians,  and  of  his  purpose,  so  soon  as  the 
Persian  war  could  be  brought  to  a  successful 
issue,  to  set  their  fellow-citizens  at  liberty. 

In  the  mean  time,  Darius  had  completed 
the  organization  of  his  army,  and  was  already 
on  his  march  to  the  West.  Hi"'  intention  was 
to  cross  the  Great  Desert  and  attack  Alexan- 
der before  the  latter  could  pass  the  confines 
of  Asia  Minor.  It  was  equally  important  for 
the  Macedonian  to  complete  the  conquest  of 
the  lesser  Asia,  and  to  secure  the  mountain- 
passes  on  its  eastern  borders  before  the  coming 
of  the  Persian  avalanche.  At  this  time  there 
remained  three  satrapies  unconquered:  Cap* 
padocia,  Paphlagonia,  and  Cilicia.  It  was  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  Alexander  to  expe- 
dite the  conquest  of  these  provinces.  He  ac- 
cordingly hurried  in  the  direction  of  Paphla- 
gonia, but  before  entering  the  satrapy  he  had 
the  good  fortune  to  receive  therefrom  a  friendly 
embassy,  proffering  the  submission  of  that  im- 
portant country. 

Thus  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  a 
conquest,  he  hastened  into  Cappadocia,  and 
there  too  was  received  without  resistance. 
Having  appointed  Macedonian  governors  over 
these  two  leading  provinces,  and  taken 
their  pledge  of  allegiance  to  himself  as  gen- 
eralissimo of  the  Greeks,  he  turned  into 
Cilicia.  But  in  attempting  to  make  his  way 
thither  through  a  mountain-pass  called  the 
Gate  of  Taurus,  he  was  suddenly  confronted 
by  the  Persians,  who  had  preoccupied  the  de- 
files to  prevent  his  passage.  Such,  however, 
was  the  terror  of  the  conqueror's  name  that 
the  enemy  did  not,  even  in  their  advantageous 
position,  dare  to  give  him  battle.  On  the 
contrary,  they  abandoned  the  pass  and  fled. 
Alexander    then    pressed    on    to   Tarsus,    the 


642 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Cilician  capital.  Arsanes,  the  governor,  hastily 
decamped  with  the  garrison,  and  fled  to  Da- 
rius. The  city  authorities  thereupon  opened 
the  gates,  and  Alexander  was  admitted  with- 
out opposition.  It  was  the  last  act  in  the 
conquest  of  Asia  Minor.  In  all  the  rich  and 
beautiful  regions  of  the  western  division  of 
the  Persian  Empire,  not  a  foot  of  territory 
remained  to  Darius. 

The  exertions  and  anxieties  of  the  ambi- 
tious young  king  now  began  to  tell  upon  his 
constitution.  In  the  long  marches  from  Cap- 
padocia  into  Cilicia,  he  had  suffered  the  ex- 
tremes of  fatigue.  It  is  likely,  moreover, 
that  some  of  the  districts  through  which  he 
passed,  were  miasmatic,  and  that  some  of  the 
towns  were  "nfected  with  contagion.  Soon 
after  his  capture  of  Tarsus,  Alexander  was 
attacked  with  a  fever  which  came  near  ending 
his  life.  The  severity  of  his  illness  was 
heightened  by  his  own  indiscretion.  Just  be- 
fore he  was  prostrated,  oppressed  with  fatigue 
and  the  summer  heat,  he  plunged  into  the 
river  Cydnus,  noted  for  the  icy  coldness  of 
its  waters,  and  amused  himself  as  a  swimmer. 
On  coming  forth  he  was  presently  prostrated, 
and  rapidly  brought  so  low  that  his  life  was 
despaired  of  by  all  except  Philip,  the  Acar- 
nanian,  his  favorite  physician.  The  latter 
continued  to  attend  and  encourage  his  master. 
While  Philip  was  engaged  in  preparing  a 
draught  for  his  royal  patient,  the  king  re- 
ceived a  secret  dispatch  from  his  old  general, 
Parmenio,  informing  him  that  Philip  was  a 
traitor  and  had  been  bribed  by  Darius  to 
poison  his  king.  While  the  letter  was  yet  in 
Alexander's  hands,  the  cup  containing  the 
draught  was  handed  him  by  Philip.  The 
king  received  the  potion,  and  at  the  same 
time  handed  the  dispatch  to  the  physician. 
Observing  no  change  in  Philip's  countenance 
as  he  read,  Alexander  without  a  word  drank 
the  potion,  and  the  loyal  attendant  was  soon 
gratified  with  a  favorable  change  in  his  pa- 
tient. For  once  the  ftiithful  Parmenio  had 
been  misled  by  false  information,  which  had 
well-nigh  proved  fatal  both  to  the  king  and 
his  physician. 

As  soon  as  Alexander  had  sufficiently  re- 
covered from   his  illness  to  resume  the  direc- 


tion of  affairs,  he  sent  forward  Parmenio  to 
occupy  the  pass  which  led  into  Syria.  This 
order  was  issued  with  the  double  view  of  pre- 
venting a  like  action  on  the  part  of  Darius 
and  of  securing  to  himself  an  easy  route  into 
the  Greater  Asia.  He  himself  made  a  brief 
campaign  into  the  mountainous  district  of 
Cilicia.  On  his  march  thither  he  was  sur- 
prised on  coming  to  the  city  of  Anchialus  ta 
observe  the  extent  and  magnificence  of  its 
fortifications  and  public  buildings.  It  was 
here  that  the  statue  of  Sardauapalus,  the  re- 
puted founder  of  the  city,  was  found,  still 
bearing  that  famous  old  Assyrian  inscription, 
which  the  Greek  scholars  accompanying  Alex- 
ander interpreted  as  follows:  "  Sardanapa- 
lus,  THE  SON  OF  AnACYNDARAXES,  IN  ONE 
DAY  FOUNDED  AnCHIALUS  AND  TaRSUS.  EaT, 
DRINK,  play;  all  OTHER  HUMAN  JOYS  ARE 
NOT   WORTH  A  FILLIP." 

Leaving  this  place  the  conqueror  proceeded 
to  Sali,  upon  which  he  imposed  a  tribute  of 
forty  thousand  pounds.  Thence  he  made  his 
way  to  Megarsus  and  Mallus.  At  the  former 
place  he  made  sacrifices  in  honor  of  Pallas 
Athene ;  and  at  the  latter  he  won  the  people 
over  to  his  cause  by  freeing  them  from  the 
Persian  tribute.  Nor  were  the  inhabitant* 
less  ready  to  join  his  standard  on  account  of 
their  nationality,  Mallus  having  been  origi- 
nally founded  by  a  colony  of  Argive  Greeks. 

While  Alexander  tarried  at  Mallus  intelli- 
gence arrived  of  the  movements  of  Darius. 
The  Great  King  had  already  crossed  the  Syr- 
ian plain,  and  was  but  two  days'  march  from 
that  mountain  pass  which  the  Macedonians 
had  already  seized.  The  soldiers  of  the  con- 
queror were  eager  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  he 
quickly  moved  forward  to  the  gateway  lead- 
ing from  Cilicia  into  Syria.  It  is  related  that 
at  this  juncture  Darius  was  perplexed  with 
contradictory  counsels.  The  Greek  officers  in 
his  army  advised  him  to  tarry  in  the  plain 
near  where  he  was,  and  there  receive  the 
Macedonian  onset,  but  the  Persian  generals 
urged  the  king  to  press  forward  to  the  foot- 
hills and  drive  his  enemy  back  through  the 
passes.  The  monarch  followed  the  advice  of 
neither  implicitly,  and  of  both  in  part.  In- 
stead of  going  forward    to  the  Syrian  Gate, 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


643 


now  held  by  Alexander,  he  made  a  side 
movement  to  the  right,  and  occupied  another 
pass,  known  as  the  Amanic  Gate.  Having 
gained  this  entrance  into  Asia  Minor,  he 
passed  through  with  his  army  and  advanced 
as  far  as  Issus,  thus  putting  himself  between 
Alexander  and  those  countries  which  he  had 
recently  subdued. 

The  Macedonians  were  agitated  not  a  little 
on  learning  that  the  Great  King  was  on  the 
line  of  their  communications.  It  is  reported 
that  Alexander  was  considerably  exercised  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  alarm  among  his  gen- 
erals and  soldiers;  but  he  confidently  asserted 
that  of  all  courses  which  Darius  could  have 
taken  the  one  chosen  was  to  himself  the  most 
pleasing.  He  called  the  attention  of  his  offi- 
cers to  the  fact  that  in  the  rougher  country — 
rougher  as  compared  with  the  Syrian  plain — 
which  the  Persian  had  selected  it  would  be 
impossible  to  display  his  vast  army  in  full 
force  or  to  use  it  efficiently.  Here,  said  the 
conqueror,  the  cavalry  of  the  enemy  would 
be  of  no  avail,  and  his  light-armed  troops, 
with  their  showers  of  missiles,  could  not  be 
employed  to  advantage.  As  for  himself,  he 
knew  that  the  immortal  gods,  ever  favorable 
to  the  cause  of  the  allied  Greeks,  must  have 
inspired  the  Persian  king  to  put  himself  in  a 
position  where  he  must  be  destroyed.  Having 
thus  reassured  his  soldiers,  he  began  a  retro- 
grade movement  through  the  Syrian  Gate. 

The  position  now  occupied  by  Darius  was 
eminently  favorable.  A  short  distance  from 
the  western  terminus  of  the  pass  out  of  which 
the  Macedonians  must  come,  flows  the  river 
Pinarus  which,  gathering  its  waters  from  the 
highlands,  descends  to  the  west  and  then  turns 
southward  in  its  course  to  the  sea.  The 
stream  thus  describes  an  arc  the  convexity  of 
which  was  towards  the  west.  On  this  side 
of  the  river  the  Persians  were  drawn  up  for 
battle,  while  the  Macedonians,  making  their 
exit  from  the  gate,  must  come  up  in  the  inner 
curve  of  the  Pinarus  and  cross  the  stream  in 
the  face  of  the  enemy.  The  one  advantage 
of  Alexander  was  that  his  array  occupied  the 
chord  of  an  arc  while  the  enemy  was  disposed 
on  the  rim  of  the  circle. 

In  arranging  for  battle  the  command  of 


the  Macedonian  left,  lying  next  to  the  sea, 
was  given  to  Parmenio.  Opposed  to  him  was 
the  Persian  cavalry.  To  face  the  Greeks  in 
the  army  of  Darius  the  phalanx  was  set  in 
the  center  of  the  Macedonian  line.  The  com- 
mand of  the  right  Alexander  reserved  for 
himself.  Opposite  were  the  high  grounds 
from  which  the  Persians  must  be  dislodged  in 
case  they  should  not  themselves  be  unwise 
enough  to  descend  into  the  plain  for  battle. 

The  number  of  soldiers  in  the  army  of 
Darius  has  been  variously  stated.  The  old 
historians,  with  whom  exaggeration  —  espe- 
cially of  the  numerical  force  of  an  enehiy — 
was  a  habit,  computed  the  Persian  host  at  a 
half  million  of  fighting  men.  More  careful 
authorities  have  reduced  the  number  to  one 
hundred  and  forty  thousand.  Of  these  fully 
thirty-five  thousand  were  cavalry.  To  oppose 
this  tremendous  array  Alexander  had  in  all 
about  forty  thousand  soldiers. 

After  considerable  maneuvering,  in  which 
both  commanders  appeared  anxious  lest  by 
some  misstep  an  advantage  might  be  gained 
by  the  enemy,  the  battle  began  by  the  advance 
of  the  Persian  right  against  Parmenio.  Alex- 
ander had  contemplated  beginning  the  fight 
himself  by  assaulting  the  heights  over  against 
him,  but  when  he  saw  that  the  battle  was 
opening  in  another  part  of  the  field  he  dis- 
patched thither  the  Thessalian  horse  to  assist 
his  veteran  general.  But  though  thus  weak- 
ened he  forebore  not  to  cross  the  stream  and 
assail  the  Persian  left.  On  both  wings  the 
charge  of  the  Macedonians,  though  stoutly 
resisted,  was  successful,  and  the  Persians  were 
put  to  flight.  In  the  center  the  phalanx 
crossed  the  river,  and  was  met  on  the  other 
bank  by  those  old  Ionian  Greek  soldiers  whom 
Memnon  had  trained  in  former  years,  and 
who  were  in  an  unnatural  way  fighting  under 
the  Persian  banners. 

These  men  were  of  different  mettle  from 
the  barbarians  with  whom  they  fought.  They 
had  the  ancient  valor  of  Greek  soldiers,  and 
felt  no  doubt  some  mortification  that  the  pres- 
tige of  their  race  was  about  to  be  transferred 
to  the  Macedonians.  The  latter  on  their  part 
regarded  their  antagonists  as  traitors  to  the 
I  cause  of  the  allied  Greeks,  and  had,  besides. 


644 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


their  own  reputation  to  sustain  as  well  as 
wrongs  to  be  avenged  in  the  ranks  of  their 
unnatural  countrymen.  Here,  then,  the  bat- 
tle was  furious  and  bloody.  Hardly  could 
the  staggering  phalanx  make  its  way  against 
the  stubborn  resistance  of  the  Greek  soldiers; 
nor  is  it  certain  which  way  victory  in  this 
part  of  the  field  would  have  inclined  but  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  Persian  wings. 

The  success  of  Alexander  and  Parmenio 
enabled  them,  especially  the  former,  to  fall 
upon  the  flanks  of  the  Persian  center,  and 
the  valiant  soldiers  who  confronted  the 
phalanx  found  themselves  assailed  from  three 
directions.  Under  such  assaults  they  began 
to  lose  ground,  but  such  was  their  valor  that 
they  nearly  all  perished  sooner  than  relinquish 
the  field.  It  was  in  this  part  of  the  battle 
that  Darius  displayed  conspicuous  bravery. 
He  urged  forward  his  chariot  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fight  and  encouraged  his  soldiers  both 
by  voice  and  example  until  his  horses  were 
cut  down  and  himself  almost  taken  by  the 
Macedonians.  Nothing  but  the  courage  of 
his  brother  Oxathres  saved  the  king  from 
capture  or  destruction.  In  the  critical  mo- 
ment the  monarch  was  thrust  into  a  fresh 
chariot  and  borne  from  the  field.  As  usual 
in  the  great  battles  of  the  East  the  flight  of 
the  king  was  the  signal  for  a  universal  rout. 
The  ranks  everywhere  broke  and  fled  precip- 
itately from  the  scene.  Only  the  Persian 
cavalry  on  the  right  wing  made  a  stand  and 
fought  as  if  to  sustain  their  old-time  fame  for 
valor.  Nor  did  they  desist  from  their  onsets 
until  some  time  after  the  rout  had  become 
general  in  all  other  parts  of  the  field. 

As  soon  as  the  flight  began  the  Macedo- 
nians pressed  hard  upon  the  fugitives.  Thou- 
sands were  cut  down  in  the  panic  and  confu- 
sion. Alexander  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
cavalry  bore  down  upon  the  flying  foe  and 
cut  his  broken  ranks  to  pieces.  His  hope  was 
to  overtake  and  capture  the  king  and  thus 
end  the  business  of  the  Empire.  But  Darius, 
after  fleeing  as  far  as  he  could  in  his  chariot, 
mounted  a  horse  and  succeeded  in  escaping 
through  the  Amanic  Gate.  But  so  hot  was 
the  pursuit  that  the  shield,  bow,  and  cloak  of 
the  king  were  secured  by  Alexander. 


The  losses  of  the  Persians  are  differently 
stated  by  different  authors.  The  lowest  esti- 
mate, which  is  perhaps  nearest  the  truth, 
places  the  number  slain  at  about  seventy  thou- 
sand, and  of  the  captives  at  forty  thousand. 
Nor  is  there  any  trustworthy  account  of  the 
loss  sustained  by  the  Macedonians.  There  ap- 
pears to  have  been  an  intent  on  the  part  of 
the  Greek  writers  to  gloss  over  the  matter  or 
to  represent  the  list  as  insignificant.  It  is  im- 
possible, however,  but  that  a  severe  loss  must 
have  been  inflicted  on  Alexander's  army  ;  for 
the  battle  was  long  and  obstinate,  and  the 
Ionian  Greeks  gave  the  phalanx  blow  for 
blow.  It  is  known  that  Ptolemy  and  several 
other  distinguished  officers  were  slain. 

The  battle  of  Issus  furnished  several  in- 
cidents which  posterity  has  been  pleased  to 
preserve.  When  Alexander  returned  from 
his  pursuit  of  Darius  he  learned  that  the 
family  of  that  monarch,  including  his  wife, 
his  daughters,  and  his  mother,  were  prisoners 
in  the  Macedonian  camp.  They  were  in  the 
greatest  agitation,  believing  that  the  king  had 
been  slain,  and  that  they  themselves  would  be 
dishonored  and  sold  as  slaves.  Hearing  of 
their  distress,  the  conqueror  at  once  sent  his 
friend  Leonatus  to  quiet  their  alarm,  and  to 
assure  them  that  the  king  had  made  good  his 
escape.  They  were  informed  that  they  should 
be  treated  not  only  with  humanity,  but  with 
that  courtesy  which  befitted  their  rank.  The 
language  attributed  to  Alexander  sounds  like 
a  phrase  of  chivalry ;  for  he  is  reported  to 
have  said  to  the  distracted  princesses  that 
towards  the  Great  King  he  had  no  personal 
enmity  at  all — that  he  warred  with  him  only 
because  they  could  not  both  be  ruler  of  Asia. 

On  the  following  day  the  Macedonian, 
accompanied  by  his  intimate  friend  Hephses- 
tion,  called  in  person  at  the  tent  which  had 
been  assigned  to  the  captive  women.  When 
they  were  ushered  into  the  presence  of  the 
royal  household  the  princesses,  mistaking  the 
stately  Hephsestion  for  Alexander,  prostrated 
themselves  before  him  and  began  to  plead  for 
commiseration.  Hephsestion  at  once  drew 
back  and  pointed  to  the  king  as  the  one  to 
whom  they  should  address  themselves.  Alex- 
ander at  once  relieved  the  embarrassment  in 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


645 


a  manner  that  would  have  done  honor  to  a 
crusader.  He  told  the  queen  that  she  had 
made  no  mistake ;  that  Hephsestion  was 
another  Alexander,  as  worthy  to  be  esteemed 
as  himself.^ 

In  the  mean  time,  one  of  the  eunuchs  in 
attendance  upon  the  royal  household  made 
his  escape  and  carried  to  Darius  the  story  of 
the  treatment  accorded  to  his  family.  To  him 
the  thing  seemed  incredible.  The  great  Orien- 
tal, believing  in  the  essential  badness  of 
human  nature,  at  once  conjectured  that  his 
beautiful  queen  had  fascinated  his  adversary, 
and  that  that  was  the  occasion  of  his  clemency. 
Jealousy  seized  him,  and  he  was  in  a  transport 
until  his  attendant  informed  him  that  the 
Macedonian  was  in  no  sense  his  rival — that 
his  conduct  towards  the  queen  had  been  a 
sincere  act  of  courtesy  and  consideration. 
Then  the  mood  of  Darius  changed,  and  in 
great  excitement  he  offered  a  prayer  to  the 
gods  that  if  the  empire  of  Asia  should  ever 
depart  from  himself  it  might  fall  to  Alexander. 

Before  he  could  follow  up  his  victory, 
Alexander  deemed  it  prudent  to  complete  the 
conquest  of  Syria  and  Phoenicia.  These  were 
the  only  two  provinces  remaining  unsubdued 
in  the  western  countries  of  the  Greater  Asia. 
The  king  dispatched  Parmenio  with  one  di- 
vision of  the  army  against  Damascus,  the 
capital  of  Syria,  while  he  himself  with  the 
other  division  advanced  into  Phcenicia.  The 
first  expedition  was  soon  crowned  with  com- 
plete success.  Damascus  was  taken  without 
serious  opposition.  Parmenio  also  captured  a 
number  of  agents  who  were  employed  by 
Darius  in  corresponding  with  the  anti-Mace- 
donian party  in  Greece.  From  these  Alex- 
ander learned  the  exact  nature  of  the  intrigues 
which  were    constantly    hatched    in    Athens, 

*  The  comments  of  Arrian  upon  this  incident 
are  worthy  to  be  repeated.  "  T  neither,"  says  he, 
"  relate  [this  circumstance]  as  truth  nor  condemn 
[it]  as  fiction.  If  it  be  true,  the  pity  shown  by 
Alexander  to  the  women  and  the  honor  bestowed 
on  his  friend  deserve  commendation;  whilst,  if 
we  supposed  them  feigned  and  only  related  as 
probabilities,  it  is  honorable  to  him  to  have  had 
such  speeches  and  actions  recorded  by  the  writers 
of  his  own  times,  not  only  as  being  generally  be- 
lieved, but  as  consonant  with  the  character  which 
he  bore  among  his  contemporaries  " 


Thebes,  and  Sparta,  with  a  view  to  compass- 
ing his  overthrow.  Upon  these  malcontent 
elements  in  the  Greek  states  the  intelligence 
of  the  battle  of  Issus  and  of  the  capture  of 
the  Grseco-Persian  spies  fell  like  a  cold  bath. 

The  knowledge  that  Alexander  was  abso- 
lutely master  of  the  situation  in  all  the  western 
parts  of  Asia  was  disagreeable  news  to  the  re- 
actionists, who  were  endeavoring  to  sow  the 
seeds  of  insurrection  in  the  West.  Nor  was 
the  success  of  Parmenio  at  Damascus  limited 
to  the  capture  of  the  city  and  the  emissaries. 
He  likewise  secured  possession  of  the  money- 
chest  of  Darius,  out  of  whose  abundant 
cofiers  the  Western  Greeks  were  to  be  per- 
suaded to  favor  the  interests  of  Persia.  With 
this  sinew  of  war  in  the  hands  of  the  Mace- 
donians it  was  not  likely  that  the  lonians  and 
continental  Greeks  would  any  longer  so  greatly 
prefer  a  Persian  to  a  Macedonian  ruler. 

In  no  part  was  the  effect  of  the  battle  of 
Issus  more  distinctly  felt  than  in  Sparta. 
Agis,  the  Lacedaemonian  king,  still  continued, 
even  after  the  death  of  Memnon,  to  agitate 
measures  unfavorable  to  Alexander.  To  sup- 
port this  movement  and  disposition  of  the 
Spartans  Darius  had,  on  setting  out  with  his 
army  to  meet  the  Macedonian,  dispatched  a 
fleet  under  Pharnabazus  and  Antophradates 
to  sail  into  the  -lEgean  and  cooperate  with  the 
Peloponnesians  in  a  proposed  expedition 
against  Macedonia.  The  squadron  reached 
the  shores  of  Southern  Greece,  and  Agis  was 
busUy  engaged  in  preparing  for  the  northern 
invasion  when  the  news  came  of  the  victory 
of  Alexander  at  Issus.  Of  a  sudden  the  Per- 
sian commanders  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  was  need  for  them  in  Asia.  They  ac- 
cordingly dropped  away  as  quickly  as  possible, 
and  returned  with  the  fleet  to  Persian  waters. 
Great  was  the  relief  of  Alexander  when  he 
learned  of  the  collapse  of  the  proposed  descent 
on  the  coasts  of  Macedonia. 

In  the  mean  time  the  conqueror  was  pro- 
ceeding to  lay  siege  to  Tyre.  It  was  consid- 
ered of  the  first  importance  that  this  great 
maritime  city,  from  which  the  fleets  of  Persia 
were  supplied  with  whatever  gave  them 
strength  and  efficiency,  should  be  converted 
into  a  Macedonian  dependency.     WhUe  Alex- 


646 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


ander  was  on  his  way  thither,  he  was  met  at 
the  town  of  Marathus  by  ambassadors  from 
Darius.  These  came  to  propose  in  the  name 
of  their  master  that  he  and  the  Macedonian 
should  become  friends  and  allies,  and  to  re- 
quest that  the  Persian  princesses  should  be 
permitted  to  return  to  Susa.  At  this  time 
Alexander  was  emboldened  by  success,  and 
also  angered  at  the  treacherous  relations  re- 
cently unearthed  between  the  Persian  court 
and  the  anti-Macedonians  in  Greece.  He 
therefore  answered  Avith  much  haughtiness. 
He  accused  the  Persian  monarch  of  having 
been  privy  to  the  assassination  of  King  Philip. 
He  brought  home  the  charge  of  having  in- 
trigued with  the  Greeks  to  compass  the  down- 
fall of  Macedonia.  He  recited  various  injuries 
done  to  himself  and  his  country  by  the  court 
of  Susa.  He  announced  that  he  himself  and 
not  Darius  was  now  monarch  of  Asia,  and 
that  any  further  communications  must  be  ad- 
dressed to  him,  not  as  king  to  king,  but  as 
vassal  to  lord.  Finally,  Darius  was  invited, 
if  he  desired  further  intercourse,  to  come  to 
Alexander  in  person,  and  in  that  event  he 
should  be  treated  as  a  subject,  but  with  proper 
consideration.  The  conclusion  of  the  Mace- 
donian's message,  addressed  as  it  was  by  a 
youth  of  twenty-three  to  the  representative  of 
Cyrus  the  Great,  is  worthy  to  be  repeated: 
"If  you  have  any  fears  for  your  personal 
safety,  send  some  friends  to  receive  my 
pledged  faith.  On  coming  to  me  ask  for 
your  wife  and  children,  and  whatever  else  you 
may  wish,  and  receive  them,  for  every  reason- 
able request  shall  be  granted.  Henceforth, 
if  you  have  any  communication  to  make,  ad- 
dress me  as  the  King  of  Asia;  and  pretend 
not  to  treat  with  me  on  equal  terms,  but  pe- 
tition me  as  the  master  of  your  fate.  If  not, 
I  shall  regard  it  as  an  insult  and  take  meas- 
ures accordingly.  If,  however,  you  propose 
still  to  dispute  the  sovereignty  with  me,  do 
not  fly,  but  stand  your  ground,  as  I  will 
march  and  attack  you  wherever  you  may  be." 
A  memorable  dispatch !  Not  worded  after 
the  manner  of  modern  diplomacy,  but  never- 
theless intelligible.  Perhaps  the  king  of  Per- 
sia was  able  to  understand  it.  As  soon  as 
these    negotiations    were    ended,    Alexander 


pressed  forward  to  Tyre.  Before  reaching 
the  city  he  was  met  by  a  deputation,  headed 
by  the  son  of  the  governor,  who  came  to 
proffer  the  allegiance  of  their  city,  but  at  the 
same  time  refused  to  permit  the  conqueror  to 
enter  within  their  walls.  The  proposal  was  so 
little  satisfactory  to  the  king  that  he  demanded 
unconditional  submission,  and  in  case  of  re- 
fusal threatened  to  storm  the  town.  The 
Tyrians  would  not  comply,  and  Alexander  at 
once  proceeded  to  invest  the  city.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  memorable  siege  of  seven  months' 
duration,  in  which  it  were  difficult  to  say 
whether  the  besieged  or  the  besiegers  exhib- 
ited greater  heroism.  Tyre  was  built  on  an 
island,  at  the  distance  of  a  half-mile  from  the 
shore.  Her  seamen  were  the  most  expert  and 
daring  in  the  world.  Before  the  Macedonian 
could  bring  his  engines  to  bear  on  the  ram- 
parts, he  must  build  a  mole  sufficiently  broad 
to  bear  them,  and  extending  from  the  shore 
to  the  city.  This  done,  and  the  battering- 
rams  being  brought  into  position,  the  Tyrians. 
succeeded  in  burning  them  before  they  could 
be  made  efl^ective.  Alexander  now  saw  that 
he  must  meet  the  enemy  on  their  own  ele^ 
ment.  He  accordingly  began  to  train  a  force 
of  sailors,  and  not  until  this  work  was  accom- 
plished did  he  find  himself  in  a  condition  to^ 
assault  the  city  with  fair  prospects  of  success. 
At  last,  however,  he  made  the  attack,  and  Tyre 
was  taken  by  storm.  The  people  who  had  so 
long  defied  him  now  paid  dearly  for  their  ob- 
stinacy. The  enraged  Macedonian  soldiery 
was  turned  loose  upon  them,  and  eight  thou- 
sand were  put  to  the  sword.  Besides  this 
tremendous  butchery,  thirty  thousand  of  the 
inhabitants  were  sold  into  slavery. 

Before  the  siege  of  Tyre  was  brought  to  a. 
close  a  second  embassy  arrived  from  Darius. 
This  time  the  Great  King  made  the  trial  of 
money  as  a  means  of  relaxing  the  temper  of 
the  Macedonian.  He  offered  for  the  ransom 
of  his  family  and  as  the  basis  of  peace  and 
friendship  a  sum  equivalent  to  ten  millions  of 
dollars.  As  a  further  inducement  he  proposed 
to  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  and  to  cede 
to  Alexander  all  the  country  in  Asia  west  of 
the  Euphrates.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the 
offer  was  highly  flattering,  and  most  warriors- 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


G47 


ALEXANDER  BEFORE  TYRE. 
Prawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


648 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


would  have  been  glad  to  accept  so  vast  an 
empire  at  the  hand  of  a  vanquished  foe.  But 
the  son  of  Philip  would  be  all  or  nothing. 
When  the  proposal  was,  according  to  his  man- 
ner in  such  matters,  laid  before  a  council  of 
his  generals,  the  sage  Parmenio,  when  asked 
for  his  opinion,  replied:  "If  I  were  Alexander 
I  would  accept  the  terms."  "And  I,  too," 
said  Alexander,  "if  I  were  Parmenio!"  It 
was  evident  that  the  king  of  Macedon  had  his 
eye  fixed  on  the  big  game  of  the  East,  and 
that  all  attempts  either  of  friends  or  foes  to 
divert  him  from  his  purpose  would  prove  in 
vain.  A  message  so  harsh  as  to  be  hardly  in 
accordance  with  the  magnanimous  temper 
which  he  had  so  many  times  displayed  was 
prepared  and  forwarded  to  Darius.  The  de- 
spatch was  couched  in  the  following  terms: 
"I  want  no  money  from  you,  nor  will  I 
receive  a  part  of  the  empire  for  the  whole ; 
for  Asia  and  all  its  treasures  belong  to  me. 
If  I  wish  to  marry  your  daughter  I  can  do  so 
without  your  consent.  If  you  wish  to  obtain 
any  favor  from  me,  come  in  person  and  ask 
for  it."  Here  was  an  end  of  controversy.  Of 
a  certainty  Darius  must  yield  and  become  a 
vassal,  or  else  take  the  field  and — lose  it. 

After  the  capture  of  Tyre,  Alexander  next 
turned  his  attention  to  Gaza.  This  strongly 
fortified  town,  situated  in  the  midst  of  vast 
sands,  was  the  only  remaining  obstacle  between 
the  conqueror  and  the  gateway  of  Egyj^t.  It 
was  a  part  of  his  general  policy  to  leave  behind 
him  no  fortress  occupied  by  an  enemy.  Gaza 
was  garrisoned  by  a  large  force  of  Arabians 
well  provided  with  every  thing  which  fore- 
thought could  furnish  against  the  emergencies 
of  a  siege.  The  persistency  of  the  Macedoni- 
ans in  their  investment  and  final  capture  of 
Tyre  had  forewarned  Batis,  the  governor  of 
Gaza,  of  what  he  in  his  turn  might  expect. 
A  gallant  defense  Avas  made,  but  the  town 
was  finally  carried  by  assault.  When  the 
Macedonians  had  scaled  the  ramparts  the  in- 
habitants with  desperate  courage  gathered  in  a 
group  and  fought  till  the  last  man  was  killed. 
The  town  was  sacked.  The  women  and  chil- 
dren were  sold  into  slavery,  and  a  Macedonian 
colony  was  founded  in  the  ruins  of  the  city. 
The  incident  of  the  siege  was  a  severe  wound 


received  by  Alexander,  whose  life  thereby  was 
thought  for  the  time  to  be  endangered. 

By  the  fall  of  Tyre  and  Gaza  the  whole  of 
Phoenicia,  Samaria,  and  Judaea  was  given  up 
to  the  conqueror.  Having  no  longer  any  cause 
to  fear  insurrections  behind  him  he  now  pressed 
forward  toward  Egypt.  Arriving  at  Pelu- 
sium  he  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  fortress, 
which  was  immediately  given  into  his  posses- 
sion. The  Persian  governor  of  Egypt  was  next 
summoned  to  renounce  his  authority  in  favor 
of  Alexander.  Unable  to  resist  the  demand 
and  finding  that  the  Egyptians,  long  burdened 
with  the  oppressions  of  Persia,  were  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  Macedonian,  the  satrap  yielded 
without  striking  a  blow.  Thus  within  a  week 
and  without  the  shedding  of  blood  was  the 
sovereignty  of  the  whole  of  Egypt  transferred 
to  Alexander. 

It  rarely  happens  in  a  case  of  genius  such 
as  that  possessed  by  the  son  of  Philip,  that 
the  exhaustless  energies  of  the  mind  are  able 
to  be  appeased  with  a  single  line  of  activity. 
The  really  great  warriors  of  the  world  have  gen- 
erally been  great  statesman.  Alexander,  Csesar, 
Charlemagne,  Napoleon — each  like  the  other — 
was  but  poorly  satisfied — perhaps  not  satisfied 
at  all — with  the  bloody  work  of  destroying 
his  fellow-men.  In  each  case  the  ambition  to 
bring  order  into  the  world,  to  regulate,  to  civ- 
ilize the  nations,  rose  with  a  larger  and  brighter 
disk  than  the  mere  ambition  of  war  presented. 

As  soon  as  Egypt  was  fairly  in  his  posses- 
sion, and  the  conquest  thus  completed  of  all  the 
countries  west  of  the  Euphrates,  the  Macedo- 
nian hero  began  to  excogitate  such  measures 
as  seemed  best  adapted  to  promote  the  inter- 
ests of  the  peoi:)les  whom  he  had  brought  under 
his  sway.  One  of  the  first  schemes  produced 
by  his  fertile  brain  was  a  method  by  which 
intercourse  might  be  rendered  easy  and  rapid 
between  India  and  the  states  of  the  West.  A 
principal  feature  of  the  plans  which  now  oc- 
cupied his  mind  was  the  establishment  in 
Egypt  of  a  great  emporium  of  commerce. 
He  first  by  surveys  familiarized  himself  with 
the  valley  of  the  Nile  as  far  south  as  Heliop- 
olis.  In  the  course  of  his  examination  of 
the  country,  he  availed  himself  of  every  means 
and   opportunity  to  win  the   admiration   and 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


649 


affections  of  the  people.  Returning  by  way 
of  Memphis,  he  carefully  examined  the  several 
mouths  of  the  Nile.  Having  rejected  both 
Pelusium  and  Canopus  as  unsuited  in  situa- 
tion for  the  contemplated  city,  he  passed  to 
the  western  side  of  that  branch  of  the  river  on 
which  the  latter  town  was  located,  and  there 
selected  a  site  for  the  proposed  metropolis. 
To  Dinocrates  he  assigned  the  work  of  layinj^ 
out  and  founding  the  city;  and  as  if  to  trust 
his  fame  to  an  enterprise  of  peace  rather  than 
to  the  havoc  of  war,  he  ordered  that  the  new 


Possibly,  however,  the  impulse  which  urged 
him  thither  was  the  ambition  to  do  what  Cam- 
byses  had  failed  to  accomplish.  Nor  is  it  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that  the  Macedonian  was 
willing  to  avail  himself  of  this  means  to 
heighten  his  reputation  among  the  African 
races  by  consulting  the  oracle  of  their  great 
deity  in  the  desert. 

Of  course  the  journey  to  Amun  was  ac- 
companied with  miraculous  indications  of  the 
favor  of  heaven.  When  the  Macedonians  were 
well-nigh  dying  of  thirst,  rain  poured  down 


ALEXANDER  AT  THE  TEMPLE  OF  AMUN. 


Egyptian  capital  should  bear  his  name — Alex- 

ANDMA. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  family  of 
Philip  of  Macedon,  not  without  pride,  traced 
its  mythical  origin  to  the  great  heroes,  Per- 
seus and  Hercules.  It  appears  that  Alexander 
was  not  above  the  half  superstitious  vanity 
of  claiming  these  fabulous  personages  as  his 
ancestors.  Such  an  element  of  vainglory  in 
his  nature  it  may  have  been  which  induced 
him,  while  still  tarrying  in  Egypt,  to  under- 
take a  pilgrimage  across  the  desert  to  the 
shrine  of  Ra  or  Jove,  in  the  oasis  of  Amun. 


in  torrents.  When  the  band  of  pilgrims  had 
lost  its  way  in  the  desert,  two  tremendous  ser- 
pents suddenly  appeared  and  marshaled  them 
toward  the  oasis.  Ravens  likewise  flew  before 
the  pilgrims.  So  they  came  to  the  beautiful 
site  of  the  shrine  of  Jove.  The  Macedonian  was 
received  with  every  mark  of  distinction  by  the 
obsequious  priests  who,  after  the  manner  of 
their  kind  in  all  ages,  were  willing — 

"To  bend  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee 
That  thrift  might  follow  fawning." 

Ostensibly,  Alexander  had  visited  the  oasis 
to  consult  the  oracle  of  Amun  as  to  the  va- 


650 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


lidity  of  his  own  claims  to  be  regarded  as  the 
son  of  Zeus.  To  his  inquiry  on  this  question, 
if  we  may  trust  the  credulous  fable-writers  of 
antiquity,  a  favorable  answer  was  returned  by 
the  auspicious  spirit  of  the  place ;  and  the  son 
of  Philip  was  enabled  to  return  into  Egypt 
bearing  the  unequivocal  honors  of  deity/ 

In  arriving  at  Memphis,  Alexander  at  once 
proceeded  to  reorganize  the  Egyptian  govern- 
ment. He  also  reviewed  and  modified,  in 
some  particulars,  the  governments  which  he 
had  previously  established  in  the  provinces  sub- 
dued by  his  arms.  In  the  early  spring  of 
B.  C.  331,  having  completed  the  civil  arrange- 
ments to  which  he  had  devoted  his  time  since 
the  preceding  autumn,  he  set  out  for  Tyre, 
which  place  he  had  appointed  as  a  rendezvous 
for  both  his  fleets  and  armies.  Here  he  met 
ambassadors  from  Athens  and  other  cities  of 
the  Greek  confederacy,  with  whom  he  con- 
ferred respecting  the  prosecution  of  his  Asiatic 
campaign.  He  then  began  his  movement  to 
the  East,  and  in  the  first  days  of  summer 
reached  the  Euphrates.  At  Thapsacus  he 
found  the  bridge  across  the  river  broken  down, 
and  the  enemy  in  considerable  force  on  the 
opposite  bank;  but  they  quickly  decamped, 
without  attempting  to  hinder  his  passage. 

Alexander  effected  his  crossing  without  de- 
lay, and  proceeded  eastward  along  the  north- 
ern confines  of  Mesopotamia.  He  had  not 
advanced  far,  however,  in  this  direction  until 
he  was  informed  by  deserters  and  scouts  that 
Darius  had  led  his  army  up  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Tigris,  and,  as  if  to  await  his  antag- 
onist, had  selected  a  strong  position  on  the 
margin  of  that  broad  and  rapid  stream.  It  is 
probable  that  this  intelligence  occasioned  a 
change  in  the  plans  of  the  conqueror.  It  had 
been  his  purpose  to  make  his  way  into  Lower 

^  A  half  humorous  incident  of  Alexander's  in- 
terview with  the  priest  of  Amun  has  been  pre- 
served by  Plutarch.  It  appears  that  the  oracle, 
not  quite  willing  to  vouch  for  the  divine  paternity 
of  the  Macedonian,  indulged  in  the  usual  trick  of 
ambiguity.  The  old  priest,  on  coming  out  to  de- 
liver the  response  of  the  god,  is  said,  as  if  blun- 
dering in  his  Greek,  to  have  addressed  Alexander 
as  Pai  Bios  (son  of  Jove),  when  as  a  matter  of 
fact  he  was  merely  intending  to  say  Paidion  (my 
son)!  Of  course  Alexander's  courtiers  preferred 
Pai  Dios  to  Paidion. 


Mesopotamia,  and,  having  captured  Babylon, 
to  press  forward  to  Susa.  But  learning  the 
whereabouts  of  Darius,  and  perceiving  the  in- 
tentions of  the  Great  King  to  offer  battle  in 
his  chosen  position,  he  rapidly  advanced  in 
that  direction.  On  the  fourth  day  of  his 
march  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Persian  host; 
but  on  the  appearance  of  the  Macedonian 
Darius  began  to  recede  towards  the  south, 
with  the  evident  intention  of  drawing  Alex- 
ander further  and  further  into  the  enemy's 
country.  But  the  latter  pressed  upon  him 
with  so  much  eagerness  and  audacity  that  the 
Persian  was  compelled  to  make  a  stand  for 
battle.  He  accordingly  selected  a  suitable 
field  on  the  banks  of  the  Bumadus,  a  small 
eastern  tributary  of  the  Tigris.  The  king 
made  his  head-quarters  six  miles  distant  from 
the  plain  selected  for  the  fight,  at  the  town 
of  Arbela,  where  the  Pei'sian  baggage  and 
military  chests  were  deposited. 

If  we  may  trust  the  ancient  authors,  Darius 
brought  to  the  battle-field,  on  Avhich  his  own 
and  the  destinies  of  his  empire  were  now 
staked,  an  army  of  foot-soldiers  numbering  at 
least  a  million,  wdiile  the  cavalry  amounted  to 
forty  thousand,  the  scythe-bearing  chariots  to 
two  hundred,  and  the  elephants  to  fifteen.  To 
oppose  this  limitless  host,  Alexander  had  forty 
thousand  foot  and  seven  thousand  horse.  It 
is  not  improbable,  however,  that  this  incredi- 
ble disparity  in  numbers  ai'ose  not  from  the 
facts  in  the  premises,  but  from  the  disposition 
of  the  Greek  writers  to  glorify  the  achieve- 
ments of  their  countrymen. 

Alexander  at  this  great  crisis  behaved  with 
more  than  his  usual  caution.  He  sj^ent  four 
days  in  fortifying  his  camp,  and  at  the  second 
watch  of  the  fifth  night  drew  out  his  forces 
for  battle.  While  advancing  upon  the  enemy, 
he  jDcrceived  on  reaching  the  summit  of  a  hill 
the  evidence  of  such  unusual  preparation  on 
the  part  of  Darius  that  it  was  deemed  prudent 
to  hold  a  council  of  war.  Most  of  the  Mace- 
donian generals  gave  their  vote  for  an  imme- 
diate attack,  but  the  veteran  Parmenio  ad« 
vised  that  the  ground  which  they  were  to 
traverse  and  the  general  disposition  of  the 
Persian  forces  should  be  carefully  scanned 
before  incurring  the  hazard  of  battle.     With 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


651 


this  view  Alexander,  whose  judgment  seems  to 
have  been  cooled  by  the  tremendous  stake  at 
issue  in  the  conflict,  fully  coincided,  and  a 
whole  day  was  accordingly  spent  in  recouuoit- 
ering  the  field. 

In  the  early  morning  of  the  seventh  day, 
all  the  preliminaries  having  been  arranged, 
the  two  armies  cautiously  advanced  towards 
each  other,  and  then  grappled  in  a  struggle 
which  was  to  decide  the  fate  of  Asia.  The 
battle  began  with  an  action  of  the  cavalry  and 
chariots.  Soon,  however,  the  lines  of  infantry 
became  involved,  and  the  fight  raged  along 
the  whole  front  of  the  field.  Nor  were  the 
Greeks  at  first  able  to  drive  the  heavy  masses 
of  the  enemy  before  them.  On  no  previous 
field  had  the  Persians  displayed  so  much 
bravery  and  steady  discipline.  The  Scythian 
cavalry  had  well-nigh  proved  a  match  for  the 
famous  horsemen  of  Thessaly.  In  some  parts 
of  the  field,  under  the  tremendous  pressure  of 
numbers,  the  allied  forces  actually  wavered 
and  lost  some  ground.  But  the  Macedonian 
phalanx,  irresistible  as  hitherto,  made  its 
steady  way,  like  some  huge  engine  of  destruc- 
tion, upon  the  heavy  masses  of  the  enemy,  and 
before  its  horrible  forest  of  spears,  the  barba- 
rians were  forced  into  flight.  Darius  him- 
self— whether  by  his  own  will  or  by  the  con- 
fused tides  of  the  rout  which  swelled  around 
him  is  not  certainly  known — was  borne  away 
with  the  roaring  mass  of  fugitives. 

Discovering  the  flight  of  the  king,  and  eager 
to  possess  himself  of  the  royal  person,  Alexan- 
der, with  the  cavalry,  pressed  forward  with  ex- 
treme audacity,  and  the  Macedonian  left,  un- 
der command  of  Parmenio,  who  was  charged 
with  the  protection  of  the  camp,  was  almost 
fatally  weakened.  It  happened,  moreover, 
that  the  Persian  cavalry  on  the  right,  opposite 
to  Parmenio,  was  commanded  by  Mazseus,  one 
of  the  ablest  of  the  Great  King's  generals. 
This  daring  officer  succeeded  in  breaking 
through  the  Macedonian  lines,  and  captured 
the  camp.  Messengers  were  hastily  sent  to 
Alexander,  who  on  the  right  was  far  in  ad- 
vance in  pursuit  of  the  king.  With  the  ut- 
most speed  the  conqueror  wheeled  and  came 
back  to  the  support  of  Parmenio.  The  bat- 
tle on  the  left  was  renewed  with  desperate 
N. — Vol.  I — 40 


bravery  until  the  Persian  liorse  was  finally  put 
to  flight. 

The  camp  was  regained,  and  Alexander 
again  pressed  forward  in  the  hope  of  capturing 
the  fugitive  king.  On  arriving  at  the  river 
Lycus,  he  tound  that  Darius  had  already  crossed 
to  the  other  side.  The  pursuit  was  therefore 
given  over,  and,  after  a  brief  rest,  the  con- 
queror turned  aside  in  the  night,  and  before 
morning  entered  the  town  of  Arbela  without 
opposition.  Here  he  secured  the  rich  treas- 
ures which  the  Persian  king,  pending  the  bat- 
tle, had  there  deposited.  The  chariot,  shield, 
and  bow  of  Darius  were  found  among  the 
captured  spoils. 

Of  the  number  slain  in  the  battle  of  Arbela' 
no  authentic  account  can  be  given.  The  cred- 
ulous Arrian  says  that  the  Persians  lost  three 
hundred  thousand  in  killed  and  a  still  greater 
number  in  prisoners,  while  the  whole  loss  of 
the  Greeks  is  stated  at  not  more  than  a  hun- 
dred. Such  a  statement,  however,  is  so  glar- 
ingly improbable  as  to  be  entirely  unworthy  of 
respect.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the 
old  authorities  are  of  but  little  value  in  deter- 
mining the  numbers  composing  armies  or  the 
losses  in  battle. 

After  his  overthrow  at  Arbela,  Darius  at- 
tempted to  make  a  stand  in  Media.  Around 
him  here  were  gathered  the  scattered  fragments 
of  his  army.  But  Alexander,  knowing  that 
the  king  could  never  again  oflTer  him  any 
effectual  resistance,  now  turned  his  course  in 
the  direction  of  Babylon.  No  serious  opposi- 
tion, however,  was  to  be  anticipated  from  the 
great  cities  of  the  Chaldsean  plain.  On  arriv- 
ing in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  metropolis  a  vast 
procession  of  people  with  priests  and  nobles  at 
the  head  came  out  to  surrender  the  city  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  to  the  son  of  Philip.  The 
gates  were  opened  and  the  citadel  and  treas- 
ury given  up  without  the  slightest  attempt  to 
save  them  from  the  clutch  of  the  conqueror. 
Within  the  Babylonian  vaults  and  treasure- 
houses,  so  vast  a  wealth  of  stores  and  money 
was  found  as  never  before  had  greeted  the 
eyes  of  the  Macedonian  soldiery.  Nor  did 
Alexander  lose  the   opportunity  to   establish 

'  For  the  true  name  of  this  great  battle  see 
Book  Sixth,  p.  376. 


652 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


himself  in  popular  esteem  by  flattering  the 
national  superstitions.  Careful  respect  was 
shown  to  the  religious  rites  of  the  Babylonians, 
and  the  conqueror  himself  disdained  not  to 
enter  the  great  temple  of  the  city  and  offer 
sacrifices  to  Belus. 

Remaining  for  a  while  in  Babylon,  Alex- 
ander received  a  deputation  from  the  Arme- 
nians of  the  North,  who  professed  their  desire 
to  be  included  as  subjects  of  his  Empire.  Soon 
afterwards  a  delegation  arrived  from  Susa, 
the  Persian  capital,  and  he  was  informed  of 
the  wish  of  that  great  city  to  put  her  keys  in 
his  hands.  The  ambassadors  expressed  their 
dislike  of  the  Persian  dynasty,  and  the  wish  of 
the  Susianians  to  share  their  destinies  with  the 
House  of  Macedon.  This  was  important  in- 
telligence, and  Alexander  immediately  availed 
himself  of  it  by  marching  in  the  direction  of 
the  Persian  capital.  Before  arriving  at  Susa, 
however,  he  was  met  by  a  son  of  the  satrap, 
who  came  out  to  assure  him  of  a  hospitable 
reception.  He  was  informed  that  the  city, 
with  all  its  defenses  and  treasures,  would  be  sur- 
rendered without  delay  or  opposition.  Within 
twenty  days  after  his  departure  from  Babylon 
he  reached  his  destination.  Susa  was  given 
up,  and  the  Macedonian  found  himself  in  pos- 
session of  a  sum  equal  to  fifty  millions  of  dol- 
lars. In  the  royal  palace  were  found  many 
of  the  treasures  which  Xerxes  had  taken  from 
the  Greeks.  Among  the  rest  were  two  bronze 
statues  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  those 
famous  popular  heroes  who  slew  the  tyrant 
Hipparchus.  These  venerated  relics  were  at 
once  returned  by  Alexander  to  the  Athenians, 
though  the  conqueror  could  hardly  have  been 
in  sympathy  with  the  cause  of  which  they 
were  the  symbols. 

While  tarrying  at  Susa,  Alexander  rein- 
stated the  wives  and  daughters  of  Darius  in 
the  royal  palace.  He  also,  in  reorganizing  the 
government,  intrusted  the  satrapy  to  a  native 
Persian,  thus  exhibiting  a  conciliatory  disposi- 
tion towards  the  traditions  of  the  people. 
Meanwhile  a  large  reenforcement,  sent  out  by 
Antipater,  arrived  from  Macedonia.  With 
them  came  fifty  youths  from  the  most  distin- 
guished families,  who  were  recommended  to 
the  king  as  proper  additions  to  his  body-guard. 


The  time  had  now  come  to  begin  the  in- 
vasion of  the  original  seat  of  the  Persian  Em- 
pire. Between  Susiana  and  Persia  Proper 
were  ranges  of  high  mountains,  the  passes  of 
which  must  be  traversed  by  the  Macedonians 
on  their  way  from  Susa  to  Persepolis.  These 
heights  were  inhabited  by  a  race  of  warlike 
barbarians  who,  even  in  the  palmy  days  of 
Persian  ascendency,  had  maintained  their  in- 
dependence, and  were  in  the  habit,  with  sin- 
gular impudence,  of  obliging  the  subjects  of 
the  Great  King  to  pay  toll  for  the  privilege 
of  passing  through  the  mountains.  It  was 
the  program  of  these  half-savages,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  the  conqueror,  to  occupy  the  cliffs, 
and  compel  the  king  of  Macedon  to  pay  the 
usual  tribute.  But  the  buccaneers  of  the  hills 
were  soon  taught  another  lesson.  The  light- 
armed  Macedonians,  agile  as  the  mountaineers 
themselves,  hastily  preoccupied  the  heights, 
and  the  barbarians  were  glad  to  escape  with 
their  lives.  It  was  not  the  custom  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of 
going  where  he  would. 

At  a  further  stage  of  his  progress  through 
the  hill-country,  the  Macedonian  encountered 
a  still  more  serious  obstacle.  The  Persian 
Gate,  through  which  he  must  descend  from 
the  highland  into  the  plain,  had  been  seized 
by  the  satrap,  Ariobarzanes,  who,  with  forty 
thousand  picked  soldiers,  had  chosen  this  fa- 
vorable position  with  the  determination  to 
stop  the  progress  of  Alexander  toward  the 
East.  In  attempting  to  force  the  pass,  the 
Macedonians  were  not  only  checked  but  actu- 
ally repelled,  until  what  time  Alexander, 
having  discovered  another  defile  through  the 
mountains,  passed  through  with  one  division 
of  his  army,  and  fell  upon  the  Persian 
rear.  The  discomfiture  of  Ariobarzanes  was 
complete. 

It  was  now  no  longer  any  concern  of  the 
Macedonian  what  should  become  of  the  satrap 
who  had  attempted  to  bar  his  progress,  but 
whether  he  himself  could  reach  Persepolis 
before  the  fugitives  from  the  recent  overthrow 
should  bear  thither  the  news  of  his  coming. 
He  had  been  informed  of  the  purpose  of  the 
Persepolitan  authorities  to  destroy  the  treas- 
ures and  records  of  the  city  rather  than  per- 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


653 


mit  them  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  ravager 
of  Asia.  It  was,  therefore,  of  great  impor- 
tance to  Alexander,  by  becoming  the  herald 
of  his  own  victory,  to  prevent  the  contem- 
plated destruction.  So  rapid  was  his  march 
that  he  dashed  upon  the  city  gates  unan- 
nounced :  nor  could  those  in  iauthority,  anx- 
ious as  they  were  to  save  themselves  by  flight, 
interfere  to  prevent  the  pillage  of  the  capital. 
Persepolis  went  down,  like  the  other  great 
cities  of  Asia,  before  the  trampler  of  the 
Orient. 

Once  safely  established  in  the  capital  of 
the  Empire,  Alexander  again  found  time  to 
pause  for  a  season  from  the  anxieties  of  war. 
Both  he  and  his  soldiers  gave  themselves  up 
to  festivities  not  wholly  free  from  excess  and 
rioting.  At  this  juncture  occurred  one  of  the 
least  creditable  transactions  of  Alexander's 
life — the  burning  of  the  magnificent  palace 
of  the  Persian  kings.  It  appears  that  a  cer- 
tain Thais,  an  Athenian  Hetcera,  celebrated 
for  her  beauty  and  accomplishments,  was  in- 
vited by  Alexander  to  a  banquet  given  by 
him  to  his  generals.  Wine  flowed  freely,  and 
the  Macedonian,  in  common  with  the  rest,  was 
under  the  influence  of  the  inebriating  cup. 
In  the  midst  of  the  feast,  Thais  recalling  to 
mind  the  demolition  of  her  native  city  by  the 
Persians,  and  feeling  towards  them  that  burn- 
ing hatred  of  which  a  woman  only  is  capable, 
proposed  that,  as  a  measure  of  retaliation  and 
revenge,  the  torch  should  now  be  applied  to 
the  royal  palace  of  Persepolis.  It  is  related 
that  the  Greek  generals,  having  recently  no- 
ticed on  the  part  of  Alexander  a  certain  in- 
clination to  look  with  favor  on  the  luxurious 
and  effeminating  manners  of  the  Persians,  and 
fearing,  as  is  believed  lest  he  should,  in  re- 
organizing the  Empire,  conclude  to  establish 
his  capital  in  the  East,  and  seeing  in  the  great 
palace  of  the  Persepolitan  kings  a  temptation 
to  such  a  course,  interposed  no  objection  to 
the  revengeful  freak  of  the  Athenian  woman. 
Alexander,  perceiving  that  his  generals  did  not 
object  to  the  incendiary  proposition,  not  only 
gave  his  own  assent  to  the  wish  of  his  favor- 
ite, but  himself  rushed  forth  with  a  torch  and 
fired  the  royal  dwelling.  The  progress  of  the 
flames,  however,  soon  sobered  the  temporary 


madman,  and  in  sudden  repentance  for  his 
crime,  he  endeavored  to  save  the  palace  from 
destruction ;  but  the  conflagration  had  already 
proceeded  so  far  that  only  a  part  of  the  royal 
house  could  be  rescued  from  the  flames. 

For  four  months  after  his  entrance  into 
Persepolis,  Alexander  remained  in  the  city. 
Darius,  meanwhile,  had  established  himself  in 
Ecbatana,  and  was  there  rallying  such  forces 
as  he  could  command,  in  the  hope  of  saving 
the  northern  provinces  of  his  empire.  He 
also  busied  himself  with  that  business  which 
had  now  become  a  part  of  the  traditional 
policy  of  the  Persian  kings,  namely,  the  in- 
stigation of  a  revolt  among  the  states  of 
Greece.  In  collusion  with  Agis,  king  of  the 
Lacedaemonians,  Darius  succeeded,  in  the 
Avinter  of  B.  C.  331-330,  in  organizing  a  for- 
midable rebellion  among  the  confederated 
powers  of  the  West.  An  army  was  raised  in 
Southern  Greece,  and  an  expedition  planned 
against  Macedonia.  Antipater,  who  was  still 
regent  of  the  hereditary  dominions  of  Alex- 
ander, prepared  resistance,  and  even  antici- 
pated the  movements  of  the  enemy  by  march- 
ing into  Peloponnesus.  '  The  war  was  thus 
precipitated  upon  the  Spartans  and  their 
allies,  and  the  whole  issue  was  soon  decided 
by  a  decisive  battle,  in  which  Antipater  wa& 
completely  victorious.  The  insurgents  were 
disjDersed  and  Agis  slain.  So  complete  was 
the  triumph  of  the  Macedonian  cause  that 
even  in  Sparta  the  friends  of  Alexander  se- 
cured control  of  affairs,  and  a  contingent  of 
Lacedsemonian  troops  was  sent  forward  to  the 
king  at  Persepolis. 

With  the  opening  of  spring  the  conqueror 
left  the  Persian  capital  and  set  out  into- 
Media.  On  his  approach  to  Ecbatana,  Darius, 
having  heard  of  the  failure  of  the  movement 
in  his  favor  in  Greece,  and  finding  himself 
unable  to  confront  his  antagonist  in  the  field, 
gathered  together  his  treasures,  and  with  a 
guard  of  ten  thousand  men,  left  the  city  to 
become  a  fugitive  in  the  earth.  The  city 
was  taken  without  a  blow,  and  the  whole  of 
Media  was  added  to  the  new  empire  of  the 
Macedonian. 

With  the  latter  it  now  became  a  prime 
ambition — a  passion — to  gain  possession  of  tt^ 


654 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Persian  king.  Accordingly,  having  selected 
a  body  of  his  best  troops,  he  started  in  pur- 
suit of  the  royal  refugee,  and,  after  a  march 
of  incredible  rapidity,  arrived  in  eleven  days 
at  the  city  of  Rhagse,  near  the  gi^eat  pass  of 
the  Caucasus,  called  the  Caspian  Gate.  Here 
he  learned  that  Darius  had  abandoned  the 
hill-country  and  was  continuing  his  flight 
across  the  Parthian  plains.  While  making  a 
temporary  pause  to  procure  supplies  and  rest 
his  men,  intelligence  was  brought  to  Alexan- 
der that  Bessus,  the  satrap  of  Bactria,  to- 
gether with  two  others,  one  of  whom  was  a 
cavalry  officer  in  the  body-guard  of  the  king, 
had  conspired  against  Darius,  seized  his  per- 
son, and  were  now  dragging  him  back  to  be 
delivered  to  the  conqueror.  It  was  their  pur- 
pose, however,  after  the  manner  of  Asiatics, 
to  hold  possession  of  their  captive,  and  thus 
be  able  to  extort  terms  favorable  to  them- 
selves— perhaps  to  sell  the  prisoner  at  an 
enormous  price  in  money  and  preferments. 

Setting  out  in  the  night,  Alexander  again 
pressed  forward  with  great  rapidity,  and  on 
the  morrow  arrived  at  a  village  which  had 
just  been  occupied  by  Bessus  and  his  confed- 
erates. Again  hurrying  forward  across  the 
desert,  he  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  fugitives. 
A  brief  and  feeble  resistance  was  offered  to 
the  pursuers,  and  then  the  captors  of  the 
king,  fearing  that  Darius,  when  taken,  might 
induce  Alexander  to  punish  them  for  their 
perfidy,  plunged  their  swords  into  the  royal 
■captive  and  deft  him  in  his  chariot  by  the 
road-side  to  die.  In  a  few  moments  the  con- 
•queror  was  on  the  spot,  but  not  until  the  last 
king  of  the  Persian  Empire  had  breathed  out 
his  life.  Only  the  bleeding,  lifeless  body  of 
him  w^ho  had  once  swayed  the  millions  re- 
mained as  a  trophy  to  the  conqueror.  It  is 
not  often  that  the  history  of  the  world  has 
jjresented  a  scene  so  dramatic  as  that  of  the 
son  of  Philip  standing  before  the  dead  body 
of  his  adversary.  It  was  greatly  to  the  honor 
of  Alexander  that  he  behaved  Avith  the  ut- 
most humanity  in  the  presence  of  his  fallen 
foe.  The  royal  corpse  was  carefully  conveyed 
to  Persepolis,  and  splendidly  buried  in  the 
tombs  of  the  Persian  kings. 

With    the    death    of    Darius,    the   empire 


founded  by  Cyrus  the  Great"  was  extinguished. 
The  invasion  of  Xerxes,  with  its  attendant 
havoc  and  devastation  to  the  states  of  Greece, 
had,  after  a  century  and  a-half  of  waiting, 
been  amply  avenged  by  the  Macedonian  con- 
queror. There  was  no  longer  any  serious 
opposition  to  the  establishment  of  a  new 
dynasty  on  the  ruins  of  the  East.  For  a 
brief  season,  Bessus,  the  treacherous  satrap  of 
Bactria,  assumed  the  title  of  Artaxerxes  and 
laid  claim  to  the  dominions  of  the  Great  King. 

It  was,  however,  but  an  act  of  vaulting  am- 
bition which  o'erleaped  itself  and  fell  on  the 
other  side.  He  was  pursued  by  Alexander 
into  the  province  of  Sogdiana,  cooped  up  in 
a  fortress,  and  finally  surrendered  into  the 
hands  of  the  Macedonians.  After  being  muti- 
lated according  to  the  practice  of  the  East,  J 
he  was  cruelly  put  to  death.  The  Bactrians, 
however,  for  several  months  continued  to  op- 
pose the  authority  of  Alexander.  It  was 
found  necessary  to  make  a  campaign  into  the 
country  between  the  Caspian  and  the  Jaxar- 
tes.  fhis  river  was  crossed  by  the  Macedo- 
nian army — the  furthest  limit  of  its  northward 
progress.  The  satrap,  Spitamenes,  called  to 
his  aid  the  people  of  Sogdiana,  and  the  fierce 
Scythians,  thus  creating  an  army  of  formi- 
dable proportions.  But  the  general,  Coenus, 
soon  overthrew  them  in  battle,  and  Spitame- 
nes was  pursued  into  the  desert  and  put  to 
death.  Another  insurgent,  named  Oxyartes, 
took  possession  of  a  fortress,  situated  in  an 
almost  inaccessible  height,  and,  being  well 
supplied  with  provisions,  bade  defiance  to  the 
Macedonians.  When  summoned  to  surrender, 
they  coolly  asked  Alexander  if  his  men  had 
wings.  This  piece  of  bravado  was  answered 
on  the  following  day  by  a  Macedonian  storm- 
ing party,  who,  with  hands  and  feet,  if  not 
with  wings,  ascended  the  cliff  and  carried  the 
fortress  by  storm. 

Among  the  captives  found  in  this  strong- 
hold of  the  enemy  was  the  daughter  of  Ox- 
yartes, the  beautiful  Roxana,  whom  Alex- 
ander, against  the  half-suppressed  protests  of 
his  Greeks,  chose  for  his  wife.  It  appears 
that  the  union  was  based  on  politics  as  well  as 
affection ;  for  it  was  now  evident  that  the 
Macedonian  contemplated  the  organic  consoli- 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


655 


MACEDONIANS  CROSSING  THE  JAXARTES. 


656 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


dation  of  the  various  nations  subdued  by  his 
arms,  and  that  he  saw  in  intermarriage  one 
of  the  chief  means  by  which  this  result  was 
to  be  accomplished.  It  was  observed,  more- 
over, that  his  army  had  of  late  been  recruited 
from  Asiatic  sources,  and  notwithstanding  the 
jealousy  which  this  measure  created  among 
his  Macedonian  and  Grecian  subjects,  Alexan- 
der persisted  in  the  course  which  seemed  to 
him  most  likely  to  conciliate  the  favor  of  the 
recently  subjugated  peoples. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  banner  and  phalanx 
of  Macedonia  were  carried  to  the  borders  of 
India.  Nor  was  there  any  doubt  of  the  ability 
of  the  conqueror  to  press  his  way  eastward 
until  the  ocean  and  the  Himalayas  should  im- 
pede his  progress.  His  army  was  now  an 
army  of  veterans,  inured  in  the  campaigns  of 
four  successive  years  to  every  species  of  hard- 
ship incident  to  the  camp  and  the  field.  Be- 
sides the  discipline  which  they  had  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  bravest  and  most  expe- 
rienced generals,  the  person  and  example  of 
Alexander  himself,  who  shared  with  his  sol- 
diers all  the  hardships  of  the  march  and  the 
battle,  had  inspired  them  with  enthusiasm  for 
their  leader  and  confidence  in  their  abilities 
to   conquer  the  world. 

To  these  prospects  of  future  achievement 
a  single  circumstance  seemed  to  oppose  a 
barrier.  Of  late  there  had  arisen  trouble  not 
a  little  between  the  Macedonian  and  some  of 
the  officers  of  his  army.  In  the  first  place  he 
was  led  to  suspect  that  Philotas,  the  son  of 
Parmenio,  was  engaged  in  a  treacherous  con- 
spiracy against  himself.  The  young  general 
was  accordingly  arrested,  tried  before  a  mili- 
tary commission,  condemned  by  his  judges, 
and  put  to  death.  This  was  a  fatal  blow  to 
Parmenio,  who,  though  long  the  confidential 
adviser  of  Philip  and  afterwards  the  ablest 
general  of  Philip's  son,  soon  fell  under  sus- 
picion of  disloyalty,  and,  whether  guilty  or 
innocent,  was  speedily  sent  to  his  death.  In 
these  proceedings  it  was  evident  that  the  mu- 
tual trust  of  the  king,  and  Ids  officers,  Avhich 
for  many  years  had  survived  the  ordeals  of 
privation  and  battle,  was  clouded  with  discon- 
tent and  suspicion. 

The  winter  of  B.  C.  329  was  passed  by  the 


Persian  army  in  Bactria.  It  was  during  this 
interval  that  an  event  occurred  from  the 
effects  of  which  the  king  never  wholly  es- 
caped. The  Asiatic  courtiers,  who  now  con- 
stituted a  part  of  the  retinue  of  Alexander, 
began  to  exercise  upon  his  character  a  dele- 
terious influence.  It  is  clear  that  his  ear  was 
no  longer  oflfended  with  the  base  flatteries  of 
the  East.  This  gradual  alienation  from  the 
severe  manners  of  his  father's  court  was 
noticed  with  mortification  by  the  austere 
Macedonians,  who  still  constituted  the  body 
of  his  friends.  On  a  certain  occasion,  in  the 
Bactrian  winter-quarters,  a  banquet  was  given 
in  honor  of  Castor  and  Pollux.  When  all 
were  well  heated  with  wine,  some  of  the 
fawning  puppies  of  the  East  began  in  their 
usual  obsequious  way  to  flatter  the  king  on 
his  great  achievements  and  divine  paternity. 
Thereupon  Clitus,  the  ablest  of  the  Macedo- 
nian generals  after  Parmenio,  and  the  intimate 
friend  of  the  conqueror,  rebuked  the  syco- 
phants with  all  the  hot  words  in  his  vocabulary. 

Alexander,  to  his  shame,  interfered  to  stop 
the  reproaches  of  Clitus,  who  thereupon  turned 
on  his  master  a  torrent  of  well-deserved  re- 
bukes. The  king,  already  excited  with  drink, 
gave  way  to  passion,  and  in  a  moment  of  un- 
governable rage  snatched  a  weapon  from  one 
of  his  guards,  and  gave  his  faithful  general  a 
death-thrust  on  the  spot.  With  the  quick  re- 
turn of  reason,  realizing  the  hox'rible  crime 
which  he  had  committed,  he  fell  into  bitter 
remorse,  shut  himself  up  in  his  chamber, 
would  not  see  his  friends,  and  for  three  days 
neither  ate  nor  drank.  Finally  he  was  per- 
suaded that  the  rash  murder  of  his  friend  was 
chargeable  to  Bacchus  rather  than  to  himself, 
and  with  this  miserable  subterfuge  he  quieted 
his  conscience. 

A  short  time  afterwards  an  event  occurred 
which  came  near  costing  Alexander  his  life. 
Among  his  retainers  was  a  company  of  young 
men  known  as  the  Band  of  Pages.  Their 
leader  was  a  certain  Hermolaiis.  On  an  oc- 
casion Alexander  accompanied  these  youths 
on  a  boar  hunt  in  the  Bactrian  forests. 
When  the  beast  was  brought  to  bay,  Herma- 
laiis,  without  waiting  according  to  good  man- 
ners for  the   king  to   strike  down  the  game, 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDEE  THE  GEE  AT. 


657 


himself  gave  the  death  blow,  Alexander,  in 
childish  anger  for  the  affront  thus  offered,  fell 
upon  the  young  man  in  the  presence  of  his 
companions,  beat  him  with  a  rod,  and  took 
away  his  horse.  Hermolaiis  showed  himself 
capable  of  revenge.  Taking  four  of  his  com- 
panions into  his  confidence,  he  made  con- 
spiracy with  them  to  kill  the  king  that  night 
in  his  bed-chamber ;  for  the  pages  were  the 
guardians  of  the  royal  sleeping  apartments.  It 
chanced,  however,  that  the  plot  was  overheard 
by  the  convenient  old  woman  who  was  near 
the  chamber.  She  thereupon  persuaded  the 
king  not  to  retire  that  night;  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  young  men  being  put  to  the 
rack,  confessed  the  particulars  of  their  mur- 
derous scheme.  They,  also,  declared  that  the 
instigator  of  the  plot  was  a  certain  Athenian 
named  Callisthenes,  an  arrogant  philosopher 
belonging  to  the  court.  He  and  the  young 
men  were  straightway  condemned  and  exe- 
cuted. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  to  begin  the 
contemplated  expedition  into  India.  In  the 
spring  of  B.  C.  327,  Alexander  set  out  across 
the  mountain  range  of  Paropamisus,  and 
quickly  penetrated  the  valley  of  the  Indus. 
His  army  was  now  swollen  to  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  men.  This  great  force  he 
divided  into  two  corps,  reserving  the  command 
of  one  for  himself,  and  giving  the  other  to 
Hephsestion.  This  general  the  king  ordered 
to  press  forward  to  the  river  Cophenes,  while 
he  himself  undertook  the  conquest  of  the  bar- 
barous tribes  dwelling  between  that  river  and 
the  Indus.  As  soon  as  this  work  was  accom- 
plished, he  crossed  the  great  river,  and  made 
his  way  into  the  eastern  provinces.  Several 
districts  were  rapidly  overrun,  and  a  certain 
Taxiles,  the  most  important  ruler  of  this  re- 
gion, made  a  voluntary  surrender  of  his  terri- 
tories. He  also  sent  to  the  conqueror  a 
present  of  seven  thousand  Indian  horses,  and 
in  other  ways  testified  his  willingness  to  be 
enrolled  among  the  subjects  of  the  king. 
Alexander  cordially  accepted  the  prince  as  his 
ally,  and  restored  him  to  his  dominions. 

Meanwhile,  PoRUS,  the  most  powerful  king 
of  South-eastern  India,  had  gathered  a  vast 
army  of  his  subjects  and  advanced  to  the  river 


Hydaspes  to  oppose  the  passage  of  the  Mace- 
donians. For  the  third  time  in  the  course 
of  his  campaigns,  Alexander  beheld  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  a  stream  the  cohorts  of  an 
innumerable  enemy  drawn  up  to  hinder  his 
progress.  To  the  mind  of  the  Macedonian, 
the  present  emergency  seemed  more  grave 
than  that  which  presented  itself  at  the  Gran- 
icus  or  Issus.  Instead,  therefore,  of  dashing 
into  the  river  with  the  reckless  audacity  dis- 
played in  his  first  battle,  he  hesitated  and 
maneuvered.  After  making  so  many  feints 
as  to  throw  Porus  off  his  guard,  he  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  crossing  in  the  night.  A  general 
engagement  ensued  with  the  morning  light,  and 
the  Indians  were  completely  routed.  The  two 
sons  of  the  king  and  twenty-three  thousand 
of  his  troops  were  kiUed.  Porus  himself, 
flying  on  his  great  war  elephant,  was  cap- 
tured and  brought  into  the  presence  of  Alex- 
ander. 

It  is  narrated  that  the  Indian  prince  was 
of  so  goodly  a  person  and  manners  that  the 
Macedonian,  greatly  impressed  with  the  bear- 
ing of  his  prisoner,  asked  him  in  what  way 
he  could  serve  him.  "By  acting  like  a 
king,"  was  the  reply.  "I  should  do  as  much 
for  my  own  sake,"  said  Alexander;  "but 
what  shall  I  do  for  yours  ?  "  Porus  answered, 
"I  have  preferred  my  only  request."  So 
greatly  Avas  Alexander  pleased  with  the  re- 
sponse of  the  royal  captive  that  he  at  once 
reinstated  him  in  authority ;  and  having 
presently  conquered  thirty-seven  cities  on  the 
eastern  frontier,  he  added  them  to  the  posses- 
sion of  his  new  friend  and  confederate.^ 

Having  completed  the  conquest  of  India, 
the  conqueror  sought  recreation  for  himself 
and  his  men  by  instituting  on  the  bank  of 
the  Hydaspes  a  series  of  gymnastic  and  eques- 
trian games  like  the  Olympic  festival  of 
Greece.  When  the  celebration  was  com- 
pleted, he  proceeded  to  found  in  honor  of  his 
victories   the   city  of  Nic!?ea,  and  soon  after- 

'  The  reader  can  but  be  struck  with  the  supe- 
rior bearing  of  Alexander  in  the  field.  War 
brought  out  the  better  qualities  of  his  character 
and  genius.  It  was  in  the  times  of  surcease,  when 
his  restless  energies  no  longer  found  vent  in  the 
excitement  of  campaign  and  battle  that  his  pas- 
sions turned  to  meanness  and  depravity. 


658 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


DEFEAT  OF  PORUS  BY  THE  MACEDONIANS. 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


659^ 


wards  he  selected  a  site  for  Bucephalia,  so 
named  in  honor  of  his  famous  horse,  Buceph- 
alus. The  conqueror  then  intrusted  to  Cra- 
terus  a  division  of  his  army,  with  instructions 
to  build  and  fortify  the  new  cities.  He  him- 
self with  the  remaining  division  again  set  out 
towards  the  east.  He  crossed  first  the  river 
Acesines,  and  in  the  region  beyond  con- 
quered a  second  prince  named  Porus.  He 
then  passed  the  Hydraotes,  and  came  into 
a  country  inhabited  by  independent  tribes, 
which  attempted  in  their  half-barbarous  way 
to  impede  his  progress.  A  battle  was  fought 
with  them  and  they  were  routed  in  confusion. 
They  then  retired  into  their  fortress  of  San- 
gala,  and  having  refused  to  capitulate,  were 
besieged  by  the  Macedonian  army.  For  a 
brief  period  the  town  was  obstinately  de- 
fended, but  was  presently  carried  by  storm. 
Seventeen  thousand  of  the  Indians  were  killed 
in  the  assault,  and  seventy  thousand  more 
were  made  prisoners.  The  city  was  leveled 
to  the  ground,  and  the  confederate  tribes  not 
involved  in  its  destruction  fled  beyond  the 
Hyphasis  for  safety. 

All  of  the  vast  region  known  as  the  Pun- 
jaub,  or  Land  of  the  Five  Rivers,  was  now 
completely  subjugated.  Of  the  great  streams, 
by  which  this  country  was  watered,  the  Hy- 
phasis, just  mentioned,  was  the  most  easterly. 
This  river,  therefore,  constituted  the  natural 
limit  of  Upper  India.  But  no  corresponding 
limit  was  found  to  the  ambition  of  Alexander. 
He  immediately  began  to  prepare  to  cross  the 
Hyphasis,  and  to  continue  his  progress  to  the 
East.  But  here  at  last  the  fates  had  decreed 
that  the  son  of  Philip  should  pause.  The 
arrow  shot  from  strongest  bow  into  highest 
sky  must  turn  somewhere  and  seek  again  the 
earth  in  its  flight.  If  the  impulse  of  conquest 
still  bore  onward  the  conqueror  himself,  it 
was  no  longer  felt  in  the  breasts  of  his  gen- 
erals and  men.  On  the  banks  of  the  Hy- 
'  phasis  they  hesitated,  wavered,  refused  to  go 
further.  In  vain  did  the  baffled  Macedonian 
attempt  to  persuade  his  commanders  and  sol- 
diers to  accompany  him  to  the  extreme  of 
Asia.  In  vain  he  promised  them  an  easy  and 
circuitous  route  through  victory  and  spoil  to 
the  ocean  of  India.     Then   they  should  sail 


homeward  by  a  brief  and  pleasant  passage- 
through  the  Persian  Gulf.  But  destiny  was 
fixed — they  would  go  no  further.  So,  tO' 
conceal  his  defeat  and  mortification,  the  con- 
queror consulted  the  gods  and  announced  that 
the  divine  oracles  had  indeed  decreed  a  return 
to  Europe.  Under  the  breastplate  of  Mars- 
appeared  the  duplicity  of  the  priest  and  the- 
shrewdness  of  the  politician ! 

So  the  Macedonian  proceeded  to  build 
twelve  pillars  on  the  bank  of  Hyphasis,  and 
left  them  there  as  monuments  of  his  victory 
and  as  limits  of  his  progress  towards  the  ris- 
ing sun.  To  Porus  he  then  intrusted  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  seven  provinces — with  their 
two  thousand  cities — which  he  had  conquered 
in  his  Indian  campaign,  and  himself  immedi- 
ately prepared  to  descend  the  Hydaspes  to  the 
Indus  and  the  Indus  to  the  sea. 

As  soon  as  the  arrangements  for  the  return 
to  Europe  could  be  comjileted,  the  conqueror 
formed  his  army  in  three  divisions,  giving  the 
first  to  Hephsestion,  the  second  to  Craterus, 
and  reserving  the  third  for  himself.  The 
first  two  divisions  were  ordered  to  proceed 
along  the  river  bank,  while  the  commander 
himself,  with  his  division,  embarked  on  board 
a  fleet  built  for  the  purpose  by  the  Phoenician 
and  Cypriot  carpenters  belonging  to  the  army. 
Fi-equently  in  his  progress  down  the  river  the 
conqueror  was  hindered  by  the  hostility  of 
native  tribes.  In  one  instance  a  nation  called 
the  Malli  so  greatly  retarded  his  movements- 
that  he  felt  constrained  to  go  on  shore  and 
besiege  their  capital.  This  was  defended  with 
much  spirit  by  the  barbarians,  until  Alexan- 
der, vexed  with  the  delay,  ordered  the  place 
to  be  carried  by  storm.  The  assault  w^as  at 
once  made,  and  every  thing  fell  before  the 
charge  of  the  Macedonians  until  they  came  to 
the  citadel.  Here  the  ramparts  had  to  be 
mounted  with  scaling-ladders.  These  the 
king  at  once  ordered  to  be  brought  forward ; 
but  becoming  angry  at  what  to  him  seemed 
unnecessary  delay,  he  snatched  a  ladder  him- 
self, placed  it  against  the  wall,  and  in  spite 
of  the  vociferous  remonstrances  of  his  com- 
panions began  rapidly  mounting  to  the   top. 

In  order  to  save  their  king  from  what  seemed 
certain  destruction,  the  Macedonians  pressed 


660 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


after  him;  but  just  as  he  reached  the  summit 
the  ladder  broke,  and  all  the  rest  were  pre- 
cipitated to  the  ground.  The  son  of  Philip 
was  left  alone  on  the  top  of  the  rampart, 
where  his  brilliant  armor  flashing  in  the  sun 
made  him  a  conspicuous  mark  for  a  hundred 
javelins.  Nothing  but  his  audacity  saved 
him  from  certain  death.  Instead  of  attempt- 
ing to  escape  he  leaped  boldly  in  the  citadel, 
placed  his  back  to  the  wall,  and  cut  down 
the  Mallian  commander,  with  several  others 
who  rushed  upon  him.  In  a  few  moments 
three  of  his  own  trusted  followers  scaled  the 
rampart  and  sprang  to  the  side  of  their  king. 
The  first  instantly  fell,  fatally  wounded,  but 
the  other  two  placed  themselves  between  the 
foe  and  the  king,  who  had  already  received 
an  arrow  in  his  breast,  and  beat  back  the  as- 
sailants until  the  Macedonians  broke  thi'ough 
the  walls  and  the  place  was  carried.  The 
wound  of  the  king  was  not  such  as  to  endan- 
ger his  life,  but  the  peril  to  which  his  rash- 
ness had  exposed  him  Avas  perhaps  the  great- 
est which  he  had  ever  faced  in  the  vicissitudes 
of  battle. 

Having  reached  the  sea,  arrangements 
were  at  once  completed  for  the  return  of  the 
expedition,  first  to  the  capital  of  Persia,  and 
afterwards  to  Europe.  The  army  was  divided 
into  two  parts,  one  of  which  was  to  embark 
on  the  fleet  and  the  other  to  proceed  overland 
across  the  Gedrosian  desert ;  for  it  was  deemed 
necessary  that  the  two  divisions  by  land  and 
sea  should  keep  within  supporting  distance, 
the  land  forces  to  supply  the  squadron  from 
time  to  time,  and  the  squadron  to  furnish  the 
land  forces  with  the  means  of  embarkation 
should  the  same  be  found  desirable. 

The  fleet  was  under  command  of  Nearchus, 
and  Alexander  himself  took  charge  of  the  di- 
vision which  was  to  proceed  to  Persia.  March- 
ing at  the  head  of  his  columns,  carrying  full 
armor,  and  claiming  no  exemption  from  the 
hardships  of  the  common  soldier,  the  con- 
queror plunged  into  the  desert  sands,  and  for 
two  months  toiled  on  through  the  Gedrosian 
waste.  Not  until  the  expedition  reached  the 
province  of  Carmania  were  adequate  supplies 
obtained  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  army. 

During  the  two  years'  absence  of  Alexan- 


der in  the  East,  the  governors  of  Babylon, 
Persepolis,  and  Susa,  behaving  after  the  man- 
ner of  Orientals,  had  resumed  the  oppressive 
methods  of  government  to  which  both  they 
and  the  people  had  so  long  been  accustomed. 
Great  abuses  had  prevailed,  and  the  conqueror 
found  his  subjects  restless  and  discontented 
under  the  exactions  of  their  rulers.  To  regu- 
late these  disorders  and  to  punish  those  of  his 
subordinates  who  had  proved  unworthy  of 
their  trust  were  now  the  first  duties  of  the 
king. 

More  than  ever  he  perceived  the  desira- 
bility of  unifying  as  far  as  practicable  the 
diverse  nationalities  over  which  he  was  called 
to  rule.  He,  therefore,  redoubled  his  exer- 
tions in  the  way  of  conciliating  the  various 
peoples  under  his  sway,  and  as  a  means  of 
doing  so  he  again  had  recourse  to  intermar- 
riages. It  will  be  remembered  that  the  fam- 
ily of  Darius  had  been  left  in  the  palace  of 
Susa  about  three  years  previously.  On  re- 
turning to  that  place  Alexander  proceeded  to 
celebrate  his  marriage  with  the  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  king.  To  Hephsestion,  his 
favorite  general,  he  gave  a  sister  of  the  prin- 
cess which  he  himself  had  chosen.  To  Near- 
chus  was  assigned  the  daughter  of  Mentor, 
the  brother  of  that  Memnon  who  had  so  ably 
opposed  the  Macedonian  at  the  beginning  of 
his  career.  Eighty  of  the  leading  commanders 
of  the  army  were  rewarded  with  princesses 
of  Persia,  and  the  nuptials  were  celebrated 
with  great  magnificence  after  the  style  of  the 
country.  By  these  means  the  affections  of 
the  Persians  were  rapidly  turned  to  him  who 
had  scourged  them ;  but  to  the  Greeks  there 
was  much  that  was  distasteful  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  their  great  leader. 

Having  remained  for  a  time  at  Susa,  busy 
with  plans  and  projects  for  the  organization 
and  development  of  the  Empire,  Alexander 
now  set  out  for  Babylon.  He  descended  the 
Eubseus  and  then  ascended  the  Tigris,  making 
surveys  and  maps  of  the  rivers  with  a  view 
to  their  future  improvement.  A  corps  of 
competent  engineers  accompanied  him,  and 
these  were  constantly  consulted  as  to  the  best 
means  of  opening  the  country  to  commerce 
and    an   improved   civilization.      There  is  no 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


661 


period  in  Alexander's  life  in  which  lie  appears 
to  a  better  advantage  than  in  this  careful  ex- 
ploration of  his  dominions  with  a  view  to  the 
establishment  of  a  reign  of  peace.  Especially 
were  his  energies  judiciously  employed  on 
arriving  at  Babylon.  Hitherto  it  appeared 
to  have  been  the  chief  concern  of  the  rulers 
of  that  great  city  to  protect  it  by  some  artificial 
means  from  the  hazard  of  capture  by  an 
enemy.  Fear  had  made  a  league  with  the 
Euphrates.  Dams  had  been  built  across  the 
channel  in  such  a  way  as  to  inundate  those 
parts  before  the  city  over  which  the  Assyrian 
might  assail  the  gates.  The  natural  uses  of 
the  great  river  as  a  way  of  commerce  and  a 
source    of   irrigation    were    thus    destroyed. 

Alexander,  on  discovering  the  condition  of 
affairs,  made  haste  to  open  the  channel  for 
his  fleet  and  the  merchantmen  of  the  world. 
He  had  the  harbors  repaired  and  enlarged 
until  they  were  able  to  accommodate  a  thou- 
sand ships.  He  encouraged  every  enterprise 
which  promised  to  facilitate  the  opening 
of  commerce  with  distant  regions,  and  to 
stimulate  the  industrial  energies  of  the  vast 
populations  under  his  authority.  He  ordered 
his  engineers  to  construct  new  channels  by 
which  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  might  be 
better  distributed  for  purposes  of  irrigation 
and  to  drain  the  great  marshes  to  the  west  of 
the  river,  where  for  ages  this  overflow  had 
gathered  into  stagnant  pools,  unfitting  the 
land  for  habitation. 

When  these  grand  enterprises  were  well 
under  way  Alexander  ascended  the  Tigris  to 
the  city  of  Opis,  where  he  caused  to  be  cele- 
brated the  Olympic  festival.  It  was  on  this 
occasion  that  he  had  to  face  another  mutiny 
of  his  soldiers.  The  veteran  Greeks  of  his 
army  could  not  conceal  their  inherent  dislike 
for  the  manners  and  character  of  the  Orien- 
tals. With  chagrin  and  mortification  they 
had  seen  their  great  leader  more  and  more 
assimilated  to  the  Persian  mode  of  life.  Even 
his  dress  was  conformed  to  the  styles  of  the 
East.  Unable  to  see  in  all  this  any  thing 
but  an  alienation  of  the  king  from  the  sevei*e 
habits  and  discipline  of  his  native  land,  the 
sturdy  Macedonians  became  morose,  melan- 
choly, mutinous.     They  demanded  the  privi- 


lege of  returning  home.  They  refused  longer 
to  participate  in  useless  struggles  with  barba- 
rians and  campaigns  which  were  endless. 

In  this  peril  the  genius  of  Alexander  stood 
him  well  in  hand.  He  made  an  address  to 
his  soldiers  in  which  he  reviewed  their  won- 
derful achievements,  extolled  their  heroism, 
depicted  the  rescue  of  Asia  from  barbarism 
by  their  valor,  and  exhorted  them  not  to  tar- 
nish their  reputation  and  the  glory  of  the 
Greek  name  by  yielding  to  bad  passions  and 
pernicious  counsels.  Such  was  the  power  of 
the  appeal  that  the  soldiers  were  overcome 
with  mingled  remorse  and  admiration.  A  re- 
action flashed  along  the  ranks,  and  the  mutiny 
was  at  an  end.  The  conqueror  then  availed 
himself  of  the  situation  by  sending  to  their 
homes  ten  thousand  of  his  veterans.  He 
loaded  them  with  rewards  and  honors  and 
put  them  in  charge  of  the  able  Craterus, 
whom  he  commissioned  as  regent  of  Macedo- 
nia in  place  of  Antipater.  Thus  by  prudence 
and  sound  discretion  he  converted  an  alarming 
insurrection  into  an  increase  of  power  and 
authority  over  his  army. 

In  the  mountainous  district  between  Media 
and  Persia  dwelt  a  tribe  of  warlike  barbarians 
who  during  the  whole  ascendency  of  Achae- 
menian  dynasty  had  maintained  their  inde- 
pendence. Nor  were  they  more  inclined  to 
yield  obedience  to  Alexander.  Unable  to  re- 
duce them  except  by  force  the  Macedonian 
set  out  from'  Opis  and  crossed  the  Median 
border.  While  on  the  way  one  of  the  satraps 
sent  to  him  a  body-guard  composed  of  a  hun- 
dred Amazons,  perhaps  the  most  novel  con- 
tingent ever  added  to  his  army.  The  famous 
woman-warriors  were  mounted  like  troopers 
and  carried  battle-axes  and  lances. 

Befoi-e  engaging  the  mountaineers  who 
had  defied  his  authority,  Alexander  had  the 
misfortune  to  lose  his  bosom  friend  and 
trusted  general,  Hephisstiou.  No  previous 
personal  loss  had  so  deeply  affected  him.  For 
days  together  he  would  neither  eat  nor  drink. 
As  usual  when  in  grief,  he  shut  himself  up, 
and  would  not  be  consoled.  At  last  he  found 
some  comfort  in  giving  his  friend  a  magnifi- 
cent funeral,  and  then  his  attention  was  dis- 
tracted by  the  excitements  of  the  campaign. 


662 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.~THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


In  a  short  time  the  Cossees  were  subdued, 
and  the  Macedonian,  having  for  the  moment 
no  other  enemies  with  whom  to  contend, 
found  time  for  a  civil  enterprise  more  Avorthy 
of  his  genius.  This  was  tlie  exploration  of 
the  Caspian  sea.  Until  now  it  had  been  be- 
lieved that  this  great  body  of  water  was  but 
an  arm  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Alexander 
gave  instructions  to  Heraclides,  commander 
of  the  shipwrights,  to  go  into  the  Hyrcauian 
forest,  prepare  a  fleet,  and  determine  the 
geographical  limits  of  the  unknown  sea. 
He  himself,  when  the  work  was  well  under 
way,  departed  for  Babylon,  having  deter- 
mined to  make  a  formal  entry  into  the  city, 
and  from  that  center  direct  the  affairs  of  his 
government. 

After  the  battle  of  Arbela,  Alexander 
had  intrusted  the  Babylonian  government  to 
the  priests  of  the  temple  of  Belus.  These 
hierarchs  had  all  the  subtlety  and  double- 
dealing  habits  of  their  race.  Knowing  the 
use  to  which  they  had  put  the  king's  reve- 
nues, and  dreading  an  examination  of  their 
accounts  with  the  royal  treasury,  they  under- 
took to  prevent  Alexander  from  visiting  the 
city.  They  sent  out  a  deputation  of  sooth- 
sayers to  warn  him  that  the  omens  were  not 
favorable  for  his  present  coming,  and  advising 
delay.  But  the  king  easily  penetrated  their 
hypocritical  anxiety,  and  put  them  to  confu- 
sion by  quoting  a  saying  of  Euripides  that  he 
is  the  best  prophet  who  makes  the  best  guess ! 

Having  established  himself  in  the  palace 
at  Babylon,  he  immediately  resumed  the  great 
works  from  which  he  had  been  distracted  by 
the  campaign  into  Media.  Further  improve- 
ments of  the  river  were  projected,  and  he 
himself  spent  days  together  in  an  open  boat, 
under  the  burning  sun,  directing  the  work  of 
his  engineers.  He  also  planned  an  elaborate 
survey  of  the  coasts  of  Arabia  and  Eastern 
Africa ;  and  at  the  same  time  his  mind  was 
busy  with  future  military  operations,  which 
embraced,  among  other  schemes,  the  conquest 
of  Western  Europe.  Nor  was  such  an  en- 
largement of  his  empire  beyond  the  possibili- 
ties of  his  all-embracing  genius.  His  fame  as 
a  conqueror  had  already  extended  to  the  re- 
motest parts  of  the  civilized  world ;  and  the 


dream  of  universal  empire  Avas  less  visionary 
wuth  him  than  with  any  other  character  of 
history.  While  tarrying  at  Babylon,  embas- 
sies came  from  Libya  and  Carthage,  and  from 
the  Italian  states  of  Lucania  and  Tuscanv ; 
and  it  is  alleged  that  envoys  were  received 
from  European  Scythia  as  well  as  from  Gaul 
and  Spain. 

His  first  actual  campaign  was  planned 
against  Africa,  but  before  entering  upon  an 
enterprise  so  vast  and  of  such  uncertain 
duration,  he  ordered  a  magnificent  sacrifice 
to  the  gods  and  a  feast  to  his  army.  The 
day  was  one  of  the  most  famous  in  the  history 
of  the  great  festivals  of  Babylon.  The  king 
himself  entered  most  heartily  into  the  cere- 
monies, participating  with  his  ofiicers  in  the 
banquet  with  which  the  pageant  was  con- 
cluded. Whether  the  momentous  event  which 
followed  hard  after  the  festivities  was  trace- 
able to  the  excesses  of  which  the  king  was 
guilty,  or  whether  his  exposure  in  the  marsh- 
lands about  Babylon  had  poisoned  his  system 
Avith  malaria,  or  whether  his  constitution  was 
broken  by  the  hardships  and  fatigues  of  so 
many  campaigns,  or  whether  all  of  these  cir- 
cumstances combined  at  this  crisis  to  bring 
the  great  Macedonian  to  his  bed — is  not  cer- 
tainly known.  At  any  rate,  on  the  day  after 
the  festival  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  fever. 
For  several  days,  however,  he  continued  to 
attend  to  his  duties,  bathing,  offering  sacrifi- 
ces, and  receiving  embassies ;  but  on  the  eighth 
day  his  condition  became  serious ;  on  the 
ninth,  critical;  and  on  the  tenth,  his  life  was 
despaired  of. 

As  soon  as  the  intelligence  was  carried  to 
the  army,  the  soldiers  Avere  thrown  into  the 
greatest  agitation.  They  distrusted  the  com- 
manders who  A\'ere  near  the  person  of  their 
king,  and  broke  out  with  violent  threats  un- 
less they  should  at  once  be  admitted  to  his 
presence.  Certain  of  their  numijer  were  ac- 
cordingly brought  into  the  chamber  where  the 
son  of  Philip  Avas  breathing  his  last.  He  ex- 
changed a  look  of  sympathy  Avith  his  veterans, 
and  held  out  his  hand,  but  was  unable  to 
speak.  He  liA^ed  till  the  folloAving  morning 
and  expired  in  the  midst  of  his  generals. 

Many  stories  were  set  afloat  to  account  for 


MACEDONIA.— ALEXAXDEE  THE  GREAT. 


663 


his  sudden  death,  one  of  which  was  that  Aris- 
totle had  prepared  for  Antipater,  the  deposed 
regent  of  Macedonia,  a  subtle  poison,  which 
the  latter  forwarded  to  Babylon  to  be  used 
against  the  person  of  the  king.  But  subsequent 
investigations  dispelled  such  rumors,  and  left  it 
clear  that  Alexander  had  died  from  natural 
causes.  The  great  event  which  left  the  em- 
pire of  Asia  without  a  master  occurred  in 
B.  C.  323. 

Alexander  the  Great,  whose  remarkable  ca- 
reer has  been  summarized  in  the  preceding 
pages  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  but  thirty- 
two  years  and  eight  months  of  age.  In  person 
he  was  handsome  and  well-proportioned,  though 
not  sufficiently  tall  to  make  his  presence  espe- 
cially commanding.  The  discipline  of  his  boy- 
hood had  been  such  as  to  give  him  symmetry 
of  body  and  soundness  of  constitution.  Be- 
ginning the  military  life  before  he  reached  his 
majority,  he  became  inured  to  every  species 
of  hardship  and  exposure.  It  was,  however, 
in  the  quality  of  his  mind  that  he  surpassed 
all  the  heroes  of  his  times.  His  ambition  was 
as  great  as  the  arena,  and  the  arena  was  the 
world.  His  courage  was  equal  to  his  ambi- 
tion, and  his  genius  to  his  courage.  His  sa- 
gacity in  the  council  was  as  great  as  his  abili- 
ties in  the  field ;  and  his  skill  in  discerning  the 
motives  of  men,  in  exposing  intrigue,  and  in 
outwitting  the  craft  of  an  enemy,  was  preem- 
inent above  all  his  contemporaries.  Of  his 
vices  the  most  conspicuous  were  the  inordinate 
passion  of  which  he  was  sometimes  guilty, 
and  the  strong  appetite  which  he  too  frequently 
indulged.  His  chief  follies  were  vanity  and 
superstition  —  the  former  manifested  in  the 
pleasure  which  he  evidently  took  in  those  who 
praised  him  and  his  deeds,  and  the  latter  in 
such  supreme  nonsense  as  claiming  his  pater- 
nity from  Jupiter.  As  in  the  case  of  other 
conquerors,  it  has  been  the  fate  of  the  Mace- 
donian to  have  his  name  used  as  a  synonym 
for  cruelty,  heartlessness,  tyranny.  The  su- 
perficial gaze  of  mankind  has  been  fixed  on 
the  turmoil  and  destruction  of  his  great  battles. 
The  bloody  field  strewn  with  the  mangled 
bodies  of  thousands  has  shut  from  sight  the 


better  qualities  of  the  man.  In  humanity  and 
magnanimity  he  was  preeminent  above  all 
the  great  men  of  his  age.  It  may  be  said 
that  by  him  and  his  father  a  new  code  of  war 
was  instituted  among  the  nations — a  code 
which  had  a  method  in  its  cruelty,  and  which 
had  an  end  and  aim  beyond  the  mere  fact  of 
spoliation  and  conquest. 

The  consequences  of  Alexander's  career  and 
works  were  in  the  highest  measui-e  salutary. 
Before  his  day  Asia  was  effete.  For  centuries 
the  great  consolidated  despotisms  of  the  East — 
Assyria,  Babylonia,  Persia — had  hung  like  a 
pall  on  the  spirit  of  man.  Alexander  dis- 
pelled the  cloud  and  liberated  from  bondage. 
He  drew  across  the  fertile  plains  of  Asia  Minor 
and  Mesopotamia  the  tremendous  plowshare  of 
reform.  He  stirred  the  nations  to  their  pro- 
foundest  depths.  He  broke  up  and  trampled 
on  the  traditions  and  precedents  of  the  Asi- 
atics. He  cleft  the  high  walls  which  barba' 
risra,  owl-like,  had  reared  between  herself  and 
the  light;  and  the  light  streamed  through. 
He  came  as  a  harbinger  out  of  the  young  and 
resolute  West.  He  and  his  generals  were 
scholars  and  statesmen.  They  spoke  Greek. 
The  beautiful  speech  of  the  Hellenes  flowed 
like  quicksilver  through  the  dirt  and  linguistic 
debris  of  the  East.  It  carried  on  its  liquid 
tide  the  most  splendid  literature  of  the  ancient 
world.  Art  grew  like  a  hyacinth  from  the 
mire  of  his  battles.  Letters  flourished  in  his 
capitals.  The  barbarians  heard  the  sound 
thereof  and  were  glad.  The  date-palms  of 
the  Euphrates  quivered  with  the  agitation  of 
a  new  life.  Commerce  put  on  new  robes  and 
walked  like  a  queen  over  the  long-abandoned 
quays  of  Babylon.  In  the  course  of  his  con- 
quests, civilization  gained  a  victory  over  dark- 
ness, and  the  sky  brightened  from  east  to  vest 
over  half  the  world.  Though  anarchy  came 
by  his  death,  the  results  of  his  great  activities 
had  taken  so  firm  hold  on  the  soil  of  Asia  as 
never  to  be  uprooted.  For  men  having  once 
arisen  to  a  better  estate  and  felt  the  blessing 
of  the  sunlight  do  not  willingly  go  back  to 
darkness,  or  lie  again  contented  in  the  wallow 
of  barbarism. 


664 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Chapter  lt.— Successors  ok  Alexander. 


iHE  death  of  Alexander 
the  Great  left  the  world 
without  a  master.  Nor 
had  the  work  of  organ- 
izing and  consolidating  the 
great  empires,  subdued  by 
his  arms,  proceeded  suffi- 
ciently far  to  give  promise  of  successful  com- 
pletion. He  left  no  successor  who  could  right- 
fully claim  the  scepter.  The  children  born 
of  his  Asiatic  wives  were  not  regarded  as  legit- 
imate claimants  of  the  throne.  His  oldest  son, 
born  of  Barcina,  the  widow  of  Memnon,  was 
but  five  years  of  age.  It  was  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of 
a  great  military  empire  would  be  devolved 
upon  such  a  child,  even  under  a  regency. 
Roxana,  his  Bactrian  queen,  had  not  yet  be- 
come a  mother.  Of  all  who  might  with  some 
show  of  reason  lay  claim  to  the  succession, 
Arrhidfeus,  the  half-brother  of  Alexander,  son 
of  Philip  and  Philine,  held  the  first  place,  and 
to  him  the  Greek  and  Macedonian  leaders  first 
looked  as  to  a  possible  successor.  But  Arrhi- 
dseus  had  neither  intellect  nor  ambition.  His 
education  had  not  been  directed  to  the  conduct 
of  aflTairs,  and  his  native  force  was  so  feeble 
as  to  make  him  even  an  inefficient  tool  in  the 
hands  of  others.  It  was  evident,  therefore, 
that  the  strong  hand  of  military  power  must 
be  stretched  out  over  the  chaos  occasioned  by 
the  death  of  Alexander. 

As  soon  as  the  son  of  Philip  was  no  more, 
eight  of  the  leading  generals  of  the  army,  to- 
gethex'  with  Perdiccas,  to  whom  Alexander  had 
given  his  ring  and  signet,  assembled  in  Baby- 
lon to  consider  the  condition  of  the  Empire 
and  to  devise  means  for  its  government.  These 
eight  commanders  were  Leonatus,  Lysimachus, 
Aristonous,  Python,  Seleucus,  Eumenes,  Me- 
ieager,  and  Nearchus.  Meanwhile  the  phalanx, 
being  Macedonian  and  more  concerned  in  the 
affairs  of  the  home  kingdom  than  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  vast  realms  which  they  had 
helped  to   conquer,  had,  out  of  deference  to 


the  House  of  Philip,  named  Arrhidseus  as 
successor  to  Alexander.  This  action  soon  led 
to  a  rupture  between  the  infantry  and  cavalry 
wings  of  the  army.  The  latter  desired  some 
able  military  chieftain,  who  could  lead  them 
against  an  enemy  and  sustain  their  fame  as 
soldiers.  The  former,  headed  by  the  phalanx, 
preferred  a  legitimate  sovereign,  under  whom 
Macedonia  should  still  be  and  remain  the  cen- 
ti'al  fact  in  the  Empire.  The  eight  leaders 
just  referred  to  took  sides  with  the  cavalry, 
and  Perdiccas  was  forced,  partly  by  expedi- 
ency and  partly  by  an  attempt  made  upon  his 
life,  to  join  his  fortunes  with  the  other  gen- 
erals. The  cavalry,  under  such  leadership, 
assembled  without  the  city,  and  threatened  to 
cut  off"  supplies  and  starve  into  compliance  all 
who  opposed  their  views. 

The  great  council  assembled  in  the  palace 
of  Babylon,  After  a  variety  of  projects  had 
been  discussed,  it  was  proposed  by  Aristonous 
that  the  general  afl!airs  of  the  Empire  should 
be  intrusted  to  Perdiccas,  with  the  title  of 
Regent.  The  measure  was  carried ;  and  he 
on  whom  the  dangerous  honor  was  imposed 
was  thus  set  in  direct  antagonism  with  Arrhi- 
dseus, who  had  received  the  suffi-ages  of  the 
infantry,  Meleager,  the  general  of  that  wing 
of  the  army,  found  himself  in  a  serious  pre- 
dicament: he  must  break  either  with  his  sol- 
diers or  with  the  Regent,  He  sided  with  the 
soldiers,  and  became  their  leader.  This  party 
undertook  to  uphold  Arrhidseus,  and  thus  a 
conflict  was  brought  on  which  came  near 
ending  in  bloody  work.  The  forces  were  al- 
ready drawn  out  for  battle,  the  phalanx  on 
one  side  and  the  cavalry  on  the  other,  when 
the  catastrophe  was  avoided  by  the  mingled 
fear  and  magnanimity  of  Arrhidseus  himself. 
When  battle  was  about  to  begin  he  threw  him- 
self among  the  soldiers,  and  besought  them  to 
refrain  from  such  an  act  as  would  prove  an 
everlasting  stain  upon  their  reputation.  He 
publicly  renounced  all  claim  to  the  crown. 
"If  this  diadem,"  said  he,  "can  be  possessed 


MACEDONIA.— SUCCESSOES  OF  ALEXANDER. 


665 


only  by  the  wounds  and  death  of  Macedo- 
nians, I  will  instantly  divest  myself  of  the 
pernicious  ornament.  Take  back  the  fatal 
present.  Give  it  to  some  one  worthier  than 
I  am,  if  he  can  preserve  the  splendid  gift  un- 
stained by  the  blood  of  his  countrymen."  The 
effect  of  this  appeal  was  such  that  the  phal- 
anx receded  from  its  attitude,  and  gave  in  its 
allegiance  to  the  regency  under  Perdiccas. 
With  him,  however,  in  a  short  time  Leonatus 
was  associated  in  the  government,  and  soon 
afterwards  Meleager  as  a  colleague. 

Soon  after  the  completion  of  these  arrange- 
ments   Queen   Roxana  gave   birth   to  a  son. 
The  event  was  hailed  as  a  glad  omen,  and  the 
child  was  honored  with  his  father's  name.     It 
was  ordered  that  the  infant  should  be  nurtured 
with  the  greatest  care  and  treated  as  the  heir 
expectant  of  the  Empire.     The  next  thing  de- 
manding the  attention  of  the  leaders  was  the 
division  of  the  provinces.      Ptolemy,   son   of 
Lagus,  chose  for  his  portion  the  Nile  valley, 
and  thus  became  the  founder  of  the  Grieco- 
Egyptian    dynasty.     By   this    choice    he  was 
removed  somewhat  from  the  broils  into  which 
he  foresaw   that    his  colleagues  would   in  all 
likelihood    be    plunged.      Antipater  received 
Macedonia,  but  with   him  was  associated  the 
veteran  Craterus,  whom  it  will  be  remembered 
Alexander  had  sent  thither  as  regent.     The 
Thracian  states  fell  to  Lysimachus,  and  Cappa 
docia  to  Eumenes.     The  Greater  Phrygia  was 
assigned    to    Antigonus,    and    the    Lesser    to 
Leonatus.     The  home  provinces  of  Persia  were 
allotted  to  Pencestes,  and  the  kingdom  of  Me- 
dia to  Python.     Perdiccas  received  Babylonia 
and  retained  as  his  lieutenants  in  the  govern- 
ment Aristonous  and  Seleucus.     Thus  was  the 
world  parceled  out  among  the  generals  of  the 
conqueror. 

During  all  these  important  transactions  the 
body  of  the  great  dead  lay  unburied  in  Baby- 
lon. He  had  given  directions  that  he  should 
be  interred  in  the  oasis  of  Amun,  near  the 
shrine  of  Zeus.  At  length  Perdiccas  under- 
took to  fulfill  the  injunction  of  his  master. 
The  body  was  embalmed  and  preparations 
made  for  a  grand  pageant  to  the  distant  place 
of  burial.  Two  years,  however,  elapsed  before 
the  funeral  was  actually  completed;  and  then 


the  plan  was  changed  and  Alexandria  substi- 
tuted for  the  Libyan  oasis  as  the  place  of 
sepulture.  Nor  could  posterity  complain  that 
the  great  city  founded  in  his  honor  was  se- 
lected as  the  final  resting-place  of  the  son  of 
Philip  rather  than  the  green  spot  in  the  desert 
which  superstition  more  than  rational  prefer- 
ence had  suggested. 

The  first  disturbance  which  demanded  the 
attention    of  the   Regent    Perdiccas    was   the 
revolt  of  the  mercenary  Greeks.     These  troops 
had  been  placed  as  garrisons  and  colonies  in 
the  cities  of  northern  and  eastern  Media,  and 
upon  them  was  imposed  the  duty  of  maintain- 
ing those  borders  of  the  Empire   intact  from 
the  encroachments  of  barbarians.      As  soon, 
however,  as  it  was  known  that  the  king  was 
dead,  the  Greeks,   believing  themselves  now 
free  from  restraint,  revolted,  and  placing  them- 
selves under  a  commander  of  their  own  began 
their  march  for  Greece.      Perdiccas  at   once 
dispatched  his  lieutenant,  Python,  to  suppress 
the  insurrection  and  turn  back  the  insurgents 
to   the  places    from   which   they   had   issued. 
This  officer,  however,  proved  treacherous  and 
formed  a  design  of  making   Media  indepen- 
dent,   but    Perdiccas    sent    after    him    public 
orders  to  kill  all  the  Greeks  and  divide  their 
property  among  the  Macedonian  soldiers.    The 
nature  of  the  orders  being  known  in  the  army 
Python    durst    not    disobey,    and   the   bloody 
mandate  was  executed  without  mercy. 

The  next  revolt  was  in  the  province  of 
Cappadocia.  The  people  of  this  country,  under 
the  lead  of  their  native  king,  Ariathes,  bade 
defiance  to  the  rule  of  the  Macedonians,  and 
Perdiccas  intrusted  to  Eumenes  the  task  of 
reducing  them  to  obedience.  The  character 
of  these  warlike  barbarians  was  well  known 
to  the  Regent,  and  he  accordingly  ordered 
Antigonus  and  Leonatus,  governors  of  the  two 
Phrygias,  to  assist  in  the  work  of  subjugation. 
Both,  however,  refused  to  obey  the  order,  and 
Perdiccas  himself  was  obliged  to  march  to  the 
aid  of  his  colleague.  Notwithstanding  the 
valor  of  the  Cappadocians,  they  were  quickly 
overthrown  by  the  veteran  Macedonian  army, 
and  the  authority  of  Eumenes  reestablished 
on  a  firm  basis. 

Soon  afterwards  an  insurrection  broke  out 


666 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.-THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


•in  Pisidia  and  Isauria.  The  former  country  was 
-quickly  overrun,  the  capital  taken  by  assault, 
:and  the  inhabitants  put  to  the  sword.     The 


mountaineers  of  Isauria,  however,  made  a  more 
successful  resistance.  Being  finally  cooped  up 
in  their  principal  town,  they  made  a  desperate 


MACEDONIA.— SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER. 


667 


defense.  When  hope  was  lost  they  fired  their 
houses,  burned  their  wives  and  children,  drove 
back  the  assailants  from  the  ramparts,  and 
then,  discovering  the  impossibility  of  escape, 
turned  about  and  perished  in  the  flames.  The 
Macedonians  succeeded  in  taking  a  town  of 
bones  and  ashes. 

The  epoch  that  followed  the  death  of  Al- 
exander is  mostly  filled  with  events  growing 
out  of  the  quarrels  and  jealousies  of  those  into 
whose  hands  the  Empire  had  fallen.  It  was 
not  long  until  Ptolemy  formed  a  scheme  to 
marry  the  daughter  of  Antipater.  This  action 
of  course  contemplated  the  ultimate  union  of 
Macedonia  and  Egypt.  Perdiccas,  whose  craft 
in  the  cabinet  was  by  no  means  equal  to  his 
generalship  in  the  field,  having  heard  of  the 
project  of  Ptolemy,  claimed  Antipater's  daugh- 
ter's daughter  for  himself;  but  he  was  soon 
reminded  that  not  even  this  politic  marriage 
was  as  advantageous  as  another  which  was 
possible.  For  there  Avas  Cleopatra,  the  sister 
of  Alexander,  whom  he  might  solicit,  and  thus 
unite  himself  directly  with  the  House  of 
Philip.  So  the  marriage  to  the  daughter  of 
Antipater  was  annulled  in  favor  of  that  with 
the  princess.  But  meanwhile  the  friends  of 
Arrhidpeus,who  was  still  nominally  the  successor 
to  Alexander,  urged  him  to  seek  an  alliance 
with  Eurydice,  also  of  the  royal  blood.  This 
princess,  however,  was  presently  put  to  death, 
as  was  believed,  by  the  influence  of  Perdiccas. 
This  event  raised  such  a  mutiny  that  the  Re- 
gent was  glad  to  recede  from  his  position  and 
begin  a  policy  of  conciliation  towards  his 
rivals. 

As  soon  as  afl^airs  were  again  quieted  Per- 
diccas summoned  Antigonus  to  repair  to  Bab- 
ylon and  defend  himself  against  the  charge 
of  insubordination  in  refusing  to  aid  Eumenes 
in  the  Cappadocian  war.  But  the  general 
refused  to  obey  the  summons.  In  this  course 
he  was  encouraged  by  Antipater  and  Craterus 
in  Macedonia  and  Ptolemy  in  Egypt.  These 
rulers,  alarmed  at  the  assumptions  Ci  the  Re- 
gent, who  now  blinked  not  at  all  his  claim  to 
authority  over  all  the  dominions  of  Alexander, 
made  a  league  against  him,  and  took  up  arms 
to  maintain  it.  In  the  matter  of  war,  how- 
ever, Perdiccas  was  perfectly  at  home.  He  at 
>4._Vol.  I— a-i 


once  planned  an  invasion  of  Egypt,  and  has- 
tened as  a  measure  of  preparatory  revenge  to 
strip  Antigonus  of  his  government,  conferring 
the  same  on  Eumenes.  Nor  were  Antipater 
and  Craterus  behindhand  in  preparations.  By 
the  time  that  the  Regent  was  ready  to  begin 
his  descent  on  Egypt  they  were  on  the  march 
into  Asia.  The  defense  of  the  country  against 
them  was  intrusted  to  Eumenes.  With  an 
army  of  about  twenty  thousand  men  he  met 
the  invaders  near  the  plain  of  ancient  Troy. 
One  of  his  oflficers,  named  Neoptolemus,  de- 
serted and  went  over  to  Craterus;  and  by  his 
counsel  that  able  veteran  was  put  off"  his  guard, 
considering  the  forces  led  by  Eumenes  no  more 
than  a  medley  of  barbarians.  The  battle  soon 
showed  the  mistake.  Eumenes  was  completely 
victorious.  Craterus  and  Neoptolemus  were 
both  slain,  and  even  the  phalanx  was  driven 
to  the  mountains. 

In  the  mean  time  Perdiccas  was  making  his 
way  towards  Egypt.  Once  on  the  confines  of 
that  country,  he  summoned  Ptolemy  to  come 
into  his  presence  and  answer  a  long  list  of 
charges.  This  the  Egyptian  governor  did  in 
a  manner  to  exculpate  himself;  but  the  baf 
fled  Regent  at  last  found  a  pretext  in  this — 
that  Ptolemy  had  assumed  to  arrest  the  funeral 
cortege  of  Alexander,  and  to  bury  the  body 
of  that  hero  in  an  Egyptian  city  instead  of  in 
the  oasis  of  Amuu.  So  the  invasion  was 
continued  to  Pelusium.  Ptolemy  proved  him- 
self equal  to  the  emergency.  He  planned  a 
series  of  fortifications  which  the  assailants  were 
unable  to  carry.  A  part  of  the  forces  of  Per- 
diccas were  drowned  in  attempting  to  cross  the 
Nile,  and  his  army,  being  divided  by  that 
stream,  was  attacked  in  detail  and  utterly 
routed.  The  Regent,  availing  himself  of  the 
protection  of  the  survivors,  was  glad  to  with- 
draw from  the  country.  Soon  afterwards, 
B.  C.  321,  when  he  was  preparing  to  renew 
the  contest  with  Ptolemy,  he  was  assassinated 
in  his  tent  by  Python,  that  disloyal  general 
whom  he  had  previously  sent  against  the  re- 
volted Greeks  in  the  Median  cities. 

Two  years  before  this  event  a  league  had 
been  formed  in  Greece  for  the  overthrow  of 
Macedonian  authority.  As  usual,  Athens 
headed  the   cOnfederacv.     The  command  was 


668 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


intrusted  to  Leosthenes,  who  advanced  at  the 
head  of  about  twenty  thousand  men  and  took 
possession  of  the  pass  of  Thermopylae.  From 
this  stronghold  Antipater  was  unable  to  dis- 
lodge him,  and  was  himself  so  much  worsted 
in  the  battle  that  he  fell  back  and  defended 
himself  in  the  town  of  Lamia,  near  the  Ma- 
lian  gulf. 

Word  was  now  sent  to  Asia  Minor  asking 
Leonatus,  the  governor  of  Phyrgia,  for  reen- 
forcements.  The  latter  made  a  rapid  march 
into  Macedonia,  and  Leosthenes  meanwhile,  in 
the  attempt  to  prevent  a  junction  of  his  ene- 
mies, made  several  unsuccessful  assaults  on 
liamia,  in  one  of  which  he  was  killed.  His 
successor,  Antiphilus,  hearing  of  the  approach 
of  Leonatus,  went  forth  to  meet  him  on  the 
northern  confines  of  Thessaly.  Here  a  bloody 
battle  was  fought,  in  which  victory  remained 
with  the  Greeks.  Leonatus  was  slain  and  the 
larger  part  of  his  army  sought  refuge  in  the 
mountains.  But  Antipater  soon  succeeded  in 
rallying  his  forces  and  gained  a  complete  vic- 
tory over  Antiphilus.  The  Greeks  sued  for 
peace,  but  the  Macedonian  would  not  treat 
with  them  except  as  separate  states.  This  put 
Athens  at  his  mercy.  He  dictated  to  the 
Athenians  a  change  of  government  and  com- 
pelled them  to  surrender  Hyperides  and  De- 
mosthenes, the  two  principal  orators  of  the 
democracy.  The  former,  however,  made  good 
his  escape  from  the  city,  and  the  latter,  rather 
than  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  ended 
his  life  by  poison.  The  Athenians  perceived 
that  the  magnanimity  of  Philip  and  Alexan- 
der was  no  longer  to  be  expected  from  the 
court  of  Macedon. 

After  the  overthrow  of  Perdiccas  at  Pelu- 
sium,  it  was  within  the  power  of  Ptolemy  to 
seize  the  regency  for  himself.  Instead,  how- 
ever, of  taking  this  ambitious  course,  he  con- 
tented himself  with  nominating  for  that  im- 
portant office  his  friend  Arrhidseus,  one  of  the 
conqueror's  generals  not  hitherto  conspicuous. 
He  it  was  who,  conducting  the  funeral  pageant 
of  Alexander,  by  way  of  Egypt  to  the  African 
oasis,  had  been  persuaded  by  Ptolemy  to  erect 
the  royal  tomb  in  Alexandria  instead  of  the 
desert. 

After  the  overthrow  and  death  of  Craterus. 


at  the  hands  of  Eumenes,  the  passions  of  the 
Egyptian  army  were  greatly  inflamed.  They 
heard  of  the  destruction  of  their  old  general 
with  mortification  and  rage.  This  was  di- 
rected first  of  all  against  Perdiccas  as  the  cause 
of  the  unseemly  broil  between  friends.  After 
the  death  of  the  Regent  they  looked  to  Eu- 
menes as  the  responsible  representative  of  the 
mischief,  and  so  they  resolved  to  exterminate 
him  and  all  his  confederates.  Fifty  of  the 
leading  adherents  of  the  late  Perdiccas,  includ- 
ing his  brother  Alcetas,  were  proscribed,  and 
the  army  at  once  set  out  through  Syria  to  en- 
force the  edict.  At  Triparadus,  however,  they 
were  met  by  Eurydice,  the  wife  of  Arrhidseus, 
and  by  her  persuaded  to  abandon  the  enter- 
prise. Her  influence  became,  for  the  hour, 
well-nigh  omnipotent,  and  Avhen  Antipater, 
who  had  been  sent  for,  arrived  at  the  scene, 
he  was  amazed  to  find  that  not  even  his  pres- 
ence was  sufficient  to  break  the  spell  with 
which  the  queen  had  bound  the  soldiery.  At- 
tempting to  bring  his  old  soldiers  to  their 
senses,  they  turned  upon  him  and  would  have 
put  him  to  death,  but  for  the  timely  interfer- 
ence of  Sciences  and  Antigonus.  Presently, 
however,  a  reaction  set  in,  such  as  could  hardly 
be  looked  for  except  in  a  mutinous  army,  and 
the  veterans  made  haste  to  proclaim  Antipater 
regent!  Accepting  the  trust  at  their  hands, 
he  returned  to  Macedonia,  in  B.  C.  322,  and 
assumed  the  duties  of  directing  the  affau'S  of 
the  dissolving  Empire. 

Several  changes  had  now  become  necessary 
in  the  provincial  governments.  Eumenes  was 
declared  an  outlaw,  and  his  satrapy  of  Cap- 
padocia  conferred  on  Nicanor.  Clytus  was 
appointed  to  the  governorship  of  Lydia,  and 
Cilicia  was  conferred  on  Philoxenes.  As  yet, 
however,  all  of  these  provinces  lying  within 
the  dominions  of  Eumenes,  were  under  his 
authority,  and  must  be  taken  from  him  by 
force  of  arms  before  these  new  governors 
could  gain  possession  of  their  respective  terri- 
tories. The  regent  Arrhidseus  was  now  con- 
fined in  his  authority  to  Hellespontine  Phrygia. 
Last  and  greatest  of  the  provinces  was  Baby- 
lonia, which  was  awarded  to  the  young  and 
ambitious  Sciences. 

These  arrangements  having  been  completed, 


MACEDONIA.— SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER. 


669 


Antipater  undertook  the  subjugation  of  Eu- 
menes.  With  him  Antigonus  joined  his  forces, 
and  the  campaign  against  Cappadocia  was 
pressed  with  vigor,  Nora,  the  strongest  fort- 
ress in  that  country,  was  besieged,  and  Eu- 
menes  was  hard  pressed  to  hold  out  against 
his  assailants.  While  the  blockade  was  still 
in  force,  the  unscrupulous  Antigonus  made 
overtures  to  Eumenes,  and  tried  to  induce 
him  to  enter  into  a  league  against  Antipater; 
but  Eumenes  replied  that  he  would  enter  into 
no  alliance  with  any  except  a  representative 
of  the  House  of  Alexander.  He  then  returned 
into  the  fortress,  and  the  siege  was  resumed. 

Before  the  place  could  be  taken  Antipater 
died,  and  Polysperchon  was  appointed  to  suc- 
ceed him  in  the  regency.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  son  of  Roxana  was  associated  with  Arrhi- 
dseus,  and  both  were  put  in  charge  of  the 
new  Regent.  It  soon  became  apparent  that 
Antigonus  had  expected  the  general  manage- 
ment of  affairs  to  devolve  on  himself,  and 
finding  another  preferred  before  him,  he  be- 
gan to  take  counsel  how  he  might  obtain  by 
force  or  intrigue  that  which  was  denied  him 
by  the  free-will  of  others.  He  accordingly  en- 
tered into  a  conspiracy  with  Cassander,  the 
son  of  Antipater.  This  ambitious  soldier  had 
succeeded  in  gaining  the  affections  of  Eu- 
rydice,  and  hoped  to  gain  not  only  her,  but 
with  her  the  shadowy  Empire,  the  crown  of 
which  was  worn  by  her  half-imbecile  husband. 

For  this  piece  of  political  gallantry  Cassan- 
der was  disinherited  by  his  father.  The  young 
man  had  fled  to  Antigonus,  and  now  became 
his  natural  ally.  Hereupon  Antigonus  took 
the  field  and  attempted  to  win  by  open  force, 
while  Cassander,  remaining  in  the  shadow, 
continued  to  operate  by  subtlety.  Ephesus 
was  presently  seized,  and  some  ship-loads  of 
money,  amounting  to  six  hundred  talents,  des- 
tined to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  Imperial 
government  of  the  East,  were  captured  by 
Antigonus.  Eumenes  was  again  tempted  to 
join  him  in  an  alliance  against  Polysperchon, 
but  could  not  be  seduced  from  his  loyalty. 

The  faithful  satrap  presently  thereafter  suc- 
ceeded in  making  his  escape  from  Nora,  and 
thus  brought  the  siege  to  naught.  He  soon 
afterwards  entered  into  an  open  alliance  with 


Polysperchon,  who  conferred  upon  him  the 
supreme  command  of  all  of  the  Asiatic  armies 
of  the  Empire.  Another  measure  of  the  Re- 
gent was  his  edict  reestablishing  democracy  in 
all  the  states  of  Greece.  It  was  thought  by 
this  means  that  the  allegiance  of  the  Hellenic 
commonwealths  would  remain  unshaken,  not- 
Avithstanding  the  temptations  to  which  they 
were  subjected  by  Antigonus.  The  event, 
however,  was  the  introduction  of  a  reign  of 
confusion  such  as  not  even  the  turbulent 
Greeks  could  well  endure*  For  a  while  the 
popular  distraction  knew  no  bounds.  The 
worst  elements  of  society  became  suddenly 
predominant.  At  Athens  the  aged  Phocion, 
Avho  had  been  forty-five  times  elected  general 
by  the  assembly,  and  was  now  eighty-five 
years  old,  was  condemned  by  the  rabble  to 
drink  the  hemlock.  During  the  year  318 
B.  C.  a  desultory  warfare  was  cari'ied  on  be- 
tween Cassander  and  Polysperchon.  A  naval 
battle  was  fought  in  the  Bosphorus,  in  which 
Nicanor,  the  admiral  of  Antigonus,  was  de- 
feated with  a  loss  of  one-half  of  his  ships; 
but  that  satrap  a  few  days  afterward  made  a 
sudden  descent  upon  the  victors  while  en- 
camped on  the  coast  of  Thrace,  and  in  the 
battle  of  Byzantium  inflicted  on  them  a  bloody 
defeat.  Athens  thereupon  surrendered  to  Cas- 
sander, and  the  government  was  conferred  on 
Demetrius  Phalereus. 

Meanwhile  Polysperchon,  as  a  means  of 
strengthening  his  government,  had  brought 
home  to  Pella,  Olympias,  the  mother  of  Alex- 
ander. That  ambitious  and  passionate  woman 
became  a  powerful  influence  in  the  affairs  of 
state.  Her  favorite  scheme  was  to  secure  the 
united  dominions  of  the  conqueror  for  her 
grandson  Alexander,  sou  of  Roxana.  The 
ascendency  of  Eurydice  over  the  supporters  of 
her  husband,  Arrhidseus,  was  equally  marked. 
It  thus  happened  that  the  Macedonian  world 
was  torn  almost  as  much  by  the  rivalries  of 
two  women  as  by  the  arms  of  Cassander  and 
the  Regent.  The  struggle,  however,  was  brief 
as  it  was  fierce.  Olympias,  having  gained 
over  the  soldiery  to  her  cause,  compelled  Eu- 
rydice and  her  husband,  the  king,  to  fly  for 
their  lives.  Having  soon  afterwards  obtained 
possession  of  their  persons,  she  caused   them 


670 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


both  to  be  assassinated.  Thus,  after  a  nom- 
inal reign  of  six  years,  was  extinguished  the 
spectral  successor  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Cassander  was  greatly  enraged  at  this  atroc- 
ity and  hastened  into  Macedonia  to  avenge  the 
death  of  Eurydice.  On  his  approach  the  aged 
Olympias  took  counsel  of  discretion  and  es- 
caped from  the  city.  With  her  grandson, 
Alexander  ^gus,  and  his  mother  Roxana,  she 
shut  herself  up  in  the  strong  fortress  of  Pydna, 
and  was  there  besieged  by  Cassander.  At  the 
last,  famine  effected  what  arms  had  failed  to 
accomplish,  and  the  relentless  old  queen  sur- 
rendered herself  to  her  enemies.  She  was  sub- 
jected to  the  form  of  a  trial  and  put  to  death. 
While  these  events  were  happening  in  Eu- 
rope the  struggle  continued  between  Eumenes 
and  Antigouus  in  Asia.  The  former,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  conflict  with  his  enemies  in  the 
field,  was  troubled  not  a  little  in  his  civil 
councils.  The  Macedonians,  upon  whom  he 
was  compelled  to  rely  for  support,  looked  upo^i 
him  with  disfavor,  for  he  was  a  man  of  obscure 
birth  and  foreign  parentage.  Meanwhile  An- 
tigonus,  after  his  victory  in  the  battle  of 
Byzantium,  began  a  pursuit  of  Eumenes,  who 
was  then  with  his  army  in  Phoenicia. 

The  latter,  unable  to  meet  his  foe  in  the 
field,  began  retreating  toward  the  east.     He 
called  upon  Seleucus,  the  Babylonian  satrap, 
to  aid  him  with  men  and  supplies;  but  that 
prince,  instead  of  complying,  opened  the  sluices 
of  the  Tigris  and   came  near  destroying  Eu- 
menes and   his  whole   army.      They   escaped 
from  their  peril,  however,  and  made  their  way 
as  far  east  as  the  borders  of  Persia.     Here,  in 
B.  C.  316,  they  were  overtaken  by  Antigonus, 
and  a  battle  was  fought,  with  indecisive  results. 
In  a  second  conflict,  however,  Eumenes  was 
defeated  and  taken  prisoner.     He  was  carried 
through  the  Macedonian  camp  and  begged  the 
soldiers  to  kill  him,  but  they  would  not.     But 
soon  afterwards  he  was  secretly  put  to  death 
in  prison.     For  twenty  years  he  had  fought 
for  the  House  of  Philip ;  and  after  every  other 
general  of  note  had  abandoned  the  cause  of 
Alexander  and  begun  to  contrive  for  himself, 
he  still  continued  to  strive  for  the  maintenance 
of  IMacedonian  supremacy.     Among  the  many 
who   had   given   free   rein   to   selfishness   and 


treachery,  Eumenes  alone  kept  his  honor 
bright  and  went  down  to  the  grave  without  a 
stain  on  his  escutcheon. 

Antigonus,  having  thus  triumphed  over  all 
opposition,   assumed  the   regency.      Polysper- 
chon    retired    into    Peloponnesus.      Olympias 
was  dead.     The  young  Alexander  JEgus  was 
thus   left   naked  to  his   enemies.     Antigonus 
gathered    his    forces    and    made    a    campaign 
into  Media.     Having  observed  that  of  late  the 
veteran  cohort  known  as  the  Argraspides,  or 
Silver-shields,    had    had   too    much   to   do   in 
settling  difiiculties  appertaining  to  the  govern- 
ment, he  dispatched  them  on  arduous  expedi- 
tions to  the  frontier  provinces  for  the  purpose 
of   wearing    them    out    Avith    privations    and 
fatigue.     A  second  measure  was  to  get  rid  of 
Python.     That  turbulent  spirit  was  invited  to 
join  Antigonus  with  the  promise  of  preferment, 
but  was   presently  seized  and  put   to   death. 
Then    followed    the    overthrow   of  Peucestes, 
satrap  of  Persia.     Being  jealous  of  this  officer, 
Antigonus  followed  him  to  his  capital,  Pasar- 
gadse,  and  having  driven  him  from  authority 
appointed  one  of  his  own  tools  as  his  successor. 
The  next  object  of  the  Regent's  dislike  was 
Seleucus,    governor    of    Babylonia.     Dissem- 
bling his  purpose,  he  marched  to  the  capital 
and  was  royally  entertained  by  Seleucus ;  but 
the  latter,  perceiving  that  he  was  destined  to 
fall    by  the    same    hand    that  had  destroyed 
Python  and  Peucestes,  made  his  escape  from 
Babylon   and   fled   to   Egypt.     He   was    cor- 
dially received  by  Ptolemy,  and  the  two  im- 
mediately  sent    proposals    to    Cassander    and 
Lysimachus  to  enter  into  a  league  against  the 
ambitious  Antigonus.     They  were   joined  by 
Asander,  satrap  of  Caria,  and  the  confederates 
then    made    their    demands    of    the    Regent. 
But  he   rejected  the   overtures  with  disdain. 
Both  parties  made  preparations  for  war,  and 
in  B.  C.  315  hostilities  began.     The  struggle 
continued  for  a  period  of  twelve  years,  and 
involved  all  the  leading  populations  from  the 
Adriatic  to  the  Indus. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  contest  Antigonus 
invaded  Caria,  and  Asander,  the  governor, 
was  overthrown.  The  Regent  next  succeeded 
in  securing  the  favor  of  a  strong  party  in 
Peloponnesus,  where  Polysperchon  still  main- 


MACEDONIA.— SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER. 


671 


tained  a  shadowy  authority.  Having  thus 
gained  a  foothold,  Antigonus  made  war  on 
Cassander  and  stripped  him  of  all  his  Grecian 
dependencies.  He  next  turned  his  arms 
against  Lysimachus,  governor  of  Thrace,  and 
him  also  he  overthrew  and  drove  from  his 
dominions.  Syria  was  next  conquered,  chiefly 
through  the  warlike  abilities  of  Demetrius, 
the  son  of  the  Regent.  The  government  of 
Ptolemy  still  remained  intact. 

At  this  juncture  the  confederates  made 
known  their  desire  for  peace;  but  the  ambi- 
tion of  Antigonus  had  grown  with  what  it 
fed  on,  and  he  Avould  listen  to  nothing. 
Ptolemy  thereupon  took  up  arms  and  went 
forth  with  a  large  army  to  Gaza.  Here  a 
decisive  battle  was  fought,  in  which  the 
Egyptian  was  completely  victorious.  The 
fortunes  of  Antigonus  were  so  badly  shat- 
tered that  Seleucus  was  enabled  to  return  to 
Babylon  and  resume  the  duties  of  his  satrapy. 
The  Syrian  cities  opened  their  gates  to  Ptol- 
emy, who  intrusted  the  defense  of  the  con- 
quered countries  to  Cilles  and  returned  to 
Alexandria.  His  lieutenant,  however,  was 
soon  defeated  in  two  battles  by  Demetrius, 
and  all  that  Egypt  had  gained  was  as  sud- 
denly lost.  Ptolemy  was  obliged  to  give  up 
Syria  to  the  foe.* 

After  his  return  to  Babylon,  Seleucus  was 
obliged  to  defend  himself  against  the  satraps 
of  Media  and  Persia.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  these  officers  had  been  elevated  to  power 
by  Antigonus,  and  their  continuance  in  au- 
thority now  depended  upon  their  supporting 
his  cause.  But  Seleucus,  collecting  his  forces, 
went  forth  against  them  and  they  were  over- 
whelmingly defeated.  Evagoras,  the  Persian 
governor,  was  left  dead  on  the  field,  and  Ni- 
canor  of  Media  was  obliged  to  save  himself  by 
flight.  This  victory,  B.  C.  312,  was  decisive  in 
one  part  of  the  struggle.  Seleucus  was  firmly 
seated.  A  Greek  kingdom  in  the  East  was 
thus  established,  with  its  capital  at  Babylon, 
The  great  dynasty  of  the  Seleucid^e  was 
founded  on  the  Euphrates,  under  whose  be- 


'It  was  in  the  withdrawal  of  Ptolemy  from 
Syria  that  he  was  accompanied  to  Alexandria  by 
the  Jews,  who  thenceforth  constituted  so  impor- 
tant an  element  of  population  in  that  city. 


neficent  government  the  eastern  part  of  the 
dominions  conquered  by  Alexander  were  des- 
tined for  a  long  time  to  enjoy  a  measure 
of  peace  and  prosperity. 

The  sudden  success  achieved  by  Seleucus 
induced  Antigonus  to  listen  to  proposals  for 
a  general  settlement.  An  important  confer- 
ence was  accordingly  held  between  himself 
and  the  confederate  leaders,  and  conditions 
of  peace  were  agreed  upon.  It  was  decided 
that  Egypt  should  be  given  to  Ptolemy  and 
his  successors.  Thrace  went  to  Lysimachus; 
and  Macedonia,  not  including  Greece,  was 
awarded  to  Cassander  until  such  time  as 
Alexander  ^gus,  the  son  of  the  conqueror, 
should  arrive  at  his  majority.  Antigonus  re- 
served Asia  for  himself,  thus  refusing  to 
recognize  the  government  of  Seleucus  at 
Babylon.  Thus  by  the  successors  of  Philip's 
son  was  the  world  again  parceled  out  into 
kingdoms. 

Scarcely  had  this  settlement  been  effected 
when  Cassander  opened  the  ball  by  the  mur- 
der of  the  young  Alexander  and  his  mother, 
Roxana.  Then  followed  soon  afterwards  the, 
destruction  of  Hercules,  another  son  of  the 
conqueror,  and  Barcina,  his  mother.  Thus 
at  last  was  the  deck  cleared  of  the  legitimate 
claimants  to  the  crown  of  the  Macedonian 
Empire.  The  bloody  conspirators  now  had 
the  game  to  themselves. 

In  a  short  time,  Ptolemy,  in  disregard  of 
the  terms  of  the  treaty,  made  a  campaign  into- 
Syria  and  retook  certain  cities  belonging  to 
Antigonus.  He  then  opened  a  correspondence 
with  Cleopatra,  sister  of  Alexander  the  Great> 
with  a  view  to  marriage ;  but  Antigonus, 
having  discovered  what  was  going  on,  sent  a 
dispatch  to  the  satrap  of  Sardis,  Avhere  Cleo- 
patra resided,  and  had  the  princess  assassinated. 

Soon  after  this  event  Demetrius  raised  a 
large  force  and  invaded  Greece.  By  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  the  Grecian  states  were  to 
remain  independent ;  but  Cassander  had  at 
once  seized  them  as  a  part  of  the  spoils  belong- 
ing to  him.  With  an  armament  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  galleys,  and  five  thousand 
talents  in  money,  Demetrius  now  proceeded 
to  enforce  the  settlement.  The  Athenians 
went   wild   over   this    ghastly    restoration   of 


672 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


PTOLEMY  SOTER. 


their  liberties.  As  soon  as  quiet  was  restored, 
Demetrius  proceeded  to  Cyprus,  which  was 
now  occupied  by  the  forces  and  partisans  of 
Ptolemy,  and  laid  siege  to  Salamis,  the  capital 
of  the  island.  The  Egyptian  ruler  came  out 
with  a  large  squadron  to  the  relief  of  the  city ; 
but  in  a  severe  naval 
battle  he  was  so  com- 
pletely defeated  that  he 
could  offer  no  further 
resistance  to  the  prog- 
ress of  his  enemy. 
Salamis  and  the  other 
towns  of  the  island  sur- 
rendered, and  were 
transferred  to  Antigonus,  in  whose  name  De- 
metrius made  the  conquest. 

The  blow  inflicted  on  Ptolemy  in  his  un- 
fortunate sea-fight  suggested  to  Antigonus  the 
invasion  of  Egypt.  With  a  powerful  army 
of  ninety  thousand  men  and  eighty  elephants 
he  marched  through  Syria  to  the  coast,  and 
then  embarked  for  the  mouth  of  the  Nile.  A 
storm,  however,  shattered  the  squadron,  and 
on  arriving  in  Egypt  he  found  a  united  people 
and  a  country  rendered  almost  impregnable 
by  the  skill  and  energy  of  his  adversary. 
Such  was  the  aspect  of  affairs  that  he  was 
■obliged  to  adopt  the  humiliating  expedient  of 
retreating  without  striking  a  blow.  In  order, 
Lowever,  to  redeem  his  reputation,  he  directed 
his  flotilla  to  the  island  of  Rhodes,  and  under- 
took the  subjugation  of  the  capital  city.  For 
more  than  a  year  Demetrius  beat  about  the 
xamparts  with  every  species  of  enginery 
known  to  the  military  skill  of  the  times  ;  but 
the  Rhodians,  assisted  by  Ptolemy,  held  out 
against  him,  until  at  last  he  was  obliged  (B.  C. 
505)  to  abandon  the  siege  and  grant  to 
Hhodes  her  independence.' 

Notwithstanding  these  reverses  to  his  arms, 
Antigonus  still  indulged  the  ambitious  project 
of  regaining  all  the  dominions  of  the  Empire. 
He  looked  to  the  subjugation  of  Egypt,  Mace- 
donia, and  the  East.     So  aggressive  were  his 

'  It  was  in  commeraoration  of  the  aid  given  to 
ihe  Rhodians  by  Ptolemy  in  this  memorable  siege 
that  they  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Soter,  or 
Savior — a  title  more  generous  than  just ;  for  it  was 
to  their  own  heroism  that  they  owed  their  deliver- 
ance. 


movements  that  the  former  league  of  Seleucua, 
Ptolemy,  and  Lysimachus  against  him  was  re- 
newed, and  both  parties  prepared  for  war. 
Seleucus  entered  Cappadocia  with  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  the  leaders  came  from  the 
West  to  join  his  forces.  It  was  now  B.  C. 
301,  and  another  crisis  had  arrived  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  nations  subdued  by  Alexander. 
Antigonus  and  Demetrius,  at  the  head  of 
their  army,  met  the  allies  at  the  little  village 
of  Ipsus,  and  here  the  decisive  battle  was 
fought.  Antigonus  was  slain.  His  army  was 
routed ;  and  Demetrius  barely  escaped  with 
eight  thousand  men.  A  new  division  of  ter- 
ritory followed ;  Ccele-Syria  and  Palestine  fell 
to  Ptolemy ;  the  larger  part  of  Asia  Minor  to 
Lysimachus:  Antioch  became  the  capital. 

In  this  strait  of  his  aflTairs,  Demetrius  was 
suddenly  relieved  by  fortune.  Seleucus,  now 
jealous  of  the  growing  power  of  Lysimachus, 
came  to  the  rescue  and  formed  an  alliance 
with  Demetrius  by  marrying  his  daughter 
Stratonice.  The  father,  whose  political  estate 
was  thus  unexpectedly  improved,  at  once  re- 
sumed the  aggressive,  retook  Cilicia  from 
Lysimachus,  and,  in  B.  C.  295,  made  a  suc- 
cessful invasion  of  Greece.  In  the  next  year 
he  was  declared  king  of  Macedon,  an  incen- 
tive thereto  being  his  marriage  with  Phila, 
the  daughter  of  Antipater. 

As  soon  as  he  was  weU  seated  in  authority 
Demetrius  re- 
those  vis- 
schemes 
which  his  father 
had  entertained 
even  to  the  day 
of  his  death.  The 
son  was  equally 
ambitious,  and 
Avould  fain  make 
good  his  claims 
to  universal  do- 
minion. He  ac- 
cordingly organ- 
ized   a    powerful 

army  with  a  view  to  entering  upon  a 
career  of  conquest.  At  the  outset  he 
was  opposed  by  Lysimachus  and  Ptolemy. 
While    his    attention    was    directed    to   these 


newed 
ionary 


DEMETRIUS  POUORCETES. 

Museo  Visconti. 


MACEDONIA.— SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER. 


673 


formidable  antagonists,  a  foe  still  more  to  be 
dreaded  appeared  in  Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus. 
With  him  he  went  to  war,  but  on  approaching 
the  borders  of  his  adversary  large  bodies  of 
the  troops  of  Demetrius  went  over  to  the 
enemy,  and  he  was  obliged  not  only  to  aban- 
don the  campaign,  but  also  to  leave  his  own 
kingdom  to  the  combined  ravages  of  Pyrrhus 
and  Lysimachus.  The  Macedonian,  however, 
continued  the  war  in  Asia  Minor,  until  he  wns 


brilliant  son  Agathocles  —  an  event  which 
made  the  king  an  object  of  execration  in  all 
the  West.  His  punishment  was  left  to  Seleu- 
cus,  who,  in  B.  C.  281,  marched  into  Asia 
Minor,  met  Lysimachus  on  the  field  of  CoRU- 
PEDiON  and  slew  him  in  battle.  Before  leav- 
ing his  capital,  however,  the  now  aged  Seleu- 
cus  had  virtually  abdicated  the  government 
in  favor  of  his  son,  Antiochus,  in  whose 
hands  he   placed   his  young  wife   Stratonice. 


PTOLEMY  PHILADELPHUS  DISCUSSING  WITH  THE  ARCHITECTS  THE  PLANS  FOR  THE 

ALEXANDRIAN  LIBRARY. 


betrayed  by  his  son-in-law,  Seleucus,  surren- 
dered to  his  enemy,  cast  into  prison,  and 
brought  to  his  death. 

In  the  mean  time  Ptolemy  Soter  was  suc- 
ceeded in  Egypt  by  his  son,  Ptolemy  Phila- 
delphus — presumably  so  called  because  he  did 
.rwt  love  his  brother  ;  for  Ptolemy  Ceraunus, 
the  oldest  son  of  Soter,  was  displaced  by  that 
ruler  in  favor  of  the  younger,  who  became 
his  successor.  Arsinoe,  the  sister  of  Philadel- 
phus,  was  married  to  Lysimachus,  and  him 
she  is  said  to  have  instigated    to  murder  his 


In  these  acts  the  venerable  monarch  was 
largely  influenced  by  a  desire  which  had  pos- 
sessed him  to  revisit  his  native  Macedonia. 
As  soon  as  the  battle  of  Corupedion  had  been 
decided  in  his  favor,  he  continued  his  course 
to  the  West,  and  was  presently  rewarded 
with  a  sight  of  his  native  hills,  which  he  had 
not  beheld  for  ffty-two  years.  Soon  after- 
wards, while  with  an  old  man's  curiosity  he 
was  examining  an  ancient  altar,  Ptolemy 
Ceraunus,  who  had  accompanied  him  on  his 
return    into    Macedonia,    stole    behind    and 


674 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


stabbed  him  to  death.  The  murderer  at 
once  repaired  to  Lysimachia,  and  announcing 
himself  as  the  avenger  of  their  late  king's 
death,  seized  the  throne  and  held  it  for  the 
space  of  three  years. 

From  all  this  blood  and  violence  it  is  a 
grateful  relief  to  turn  to  the  court  of  Phila- 
delphus.  To  him  it  is  fair  to  accord  the 
praise  of  being  the  most  enlightened  sovereign 


discussions,  and  with  a  discernment  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  Francis  Bacon 
sought  to  draw  them  away  from  the  region 
of  inane  speculation  and  to  limit  their  re- 
searches to  the  things  beneficial  to  men.  The 
great  Pharos  which  had  been  begun  by  Ptol- 
emy I.  was  completed  in  B.  C.  280,  and  the 
glare  of  its  flaming  torch  was  flung  for  more 
than   forty   miles    across    the  Mediterranean. 


HALL  IN  THE  ALEXANDRIAN  LIBRARY. 


of  his  times.  He  made  Egypt  more  glorious 
than  she  had  been  since  the  days  of  the  great 
Pharaohs  of  antiquity.  Alexandria  became 
under  his  munificent  patronage  the  most 
splendid  seat  of  learning  in  the  world.  ]Men 
cf  letters  fro-i  all  quarters  of  the  world  came 
hit>er  as  tc  an  asylum.  He  founded  the 
Alexi^ndrian  library,  and  invited  to  his  court 
the  most  distinguished  scientists,  poets,  and 
philosophers.    He  participated  in  their  learned 


Thus,  in  the  city  named  after  the  conqueror 
of  Asia,  the  light  and  learning  of  Asia  was 
mingled  with  the  enterprise  of  the  West. 

With  the  death  of  the  aged  Seleucus  per- 
ished the  last  of  those  remarkable  military 
chieftains  who  had  followed  the  fortunes  of 
Alexander  the  Great.  The  personal  strug- 
gles of  those  who  had  heard  the  voice  of  that 
mighty  hero  in  battle  ended  with  the  battle 
of  Corupedion.     Antiochus  wns  I>''    with  the 


MACEDONIA.— SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER. 


675 


Greek  kingdom  of  Syria.  Ptolemy  Philadel- 
phus  reigned  in  Egypt;  Ceraunus  in  Mace- 
donia. By  him  the  sons  of  Lysimachus  were 
murdered,  Arsinoe  driven  into  Egypt,  and 
Antigonus,  son  of  Demetrius,  excluded  from 
the  throne. 

But  the  blind  Nemesis,  ever  on  the  trail 
of  the  butcher,  soon 
sent     her     avenging 
ministers  to  balance 
the   disturbed  scales 
of  justice.  The  Gauls 
came.       Having   ac-       [^B 
quired    rather    than 
appeased  an  appetite 
for    plunder    during 
their  recent  invasion 
of   Italy,    they    now 
poured    into    Thrace 
and    Macedonia. 
Without  proper  prep- 
aration or  due  cau- 
tion in  the  presence 
of  such  a  foe,  Cer- 
aunus went  forth  and 
gave     them     battle. 
The   result  was  that 
his  army  was  cut  to 
pieces  by  the  barba- 
rians    and     himself 
slain     in    the    fight. 
The    invaders    then 
made  their  way  into 
Asia  Minor,  selected 
their   province,    con- 
quered it,  and  gave 
it     the      name      of 
Galatia. 

After  a  long  struof- 
gle  with  King  Pyr- 
rhus  and  the  Gauls, 
Antigonus,  the  son  of 

Demetrius,  at  length  secured  the  throne  of 
Macedonia  and  took  the  title  of  Antigonus  II. 
In  a  reign  of  twenty-seven  years  (B.  C.  269- 
242)  he  embroiled  himself  but  little  with  the 
afiairs  of  surrounding  kingdoms.  In  an  at- 
tempt, however,  which  he  made  upon  the  lib- 
erties of  the  Greek  states,  he  stirred  up  so 
much  resentment  that,  under  the  lead  of  the 


Achaians  an  alliance,  known  as  the  Ach^an 
League — hereafter  to  act  a  conspicuous  part 
in  the  concluding  drama  of  Grecian  history — 
was  formed  against  him  and  his  schemes.  In 
B.  C.  242  he  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty,  and  left  his  crown  to  his  son  Deme- 
trius II.,  whose  reign  of  ten  years  was   not 


PHAROS  OF  ALEXANDRIA. 

marked  by  any  notable  events.  His  ambi- 
tions— such  as  they  were — were  successfully 
resisted  by  the  League,  and  his  petty  wars 
with  the  -^tolians,  Illyrians,  and  Thracians 
had  no  important  results.  At  his  death  the 
crown  descended  to  his  son  Philip,  then  but 
three  years  of  age,  who  was  placed  under  the 
regency  of  his  uncle,  Antigonus  Doson. 


676 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


Meanwhile,  in  B.  C.  222,  Cleomenes,  the 
young  ' '  king  "  of  Sparta — for  that  unchange- 
able commonwealth  still  clung  to  its  tradi- 
tional names— not  liking  the  growing  ascend- 
ency of  the  League,  made  war  on  the 
confederated  states,  and  the  latter  called  on 
Antigonus  Doson  to  aid  them  in  resisting  the 
Lacedaemonian  aspirant.  The  two  armies 
which  were  brought  into  the  field  by  the  re- 
spective parties  met  on  the  field  of  Sellasia, 
and  Cleomenes  was  overthrown  and  driven 
into  Egypt.  That  country,  in  the  mean  time, 
had  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  great  Phil- 
adelphus  to  his  son  Ptolemy  Euergetes,  from 
whom  the  Spartan  refugee  now  sought  pro- 
tection and  vindication. 

For  fourteen  years  Antigonus  Doson  re- 
mained as  regent  of  Macedonia,  and  was  then, 
at  death,  succeeded  in  authority  by  his  ward 
Philip,  who  was  destined  in  a  short  time  to 
be  embroiled  with  the  Romans,  and  to 
become  one  of  the  actors  in  the  complicated 
drama  in  which  the  new  Republic  of  the  West 
stretched  out  her  scepter  over  all  of  the  con- 
tending parties. 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  Philip  to  power 
the  Achaean  League  made  a  rash  invasion  of 
^tolia  and  were  repulsed  with  great  loss. 
The  ^tolians  pressed  home  their  advantage, 
ind  the  Achseaus  applied  to  Philip  for  aid. 
Che  monarch  repaired  into  Greece,  and  under- 
took to  settle  all  difficulties  by  conciliatory 
ttieasures  proposed  in  a  general  conference  of 
the  states.  But  the  business  resulted  in  noth- 
ing, and  that  conflict  ensued  known  as  the 
Second  Social  War.  In  this  contest  Philip 
took  the  side  of  the  League,  and  for  four 
years  (B.  C.  222-218)  upheld  the  cause 
against  the  ^tolians  and  their  allies.  At  the 
end  of  this  time  the  Nemsean  festival  was 
celebrated,  and  while  the  festivities  were  on, 
the  news  came  of  Hannibal's  great  victory 
over  the  Romans  on  the  field  of  Thrasimenus. 
The  effect  of  one  violence  was  to  counter- 
act another.  The  Greek  states  were  led 
to  consider  the  tremendous  political  powers 
which  had  been  developed  in  the  West,  and 
how  they  themselves  were  thereby  imminently 
exposed  to  conquest.  This  reflection  led  to  a 
settlement.     Even  the  ^tolians  were  able  to 


see  that,  unless  all  Greece  should  be  united,  she 
would  in  the  near  future  fall  an  easy  prey  to 
one  or  other  of  the  powers  of  the  West. 

Turning  to  the  East,  and  resuming  the 
history  of  the  Greek  kingdom  of  Syria  we  find 
on  the  throne  as  successor  to  Seleucus  his  son, 
Antiochus  Soter — a  title  conferred  on  account 
of  his  victorious  defense  of  the  country  against 
the  Gauls.  He  came  to  the  throne  in  B.  C. 
280,  and  had  a  disturbed  reign  of  eighteen 
years.  His  first  military  operation  was  a  cam- 
paign against  Bithynia,  which  for  some  time 
had  been  in  a  state  of  insurrection.  The  ex- 
pedition was  intrusted  by  the  king  to  his  gen- 
eral, Patroclus ;  but  the  Bithynians  soon  com- 
pelled him  to  withdraw  in  disgrace.  Nor  was 
the  campaign  which  was  undertaken  in  B.  C. 
280  against  the  kingdom  of  Pergamus  more 
successful.  A  few  years  later  Antiochus  was 
induced  to  engage  in  a  broil  which  proved  to 
be  still  more  unfortunate  to  himself  and  king- 
dom. A  certain  Magas,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  as  governor 
of  Cyrene,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  and 
induced  Antiochus,  who  was  his  father-in-law, 
to  espouse  his  cause.  This  injudicious  action 
cost  the  king  of  Syria  dearly.  The  powerful 
fleet  of  Ptolemy  struck  right  and  left  at  the 
Syrian  dependencies,  and  while  Magas  gained 
nothing  but  defeat,  his  father-in-law  was,  in 
the  course  of  a  four  years'  war,  mulcted  of 
the  fine  provinces  of  Lycia,  Pamphylia,  Caria, 
and  Cilicia. 

Soon  afterwards,  in  B.  C.  262,  the  barba- 
rous Gauls,  who  were  now  firmly  established 
in  Asia  Minor,  and  had 
received  vast  accessions 
from  their  countrymen  in 
Europe,  made  such  havoc 
by  their  ravages  that  An- 
tiochus resolved  on  their 
extermination.  With  a 
large  army,  he  met  and 
assaulted  the  barbarians 
before  the  walls  of  Ephesus.  The  conflict  was 
one  of  the  most  bloody  and  desperate  of  the 
century ;  and  such  were  the  valor  and  deter- 
mination of  the  Gauls  that  the  Syrian  army 
was  entirely  routed  and  Antiochus  killed. 
The  title  of  Soter,  which  he  had  borne  for 


ANTIOCHUS  I.— Berlin. 


MACEDONIA.— SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER. 


677 


eighteen  years  as  a  successful  defender  of  his 
country  against  these  identical  marauders,  was 
suddenly  annulled  by  them,  and  converted  into 
a  theme  of  ridicule. 

The  late  king  of  Syria  was  succeeded  in 
B.  C.  261  by  his  son,  Antiochus  Theos.  This 
young  prince,  on  hearing  of  his  father's  de- 
feat at  Ephesus,  hastened  thither  with  a  new 
army  to  mend,  if  possible,  the  fortunes  of  the 
kingdom.  But  after  a  desultory  war  of  sev- 
eral years'  duration,  he  was  obliged  to  retire 
before  the  invincible  barbarians,  and  leave 
them  in  peaceable  possession  of  their  province. 
In  a  struggle,  however,  with  a  chieftain  who 
had  seized  the  governorship  of  Caria,  Anti- 
ochus was  crowned  with  success;  and  it  was 
for  this  pitiful  victory  that  the  base  fools  who 
thronged  his  court  conferred  on  him  the  title 
of  Theos   or  the  god. 

About  the  same  time  the  Syrian  king  be- 
came involved  in  a  war  with  Ptolemy  Phila- 
delphus,  from  whom  he  gained,  only  to  lose 
them  again,  the  provinces  of  Coele-Syria  and 
Phoenicia ;  but  before  the  contest  was  ended, 
the  attention  of  Antiochus  was  suddenly  re- 
called by  the  alarming  condition  of  affairs  on 
the  north-eastern  frontiers  of  his  own  kingdom. 
In  B.  C.  254,  both  Bactria  and  Parthia,  of. 
fended  at  the  exactions  and  inhumanity  of 
the  royal  governors,  raised  the  standard  of  re- 
volt and  defied  the  power  of  the  king.  Theo- 
dotus,  the  Bactrian  satrap,  was  for  the  time 
entirely  successful.  Agathocles,  the  Parthian 
governor,  was  attacked  by  two  patriot  broth- 
ers, Arsaces  and  Tiridates,  and  by  them  the 
adherents  of  Antiochus  were  obliged  to  take 
to  flight.  Startled  at  these  outbreaks,  the 
Syrian  monarch  was  glad  to  enter  into  nego- 
tiations for  peace  with  Ptolemy,  between  whom 
and  himself  terms  were  soon  agreed  upon,  and 
the  treaty  confirmed  by  the  marriage  to  Anti- 
ochus of  the  Egyptian  Princess  Berenice.  By 
this  act  Laodice,  Avhom  the  Syrian  had  previ- 
ously married,  and  by  whom  he  had  two  chil- 
dren, was  discarded  ;  but  the  queen  soon  sought 
revenge  by  poisoning  Antiochus,  and  securing 
the  succession  to  her  son,  Seleucus,  surnamed 
Calliuicus.  It  was  in  this  year,  B.  C.  246, 
that  Ptolemy  Euergetes  succeeded  his  father 
Philadelphus  on  the  throne  of  Egypt. 


The  first  work  which  the  new  prince  of 
Alexandria  felt  constrained  to  undertake  was 
to  visit  retributive  justice  upon  those  who  had 
murdered  his  sister  Berenice ;  for  that  prin- 
cess had  been  hunted  down  by  Laodice  and 
put  to  death  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
Daphnean  temple.  Seleucus  thus  stood  as  the 
representative  of  the  crime  which  had  been 
committed  against  the  House  of  Ptolemy.  The 
latter  raised  an  army  and  began  an  invasion 
of  his  rival's  dominions,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  Parthian  insurrection  continued  on  the 
eastern  frontier  of  the  Empire.  The  Egyptian 
soon  overran  Syria  and  continued  his  victori- 
ous career  through  Media  and  Babylonia  even 
to  the  banks  of  the  Indus.  But  his  conquest 
was  one  rather  of  spoliation  than  political 
aggrandizement.  He  returned  to  the  West 
with  plunder  amounting  in  value  to  forty 
thousand  talents  of  silver.  In  addition  to  this 
vast  booty  he  brought  home  to  his  country- 
men the  statues  of  more  than  two  thousand 
Egyptian  gods  which  had  been  carried  away 
by  Cambyses  to  Susiana  and  Persia.^ 

In  the  mean  time  the  government  of  Seleu- 
cus was  still  further  distracted  by  a  rebellion 
in  Syria,  headed  by  his  brother  Antiochus 
Hierax,  who  induced  the  Gauls  to  join  his 
standard.  While  these  two  were  engaged  in  ? 
struggle  for  the  mastery,  Euergetes,  who  mighV 
easily  have  reduced  the  whole  country,  with- 
drew into  Egypt,  apparently  satisfied  with  the 
vengeance  which  he  had  taken  on  his  enemy. 

This  afforded  opportunity,  and  motive  to  Se- 
leucus and  Hierax  to  come  to  an  adjustment; 
but  a  permanent  peace  between  them  was  impos- 
sible, and  in  B.  C.  242,  hostilities  again  broke 
out  with  greater  violence  than  ever.  A  severe 
battle  was  fought  at  Ancyrse,  in  which  Hierax 
was  victorious,  but  the  Gauls,  who  had  won 
the  battle,  hearing  that  Seleucus  was  dead, 
turned  on  their  own  commander,  by  whose 
destruction  they  thought  to  obtain  the  mastery 
of  Asia  for  themselves.  Barely  did  Hierax 
escape  from  their  clutches.  Two  years  after- 
wards, with  one  hundred  thousand  Gauls,  he 
renewed  the  contest,  marched  against  Babylon, 


^  It  was  for  this  service  that  he  was  honored 
by  the  Egyptians  with  the  surname  of  Euergetes, 
the  Doftr  of  Good. 


678 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


and  was  utterly  routed  by  the  army  of  Seleu- 
cus.  The  defeated  insurgent  fled  to  Egypt, 
put  himself  under  the  protection  of  Ptolemy, 
and  by  him  was  detained  as  a  prisoner  for 
thirteen  years. 

Meanwhile  the  Parthians,  having  strength- 
ened themselves  by  an  alliance  with  the  Bactri- 
ans,  held  out  against  the  Syrians.  With  them, 
after  the  overthrow  of  Hierax,  Seleucus  at 
once  renewed  the  contest.  In  B.  C.  239  a 
decisive  battle  was  fought  with  the  rebel  bar- 
barians, in  which  they  gained  a  great  victory 
over  the  Syrian  army.  Seleucus  was  taken 
prisoner  and  sent  into  the  wilds  of  Upper 
Asia,  where  he  was  held  a  captive  until  his 
death,  ten  years  later.  As  soon  as  his  cap- 
tivity was  known  at  Babylon  the  authorities 
placed  upon  the  throne  his  eldest  sou,  Seleu- 
cus III.,  who  took  the  title  of  Ceraunus,  or 
Thunder — a  name  given  in  contempt  by  the 
soldiers;  for  he  was  a  despicable  weakling 
both  in  mind  and  body.  He  began  his  inglo- 
rious reign  of  three  years  by  attempting  to 
carry  out  the  plans  of  his  father.  A  conspir- 
acy was  presently  made  against  him  by  Nicana, 
one  of  his  generals,  and  a  certain  Gaul  named 
Apaturius,  and  he  was  assassinated  in  the 
twentieth  year  of  his  age.  The  throne  was 
immediately  conferred  on  his  brother  Anti- 
ochus,  surnamed  the  Great. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  reign  the  new  mon- 
arch was  greatly  aided  in  his  government  by 
his  cousin  Achseus,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished soldiers  of  his  times.  Not  so,  how- 
ever, was  the  king  supported  by  the  minister 
Hermeias,  who  proved  treacherous,  and  sowed 
revolt  in  the  provinces.  Molon  and  Alexan- 
der, governors  of  Media  and  Persia,  headed 
insurrections  in  their  respective  satrapies,  and 
the  royal  generals  who  were  sent  against  them 
were  defeated.  At  length,  in  B.  C.  222,  An- 
tiochus  took  the  field  in  person,  and  the  for- 
tunes of  the  war  were  changed.  When  the 
armies  were  drawn  up  for  battle  the  soldiers 
of  the  insurgent  satraps  deserted  them  and 
went  over  to  the  king.  Molon  and  Alexander 
found  refuge  in  suicide,  and  Hermeias  was 
condemned  to  death,  not,  however,  until  he 
had  produced  a  fatal  breach  between  Achseus 
and  the  king. 


Euergetes  was  at  length  succeeded  on  the 
throne  of  Egypt  by  Ptolemy  Philopater — a 
prince  whose  character  illy  accorded  with  that 
of  his  illustrious  predecessors.  The  kingdom 
was  neglected  to  the  extent  of  inviting  foreign 
aggression.  The  ambitious  Antiochus  saw  in 
the  situation  an  opportunity  to  recover  Phoe- 
nicia and  Coele-Syria,  nor  was  he  slow  in  re- 
taking these  provinces  from  the  Egyptians. 
The  latter,  foreseeing  that  the  Syrian  king 
would  soon  be  knocking  at  their  doors,  fell 
back  before  him,  and  destroyed  all  the  wells 
between  Palestine  and  Egypt.  Several  able 
generals  oj^posed  the  progress  of  Antiochus, 
and  finally  confronted  him  at  Raphia  with  a 
powerful  army.  The  two  forces  met  in  B.  C. 
218.  Besides  the  immense  array  of  infantry 
and  cavalry  on  each  side,  nearly  two  hundred 
elephants  were  marshaled  forth  to  influence 
the  result  of  the  battle.  The  contest  was  long 
and  bloody.  At  the  first,  victory  inclined  to 
the  banner  of  Antiochus;  but  the  tide  pres- 
ently turned,  and  he  was  subjected  to  a  disas- 
trous rout.  More  than  fourteen  thousand  of 
his  dead  were  left  on  the  field.  So  decisive 
was  the  result  that  Phoenicia  and  Coele-Syria 
were  at  once  recovered,  and  Antiochus  was 
glad  to  conclude  a  peace  on  the  basis  of  res- 
titution. 

While  the  attention  of  the  king  of  Syria 
was  occupied  with  these  events,  Achseus,  justly 
ofl^ended  at  the  course  of  his  master  in  treating 
him  as  disloyal,  secured  for  himself  several 
provinces  in  Asia  Minor,  and  prepared  to  de- 
fend them.  Phrygia  and  Lydia  Avere  included 
in  his  dominions.  With  Prusias,  king  of 
Bithynia,  Attains,  king  of  Pergamus,  and 
Mithridates,  king  of  Pontus,  he  had  made 
successful  alliances.  Nevertheless  he  was  una- 
ble to  stand  before  the  arms  of  Antiochus. 
Attains,  who  had  been  compelled  rather  than 
persuaded  to  espouse  the  cause  of  Achseus, 
went  over  to  the  Syrian  king.  The  insurgent 
general  was  driven  into  Sardis,  and  when  the 
city  was  taken  he  shut  himself  up  in  the  cit- 
adel. Ptolemy  attempted  through  an  emissary 
to  secure  the  escape  of  Achseus,  but  the  agent 
proved  treacherous,  and  the  general,  being 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  was 
wrapped  in  the  skin  of  an  ass  and  crucified. 


MACEDONIA.  -SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER. 


679 


Antiochus  next  vindicated  his  title  of  Great 
by  doing  what  several  of  his  predecessors  had 
ingloriously  failed  to  accomplish — subdue  the 
Parthiaus  and  Bactrians.  In  a  campaign  of 
B.  C.  214  he  overran  both  of  the  revolted 
provinces,  gained  decisive  victories,  and  re- 
duced to  obedience  the  rebellious  inhabitants, 


any  important  benefits  from  the  victory  ai 
Rhaphia.  His  conduct  precipitated  an  epoch 
of  civil  discord,  and  it  was  a  good  riddance 
when  his  vicious  indulgences  brought  his  life 
to  a  close.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  sur- 
named  Epiphanes,  who  was  a  mere  child  ai 
his  father's  death.    This  circumstance  suggested 


TITUS  QUIXCTIUS  FLAMIXIUS  PROCLAIMING  "LIBERTY"  TO  THE  GREEKS. 
Drawn  by  H.  Vogel. 


who  for  thirty  years  had  defied  the  authority 
of  the  Syrian  kings.  Having  achieved  these 
brilliant  successes,  Antiochus  continued  his 
campaign  to  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  and  re- 
turned to  his  capital  with  a  great  augmenta- 
tion of  wealth  and  honor. 

So  great  were  the  vices  of  Ptolemy  Philo- 
pater  that  Egypt  was  not  permitted  to  reap 


to  Philip  of  IMacedon  the  feasibility  of  an 
Egyptian  invasion.  Accordingly,  in  B.  C.  202, 
he  set  out  through  Asia  Minor,  and  captured 
most  of  the  cities  therein  belonging  to  the 
House  of  Ptolemy.  Several  of  the  ^gean 
islands  fell  into  his  power,  and  still  further 
successes  were  promised  to  his  arms ;  but  the 
Rhodians,  alarmed  at  these  aggressions,  assisted 


680 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.— THE  ANCIENT  WORLD. 


by  Atlalufe,  king  of  Pergamus,  sent  out  a  fleet 
against  Philip,  and  the  Romans,  also  interfer- 
ing, compelled  him  to  return  to  his  own  do- 
minions. 

For  a  year  or  two,  however,  he  continued 
to  press  the  war  in  Asia  Minor,  and,  among 
Utier  successes,  gained  a  decisive  victory  over 
the  -lEtolian  general  Scopas,  in  a  battle  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Panius.  His  justification  for 
all  these  proceedings  was  that  as  the  heir  of 
Seleucus  Nicator  he  was  the  rightful  ruler  of 
all  the  countries  of  the  Lesser  Asia.  In  B.  C. 
197,  he  besieged  the  fortresses  of  Mysia  and 
Caria,  and  presently  afterwards  invested 
Smyrna  and  Lampsacus.  He  then  overran 
Thrace,  and  began  to  rebuild  the  ruined  city 
of  Lysimachia.  All  these  measures  indicated 
that  the  Macedonian  ruler  was  about  to  lay  a 
strong  hand  on  the  greater  part  of  the  Alex- 
andrine Empire  in  the  West.  But  a  stronger 
Hand  now  reached  out  of  the  shadows.  The 
outlines  of  the  fingers  of  Rome  were  seen  on 
the  wall  of  destiny. 

In  B.  C  196  the  Isthmian  games  were  in 
progress  at  Corinth.  The  states  were  assem- 
bled to  witness  the  time-honored  celebration. 
Sufldenly  the  Roman  proconsul,  Titus  Quinc- 
tiu*'  Flaminius,  appeared  in  the  midst  and  an- 
nounced that  the  great  Republic  of  the  West 


assumed  thenceforth  the  protectorate  of  the 
commonwealths  of  Greece.  He,  as  arbiter, 
would  hear  the  embassadors  of  the  several 
states  at  war,  and  settle  without  prejudice  all 
the  points  in  controversy  !  The  announcement 
was  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  empire  of 
the  world  had  been  suddenly  transferred  from 
the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  to  the  banks  of 
the  Tiber,  from  Babylon  to  Rome  1 

We  have  now  pursued  the  course  of  events 
from  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great  through 
the  turmoil  of  revolution  and  bloodshed  down 
to  the  time  when  the  fragments  of  the  colossal 
empire  established  by  the  son  of  Philip  began 
to  be  absorbed  by  the  Roman  Republic.  The 
period  occupied  by  the  contentions  of  the  suc- 
cessors of  Alexander  B.  C.  326-196  is  one  of 
the  darkest  and  most  difficult  passages  in  his- 
tory. These  times  were  the  Middle  Ages  of 
Antiquity.  They,  stood  chaotic  between  the 
unity  of  Persia  and  Macedonia  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  greater  unity  of  Rome  on  the 
other.  Not  without  a  certain  sense  of  relief 
may  the  reader  turn  from  the  heterogeneous 
jumble  of  events  presented  by  the  annals  of 
the  Grseco-Syrian,  Grseco-Egyptian,  and  Mace- 
donian kingdoms  to  the  unique  and  singular 
grandeur  of  Rome.  To  that  great  power  of 
the  West  our  attention  will  now  be  directed. 


o 
AWEUNIVER% 


'^i^;?133NYS01^ 


%a3AINn-3W^ 


^lOSANCElfj-^^ 
o 


%a3MNa3WV 


^<!/0JI]V3  J0>^ 


^OFCAllFOff^ 


■35  _ i»  >    I'  £^ 


"^laoNVSoi^ 


5MEUmVERi/A 


.^ 


%a]AINn-3WV^ 


> 


^^IIIBRARYO^ 


%jnvDio^ 


^OfCAllFOftjA 


.5MEUNIVER% 


^TiUDNVSOl^ 


.\MEl)NIVER% 


<rji30Wsoi^ 


^^MlIBRARY^?/ 


^OFCAIIFO/?^^ 

O 


I 


vr. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


i8RARY6k, 


JUN  2  2  1998 
<:"  -  \'  LOAf^' 

SEP  2  ^  1999 

OAN 


^(?Aavjiani'^      ^(?Aavaaii-i^ 


Mj  i3!:^iis==i 


^J713DNVS01^       %H3AINn3yVV^ 


^UIBRARYOc 
§  1    <i—  ^ 


so       s 


)jnv3jo^     '^.^ojiivjjo^ 


fCAllFOfti^ 


^OFCAIIFO% 


kuvjian-^'^ 


^(^xavaani^'^ 


UNIVER%       ^lOSANCElfj> 


f 

13DHVS01^ 


%a9AINn3\<v^ 


EUNIVERS/A         vvWSANCflfj-;. 


5    = 


I 


"^/saaAiNd  ivw^ 


••lIBRARYOr,       -MtllBRAR 


ojiivDJo'^     %oi\m 


tJFCAllFOff^      ^OF 


\WEUNIVERS/A 


"^XiliONVSOl^ 


^lOSANCElfx^. 


■^/sa3AiNi]jy\v^ 


^5MEUNIVER%       ^lOSANGEier^ 


i^  o<r S  f 


^tUBRARYO^^       -^l-UBRARYQ^^         ^^WEWIVERJ/^       ^lOSANCt    .^ 


^.!/0JllV3JO^ 


^jnYDJO^" 


T        O 


AS^fmmif4i.       v4jOF-CAUF0/?^  AWEl)IJIVER5/^        v^lOSANC[ 

Or-l      i^.^^1    f^jS\l     i^o<rS    lOr 


).jO^      ^^OJIIVDJO^^ 


o 


%a3AiNn3Wv 


\oi\miQ'^' 


3  115a  00798  3348 


''ym\mw 


^^\      ^OFCAllFOff^ 


aWEUNIVERJ/a. 


^lOSAN'CElEr^ 

o 


<riuoNvsm^      ^/saJAiNrtjiW 


^OfCAllFO/?^       ^.OFCAIIFO% 


I- 


^lOSANCEl^;^ 
o 


%83MNa3\\V^ 


5 


^illBRARYOc 


^iKOJIlVD  JO"*^ 


^AOJIIVDJO"^ 


^^^WEUNIVERS/^        v^lOSANCEl^^ 


"^ii^noN^ 


000  527  526 


vj,lOSANCEU4 


o 
S      — 

soi^     ^/sa3AlNll•^w^^ 


^OFCAllFOfl^^      ^0FCAIIF0% 


y< 


^ 


^WEUfJIVERS//;^.       ^lOSA/JG[lfj> 


% 


r^  oe 


^<?Aavaaiii^     '^Aavaan^^'^        <rii30Nvsm>^     "^/saaAiNniiW^ 


aMEUNIVEBS/a 


).J0^       '^<!/0JllV3JO'^  <rii30NVS01^ 


A>:lOSANCEl^;> 


so 
I 

^/Sa3AINn3WV^ 


^>MUBRARY<> 


^j^ltUBRARYQc. 
§  1   ir^  ^ 


^ctfOJIWD  JO^ 


3 


F0%       ^OFCAllFORfc. 


^^MEIINIVER% 
>- 


^lOSANCEUf^ 
o 


v/5a3AIN[13WV 


^OFCAUFOi?;^ 

> 


^OFCAllFORjl^ 


'^^Auvaan-^'^ 


/ERS/4       ^lOSAfJCEier/ 


%a3AINft3WV^ 


j^UIBRARYQ^^       ^vSUIBRARYOr^ 


A\\EUNIVERy/A 


'^•SOJIlVDiO'^      "^^tfOJIlVDJO^  <f?13DNVS0\^ 


vvlOSANCElfjv. 
o 


I 
%a3AINn3WV^ 


C_3 


/ERo7a.       ^lOSANCEl^;^ 

T        O 


^OFCAllFOfiV      ^OFCAIIFO/?^ 


'^^Aavaan^'^J^     *>&A«vaani^'^ 


AV\EUNIVERS7/i 


^lOSANCElfx^ 
o 


^TJIJONVSOI^      ^Aa3AiNni\\v' 


^RYO^,       ^y^^lllBRARYG^^         AWEUNIVERS/a         vvlOSANCElfx> 


^.JO^*       ^«!/OJIlVDJO>' 


o 


■^/iajAisa-jy^ 


^IUBRARYQa. 


^IUBRARY<9/:^ 


%0JnV3JO>^ 


^-yojiwojo'f^ 


IFOft^      ^OFCAIIFOff^ 


,5.WEUNIVER% 


^10SANCE%^ 


c^  OS 


^OFCAHF0/?>i(^ 


^.OFCAIIFOI?^ 


